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… E SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA PRIVATE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT November 8, 1960 Dr. Wilson Popenoe Calle de la Nobleza No. 2 Antigua, Guatemala, C.A. Dear Dr. Popenoe: I have studied your "Manual of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits" with keen interest. Inasmuch as it was published a number of years ago, I attempted to locate publications of a more recent date on the same subject. Mr. Lloyd Joley of the Plant Introduction Station at Chico, California recently told me that he believed your manual was still the best work on the subject. Actually my purpose in writing you is two-fold: (1) I wish to learn whethe …

… ifornia, but J. L. Hickson, of Miami, Florida, a large and successful grower of the avocado, states that he propagates entirely by this method, as he considers it produces a stronger and better growth than budding. However this may be, the method is slow and laborious, and trees cannot be produced in sufficient quantities to make it commercially practicable here. GRAFTING has been performed successfully in a few instances, but has not been attempted to any great extent as yet. CUTTINGS have been very successfully rooted by being placed in clear sand in a lath house, but it is doubtful if this method of propagatio …

Subtropical Fruits A Department of Tropical and Subtropical Horticulture BY F. W. POPENOE Notes on the propagation and culture of plants and trees coming within the scope of this department will be welcomed, and inquiries are invited. THE PASSION FRUIT Regarding the Passion plant (Passiflora edulis) a fine fruit which thrives justly in California, but which has not yet come into general use, I have the following from H. H. and Newport, instructor in tropical agriculture in the government of Queensland, Australia. "I am not aware of any method of The Khadrawi Date In fruit at the ranch of Fred N. Johnson, India, i …

13. Nucellar Seedlings There is a characteristic of the orange and other citrus fruits (with exception of the pummelo or shaddock, rarely grown in tropical America) which is of great horticultural importance. This is the production of what are technically known as nucellar seedlings. It is due to this phenomenon that seedling orange trees may be much alike, not only in growth and productivity, but also in fruit characters. Oranges harvested from a hundred - or a thousand- trees in any particular region may be just about as uniform in character as those from an equal number of grafted Valencias. Nucellar embryos a …

TROPICAL FRUITS FOR CALIFORNIA FEIJOA SELLOWIANA THE PINEAPPLE GUAVA FEIJOA—NATURAL SIZE A FINE SYMMETRICAL AVOCADO TREE AT PUERLITO, MEXICO. A single fruit of this tree will make a meal for a man. THE CUACUALIATE OR BONETE TREE, THIS IS A COARSE MEXICAN FRUIT EATEN ONLY BY INDIANS WHO TRY IT IN SEASON. NEW FRUITS TO LOWER COST OF LIVING By CHARLTON LAWRENCE EDHOLM THE scientific replenishing of the nation's larder by such methods as intensive cultivation, expert management of agricultural lands, reclamation of waste areas and the intro- duction of new foods to take the place of those which are becoming too expen …

5. if large numbers of plants are wanted. Veneer-grafting on pencil- size seedling stocks is one of the best nursery methods. Terminal growth flushes with bark still green, and well developed axillary buds, will often provide several scions. Frequently one of the buds at a node is better than the other. In this case only the stronger should be used, but if both are equally good, the twig can be split to make two scions. These may be 1½ to 2 in. long. The completed graft is wrapped with plastic tape or rubber strips, leaving only the "eye" exposed. In about three weeks the stock should be lopped, to stimulate bud …

… ground bone, waste of soda, dried blood, dissolved bone black and high grade potash salts. Mr. Johnson has 7 trees of an avocado sent him by C.P. Taft under the name of Golden. Taft said it was a December fruit in California. It looks much like a West Indian. Johnson is now calling it Maria Theresa. Write Mr. Taft and ask him if this is not one of the Cuban seedlings which has fruited at his place. The method of avocado propagation used on avocados is a modified saddle saddle graft. Having the top the top on the stock plant wrist after the cone has united with the stock. The cion is tied in place with a narrow s …

Friday Habana Cuba Feb 18 1916 Sent Simmons cuttings of 2 types of Nitos caribea from the Estacion Agro nomica, viz: Var A Long loose fruit clusters Var B Short compact fruit clusters These are the 2 recognized types of this grape and are both cultivated at the Estacion. The plants are practically dormant and almost devoid of foliage at this time. In talking with R.A.Curiff re grafting propagation he tries me stock he uses suggests should budding sufficiently well to be sure of 75% success on two more The difficulty in the fact he finds one can use badwood to which leaves were attached to from which the leaves ha …

… nd the other budded, they say, about three weeks ago. I wonder if by looking at these samples you can tell me, more or less, what is wrong with the technique. I know nothing whatever about your method chip budding; have never tried it since we do our grafting in the field and use the veneer system. These plants which Castillo is using, by the way, were germinated in a sand bed and transferred to roofing paper tubes about 5 inches in diameter by 15 inches deep. Any help you can give will be appreciated and you can address me as above, for I am here on a two months contract with the govt of Salvador, the idea being …

… nd was carried out which resulted in the successful establishment of the tree in Jamaica, where, however, it failed to live up to expectations, because the Negroes preferred bananas and plantains. The breadfruit is not a fruit in the popular sense of the term, but a product containing considerable amounts of starch, not to be eaten uncooked. Regarding methods of preparing it for the table, W. E. Safford writes (Useful Plants of Guam): It is eaten before it becomes ripe, while the pulp is still mealy, and of a consistency between bread and sweet potatoes. In Guam it was formerly cooked after the manner of most Pac …

and tedious process of grafting. The nuts ripen in October and November in Florida. They are allowed to lie on the ground just as they fall, to dry and cure. Rains will not hurt them, even in long periods. "The tung tree has a strong tap root, four to five feet, giving it strength against the wind and a feeder for moisture at depth. It throws out a very thick network of feeding roots close to the top of the soil. "The tree does not like lime, preferring a slightly acid soil. This is of enormous advantage, because most Florida soils have an acid content. "The Gainesville plant is the first of its kind in the world …

seedlings planted in orchard form here and don Luis Sarasola and I are going to graft them in May, which I think (and he thinks) will be a good month. I shall write Dr Paddock in April, asking him to authorise you to send us some puas at that time, if you can spare them. The principal one we need from Zamorano is Gottfried, of which I believe you will have more material than you need; we will also want Simonds, which may be hard to get in Florida. Sr Sarasola has found that your veneer graft is very successful here, provided one uses the terminals, not just short sections of young branchlets. We will need puas of …

… tion and I have no hesitation in saying he is now one of the very best horti- culturists in Central America. He is working for the Ministry of Agriculture here in Guatemala, turning out some 50,000 grafted fruit trees every year. He knows fruit varieties and their requirements of soil and climate. I enclose my check for $3 and will thank you to make him a member of the American Pomological Society, with the following address: JORGE M. BENITEZ Instituto Nacional Agropecuario La Aurora, Guatemala Ciudad Guatemala, Centro America. I have your letter about the tropical fruit committee, and am happy to see that my nep …

OFFERINGS OF THE TROPICS FRUITS OF THE WEST INDIES. The juices of these fruits are used to flavor the refreshing drink always offered to callers under the name of "refresco." THE replenient bounty of the tropics is abundantly seen in the large varieties of fruits of the West Indies, which are ever more abundant and grateful than its flowers. The number of fruits and flowers is too great for transportation and so are not known abroad. There is the "banana," a fruit which is the favorite of the natives of Cuba as their favorite fruit, and although the aromatic delicious pineapples are grown side by side with the me …

… citrus. During the dry season monthly irrigations are right, unless the soil is very light and sandy, when they should be more frequent. Nothing can be said about fertilizers on the basis of experience in tropical America. Very little pruning is necessary, except to cut out dead twigs and small branches. The loquat usually forms a shapely, compact crown, with fruit borne at the ends of the branchlets. Where conditions of growth are favorable, the trees should come into bearing not later than three or four years after planting. Lo- quats may be harvested individually or by clusters; the former way is usual in tro …

3. of great care in labelling. As regards the more important commercial fruits, it must be remembered that new varieties come onto the market from time to time. This is especially true of fruits which are relatively new, so far as commercial cultivation is concerned. The planter should pay utmost attention to this subject before he lays out his orchard. The selection of land for planting is a matter of great importance. Many tropical horticulturists do not realise the necessity of investigating texture, structure and depth of soil; drainage requirements; irrigation; and the need of fertilizers. These subjects are …

6. proved to be more reliable than shield-budding. This has been true of avocados, mangos, and several other fruit trees, including the annonas. Though shield budding may continue to be preferred in some regions, for some fruits, veneer grafting is gaining ground and should be borne in mind. Almost any well drained soil of good structure is satisfactory for cherimoyas, but it is generally believed that a high lime content is unfavorable. Still more important, however, is perfect drainage. Too much irrigation on soils retentive of moisture is dangerous. Sandy loams are to be preferred for this reason. Trees should …

… nge from 300 to 600 grams. It has a rather leathery skin, almost smooth although the areoles indicating the fused carpels are clearly marked by impressed lines. An unusual feature is the development of the fruit stem to a much greater diameter than that of twig which bears it. The custard-like flesh is cream-colored, granular near the skin, less sweet and less pleasantly flavored than that of the sugar-apple; in fact the custard-apple is usually considered uninteresting by connoisseurs. Yet custard-apples find a ready sale in many tropical markets. Numerous dark brown seeds, the size and shape of common beans, ar …

… t I have greatly enjoyed my stay and especially my days with Ing. Edmundo Astorga, who has not only helped me see everything I wanted to see, but has shown a keen and intelligent interest in the program of fruit improvement. I hope he will stay behind it, because I feel he has the necessary drive and that is what it is going to take. Personnel will be your main problem. You have the land. You have the necessary climatic conditions. You need to introduce plant material of numerous varieties and as I have shown above, this is not a difficult problem and I shall be glad to assist. I think I know where to get most of …

… t I have greatly enjoyed my stay and especially my days with Ing. Edmundo Astorga, who has not only helped me see everything I wanted to see, but has shown a keen and intelligent interest in the program of fruit improvement. I hope he will stay behind it, because I feel he has the necessary drive and that is what it is going to take. Personnel will be your main problem. You have the land. You have the necessary climatic conditions. You need to introduce plant material of numerous varieties and as I have shown above, this is not a difficult problem and I shall be glad to assist. I think I know where to get most of …