06-bioresourcesstatu.. - M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

the islands for coir production. The Micro
population has been considerably reduced in all
the islands and agriculture census 1991 indicated
that 2 % of the palm population in the islands are
Micro variety.
Till the beginning of the 20" century the people of
Kalpeni, Androth and Kiltan preferred Micro
variety for the reason that they could transport
the coconut with the husk. They were sold in
Calicut, Mangalore and Cannanore. There was a
great demand for such Micro varieties in the
Mainland for pooja purposes and to make the best
quality of desiccated copra. Brokers from Kerala
took this variety on a large scale and in turn
supplied to cities like Bombay, Ahmedabad,
Lucknow, and Nagpur etc.
c. Other crops
Sailani variety of banana with a thick skin was
well known culinary variety. The variety was also
known for its medicinal value for stomach
disorders and urinary complaints. Crops other
than coconut cultivated are: Bread fruit, Banana,
Colocasia, Moringa, Cow pea, Papaya, betel Vine,
Pumpkin, Water melon, sweet potato, curry leaf,
lemons and grape fruit or chakotra lemons. There
are a few mango trees in the islands of Kalpeni,
Andrott, Kavaratti and Agatti. Lemon was also
cultivated by the people of Androth and Chetlat.
All the trees were uprooted during the 1965, 78
and 79 cyclones.
d. Animal Husbandry
Goats were introduced into the islands from the
time human habitation took place. The early
settlers brought with them a special breed of short
legged goats from the Malabar coast. This variety
has now assumed the status of local variety. These
goats are well adapted to the island environment.
They eat the grass that grows below the coconut
trees after the monsoon, but will also feed on sea
Weeds and casuarina needles. The agriculture
department has tried to introduce other breeds
such as Jamanapari, Thalicheri and Malabari
from the mainland. The islanders however reject
them since they require more care and are not as
hardy as the local variety of dwarf goats.
Pallam Abdusala (1924-2001) of Kadmat was the
biggest goat rearer in the islands. He had a stock
of more than 100 goats per year until 1980. He
became the Amin of Kadmat in 1976 and there
after his goat rearing interest waned and by 1980
was no longer a big goat owner. Big stocks of dwarf
119
Lakshadweep Islands
variety of goats can be seen in the islands of
Kadmat, Kiltan , Androth and Minicoy.
During the olden days a thick growih of grass of
variety Paspalam called Ola Kul was found in
abundance in the uninhabited parts of the islands.
At this time the coconut plantation was not so
dense and it was possible to rear livestock. People
of Kiltan, Andrott, Kalpeni and Kadmat reared
Milch cows also when growth of Paspalam grass
was in abundance. People of other islands used to
pay long visits to Andrott and Kiltan in order to
feed the infants, children and elderly milk.
Animal Husbandry schemes in retrospect of cattle
and goat rearing are now discouraged for the fact
that cultivation of fodder is not possible due to the
limited fresh water supply. Here itis worth
mentioning that the only recouping source of
water'is rain. 80 % of the rainfall is lost by run off
and only 20% percolates to the aquifer.
Cattle and Goat rearing is not practiced in large
scale in the islands due to the limitation of fodder
available. Every household owns one or two goats.
These goats are generally tended by the women
and children of the household and are mainly
reared for slaughter during the Bakrid festival.
e. Pests and Diseases
Rat menace: This is a severe problem for coconut
production. This pest is endemic in the islands.
They destroy nuts at all stages while maximum
damage is caused to tender coconuts of 3\12 and 4%
months maturity. The rats make a small hole of
about 5-6 em diameter near the stalk portion of
the nut. The rats generally bore the stalks of the
tender part of the nuts. The observation is made in
this regard showed that the boring at Kalpeni was
on the larger nat surface of the nut.
During 1930's one of the inspection officers from
Malabar collectorate reported that rat menace in
Laccadives was more than 50% of the total nut
production. During the 1960's the damage level
was surveyed in all the islands and on an average
the loss in production was accounted for 40 - 45%.
Maximum damage observed in the islands of
Andrroth, Kalpeni and Minicoy, 58%, 6% and 54%
respectively.
The administration started rodent control
programmes commencing from 1965-1966.
Necessary consultation in this regard was made
with the CPCRI, Kasargod. The following
disciplines were recommended by the ICAR and
Implemented.