UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 732 



A^^Wt. 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



J&&"1?Lru 



Washington, D. C. 



November 14, 1918 



SMYRNA FIG CULTURE. 



By G. P. Rixpord, Physiologist, Crop Physiology and Breeding Investigations. 



CONTENTS. 



The Smyrna fig industry 1 



Origin of Smyrna fig culture 2 



Introduction of Smyrna figs into the United 



States 3 



Classification of cultivated figs 4 



Crops of the fig tree 6 



Ability of the caprifig to carry the winter crop 9 



The fig flowers 10 



Fig pollination 11 



Lifeofthe Blastophaga 12 



Proportion of male and female insects in 



caprifigs. 14 



Oviposition by Blastophaga 15 



Caprifig seeds 15 



Seeds accompanied by secretion of sugar. 10 



Caprification 16 



Application of caprifigs to Smyrna trees 18 



When Smyrna figs are receptive 18 



Several applications of caprifigs advanta- 

 geous 18 



Caprification not an expensive operation . 19 



When to gather profichi caprifigs 19 



Caprification of common figs 20 



Caprifig plantations 21 



The seedling fig orchard at Loomis, Cal 21 



Harvesting and curing 22 



Packing figs 24 



Shipping fresh figs 25 



Smyrna fig culture in the Southern States. . . 26 



Starting a Smyrna fig orchard 28 



Making and rooting cuttings 30 



Adaptation to climate 30 



Preserving mamme caprifigs 31 



Soil requirements 31 



Cultivation and irrigation 32 



Pruning 32 



Grafting 32 



Freedom from diseases and insect pests. . 33 



The splitting of figs 34 



Fig breeding 34 



Descriptions of varieties 34 



Smyrna varieties '. 35 



Capri varieties 38 



Opportunities in the industry 40 



Bibliography " 41 



THE SMYRNA FIG INDUSTRY. 



The United States is annually importing from Asia Minor and the 

 countries of southern Europe from 19 to 20 million pounds of dried 

 figs of a value of nearly a million dollars. About two-thirds of the 

 tonnage and nine-tenths of the value consist of figs of the Smyrna 

 type. The area in the Southwestern States and California is equally 

 as well adapted to the fig industry as is the Meander Valley of Asia 

 Minor and is more than extensive enough to produce many times the 

 quantity imported into this country. At the present time the annual 

 production of Smyrna figs in California, which is almost the total 

 yield in this country, is not far from 2,000 tons. The imported figs 

 can not be bought for less than 17 or 18 cents a pound wholesale, 



71807°— 18— Bull. 732 1 



