ENG-1960 — Page 121

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PRIMARY PRODUCTION

practice has resulted in more than 35% of the two-crop paddy land now being used for the growing of winter season catch crops of vegetables. Such land used to remain fallow. There has also been more use of artificial fertilizers without any prejudice to the traditional nightsoil. A striking aspect of market gardening in Hong Kong is the widespread use of small knapsack sprayers and the most modern insecticides. The steady expansion of primary production over the past three years is shown vividly in Appendix V.

AGRICULTURE

Rice. The area of land under two-crop paddy has fallen from 20,191 to 18,478 acres since 1954, and the difference is now used for permanent vegetable culture. 2,905 acres are also used for one- crop paddy in brackish water and 177 acres for one-crop upland paddy. Taking the average milling percentage to be 68, the esti- mated crop in 1960 was 19,018 metric tons of rice, at an average price of $58.00 per picul, and the money value was $18,233,344. In a normal year, the average yield of paddy from an acre of two- crop land is about 1.2 metric tons, but with seed of approved varieties, good irrigation and the use of fertilizers, production may reach 1.8 metric tons on average land and over 2 metric tons on better soils.

The most important disease of paddy is Blast, caused by the fungus Piricularia Oryzae, and farmers are making more use of blast-resistant varieties recommended by the Agriculture and For- estry Department. The Department also engages in seed selection within varieties, but the amount of improved seed available is limited. The traditional manurial treatment of rice is to add only very small dressings of dry animal manure, but more farmers are now using balanced artificial fertilizers.

Vegetables. The area of land under permanent vegetable cultiva- tion has steadily increased from 2,254 acres in 1954 to 4,430 acres in 1960. This increase comes mainly from the transition of 1,713 acres of rice land to vegetable production, and the development of 450 acres of marginal land, but about 1,109 acres of two-crop paddy land (that is, land which can be irrigated during the driest weather and has good access to markets) are also used for cultiva- ting winter vegetables after the harvest of the second rice crop.