And New Guinea. Diseases of Coconuts (Cocos Nucifera) in Papua

Abstract

This article is intended to present a preliminary account of the important fungus and physiological diseases affecting the coconut palms in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. Several investigations were made previously per-war by officers of this Department when a suitable well equipped laboratory (later destroyed during the war) was available. It is considered, however, that sufficient data and recorded observations, although incomplete, are on hand to be of sound practical value to the local coconut planters; these may prove of general interest to investigators and others interested in the coconut and copra industry. A good deal of the information presented has been gleaned from unpublished departmental reports. Further, a study of the literature available from other countries proves most illuminating when their findings are compared with what obtains on plantations in this Territory.