Hass avocado seedlings: As more and more farmers shift to hass avocado farming in Kenya, more and more nurseries are sprouting all over the country. A good hass avocado production will be determined right from the seedling, its advisable for hass avocado farmers tobe, be aware on how to select the right hass avocado seedlings. In ensuring quality Hass avocado fruit, selecting quality hass avocado seedlings should be given priority. Always purchase your seedlings from certified nurseries as quality is assured.
It’s no doubt that the quality of the hass avocado seedling grown in the nursery determines the success of an enterprise. Trees that received poor or incorrect treatment in the nursery will lag behind in the orchard, no matter how carefully the buyer tends them, and may die easily.
Hass avocado is a result of grafting, grafting of fruits is done to improve the variety by increasing its resistance to diseases, improving yield and increasing its adaptability to different soils.
Kenya has over 40 varieties of avocado. Hass is the main export variety and Fuerte is preferred for processing. Other commercial varieties are Keitt, Reed, Booth 8, Simmonds, Pinkerton, Nabal, Puebla, Tonnage, Ettinger, Hayes, G6 and G7. Varieties used as rootstocks include Puebla, Fuerte,
Duke, G6, and G7
Hass Avocado is an important commercial fruit in Kenya both for local and export markets. The fruit is highly nutritious – rich in proteins and cholesterol free. Both large-scale growers and small-scale farmers cultivate it. The fruit is also a source of minerals e.g. magnesium, phosphorous, calcium & potassium and vitamins e.g. A, B1, B2, B6, C & D needed for a healthy diet. In addition to being used as food, the fruit is gaining a wide use in cosmetics too.
Factors to consider when selecting quality hass avocado seedlings;
1. The size of the porting bag.
Bigger sized porting bags are the best since they ensure the seedling has enough soil for proper root development.
- The size of the containers in which the plants are grown, is important.
- The smaller the containers, the greater care will be needed after planting out the trees in the
field to ensure their survival. - The larger the container, the better the root system will have developed and the greater the
chances of successful establishment.
2. Size of the seedling.
The bigger the size the better but usually avoid overgrown seedlings, they should be 2-3 feet. This ensures the hass avocado seedlings are properly hardened off.
The hass avocado seedlings shouldn’t be above 3 feet.
The problem of the overgrown hass avocado seedlings is the development of a J- root condition where the tap root of the seedling grows and touches the base of the porting bag forcing the root to bed upwards. J-root condition may make the seedling not able to survive at the field level. The success rate of the overgrown seedlings is also very low even if they don’t have J-root condition.
3. Colour and types of roots.
Proper hardened seedlings have dark glossy leaves. Seedlings with fresh light leaves may not be able to withstand harsh conditions at the field level.
4. Grafting union
Make sure that the grafting tape has been removed from the nursery to ensure that the grafting union has completely healed to avoid incidences of where the seedling eventually dies.
5. Age of seedlings
The best hass avocado seedlings are between 9-12 months at planting.
Factors to consider when choosing suitable land for Hass avocado production.
Ecological Requirements
Avocado does well under the following conditions:
● Altitude range between 1000m to 2000m
● Well distributed rainfall range of not less than 1000mm. Water in the dry season
● Optimum temperature range of 20 to 24 degrees celsius
● Deep, well-drained fertile sandy or alluvial loams soils with pH ranging from 5-7
Planting
Align the trees in all directions and finally pack the base of the plant to let the root system recover early. Planting can be done anytime of the year but the best time is during the onset of the rainy season
When planting avocado, follow these steps:
1. Remove stumps and plough the land upto 30 cm deep
2. Dig holes 2ft by 2ft by 2ft. Space holes depending on the variety, soil fertility and climatic conditions. Spacing may range from 5m by 5m, 6m by 7m to 8m by 10m
3. Separate the top soil and the subsoil
4. Mix topsoil with 2 buckets (20kg) of well rotten manure and 120g of TSP/DAP
5. Fill back the soil-manure-fertiliser mix
6. Remove the polythene, plant the seedling carefully and firm the soil around the hole
7. Water well
Conclusion on hass avocado seedlings success
The yield of avocado cultivation depends on numbers of key factors such as the variety, plant age, soil type, soil fertility, climate conditions along with the farm management skills practiced for the cultivation. Therefore, averagely, it is possible to obtain fruits ganging between 20- 40 tonnes per
hectare after 6 to 7 years of the plantation on the main field.
Field management of hass avocado plants
- Mulching– Apply mulch to reduce moisture loss and controls weed growth
- Irrigation– Water is vital in several stages of tree development and the fruiting cycle.
- Use 5 to 20 litres of water depending on the size of the seedling
- Fertilization– Apply 1 wheelbarrow of well decomposed manure twice a year ie during the onset of long and short rains. Also, Topdress with 120g of CAN.
- Lack of minerals will be seen in the leaves.
- Pruning– Prune at early stages before flowering and upon completion of harvesting. This will encourage lateral growth and multiple framework branching. Ensure the tree canopy height is always maintained at 70% of its row width. This will allow light to penetrate, improve yield and provides a superior tree structure
- Thinning– This involves removing some of the already formed fruits in order reduce competition for nutrients, therefore ensuring high-quality fruits. Too many fruits will result to small sized fruits.
- Weed– Weed to reduce competition for nutrients and water.
==
FARMERS TREND FRUIT SEEDLINGS SERVICES We provide technical support on fruit farming in Kenya. Our Sales Team with technically qualified staff provide after sales service and farmers' advisory services to our customers to get better plant establishment and faster growth of fruit orchard and plantations. We have a large network of employees who arrange delivery of seedlings to customers at their various destinations from Nairobi. Free technical services to customers on planting method, management practices and plant protection measures. Our team of Agricultural Experts periodically visits and supervise plantations and suggest necessary guidelines to get better growth and higher returns. The income & expenditure projections indicated by Farmers Trend is normally an approximate figure, as it also depends on the nature and hard work of the farmer. FRUIT FARMING PACKAGE 1. This includes soil testing, seedlings purchase guidance, consultancy, farm preparation guidance and transportation. 2. First production on most fruit trees start after 2nd year and production remains for next several years. WHAT THE PACKAGE CONSISTS 1. We offer special tailored packages per acre on Hass Avocado, Macadamia, Oranges, Mangoes and Apples 2. This packages consist of a well drafted win win situation between the farmer and Farmers Trend 3. Where a farmer provides a) Land b) Preparation of land, c) Soil Analysis d) Manure and any other recommendation as per soil analysis e) Irrigation 4. And, Farmers Trend provide a) Hole digging using recommended spacing b) Soil and manure mixing plus refilling c) Seedlings enough for an acre as recommended d) 3 months monitoring 5) Each fruit package has its own cost depending on site survey GIVE US A CALL TO ENJOY THIS BENNEFITS VIA 0724-559286 OR 0754-452939
==