12 MISC. PUBLICATION 650, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
duction at any single time. The experience of growers at Lagunas, 
Peru (11), in 1943 showed that a hectare or 2.4 acres of 2- to 3-year- 
old lonchocarpus on virgin land, which will normally yield about. 
10,000 pounds of green root or 5,000 pounds of air-dry root, requires 
an average of 300 man-days of labor. This figure was reduced to 
averages of 115 days for clearmg and burning the virgin forest, 20 
days for cutting up stems of mature plants for propagation material 
and planting them, 85 days for chopping weeds, and 80 days for 
harvesting. 
On old cropland approximately 360 to 400 man-days were required 
to produce such a crop. The initial effort to clear the land was less, 
but considerably more time was spent in chopping back weeds with a 
machete during the subsequent years. Once established, a field of 
lonchocarpus requires no attention other than occasional weedings 
until harvesttime. If the stand is a relatively full one, the plants, 
as they grow taller and broader, tend to shade out weed growth. 
Harvest and Preparation for Market 
The harvesting of lonchocarpus roots is a task requiring stamina. 
The fresh roots of individual 24-year-old plants will ordinarily weigh 
from 1 to 5 pounds. As a general rule, most of the roots spread out 
laterally, but a few grow almost directly downward (fig. 7). The 
FicureE 7.—Exposed root system of lonchocarpus; eastern Peru. 
gatherer’s job is to salvage as much of the entire root system as | 
possible. 
To accomplish his work, he first severs the trunk of the plant 
about 1.5 feet from the ground with a few machete slashes. He then 
pries under the crown of the plant with a long stout, sharp-pointed 
pole, which he drives into the ground with several vigorous jabs. By 
