54 



THE COCO-NUT 



CHAP. 



Baracoa one very beautiful flower cluster opening on one side of 

 a tree has often been seen and. many young nuts still attached 

 on the same side, while on the part of the tree towards the pre- 

 vailing winds and facing the worst affected portion of the grove, 

 all nuts had dropped and the young flower clusters seriously 

 affected. ^ 



The dropping of part of the nuts of a cluster, or of 

 all the nuts by trees just coming into bearing, cannot 

 be taken as evidence of bud rot. 



Fading or turning yellow of the leaves is the symptom by 

 which it is generally possible to recognize the disease in trees 

 of all ages. This is generally first noticed in the case of some 

 of the oldest leaves. . . . The leaves gradually become light 

 yellow, and the leaflets dry from the tips and sides. As the 

 disease progresses the leaves become weak and break with 

 the wind in various ways, the lower ones usually falling off. 

 Examining a mature leaf which is about dead, nothing can be 

 found on the leaflets or outer petioles to account for the trouble, 

 but on the upper surface and at the base there is more or less 

 decay, and this usually reaches a little way into the trunk. 



The most characteristic symptom of the disease is the rotting 

 of the youngest undeveloped leaves in the centre of the top. 

 This symptom generally appears after the others have become 

 well developed, but it may be the first one noted. The first 

 stage of this is the appearance of watery decayed spots on the 

 surface of the unopened leaves. 



If a very young leaf with only the growing point coming out 

 into the air is affected, it rots rapidly, and, from the base of 

 the tree, nothing is seen to be wrong until the bud is examined. 

 [By analogy with the accounts of the Trinidad bud rot, this is 

 what is to be expected if the disease is caused by bacteria alone, 

 without the presence at first of fungi.] 



Once well started the rot moves down along the surfaces of 

 the undeveloped leaves, rapidly penetrating the tender tissues 

 and destroying them completely. . . . The whole central column 

 is converted into a soft stinking mass. When the terminal bud 

 is reached it rots, and the tender upper end of the trunk also. 



The tree is usually in the advanced stages within one or 

 two months from the time the first signs of the disease appear. 

 Usually three or four months more elapse before the stump is 

 left bare. . . . So far as our observations go, there is in nature 

 no recovery. Apparently all genuine cases of bud rot prove 

 fatal. 



