disasters and agriculture in the pacific islands - Pacific Disaster Net

a)to coconuts is evident from their willingness toreplant. The 1993 Agricultural Censusrecorded over 400,000 coconuts were plantedduring the 1992-93 season, nearly all by smallholders,1993 possibly being the peak plantingyear. Approximately 20 per cent wereimproved variety hybrid nuts. This is a quitedifferent situation from Fiji, Tonga or Samoawhere there has been virtually no replanting,despite cajoling by government.Cocoa evolved in equatorial latitudes notsubject to cyclones, yet it is reasonably cyclonetolerant, except to continual salt spray. Thetree is elastic and has a deep taproot thatanchors it and makes it quite drought tolerant.After a cyclone, damaged branches need to beremoved and the tree pruned if it is to have areasonable recovery. Cyclones cause the lossof the current crop or flowers, and may stripthe leaves, but cocoa does not need leaves toinduce flowering, and the stress of a hurricanecan even accelerate flowering. The humiditybrought by a cyclone can, however, increasethe incidence of black pod disease (Phytophthorapalmivora) as the wind spreads the fungal sporeswidely. Cherelles (small pods) tend to drop dueto physiological wilt. Flower cushions, whichare the points on the tree where the pods areformed, are damaged when mature pods areripped off or twisted, making this areasusceptible to fungal invasions. Branchesfalling from shade trees can damage cocoatrees, and the loss of shade trees can alsoimpair the development of young cocoa trees,for they require 50 per cent shade for optimalgrowth.Breadfruit an important seasonal subsistencecrop, can tolerate poor saline soils but notsustained salt spray. The trees grow tall withrelatively thin and weak trunks and often suffermuch damage during cyclones. While mostwill survive, they will lose most of their fruitand take around 12 months to recover.Pruning of the branches before a cyclone canreduce damage and hasten recovery. Cuttingoff damaged branches after the cyclone willalso accelerate re-growth.Indigenous nuts. Vanuatu has a wide range ofnutritious forest nuts, which contributesignificantly to food security. The navele, whichis an important food source with significantcommercial prospects, are resistant tocyclones. The trees are deep rooted andstrongly anchored.Their foliage will recoverand thrive on the natural pruning caused bystrong winds, and fruiting will return to normalwithin a year. This contrasts markedly to themacadamia nut, an introduced nut species witha shallow root system which will seldomsurvive its economic life in high risk hurricaneareas such as Vanuatu. A macadamia project atDevils Point on Efate failed due to cyclonedamage. The main flowering season for naveleis towards the end of the cyclone season,although some varieties fruit most of the year.An early cyclone can see the trees recoveringin time for the main production period. A la tecyclone can ca use the loss of the current year'sproduction, but the trees will be back inproduction by the next season. Navele trees areevidently also quite tolerant to acid soil andacid rain caused by volcanic activity.The nangai, another important food nut, is aneven stronger tree which has characteristicssimilar to a mango in the face of a cyclone.The tree will lose leaves and branches willbreak, but the tree will seldom be blown downand may even benefit from the 'pruning.' Nangaire-growth is quick, although usually less sothan the navele. An advantage of the nangai froma food security perspective is that it fruits inSeptember and October, prior to the hurricaneseason.Namambe, or the Tahitian chestnut, is foundthroughout the Pacific islands and, in season, is asupplementary staple just as kumala and plantainare. This large, deep-rooted tree is quite tolerantof a high water table and poorly drained soil. Itcan survive the severest cyclones and is droughttolerant. The cyclone may break the branchesand blow some fruit off, but most will adhere tothe branches. The kernel can be maintained forup to a week in the fruit, but it is perishable onceremoved and needs to be cooked (usually boiled)almost immediately. Namambe kernels areparticularly nutritious, being low in fat, high incarbohydrates, and very filling, making it anideal famine food, particularly as its fruitingseason coincides with the peak of the cycloneseason.