Notes on agriculture in Cyprus and its productsBevan, William
History
Notes on agriculture in Cyprus and its products
Bevan, William
Agriculture -- Cyprus; Produce trade -- Cyprus
The good prices obtained have led, particularly in the Famagusta
district and in what are called the "red earth" villages, to much
activity and no small outlay in the matter of water-supply and
distribution, and in the use of chemical manures.
The custom has grown up for importers to send their seed potatoes for
planting in the higher parts of the Island. The produce therefrom is
exchanged with growers in the plains, who send up their plain-grown
tubers as seed to the cultivators in the hills. Merchants often
stipulate with the hill-growers that they shall have their crop at an
agreed, and generally a fairly high, figure. In this manner degeneration
of the seed has been retarded; but owing to the difficulty of obtaining
seed from outside during the war a certain amount of degeneration has
taken place.
Only one crop can be grown in the hills during the year, but in the
plains two crops are obtained. The one is planted in January and is dug
in May-June; the other is planted in July and dug in November. It is
found that the tubers lifted in the summer suffer greatly from the heat,
and heavy losses occur from rot, whether the tubers remain in the ground
or if they are dug and stored; and it is a question whether, when these
losses are taken into account, the summer crop is really profitable.
The average yield is sometimes put at 2,000 okes per donum, but 1,600
okes, or 2 tons, is probably a more accurate figure.
_Kolokas_ (_Colocasia antiquorum_)
This is a favourite food of the villager, but can only be grown where
there is an ample water-supply and on heavy land that holds the water.
It is an exhausting crop. The root only is eaten. It is sown in
March-April and dug about October-November.
_Onions_
These are generally grown, especially in the Paphos district; Famagusta
and Limassol following in the order named. The Paphos onions are
supposed to have particularly good keeping qualities. Both round
("strongyla") and long varieties ("tolmalikia") are grown; the latter
have less fleshy scales than the former.
Onions are grown either in irrigated gardens or in "livadhia," or
low-lying lands which retain their moisture, no irrigation being needed.
They are propagated by means of "konari" or bulblets. Lapithos in the
Kyrenia district makes a speciality of producing these from seed and
supplying them to the whole Island, although onions are grown for market
only on a limited scale in that area. The method is to plant out the
full-grown onions (locally called "mammes") and leave them to ripen
their seed. The seed is sown in February-March, at the rate of 20-25
okes per donum, from which some 3,000 okes of "konari" are raised. These
are then sold for planting out in October-November-December at the rate
of 40-50 okes per donum.
Onions are grown either in rows or broadcast. The native variety has the
outer scales of a reddish colour, but these have largely given way to
superior imported kinds.
FODDERS AND FEEDING STUFFS
_Carob Tree_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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