Clones, Fertilisers, Gratuity

They’Re Free In Bwi!

Clones, Fertilisers, Gratuity for Cocoa Planters

COCOA planters in the British West Indies are getting a free distribution of high-yielding clones from the Department of Agriculture, free fertilisers until the trees reach maturity, and a gratuity for every tree as soon as it reaches bearing age.

These handouts are part of a Gov ernment scheme which is expected to triple production of cocoa in that Colony in the next three years.

Mr. D. R. A. Eden, general man ager of the New Zealand Reparation Estates in Western Samoa, ex plained the scheme in the April issue of the South Pacific Com mission Bulletin. He said that no better way to stimulate production had yet been discovered, and that the mechanics of the scheme were not beyond the scope of any of the Agriculture Departments in the cocoa-growing territories of the SPC region.

The BWI Department has set up propagating stations with large nurseries for selected clones. From these are drawn the greenwood cuttings for propagation and distri bution to planters. The station at La Pastora, in Trinidad, is probably the largest of its kind in the world.

It produces 300,000 rooted cuttings a year for the planters, and its pro pagating boxes, hardening facilities and shaded storage sheds cover acres of land.

Some of the clones were originally selected by the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture. In Trinidad and Tobago, varieties ICS (1) and (95) are the most popular. Planta tions of these have yielded as much as 2,000 pounds of cocoa (dry weight) per acre a year.

The Imperial College has, m Trinidad, a new centrifugal humidi fier for rapid propagation. It pro duces a thin fog of water vapour which maintains maximum humidity in a frosted glass house, and regulates the heat generated inside by the sun. Propagation takes from 16 to 20 days. Another seven days

are allowed for the roots to penetrate the bamboo basket con tainers. The cuttings are then given two months’ hardening in slat covered bush houses before distri bution and planting under shade.

Although the machine is regarded as a definite improvement on older methods, it is not u?ed at the La Pastora and other stations in BWI.

These still use the glass-lidded box type propagators for which a sat isfactory routine has been evolved.

Mr. Eden in his article said that, according to reports at the last Lon don cocoa conference, 200,000 tons of cocoa beans are lost annually through pests and diseases. The toll of capsids, swollen shoot, witch’s broom and black pod was

heavy. In the Gold Coast planta tions in 1953, an average of 574,000 trees were cut down every month because of swollen shoot. fl Miss Anne Hendy-Pooley returned home to Sydney on June 26 after working for a year in Noumea. She is making hurried preparations for her wedding in August to Mr. John rWheelock, American Vice-Consul in Noumea. Afterwards the couple will go to America and await Mr.

Wheelock’s new consular appoint ment.

U Dr. Erich Boltze, German Min ister in New Zealand, paid a visit to Western Samoa in May, travelling by air.