Cover Crops.
p. 31 · Read in the full issue
Growing Use In Coconut Plantations.
THE use of cover crops, to keep down the grass in coconut plantations, is spreading rapidly in New Guinea and the Solomons. It represents a big reduction in plantation labour.
In New Guinea, Mr. Murray, director of agriculture, has introduced gala pagonium, a broad-leaved, leguminous plant which spreads rapidly, chokes out grass, fern and the weed known as “sensitive plant,” and which definitely enriches the soil.
A few plantations near Rabaul are already almost covered with Galapago nium, and the planters have thereby saved the cost of the considerable labour gang kept for grass-cutting. The cover crop method is now being gener ally adopted by the overseers of Messrs.
W. R, Carpenter and Co’s, plantations.
In the Solomons, Messrs. Lever are using Desmodium Triflorum as a cover crop on their plantations. It achieves the same purpose as Galapagonium, but has a definite fodder value.