Practical Fig Culture in Arizona 



By W. H. Laurence 



INTRODUCTION 



The importance of the fig as a fruit crop in Arizona is shown by 

 its presence in nearly all localities in which it will endure the 

 winters and survive the frosts of spring. In addition to being a 

 valuable fruit it serves as an excellent shade tree. The fig is a food 

 fruit. Containing an average of more than 50 per cent sugar and 

 3.5 per cent protein, it is probably the most valuable of all dried 

 food fruits, of which the fig, apple, peach, raisin, and date are the 

 most common. The dried fig has a mildly laxative action and is 

 not injurious when eaten in large quantities. 



At the close of a study pursued during two consecutive years, 

 the writer was impressed with the following facts: (a) A proper 

 selection of varieties will make fig culture possible in a wide range 

 of cliniatic, water, and soil conditions such as cover a large propor- 

 tion of the agricultural area of the State. (6) Where limiting 

 factors of production are almost nil and commercial production is 

 possible, economic methods are not practiced in the growing or the 

 distribution of the fruit on local and distant markets, (c) Few 

 people appreciate the food value of the fruit and its many possible 

 uses in either a fresh or a preserved condition. 



This publication brings together the results of a general field 

 survey, conducted by the writer in person and by correspondence, 

 to determine the general distribution of the plant, to locate the 

 hardy forms that have survived through a decade or more of 

 planting, to determine the number of groups represented and the 

 cultural management required. It also includes the results of a 

 study pursued for three consecutive seasons on 60 trees representing 

 a total of 43 horticultural forms belonging to 5 botanical varieties. 

 This study was made primarily to determine the most desirable 

 forms and varieties to be propagated and disseminated for the 

 purpose of producing larger and more uniform yields of fruit for 

 home use and for the market. The results of this study are given in 



