Fiji Tapioca Crops
p. 41 · Read in the full issue
Threatened by Disease
From Our Own Correspondent
Suva, Nov. 6
11APIOCA, the main food crop in many Fijian villages, is threatened by a disease which has been spreading throughout Viti Levu for some time un checked. There is now the possibility of an acute food shortage in villages in all parts of the island.
Stating that the only remedy is to dig up and completely burn every diseased tapioca plant, the Agriculture Depart ment has launched an all-out campaign, with the aid of the press, radio and dis plays of posters and photographs, to stamp out the menace, A tragic feature of the disease is that it has been unwittingly spread by Fijians who, mistaking the curled, frilled leaves of the diseased plants for a new variety of tapioca, have named the infected plants “Lautoka” or “Makogai” and sent them as gifts to friends or relatives for planting in disease-free areas.
The disease is caused bv a virus, and cannot be cured by any known treatment with insecticides or fungicides. It usually stunts the growth of the plant, reduces the yield of tapioca tubers by more than half, and causes soil infection for at least two years after the diseased olants are dug out.