Proceedings of the South & East African combined agricultural, cotton, entomological and mycological conference held at Nairobi, August, 1926

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1738588467

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-115043

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Proceedings of the South & East African combined agricultural, cotton, entomological and mycological conference held at Nairobi, August, 1926

Place of publication:: Nairobi

Publisher:: East African Standard

Year of publication:: 1926

Scope:: VI, 337 Seiten; Ill.

Digitisation:: 2020

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Part II. Agriculture

Collection:: Economics Books

oo PARTI Mr. WORTLEY observed that buckwheat had the advantage of regenerating itself under certain conditions. Mr. TRENCH said that they had found that buckwheat had choked Macdonaldi; it kept down weeds and cleared the shamba in two years. Mr. KIRKHAM asked if any study had been made of the rate of loss of nitrogen from soil. He experimented with the red soil at Ngong and Kyambu, and found that in a period of nine or ten years the humus and nitrogenous matter had been reduced by 509%; this worked out at a loss of humus equivalent to ten tons of farmyard manure per acre per annum on soil with no cover crop. Maize crop soil would have more cover than coffee shambas. He thought that this was an important matter, emphasising the necessity of soil cover in connection with the subject of manuring. He was especially interested in this question in connection with the soils of Zanzibar, where they had some light soils which undoubtedly wanted some introduction of humus. If the green manures which Mr. Beckley had been speaking about were suitable for an altitude of 4,000 ft., he would be glad to receive suggestions for the coast districts. Mr. BECKLEY said that experiments had been for the higher altitude; but velvet bean and pigeon pea might be most suitable. Mr. KIRBY stated that the bonavist or lablab bean did very well at sea level in Tanganyika. Mr. TRENCH said that an interesting experiment had been made during the year with bituminous paper mulch; this had been used for a crop of cotfee and in nine months 1t was at least 6 inches taller than the adjoining trees, which had no mulch at all. The mulch also served to keep the soil damp in dry weather. Mr. KIRKHAM observed that Mr. Beckley had told them that the soil was very deficient in phosphates. With regard to this question, he had been making enquiries concerning Seychelles guano, but 1t was very ditiicult to obtain information. Seychelles guano was supposed to contain approximately 609%, calcium phosphates; the cost denvered at Zanzibar tor 400 ton lots was £3 10s. per ton. THE CHAIRMAN (Mr. Holm) said that the position with regard to the transport of Seychelles guano was that the British India Line was not permitted to carry on its passenger steamers more than 25 tons of guano at a time; this was insufficient, except for individual needs. 'I'ne Company had informed him that if there were sufficient trade with the East African territories they could organise the sailing of steamers to carry about 400 tons. In Kenya, at the present time, they had about reached the position when orders could be placed for these small ship loads, and he thought that Zanzibar's present requirements might be met by the 25 ton lots transported by passenger steamer. He would like to support the views expressed by Mr. Simpson as to the value which Mr. Beckley’s paper might have on conditions of agriculture in East Africa in the future. He did not think that there was any doubt in the minds of those who had looked into the subject that, despite the fact that the soils of those territories as a whole possessed high productive capacity, there were to be found soil problems which it was the duty of Departments of Agriculture to investigate. = The great difficulty in his experience had always been ple

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