PRESIDENT ORDERS ONE BILLION GLIRICIDIA SAPLINGS TO BE PLANTED ON TREE PLANTING DAY.
Posted on October 22nd, 2016
Susantha Wijesingh
MR. PRESIDENT ! No malice intended, but what is sensational in the GLIRICIDIA PLANT ? What I know of the Gliricidia Plant, is that it is planted for Fences, and its leaves are given to the GOATS, as their food. Do we have so many GOATS to feed ? The leaves could be used as fertilizer too. Apparently, somebody misled you. I stand to be corrected.
Many a time I have opined in this forum, that we should, for a start, plant atleast a 5000 Bread Fruit—DEL Trees, and a 5000 Jack Fruit—KOS trees, all over the Country, so that NO ONE will ever have to go hungry in Sri Lanka. With additional effort, the quantity to be planted could be doubled. The Ministry of Agriculture, and the Department of Agriculture could participate in a BIG way to provide the saplings. Every Member of Parliament should throw their effort to this program, and harness all the Schools in the Country to join the effort too.
What is the greatest priority ? PLANTS THAT PROVIDE A SOURCE OF FOOD for the people of Sri Lanka, ? or Leaves for an intended Goat Population ?
I do hope that the President will use his wisdom and insight, to change his mind, in preference for plants that supply a source of food to the people of Sri Lanka.
There is a Country , where their Staple Food is Bread Fruit, and they Export 40 count gunny bags internationally. I just cannot remember the name of the Country, now, but will indicate it as my memory refreshes.
October 22nd, 2016 at 3:42 pm
The Country that I refer to in my last Para is JAMAICA. Their Staple Food is BREAD FRUIT.
Fiji too Export it as a minor crop to NEW ZEALAND.
October 22nd, 2016 at 5:20 pm
“I do hope that the President will use his wisdom and insight,…”
I wish Sri Lankan goats would use thier insight and wisdom to make sure they don’t eat this foriegn stuff but fight for thier traditional “Kos Kola” food.
October 22nd, 2016 at 5:28 pm
Good suggestion here by Susantha. Thank you, Susantha !
——-
Bread fruit & Jak can provide hearty meals in Lanka for many long years.
Grown from seeds, it may take about 10 yrs for both these types of trees to produce fruit, but the wait is worthwhile. Both are hardy trees. It is said that Jak trees can exist up to a 100 yrs.
Panadura produced a true Son of Lanka – he was called ‘Kos etta Dias’ as he went around giving the people Jak seeds to plant. This was during British colonial times. I guess the trees he helped plant are still around.
October 22nd, 2016 at 6:06 pm
I have heard a (mythical ? ) story “Bread Fruit” on the other hand was introduced to Sri Lanka to poison Sinhala Buddhists, but when they were planted, they became non-poisonous. We had the biggest DEL tree I have ever seen. We rarely eat becuase our partents thought “too hot ( giniyam)” for the body. We eat the fried strips with Kitul trecel.
October 22nd, 2016 at 6:13 pm
About a true Son of Lanka, Mr Arthur V.Dias, here is a brief write up about him – his life and the times when he lived in Lanka.
May there be many thousands like him !
Arthur Vincent Dias
Born February 10, 1886
Panadura
Died July 31, 1960 (aged 74)
Nationality Sri Lankan
Other names Kos Mama
Ethnicity Sinhala
Education St Thomas’ College
St. John’s College Panadura
Occupation Planter
Known for Independence activist
Pioneered jackfruit propagation campaign
Religion Buddhist
Spouse(s) Grace Salgado
Parent(s) P. Jeremias Dias
Selestina Rodrigo
Arthur Vincent Dias (10 February 1886 – 31 July 1960), commonly known as Arthur V. Dias, was a philanthropist, temperance movement member and an independence activist of Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon). A planter by profession, he is known for the jackfruit propagation campaign he pioneered throughout the country, which earned him the name “Kos Mama” (Sin. ‘Uncle Jack’). A national hero of Sri Lanka, Dias also helped a number of educational establishments in the country. Before Sri Lanka gained independence from British rule, he was imprisoned by the colonial government and sentenced to death, although he was later released.
Personal life
Arthur Vincent Dias was born on 10 February 1886 to a wealthy family in Panadura. His father was P. Jeremias Dias, a plantation owner and a franchiser of arrack. His mother was Selestina Rodrigo, a philanthripist who later helped found the Visakha Vidyalaya. Dias received his primary education from St. John’s College Panadura and his secondary education from St Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia. His father died in 1902. After completing his education, Dias took over his family’s plantation businesses. He later married Grace Salgado. The couple had nine children; five daughters and four sons. Dias died on 31 July 1960.
Temperance movement
The British colonial government of Ceylon issued a decree in 1912, that permitted taverns to be opened throughout the country. This prompted a temperance movement, which was pioneered by some prominent personalities in the country such as Anagarika Dharmapala, D. S. Senanayake, F.R. Senanayake, W. A. de Silva and D. B. Jayatilaka. Dias was also a leading member of this group, which became the basis for the independence movement of the country.
When riots broke out in the country in 1915 between Sinhalese and Moors, Dias, along with the leaders of the temperance movement, was arrested on suspicion of supporting the riots. Dias was sentenced to death, which was later reduced to imprisonment for life. However, he was later fined and released, as were the others. After being freed from prison, he pledged to dedicate himself for gaining independence for Ceylon from British rule. Dias continued his temperance activities after the country gained independence as well, and strongly objected to Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake about serving liquor at the official independence day celebrations.
Nationalism and philanthropy
Dias wore a white banian and cloth instead of western clothing, and encouraged writing and signing in Sinhala. He became a national hero after the country gained independence. He had declined a knighthood offered by Governor Andrew Caldecott, as well as a seat in the senate in 1957, offered to him by Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.
He also contributed significantly to education in the country. Dias was a member of the first board of governors of Visakha Vidyalaya, and helped Ananda College financially. Other schools that received help from Dias include the Nalanda College, Dharmaraja College and Dharmasoka College. He also donated a plot of land for the Sri Sumangala College in Panadura, on which the school was built.
JAK FRUIT propagation campaign
Dias started a jackfruit propagation campaign on 11 June 1918, with the aim of planting a million jackfruit trees. Having imported jackfruit seedlings from Johore, Malaysia, he proceeded to distribute packets of seedlings and plants free of charge. Although his campaign mainly focused on distributing jackfruit seedlings, he also distributed other plants such as papaw, mango, sapodilla, durian and golden apple. This campaign earned him the name “Kos Mama” or “Kos Ata Mama”.
October 22nd, 2016 at 7:41 pm
Can’t you see where this this puppet of India is coming from.
Laadappa (Tamil) or Gliricidia is a useless plant that grows profusely in in the tropics. Provides shade and fire wood and animal fodder mainly for Goats. Planted heavily in the plantation sector and used by Indian colonial parasites to feed their goats and provide shade to tea trees and pluckers. It is a leguminous tree and add nitrogen to the soil.
So Sirisena mouths out what Indians tell him.
October 22nd, 2016 at 8:26 pm
Thank you SW for this.
Kithsiri, you beat me! That is the exact reason.
Tamils eat goat meat more than others. That is why Maru Sira want to spread this dirt. He can’t spread JAK FRUIT because that is most popular among SINGHALESE. Did you notice he also reduced the price of ULUNDU because Tamils eat that most!!
We have a RACIST LTTE GOVT.
AFTER Maru Sira complained against arresting NAVY officers, FCID summoned ARMY commander DAYA RATHNAYAKA. He is a DAMN RACIST LIAR.
NEVER show any respect or trust to this VICIOUS LIAR.
October 23rd, 2016 at 4:13 am
Let us also not underestimate the usefulness of Gliricidia.
It is a fast growing, hardy, shrub/tree with many uses.
It is used for building live fences, as shade for smaller crops, firewood, animal feed for cattle, goats, etc., put into manure mixes, and used even as a rat poison, etc.
In addition, large trees such as Bread Fruit & Jak also ought to be grown.
Young Dhaham Sirisena should take up such a venture, make himself useful to the Nation and earn respect/ be liked by the People.
October 23rd, 2016 at 8:09 am
FRAN !! JAK FRUIT OFF SEEDLING CAN BEAR FRUIT IN FOUR OR FIVE YEARS. I BELIEVE BREAD FRUIT TREES TOO WILL BEAR DURING THE SAME TIME. THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED CELL CULTURE WHICH CAN PRODUCE THOUSANDS OF TREES. PLEASE SPEAK TO AN AGRICULTURIST ABOUT CELL CULTURE.
October 23rd, 2016 at 8:13 am
JUST AN AFTER THOUGHT. I BELIEVE IT WAS A TAMIL WHO ADVISED PRESIDENT TO PLANT A BILLION GLIRICIDIA TREES FOR THEIR BENEFIT. CANNOT BELIEVE PRESIDENT NEVER EVER THOUGHT HE WILL RIDICULE HIMSELF, THROUGH THIS VENTURE.
October 23rd, 2016 at 8:16 am
The biggest use of Gliricidia is not mentioned here or being discussed. It is being used as as firewood to generate steam to run turbines for generation of electricity. It is a program started by previous government due to unrelenting effort by a uni batch mate of mine who was a manager of mechanical division of Haylese (pardon for spelling). Because it was approved by MRto find alternative sources of energy, he became an ardent supporter of him.
The plant has dual or triple uses in addition to goat feed. It has a capacity to fix nitrogen in the air therefore will help to reduce the use of chemical fertiliser. I know Kelaniya uni is doing research work in fixing nitrogen with other plants as well, according to a close relative of mine.
Please do not insult MS. He is right in this case.
October 23rd, 2016 at 8:41 am
Please google Dendro energy project of Sri lanka. There is a video (with naration by Wijaya Corea ?). How ignorant can we be?.
October 23rd, 2016 at 2:08 pm
Aloy,
So it started with Tamil scientist fooling MR to create more mutton somehow so that they can eat mutton. Maru Sira learned all these bad habits from MR ?
How on this earth we can go back to firewood burning technology ( producing huge amount of CO2 and CO) and generating goat poo ( producing Methane) and destroy the enviornement ?
Tamil tricks and Idiotic politicos are burning the whole of Sri lanka.
I still hope goats will use their wisdom to save our country.
October 23rd, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Aloy,
If that is the case there are other BETTER SUITED plants.
Do you know this is considered an invasive plant? Its swift propagation has caused it to be considered as a weed in Jamaica!!! ONE BILLION deliberate planting and WEED SPREAD will wipe out other plants.
I’m not surprised. This govt. is trying very hard to DESTROY local agriculture so that they can profit from TAMIL NADU imports.
IF nitrogen retention is needed plant HUMAN EATABLE LEGUMES!!! Why it is not done?
Electricity generated by BURNING this is NOTHING compared to total electricity production.
This is part of ENSURING FOOD SUPPLY to INTENDED MILLIONS of SOUTH ENDIANS about to invade SL under ETCA. Other examples include TOTAL tax waiver on ULUNDU and SUBSIDY – ONLY ULUNDU and WHEAT imports are subsidized!! Sirisena started subsidizing ULUNDU.
This from THE HINDU explains the REAL people BEHIND this.
“GLIRICIDIA MACULATA, a promising multi-purpose leguminous tree, can help in alleviating the fodder scarcity, and also contribute significantly in boosting livestock production, according to Dr. S. Subbiah, former Joint Director of Animal Husbandry, Tamil Nadu.”
“http://www.thehindu.com/2001/01/11/stories/0811004b.htm”
Guess whose new agricultural consultant Dr Subbiah is?
God bless SL’s agriculture!
I’m NOT surprised. I’m NOT surprised. It’s all part of a BIG PLAN to covert SL into TAMIL NADU. Even trees will look like TN.
Over 90% Tamils voted for Sirisena. Only 35% Singhalese voted for him. That is why he is giving too much to Tamils and DEPRIVING Singhalese. Look at other TAMIL SPECIAL PRIVILEGES.
1. NO IMPORT DUTY and govt. subsidy for ULUNDU – staple food of Tamil Nadu
2. Tamil Mahendran can rob $1 billion in bonds but he is FREE. A Singhala army officer used 10 million rupees for a good cause and he is GRILLED!!
3. After grilling navy, LLRP, STF and army officers, now Sirisena is grilling POLICE too! 5 police officers arrested under Sirisena’s instructions for preventing 2 Tamils doing sabotage! After this nonsense 2 civil officers assaulted and cut in Jaffna yesterday!
4. Viggie and scream racism and LTTE can display LTTE flag openly but when peaceful protestors displayed the SINGHELA FLAG they were arrested and their flags confiscated.
5. When the JO has 51 MPs, the JO leader is NOT made the opposition leader because he is SINGHALA. TNA leader only with 14 seats is made the opposition leader!
6. When ALL Singhala students were attacked and chased away from JAFFNA UNIVERSITY nothing happens! But when some Tamil students were attacked over a personal dispute in PERADENIYA the govt was quick to arrest Singhala students.
Sirisena eve gave the Tamil attackers in Jaffna a reconciliation job!
7. IF a Singhalese vandalizes a Tamil historical stuff he will be sent to jail. But when a TAMIL WOMAN defaced a SIKIRIYA inscription – a UNESCO HERITAGE SITE mind you – she was released and given a job!!!
8. Tamil TERRORISTS that killed HUNDREDS are released from prison but SINGHALA people that killed a cow are kept in prison for years!!
Sirisena is fulfilling his assigned tasks in TAMILNADUIZATION of SL.
October 23rd, 2016 at 3:17 pm
Bravo, Susantha! Well said!
While planting trees of any kind is good for reforestation of the land, and alleviating climate related concerns, I too thought that Gliricidia was an UNFORTUNATE and USELESS choice of tree!
As you say, there are MUCH BETTER, MORE VALUABLE and INFINITELY more USEFUL kinds of trees to plant, among them FRUIT TREES like breadfruit, jack, ambarella, lovi, coconut, sapodilla, jambu, pera, avocado, rambutan, cashew and HARD WOOD trees like teak, burutha, lunumidella, nadun that are in short supply !
Planting gliricidia because it grows fast and can be cut down for firewood, is foolish. Firewood burning increases pollution and heath hazards, and is a step backward in Sri Lanka’s progress towards a more advanced economy. Put the money into RENEWABLE ENERGY instead, and into growing FRUIT tress like Susantha proposes to feed the people!
October 23rd, 2016 at 3:37 pm
THANKS ANANDA FOR BEING ON THE SAME WAVE LENGTH. YOU SEE WHAT I SEE.
October 23rd, 2016 at 6:04 pm
This fracas of Laadappaa (Gilicidria) for feeding boilers has been tried tested and failed as far as I know. In particular Garment factories owened by Indian colonial parasites tried this and I don’t know that was successful. The people I kanow who supplied dried ladappa cuttings (for firing boilers) are no longer doing it,
This Sirisena dictum is pay back for Indian colonial parasite block vote and funds.
October 23rd, 2016 at 7:03 pm
Susantha,
I did not look into fast growing varieties of Bread Fruit & Jak as i thought they might be Genetically Modified (GM) varieties. But I came across an article on fast growing NON-GM Bruit Fruit from the Bread Fruit Institute, Pacific Islands area.
Here it is :
OVERVIEW
A traditional staple of Pacific Island agriculture for more than 2,000 years, the varieties we offer have been selected from the 120 varieties in the Breadfruit Institute’s collection for their superior growth, adaptability and fruiting characteristics. Producing viable fruit in 2-3 years, they are significantly more resilient than conventionally propagated trees and are not genetically modified (non-GMO).
GROWING BREADFRUIT
Sold as young plants or plugs, these healthy and vigorous starter plants require 3-6 months in a nursery setting under 50% shade before being planted in an orchard or grove setting. This time period is critical to building a strong young tree that can withstand the environmental stress of the transition period. Regular fertilization and watering is critical to the success of these young plants and they will require daily inspection and care.
PLANTING: 1-2 gallon pots are best for planting. The plants should be planted slightly deeper in the pot than they are growing in the plug. The soil in the pot should cover the top of the plug by 1-2 centimeters at planting. Water the plants thoroughly several times after planting to make certain the soil is soaked all the way through the pots.
SOIL/GROWING MEDIA: The right soil/growing media is critical for success in growing your breadfruit plantlets. A well-drained and light nursery mix is ideally composed of composted bark, peat moss or coconut coir and perlite. It should be light and airy but heavy enough to weigh the plants down. Field soil is unacceptable in a pot. If professional growing mixes are not available in your area, please email us for information on how best to proceed.
FERTILIZER: Regular fertilization with a time-release fertilizer like Osmocote or a water-soluble fertilizer with an analysis that is balanced 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 is suitable and the dosage of 500 ppm once per week will produce strong growth.
WATER: The main cause of death among young breadfruit plants is drying out. They should be monitored daily to make sure the plants are growing well and that all the soil is evenly moist. Best practice is to water early in the morning and check the plants after midday to see if they have dried out. If they have, a thorough watering of the dry plants is required.
Disease issues are generally not a problem if the above protocols are followed.
October 23rd, 2016 at 7:34 pm
From what I have read, Bread Fruit was taken to Caribean by the colonialist to feed the slaves as a cheap that can be grown in abandon.
leaders of any country with progress in their country at heart take decisions according to their vision taking into consideration of economics at that time. Are we so naive to believe that some Tamils from TN encouraged Patali and MR to approve this project which appears to me as harmless to environment but useful in terms of economics. Dudley S who was a dedicated man to SL cause approved mega projects like Salawa plywoods factory and Thulhiriya Textile factory. They say f Plywood factory was completed and operated our Sinharaja forest would have been deforested in a few months. Thulhiriya was so largew that our people could not even mange.
My friend who initiated this project was one of the finest product of Peradeniya Engineering faculty. Even in his young days in State Engineering Corp he designed the radial gates, fabricated and installed them in one of largest reservoirs in our country when working under Kulasinghe. He initiated the development activated carbon manufacture in Hayleys which turned out to be a top forex earner for the country. Very recently I got his help to prepare specifications and documents for some gates for a flood prevention project where I am working. He and many others took lot of efforts to take this project forward and it took considerable time for them to get final approval. I do not think all these guys were taken for a ride as suggested by many here.
October 24th, 2016 at 2:22 am
This is an extremely good thing to plant as much trees as possible everywhere, especially in the highlands. Planting trees is the greatest legacy we can leave future generations. However, a wide variety of trees should be planted to suit the climatic conditions and rare species should be planted so that they are preserved. Useful trees like jak, breadfruit, banana, coconut etc. are best since this will make all Sri Lankans self sufficient as far as food sources are concerned and bring down the cost of living. medicinal trees are also very useful.
October 24th, 2016 at 2:24 pm
DEAR FRIENDS, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING SO MUCH ABOUT BREAD FRUIT. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BREAD FRUIT BOILED IN COCONUT MILK, WITH A GOOD POL SAMBOL, AND A GOOD DRY FISH CURRY ? PLEASE TRY IT .
October 24th, 2016 at 3:10 pm
Aloy,
You are comparing apples with pineapples! Compared to DUDLEY, SIRISENA is nowhere near.
IF Sirisena is SERIOUS about saving the economy why doesn’t he recover the BILLIONS robbed by MAHENDRAN without saving him? Why doesn’t he LIMIT the number of ministers to 30 as promised? Why has he MASSIVELY INCREASED president’s budget? Why does he allow MPs to ROAM THE WORLD and he himself do it? Why does he allow MPs to import luxury cars when the economy is in bad shape?
Don’t forget UNP govt. is planning a MONKEY BRIDGE TO TAMIL MADU and a ELECTRICITY CABLE to TAMIL MADU too!!
So this is a distraction tactic.
People are not goats or cattle unlike what RUN-NIL thinks. Tell them to start a JAK FRUIT AND GOTU KOLA PLANTING DRIVE INSTEAD.
October 25th, 2016 at 12:42 am
Some actions of MS are questionable. Like that of appointing a businessman of ill repute as director to the SLT which is the equivalent of highly technical AT&T of USA. What can these people do if not for swindling. I know he can still clear his name if he handles the CB’s bond scam well. He should not allow RW to have his way and let his men commit the biggest crime in history on our economic nerve center and escape. I remember those days the Main Frame computer in State Engineering Corporation was handling some record keeping for central Bank. As at now nobody knows what is coming in or going out of our central bank. They cannot even believe what Auditor General says. Best thing is to appoint some technical people from outside to computerize the operations and have a close watch on what these guys are doing. As the RTI is now in force anybody should be able to get information (non defence related) at the touch of a button.
October 25th, 2016 at 2:09 am
Apparently gliricidia is planted in the highlands to reduce soil erosion and landslides etc. since the gliricidia roots bind the soil together well. This is a very good step. However since we are not botanists, agriculture graduates and botany graduates should help out with what plants should be planted to suit each of the climatic zones of the country. Did you know that Sri Lanka had fifteen different mini climatic zones?
Especially in the mid and highland mountains households should be greatly helped with provision of free saplings to plant within their home gardens. Tea, rubber plantations should be encouraged to plant as much tress within their estates as possible.
In the wet zone and in the dry zone, households should be provided free saplings to be planted in their home gardens especially jak fruit, breadfruit, bananas, mangos, coconuts, orange etc. so that we can become self sufficient in our food supply and bring the cost of living down. Imagine if we have a number of jak fruit trees, bread fruit trees, some coconut trees, mangos, bananas in our garden? We will have a supply of food all year around. So it is well worth the effort.
Medicinal trees should also be planted such as nim trees and other species. Schools and government institutions should be provided free saplings to be planted within their premises.
Trees bind the soil and reduce soil erosion, landslides and flooding greatly. Mangroves provide a huge protection against sea storms. Wetlands are a perfect way to reduce flooding to a great extent.
There is no better legacy to leave the next generation than trees. The benefits of trees are numerous and multiple. They provide food, shade, medicines. Trees purify the air by absorbing greenhouse gases such as CO2 and provision of O2 into the atmosphere. Trees capture harmful particulates such as PM10s and PM2.5s thus getting rid of air pollutants. Trees within one’s land increase the value of the land. tress provide habitats for many species of animals especially birds. Trees can if harvested properly be a valuable source of wood. Trees reduce stress and aid a happier human being. Trees are used by children when playing. Trees provide us with flowers used to manufacture perfumes etc. Trees provide spices used in perfumes and as a food source.
The benefits of a coconut tree are many as we all know. It is not a surprise that the coconut tree is known as the tree of life. Medicines from trees are used in Ayurveda and in many modern medicines too. Therefore every person in Sri Lanka should as much plant trees during their lifetime as possible for their own benefit as well as a legacy for the next generation.
October 25th, 2016 at 5:33 pm
Rishard Bathiudeen ‘sookaraya’ has been clearing hundreds of years old native trees in our native forests installing the largest Islamic colonies (importing illegal Afghans, Pakis and other Islamics) in our native forests from Yala to Sinharaja with full Government patronage! This so-called ‘Janadhipathi’ arsehole is wanting to plant ladappa everywhere else in the south where trees are respected in any case! Everybody else is planting breadfruit! Gods help mother Lanka- for no one else can!