The Life of Perennial Crops

Abstract

The length of life to be expected of many tropical crop plants, or even their economic or payable life, are subjects on which agricultural science is still rt:markably ignorant. This may be due partly to the short time in which agricultural scientists have been working in the tropics, and to lack of continuity on research stations' and plantations, where the life of a crop plant may often be longer than oneEuropean's working life. The object of this paper is to draw attention to our ignorance rather than our knowledge, of the subject, and to emphasize its importance for formulating agricultural policies in East Africa.