and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society,— January, 191S. 



"Ttf 



mulching between the bushes, ao that it had a 

 tendency to become woody, and when cut in 

 this state die out or form seed with little leaf 

 development, lndigofera anil is another plant 

 that does well in tea on certain soils. It has a 

 good branching habit and stands cutting well, 

 but like crotalaria becomes woody if left and is 

 then troublesome and expensive to remove. The 

 latest and best plant of the bushy kind is the 

 Tephrosia Candida ( Boga medeloa). It grows 

 luxuriantly from 1,000 to 3,000 ft. elevation and 

 yields more green material per acre than any 

 similar plant. In suitable soil it does not 

 flower early, but forms a dense leafy growth 

 with a gradually increasing layer of the 

 lower dead leaves. It stands cutting well, arid 

 one plot at Peradeniya planted in rows one foot 

 apart has yielded 58 92 tons of green material 

 fiom four cuttings in the year. This contained 

 approximately 2,639 lb. of nitrogen, which at 

 the equivalent value of nitrogen in sulphate of 

 ammonia would be worth over Rs. 1,300. In 

 general practice such a yield can hardly be ex- 

 pected, but even with one-fourth the amount 

 the improved value of the soil can be imagined. 

 In growing such a crop it must be remembered 

 that the 



MINERAL REQUIREMENTS ARE ALL TAKEN 



from the soil, and therefore compete with the 

 tea roots. Analysis shows the ash to contain 

 20 per cent, lime, 31 *6 per cent, potash and 7 '20 

 per cent, phosphoric acid. This drain on the 

 soil has to be supplied, and in order to get such 

 a large bulk of vegetable matter, it pays to 

 apply a mixture of lime, slag and sulphate of 

 potash to this growing crop such as is generally 

 given to tea at the time of pruning. In practice 

 it has been found that Dadaps, Erythrina htho- 

 sperma and Albizzia moluccana are the best 

 forms of green manure to grow in tea between 

 sea level and 4,000 foot as tbey interfere less 

 with weeding, and at the same time afford some 

 protection from wind, while yielding a large 

 amount of valuable leafy material. The dadap 



DOES NOT DO WELL BELOW 1,000, 



but between that and 4,000 grows very freely 

 if the soil is sufficiently porous. It has the ad- 

 vantage of growing freely from large cuttings 

 as well as stumps and seed, and with certain 

 precautions cansoon be established. It is always 

 advisable to hole properly for these plants, un- 

 less the soil and climate are particularly favour- 

 able, and much disappointment and loss of time 

 might have been saved had this precaution been 

 taken. It is also advisable to plant the cut- 

 tings within a few hours of making them, as 

 even a day's delay means the death of many. In 

 planting both dadaps and albizzias, it is always 

 advisable to put in one or two seeds with every 

 plant or stump, as it tends to insure a more im- 

 mediate successful planting, and save the l^ss of 

 the planting season and a year's growth. The best 

 way to treat the dadap for improving tea is to 

 lop across at 4 ft. or 5tt. when 10ft. high, and to 

 repeat this, whenever necessary, usually three or 

 four times during the year. If allowed to grow too 

 high it becomes expensive. The loppings 

 should be laid up every other line of tea after 

 a preliminary deep forking leaving the soil as 

 rough as possible. The following year or after 



tho next tea pruning the other line to be mul- 

 ched in the same way. There is no need to 

 bury if ground forked roots do not come up. At 

 Peradeniya tho dadap plot has given most satis- 

 factory results, no manure except a mixture of 

 basic slag 200 lb , and sulphate of potash, 601b., 

 having been applied at the last pruning in 

 October, 1909, and again just now when the 

 plot had run about 26 months between prunings. 



The total weight of dadap for the four years 

 was 80,4701b., and this at 0*285 per cent. Ditrogen, 

 equals 57*33 lb. of nitrogen per acre per annum. 

 This amount of nitrogen is usually applied 

 every second or third year in an artificial mix- 

 ture at a cost of about Rs. 30 per acre for the 

 nitrogen only, so that the value of this annual 

 increase of nitrogen and organic matter in the 

 soil can be estimated. The tea yields for the 

 last four years were : — 



1907 ... 767 1b. 1909 ... 1296 1b, 



19U8 ... 780 „ 1910 ... 1445 



1911 ... 1500 lb. about and pruning. 



The value of dadap manuring for tea is there- 

 fore apparent. I may add the dadap plot at 

 Denford over 4,000, has also given very satis- 

 factory results. The albizzia plot has also been 

 very good, but not quite so successful as the 

 dadap. It suits the low-country better than 

 dadaps and grow up to 5,000, but too slowly at 

 the latter elevation for green manuring purposes. 

 It stands wind better and does not require such 

 frequent lopping. Although the weight of 

 material per acre is less, the leaves have the 

 advantage of falling practically to powder on 

 drying, so that they become more evenly mixed 

 in the soil. The total yield of green material in 

 3Je years was 23,814 1b. which was mulched up 

 alternate lines resulting in an increased yield 

 from 621 lb. to 994 lb. per acre. The value o* 

 nitrogen in the loppings was Ks. 148. 



In some low-country distiicts albizzias can be 

 allowed to run up 40 x 40 or 28 per acre. These 

 plants are the most suitable for this district, and 

 far as I have seen are the ones now being adopted. 



Puuning. — This improvement of the tea can- 

 not take place, however, until the bushes are 

 in a condition to have a free flow of sap. Good 

 low pruning into clean wood below all knots is, 

 therefore, the hrst consideration if success is to 

 be obtain< d. There has been an immense 

 amount of waste from manuring without proper 

 pruning, as with old knotted branches it is 

 impossible to get a free flow of sap throu»h the 

 bushes, and any beneficial result is only tem- 

 porary. It is, of course, impossible to cut down 

 a whole estate in a round of pruning, but the 

 bushes can gradually be renovated Dy first 

 cutting below the kuots of all the branches, and 

 sawing off one or two of the worst branches 

 from close to the ground. At the next round 

 another branch can be sawn out low down, so 

 that the bush becomes practically a new one, 

 with good straight wood from the ground, and 

 a strong root development below. This new 

 wood should be cut at about 8 in. to induce 

 branching and g|*3 a ne>v spread as rapidly 

 as possible. (Oiien done at 15 in.- 18 is 

 a great mistake.) J All cuts should be short, 

 which means tiae knives must be kept 

 sharp. The general practice was to leave the 

 prunings on the surface, without forking or 



