338 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



southern Florida it thrives under the same cultural attention as 

 citrus fruits. 



The sapodilla is usually propagated by seed, but the varia- 

 tion among seedlings in productiveness as well as in quality, 

 size, and shape of fruit necessitates some asexual means of 

 propagation if the most desirable forms are to be perpetuated. 

 Edward Simmonds has shown in Florida that the species can be 

 budded in the same manner as the mango. Grafting and layer- 

 ing have been practiced in India. 



Seeds, if kept dry, will retain their viability for several years. 

 They should be sown in flats of light sandy soil, and covered to 

 the depth of J inch. In warm weather germination takes place 

 within a month. The young seedlings, after they have made 

 their second leaves, may be potted off and carried along thus 

 for a year or two, when they will be large enough to be set out 

 in the open ground. Their growth is slow. If they are to be 

 budded they should be planted in nursery rows which are 3 

 feet apart, and 18 inches apart in the row. In southern Florida, 

 May has proved to be a good month for budding; in strictly 

 tropical regions it can probably be done at any time of the year, 

 provided the stock-plants are in active growth. Bud wood 

 should be chosen from young branchlets which have begun to 

 lose their greenish color and assume a brownish tinge. It should 

 be examined carefully to ascertain that the axillary buds or 

 "eyes" are well developed. Shield-budding is the method 

 employed, the details being practically the same as in budding 

 the mango. After making the incision in the stock, the bud 

 should be inserted promptly, since the latex soon collects 

 around the wound and renders insertion difficult. Waxed tape 

 should be used for wrapping. After three or four weeks, the 

 stock may be headed back and the wrap loosened, leaving the 

 eye exposed so that it may start into growth. 



A. C. Hartless, superintendent of the Government Botanical 

 Gardens at Saharanpur, India, has found that the sapodilla 



