DWARF COCONUT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 285, 1 December 1936, Page 5

DWARF COCONUT.

FIJI EXPERIMENTS

MYCOLOGIST VISITS N.Z,

PEASANTRY ESTABLISHMENT

Some people are never at a loss, and of this type must be 'the officers of the Department of Agriculture in Fiji When hurricanes blew down coconut trees, these research officers carried <\ut a number of experiments in hybridisation and produced a dwarf coconut tree that grew just as good a coconut as the elongated variety, but was too small to be greatly menaced by gales.

With this sort of problem to play with, it is no wonder that Mr. B. E. Parnhani, a Cliristchurch mail, who is now plant mycologist with the Department of Agriculture in Fiji, finds his work interesting. Mr. Parnhani lias come to New Zealand on furlough following a visit to Queensland and Xew South Wales, where he has carried out a*n investigation into various aspects of the growing of bananas, pineapples and citrus fruits.

Shivering with the cold of a late spring day in Cliristchurch, Mr. Parnham talked interestingly of his work (states the "Star-Sun"). He was, he said, chiefly occupied with the control and eradication of plant diseases, notably in regard to bananas.

The banana industry in Fiji was entirely in the hands of native Fijians, Mr. Parnham said. Failure of crops through disease had discouraged the Indians and other growers. The main difficulty now was to find markets. Australia had imposed duties that practically prohibited the importation of bananas from Fiji. New Zealand had imposed a quota which was diminishing. At present, the Department was engaged in the experiment of exporting to Canada. This new market was 10 days' sail from Suva, but it had been shown that the fruit could be landed in excellent condition.

Strong Competition. Competition was very strong from the United Fruit Company, which supplied fruit from South America, but the Fijian bananas were better flavoured and there was the added advantage of a preferential tariff. The Canadian market, though small at present, would considerably relieve the situation.

A branch of liis work concerning which Mr. Parnham is particularly enthusiastic is the attempt of the Government to establish an independent Fijian peasantry. There were now 00,000 Fijians and 80,000 Indians in the Islands. The setting up of the Fijians as independent farmers was a means of ensuring their survival in securing a living against the competition of the Indians. Under the old communal sys» tern, it did not pay the natives to farm their land. They leased it to the Indians. The Government had established a training centre and was placing its trainees on small farms. The natives were adaptable and did very well. Communal System. The communal system had a number of disadvantages, but it was difficult to replace, as it simplified the task of administration, and was so deep-rooted in Fijian tradition. Under the communal system, the natives might suspend all work for a feast on the very day that they were required to cut bananas for shipment. That meant that the Government had to pay for dead space on the ship. Such difficulties were eliminated when the natives farmed their own land.

The Department of Agriculture was also paying attention to the development of subsidiary crops. These included tobacco and derris, which was the base of sheep dips and other insecticides. One movement which was meeting with considerable success was the drying' of copra by the natives in kilns. Copra had previously been dried in the sun, which detracted from the quality of the product. Mr. Parnham added that he was satisfied with the result of his visit to Australia. He was spending part of h » time on furlough in NewZealaiKlonthc preparation of a report for his Go\ern ment based on his investigations into tie treatment of diseases and other factors in the tropical fruits trade.