Vol. XI. No. 275. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



357 



THE BUDDING OP THE AVOCADO. 



The illustration on this page has been made from two 

 negatives sent by Mr. J. Jones, Curator of the Botanic 

 Station, Dominica. It shows the successful budding of 

 a Mexican variety of the avocado pear (Persea (/ratissima) 

 on a common avocado stock. 



On the left-hand side of the ilbistration is seen 

 a flourishing branch grown from the inserted bud: above the 

 latter is the upper part of the main stem of the stock, which 

 has been bent over so as partly to break it and divert plant 

 food to the bud. The right hand .section of the picture shows 

 the plant after the upper part of the stock has been cut ofif 

 just above the position of the bud. 



In forwarding the negatives, Mr. .Jones draws attention 

 to the circumstance that there is no reason why varieties of 

 the avocado should not be selected and budded in the West 

 Indies, just as this is done with oranges and grape fruits. 



a vigorous seedling of a Mexican variety. A good percentage 

 of the buds grew. There is a tendency in avocado stocks to 

 callus so quickly at the point of insertion that the buds are 

 sometimes covered before growth has started. 



'The method employed was shield budding with an 

 inverted T, the procedure being the same as that commonly 

 followed in budding citrus, a method now well understood in 

 the West Indian Islands. 



'It is not yet known how budded plants will stand 

 lifting and transplanting, but it is thought that, after the wood 

 is ripened, and the leaves are removed, the plants may be 

 lifted, packed, transported and replanted in the field with no 

 more loss than in the case of citrus plants.' 



It may be useful to mention that other information con- 

 cerning the propagation of the avocado pear, and regarding 

 its growing and marketing, may be found in the Agricultural 

 News, Vols. IX, pp. 116, 213; and X, pp. 180, 356. 



Fig. 14. Stages in the Budding of the Avocado Pear (Dominica). 



Mr. Jones, in a later letter (September 23) to the 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, states: 'Thn early attempts to 

 bud avocados in Dominica were made dn stocks growing in 

 bamboo pots. These efforts failed owing to the difficulty of 

 keeping stocks, within the limited area of bamboo joints, in 

 a healthy and growing condition. It was then decided to 

 transplant seedling avocados raised for stocks from the seed 

 to the nursery beds (after the manner employed in citrus 

 budding). The stocks were placed out in two rows in a bed 

 4 feet wide, the distance between the plants in the rows 

 being 18 inches. Planted under such conditions the stocks 

 grow vigorously and are soon ready for budding, which latter 

 can be done when the stems have attained the thickness of 

 a lead pencil. It is essential that the stocks should be in 

 a healthy growing condition, at which time the bark separates 

 readily from the wood. 



'The budwood used in the Dominica experiments was 

 taken from the comparatively young branch (green wood) of 



Cotton-Growing in Madagascar.— According to 



the Bulletin de I'OjHn' dn Gouvernement Generale de I'Alge'rie 

 of September 1, various attempts have been made to grow 

 cotton in Madagascar in the provinces of Morondava, 

 Analalava and Tulear, especially at Nanera and Andranolava. 

 The seeds used are supplied by the Colonial Cotton Associa- 

 tion, but the results have not been very satisfactory, owing 

 in part to the prevalence of very dry weather from May to 

 July, which is unfavourable to the opening of buds Nlore- 

 over, the plants are attacked by red and green bugs and by 

 caterpillars, which penetrate the pods before they have time 

 to ripen. Experiments are at present being conducted liy the 

 Cotton Association at various points along the west coast, 

 by several planters in the south-west, by the Compagnie du 

 Lac Alaotra in the district of Ambatondrazaka and also by 

 the Administrative Authorities at Marovoay station. It is 

 estimated that about 1,400 hectares are under cotton culti- 

 vation. {The Board of Trade Journal, September 12, 1912.) 



