FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



87 



is to increase yields of fruit. Whether 

 an interplanting will do this or not de- 

 pends mainly on three conditions pertain- 

 ing to pollination. 



1. The interplanting must provide op- 

 portunity for an increase in the number 

 of proper pollinations that are possible. 



2. Means for effecting these pollina- 

 tions must be provided and must be work- 

 ing year after year. 



3. The pollinations when made must 

 be compatible for fertilization and hence 

 result in the setting of fruit. 



These three matters may be considered 

 in the order stated. 



1. What interplanting will increase 

 the opportunity for a greater number of 

 pollinations? Any interplanting of two 

 or more varieties will do this if they sup- 

 plement each other in the daily sequence 

 of the opening of first-period and second- 

 period flowers, provided of course that 

 they are in flower together or over a 

 considerable span of calendar dates. 



For example Taylor and Panchoy meet 

 this requirement very well. They bloom 

 together at least for a considerable pe- 

 riod. Day after day in the forenoon 

 many and even thousands of first-period 

 flowers of a tree of Taylor are open and 

 ready for proper pollination, during the 

 hours when a tree of Panchoy is shedding 

 pollen from Second-period flowers. In 

 the afternoon the conditions are reversed. 

 When trees of these two varieties, or of 

 other similarly reciprocating pairs or 

 combination of two or more pairs stand 

 side by side there are many more chances 

 for proper pollination than can possibly 

 exist when trees of any one of the varies 



ties stand alone or in solid blocks. The 

 chances are probably increased a thou- 

 sand times. 



The first principle, of interplanting, is, 

 therefore, that varieties which normally 

 have first-period flowers in the forenoon 

 should be planted with varieties which 

 shed pollen in the forenoon. 



A further selection may, however, be 

 desirable. As amply shown and discussed 

 above, there are varieties that are charac- 

 teristically early or late in the daily pe- 

 riods. This suggests that some pairs se- 

 lected from the A and B groups may be 

 much more fully reciprocating than are 

 other pairs. 



2. An interplanting can only afford or 

 supply the chances for cross-pollination. 

 Means for effecting these cross-pollina- 

 tions must then be operating. Insects are 

 without a doubt the natural agents for 

 the pollination of avocados. Wind plays, 

 or seems to play no important role in the 

 distribution of the pollen. 



Fortunately honey bees are very fond 

 of avocado nectar. They freely visit the 

 flowers during both periods of their open- 

 ing. In California they were frequently 

 found in great numbers working avocado 

 flowers. In Florida wherever bees were 

 kept in groves or near by, they were 

 found among the avocado flowers, but as 

 a rule, during the past season the writers 

 seldom saw many honey bees in the avo- 

 cado trees!. It is highly to be recom- 

 mended that avocado growers keep bees. 

 Insects other than bees, such as wild spe- 

 cies of wasps, flies and thrips are fre- 

 quently found working avocado flowers. 

 Some of these may be important agents 

 in pollination. 



