14 



ANNUAL REPORT 1919 AND 1920 



TOP-WORKING OLD AVOCADO TREES 



DR. WILL R. MANNING. FILLMORE. CALIF. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 



Just why the intensely interesting and highly important subject of "top- 

 working" the avocado tree has occupied so little space in our literature, I am 

 at a loss to understand. Page after page has been devoted to the care of nursery 

 stock, budding, planting, protecting, irrigating, pruning, fertilizing, marketing, 

 chemical contents, food values, etc., etc., till practically every branch of the 

 industry has been thoroughly covered, but so far as I am able to ascertain, little 

 or nothing of an authentic nature has ever been written regarding '*top-working." 



To be sure, until recently we were not much interested in this subject, for the 

 very good reason that with the exception of an occasional seedling, we had no trees 

 to top-work, or at least that is what we thought. Later, however, most of us 

 began to realize that our early plantings had not, and never would, live up to our 

 expectations. In the first mad rush many of us paid fabulous prices for sickly 

 specimens of delicate non-productive varieties. Our idea was to get into the game, 

 and that quickly. We were imbued with the spirit of "do it now." We wanted 

 avocado trees, and anything so-called was all right with us. I actually paid 

 $15.00 for a four year old tree, which had never been out of the coal oil can. 

 Fortunately for all concerned, most of these trees are now dead. 



Many of us next turned our attention to the hardy Mexican variety, and were 

 indeed fortunate in so doing for they have lived and thrived and can with certainty 

 and in an incredibly short space of time be converted into well-formed bearing 

 trees of whatever variety our more mature judgment may dictate. 



About a year ago I became convinced that most of the trees in my orchard 

 would not do, so I promptly began casting about for information regarding the 

 best method of working them over. With this object in view I visited a number of 

 my friends who are well up on all things pertaining to the avocado, and was 

 astounded to learn that even the best informed of them could tell me nothing 

 definite regarding "top- working." 



One thought that the best plan was to bud into the old wood. Another 

 advised cutting the tree back and budding into the new growth. While yet 

 another believed that grafting would prove most satisfactory but was not sure as 

 to just when or how it should be done. So, as time was pressing, I decided to 

 abandon my quest and do a little experimenting. 



Not wishing to have all my eggs in one basket, I made up my mind to give 

 all three methods a trial, which I did. Cutting my trees well back I placed grafts 

 in the main stumps, buds in the old wood of the large limbs, and also later in the 

 new shoots. In this manner several hundred grafts, and as many buds were used. 

 A few weeks of observation was sufficient to convince me that there was but one 

 method of "top-working" worth mentioning, and subsequent developments have 

 but served to strengthen that conviction. 



Some of the buds did fairly well, but practically every graft failure was 

 directly traceable to ignorance or carelessness on my part. The growth attained 

 by some of them was almost unbelievable. At the end of six months several of 

 them calipered as much as two inches, and a number had grown to the height of 

 six feet. A few trees carrying six or seven grafts presented a bearing surface equal 

 in extent to that of the average tree three or four years of age. 



Now I have arrived at the point where possibly I should have started. 



