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Page 103 · DO #525 · 204_Popenoe_Scrapbook5r
- Collection
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Wilson Popenoe (1892–1975) family papers
- Item/Folder
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P.H.S.: reprints and newspaper clippings [mostly botanical], 37 × 31 × 2.5 cm., 1906-1914
- Digital Object
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DO #525,
page 103
- Collection-level dates
- 1882–1975
Page transcription
REPRINTED FROM
THE PHILIPPINE
Agricultural Review
Vol. IV NOVEMBER, 1911 No. 11
THE PROPAGATION OF THE AVOCADO.
By P. J. WESTER, Horticulturist.
(The Philippine Agricultural Review)
The fact that the avocado (Persea gratissima) will thrive and fruit in the Philippines is now being established beyond doubt, as trees introduced in 1903 by the Bureau of Agriculture are this year bearing their second crop. A short exposition of the experience gained in the propagation of this fruit by the writer during seven years' study of tropical fruits in south Florida may, therefore, be of timely interest. The method described has been used repeatedly on a large scale by the writer, as well as by others, with uniformly good results.
The seed of the avocado is very susceptible to injury from fungi and loses its viability very rapidly by being exposed to the air, and it should, on that account, be planted as early as possible after it is taken from the fruit. Where delay is unavoidable, the seeds should be covered by moderately moist soil. Seeds treated in this way can, however, be left for a short time only, as germination, in most cases, starts very early, much more so than in the seed of the mango.
There are two methods of propagating the young plants: (a) To grow and bud the stock in pots or boxes, and (b) to plant the seed in the nursery, bud the stock there, and afterwards take up the budded plants, transplant them to boxes or pots, and grow them in a plant shed until they are large enough to set out in the field. The direct transfer of plants from the nursery to the field has never been done on an extensive scale, as far as the writer is aware. In Florida, where on account of the sandy character of the soil this does not adhere well to the roots, the avocado transplants with more difficulty than citrus trees, but it is quite probable that in loamy and clayey soil where the plant can be taken up with a ball of earth around the roots, it could be moved without serious trouble.
