Dear Editor,
Recent reports of efforts to mechanise sugar can target the main item that negatively impacts the cost of production.
The current trial appears to involve a modification of field layout, requiring a switch from the established 3-rod cambered bed to a more favourable wider bed for the heavy tractors.
Hopefully all will go well. The Dutch acquired a thorough knowledge of the characteristics of the coastal clay soils, and identified specific requirements for drainage. Unlike other sugar producing territories Guyana’s coastal clay soils have a high water table and inherently low percolation. Drainage during heavy precipitation depends significantly on surface run off.
It is to be hoped that the follow up mechanised crop husbandry operations can proceed without difficulty.
Yours truly,
Patrick Scott