Disease Theatens Taro

Crops in BSI

From our Own correspondent

Honiara, May 17.

fTIARO crops in the Shortlands (BSD J. have suffered heavily through an outbreak of some taro disease. It was first observed three years ago and identified in the Australian territories is months later as Phytophthora colo casia. It has caused consternation among native garden growers, since taro is the principal item of their diet, The Administration, on the advice of the Agricultural Department, instituted strict plant sanitation which, although not 100 per cent, effective, contributed largely to the regeneration of clean taro beds, From the Shortlands the disease hopped to the north-western end of Choiseul and appears now to be work ing its way to the south-eastern side.

BSI agricultural officers have been ob serving the disease on Choiseul and think that it may next make its way to taro crops on other islands.

The disease is thought to have been endemic and to have become epidemic through some indeterminable cause— possibly through a combination of cer tain climatic conditions. ’The spore might be airborne from island to island, or might be carried by canoe. Phythoph thora colocasia in small patches can be controlled with Bordeaux mixture spray but this is not practicable in a wide spread attack. Effective plant sanitation is almost equally difficult to enforce in

Bsi.

It is thought that there is no cause for great alarm. Taro will certainly be

in short supply for a while, but in the Shortlands depleted gardens are already beginning to stage a recovery and it will not now be necessary to import new planting material from unaffected islands.

The Choiseul epidemic is expected to be similarly but a passing phase, which is being closely watched by the district agricultural officer.

Mr. A. W. L. Savage, CMG, was recently appointed Governor and Commander-in- Chief of Barbados. From 1935 to 1939

Mr. Savage was Deputy Treasurer, Fiji.

Prom Fiji Mr. Savage went to Palestine and in 1946 to Nigeria.