The Custard Apple in Queensland. 17 



SOIL. 



The Custard Apple tree appears to thrive in a variety of soils, but 

 does best in deep friable loam and in rich chocolate soils like that found 

 at Redland Bay. On the scrub and forest lands in south-eastern Queens- 

 land, on the higher lands of the North Coast area, within the tropics 

 (the elevation should increase in accordance with proximity to the 

 equator), provided the rainfall was suitable this tree would thrive. 

 Purely tropical conditions, however, do not appear to be conducive to 

 the production of first-class fruit of the Island and Mammoth types, 

 though the Sour Sop and Sugar Apple thrive best under such conditions. 

 After felling the scrub and burning off, bananas may be planted at 15 ft. 

 by 15 ft. in September or October, and the Custard trees may be planted 

 at the same time in alternate rows midway between alternate pairs of 

 bananas, so as to have the trees 30 ft. apart in the banana row, but being 

 planted diagonally they would be about 33 ft. in the other direction. 

 After about three years, the two banana stools on each side of the trees 

 should be cut out to give the trees sufficient space, and at the end of 

 about another three years, the whole of the bananas should be rooted 

 out, chopped in pieces to dry, and then ploughed into the soil, so that 

 the trees would then be in full occupation of the area. In forest lands, 

 after clearing and stumping, the soil should be worked to a depth of 

 about 18 in. and all roots extracted. Two ploughs should be used, first 

 an ordinary one to open up a furrow about 9 in. deep, wherein a 

 sprinkling of bone meal or screenings should be put, then a subsoil 

 plough should follow^ and stir in the bones at the bottom of each furrow, 

 the whole area being thus worked over and manured to a good depth. 

 After harrowing and getting the soil thoroughly pulverised the trees 

 may be planted. The ground should be staked out diagonally in lines so 

 that the trees will be 30 ft. apart in the case of the Mammoth and 25 ft. 

 apart in the case of the Island and Kedron varieties, which are not quite 

 such luxuriant growers. Small crops may be grown between the trees 

 up to within 4 ft. of their stems for the first year, and 3 ft. further for 

 each subsequent year, so that at about the fifth year the Custard Apple 

 trees shall have the whole area to themselves. One row of bananas might 

 be grown between the trees for the first four or five years if the soil is 

 suitable, but in all cases of intercropping of this kind on forest soils 

 liberal manuring must be resorted to, so that the soil will not be 

 impoverished by any temporary crop at the expense of the permanent 

 trees. 



PLANTING. 



The planting should be done in August or September. Care should 

 be taken not to plant trees too deep. A tendency has been noted amongst 

 planters to make an error here, in the desire to have the trees well 

 anchored in the soil or to have the graft covered. The graft should not 

 be covered, and the tree should not be planted an inch deeper than it was 

 when growing in the nursery. A number of instances of young trees 

 having died suddenly can be traced to trees having been too deeply 



