560 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



PARA SEED AND B AMBOO POTS. 



The following is a letter, dated 7th May, 1909, 

 from Mr. Ridley, Director of the Botanic Gar- 

 dens, Singapore, to Mr. Craig: — 



'• 1 am sorry you had so poor a result from the 

 rubber seeds. The season is over now, and no 

 more will be procurable for some months, but 

 when they are we can send you some to make 

 up. Are you sure ycu planted them right, 

 soaked in water for a day, and not planted 

 beneath ground ? Do not use bamboo pots in 

 future. It is never satisfactory and very rarely 

 indeed requisite. I know it is often done, but 

 I have seen very bad results from it. Plant in 

 a bed, and move the young plants out when 

 ready, you cannot properly water seeds in a 

 bamboo pot. We never use them at all for 

 anything." — Journal oj the Jamica Agricultural 

 Society, Sept., 1909. 



COCONUT DI SEASE IN JAMAICA. 



While he was in the west end, MrCradwick 

 carried through some experiments in spraying 

 coconut trees with Bordeaux Mixture, and he is t , 

 still following up the disease in the east end. 

 Because we have bud rot disease here, people 

 must not run away with the idea that all coconut 

 trees that die, apparently from the top, have 

 died from bud rot disoase. Many coconut trees 

 die through unsuitable soil conditions, not only 

 through lack of drainage, but sometimes through 

 poverty of soil; and when the roots become dis- 

 eased, as the coconut grows from the cabbage or 

 bud, the growing point becomes unhealthy 

 also. The lowest leaves then yellow and droop, 

 and decay, the bud or cabbage becomes 

 more diseased, more and more leaves decay, 

 until only one or two of the latest leaves 

 are left green and then soon follow the others. 

 The yellowing of the leaves, however, is not 

 always a sign of disease; continued drought 

 might cause the leaves to yellow, a poor or un- 

 drained soil might have the same effect. It is 

 always a safe plan, if there is no continued 

 drought, and the young leaves are seen to be 

 withering more than would happen ordinarily 

 to send a boy up to examine the cabbage. If 

 this part is diseased it tells in the smell. If 

 taken in time the cabbage may be treated with 

 Bordeaux Mixture, which is made of sulphate 

 of copper and lime. The usual way, and an 

 effective way of treating all diseases that affect 

 the top of a coconut tree is to burn the trash 

 and so scorch the top. This, curiously enough, 

 does not kill the tree, though if the burn is too 

 severe it does — but of course it may take a year 

 or so for the tree to recover and begin bearing 

 again. But the burning cures the bud rot. 



The true bud rot disease is now supposed to 

 be a bacterial disease, and the spores are 

 carried by the wind, but we think the same 

 rule applies as with all other plants and ani- 

 mals, too, that the disease does not readily 

 attack perfectly healthy trees, because 

 then all coconut trees would be liable to 

 be attacked and die. The bacteria is pro- 

 bably only able to take effect on trees that 

 are already unhealthy, through some un- 

 favourable conditions. So that while trees 

 may not die out entirely through lack of drai- 

 nage or poverty of soil, these drawbacks may 



cause in them such weakness as to lay thorn 

 open to the action of the bacteria of bud rot. 



The first item to look at by those who have 

 coconut trees is that the drainage is good, and 

 that any trees that are standing in poor soil get 



A DOSE OF GOOD MANURE TO STIMULATE THEM. 



We have in mind a number of coconut trees, 

 everyone was apparently about to die out ; 

 the leaves yellowed and dropped so much that 

 there was only a tuft left at the top. As the soil 

 was gravelly and the drought was severe, it was 

 evident that there was no lack of drainage. The 

 cabbage too had not gone wrong. As the trees 

 were worth saving, the grass was clean weeded 

 around them and cows tethered to each tree as 

 the most convenient way of conserving manure 

 and moisture. Of course all the trees were not 

 done at onetime, and this method could not be 

 so easily carried through on a very large estate. 

 The cattle were hand-fed, and after being a 

 week at each tree the ground was loosened up 

 and mulched. The effects were marvellous — 

 there was soon no sign of disease about the 

 trees, they put out fresh leaves and soon bore 

 and bore well every time. Even though the 

 cabbage may rot, the trouble may not always be 

 the bud rot disease. The true bud rot is a very 

 serious trouble, and one prominent coconut 

 grower thought so seriously of it, that he asked 

 the Society to recommend to the Government 

 the compulsory burning of all dead coconut 

 trees. All coconut growers in their own in- 

 terests, should never allow a dead coconut tree 

 to stand rotting, as these trees soon become the 

 home of pests of various kinds. — Journal oj 

 the Jamaica Agricultural Society, for September. 



COCONUT DIS EASE IN SOUTHERN SEA 



Following the appearance of an inter- 

 view in our issue of March 23rd last, 

 with Mr Geo. Compere, the West Australian 

 Entomologist, in which he mentioned a new 

 Coconut Pest in "New Guinea," the Secretary, 

 Ceylon Agricultural Society, corresponded on 

 the subject with the Director of Agriculture in 

 the British territory and eventually (after some 

 reference back) received the following reply : — 



Territory of Papua, Department of Agriculture, Port 

 Moresby, 13th September, 19u9. 



The Secretary, Ceylon Agricultural Society, Colombo. 



Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of 

 your letter No. 1757 of the 19th July last, enclosing a news- 

 paper cutting containing the remarks of Mr Compere re- 

 gauling an alleged plant-louse disease which he had heard 

 was killing the coconut trees on " one of the New Guinea 

 Islands." So far as the British portion of New Guinea is 

 concerned I have no hesitation in saying that the statement 

 is devoid of all foundation. We have an estimated area 

 of 3-15,000 acres of native-owned and plantation coconut 

 trees, and I have never seen or heard of a single tree in the 

 territory having been killed by disease. Enquiries from 

 planters and others have failed to reveal the slightest 

 trace of the disease mentioned by Mr Compere. — I have 

 the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant, (Sgd.) 



StaNIFORTH Smith, Director of Agriculture. 



The following was the reference to the matter 

 in our interview with Mr Compere : — 



When he was in the East, Mr Compere heard from a 

 large copra merchant that in one of the New Guinea 

 Islands the coconut plantations were being gradually 

 destroyed by a plant louse which attacked the tree and 

 killed it. Mr Compere did not personally see the devasta- 

 tions, but he had no reason to hesitate in accepting what 

 his informant told him. However, he simply gave the 

 information on hearsay, but he thought that as Ceylon 

 was a coconut-producing country, those interested might 

 make enquiries and be prepared in case the danger ever 

 appears in Ceylon. 



