Jamaica Farming
From many decades, agriculture has been the common
industry in Jamaica. This island
boasts a wide range of soils, as
well as weather conditions,
which makes it suitable for
practically all the tropical
plants and food to be grown in
all the areas. The main economic
crops happen to be sugar,
citrus, bananas, cocoa, coconuts
and coffee. Some of them will be
looked at briefly and also
highlighting how some of
the effects of sugar cane
farming in Jamaica.
The coconut, sugar cane, ginger
and rice was introduced to
Jamaica from the Far Eastern
nations; bananas came out of the
Canary Islands; mangoes and
limes from India; cocoa from
Southern America; ackee fruit
from Africa and breadfruit
received from Tahiti.
Pimento is actually cultivated
mostly in Trelawny, St. Ann, St
Elizabeth and Manchester. The
ginger will grow nicely in
Jamaica, particularly in areas
with elevations more than 2,000
feet above the level of
the sea. The logwood tree which
produces dye can be found in the
plains of St Elizabeth, St.
Catherine and Clarendon.
The sugar cane can be cultivated
on a wide selection of soil as
well as weather conditions. The
alluvial plains in Clarendon and
St Catherine which contain a
large quantity of humus are
actually ideal for
this crop in Jamaica. Generally,
flat or slightly undulating land
will be best, since the flat
land will make it much more
convenient if the cultivation is
carried out with mechanical
equipment or hand, as
well as transporting the canes
to the required factory.
Throughout Jamaica the
cultivation of sugar cane will
vary in the different parishes
based on the prevailing
conditions, nonetheless the
actual trend will be for more
mechanization, since it is
depended on
manual labor.
The beautiful sunshine in
Jamaica is one of the important
components for cultivating the
sugar cane and this can
determine to a great extent the
actual sucrose content for the
cane juice. Prior to the launch
of equipment, the smaller
factories which crushed the cane
with windmills, were generally
located on the elevated lands in
order to take advantage of the
wind. However, in current times
the larger main
factories such as Monymusk and
Frome are located in places
where transportation is now
somewhat convenient.
The sugar cane farming in
Jamaica is actually disseminated
by cuttings and will be grown in
rows approximately 1.5 meters or
4 ft 6 inches away from one
another. The plants require
extensive farming to
generate acceptable results. The
molding must be done as soon as
the plants reach around 0.5 m
or18 inches high and the areas
should be free from all weeds.
Even though irrigation will be
required on many
estates, an excellent drainage
is important and the earth
should not become waterlogged.
The harvest will take anywhere
between 12 to 18 months in order
to reach maturity and the very
first crop reaped out of the
cuttings are generally called
the plant canes. In the event
that the stools or
roots remained in the ground,
this will produce new shoots and
will be referred to as rations.
Some of the by-products from the
sugar cane include the famous
Jamaican rum, molasses, power
alcohol, a food for cattle which
is made from the internal
cellulose fiber of the cane,
molascuit and a variety of
bagasse, like the fiberboard
well-known as paper pulp of
Celotex.
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