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

PART 11. that a great number of plants could be distributed to peasants and grown by them without unduly interfering with their ordinary agricultural pursuits. We see the ordinary robusta growing in twos or threes around native compounds, thriving without much attention or care, but of course being amply nourished by a mulch of old banana stems and other vegetable waste. These are ideal conditions I consider on account of the gross feeding nature of Robusta. It has a further suitability to native conditions which I consider of very great importance. It is this, the tree if left to grow ad libitum will develop into a perfectly balanced tree, always producing fresh primaries capable of carrying heavy crops. I do not think that you will find on a naturally developed tree any secondary growth or other superfluous wood. It follows therefore that the native can plant the tree, give it ordinary care during the early stages, and then leave it to look after itself. It has still a further advantageous character from the point of view of suitability to native cultivation, in its long cropping period. Unlike C. arabica you do not have the bulk of the crop coming on all at once and having to be picked within a few weeks. The ripening is gradual, rising to a maximum cropping period round about December- January-February, usually a slack period in field work. There would be no undue rush with the harvesting and probably much less wastage than there might be if the crop had to be handled within a short time. I think these remarks all apply equally to the crop under European management. I see no reason why Robusta could not be allowed to grow ad lib. under plantation conditions; the system would answer perfectly. With wider spacing than that given to Arabica the trees could be allowed a free development and in about ten years or so would reach their maximum vegetative development. Then with ordinary cultural treatment they would remain so, yielding year by year, for a generation and more. I have had trees in native compounds under observation for the past 12 years and they appear to be the same to-day as when I first saw them; they do not seem to have increased in diameter or height, but they have been yielding year in and year out. Picking the cherry from these large trees is not a matter of great difficulty. Many of the branches can be pulled down, and many of them are low enough to be picked in the ordinary way. Small steps will facilitate the picking of the high branches. This brings us to the treatment of the tree, and I should say at once that I am opposed to pruning where robusta is concerned. In commenting on the low yields of our Robusta in the Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture, Uganda, for the year 1922, I made the following statement: — +" These are undoubtedly low yields for Robusta and they are too poor to be accounted for by the incidence of low yields following high. The fault lies, it would appear, in applying the system of pruning coffee arabica to these trees; they will not accommodate themselves to it, and from our experience we would recommend that Robusta be allowed to grow ad lib., or at least abandon to a very great extent the drastic prunings practised on the trees hitherto.”” 1 would add to that statement by saying that the maximum yields from Robusta can be got only by allowing the normal development of the tree. 61

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