Avocado Production in Asia and the Pacific - United Nations in ...

227: The fruit is bottlenecked and weighing 500 grams. The skin is purple and thick
(1.3 mm). The seed is small (50 g) and is loose in the cavity. The flesh is dark yellow and is
80 per cent of the whole fruit by weight.
Recently, three new varieties were approved by the National Seed Industry Council.
However, these have not yet been released to the private nurseries. These new varieties are:
Parker: The fruit ovoid and having an average weight of 600 grams. The skin is
purple and thick (1.1 mm). The seed is small in size (70 g) and is tight in the cavity. The
flesh is creamy yellow and is 80 per cent of the whole fruit by weight.
RCF Purple: The fruit ovoid and weighing 400 grams. The skin is reddish-purple and
thick (1.2 mm). The seed is small (40 g) and is loose in the cavity. The flesh is creamy
yellow and is 80 per cent of the whole fruit by weight.
Cepillo Green: The fruit pyriform and weighing 700 grams. The skin is green and
intermediate in thickness (0.9 mm). The seed is intermediate in size (90 g). The flesh is dark
yellow and is 80 per cent of the whole fruit by weight.
No varieties have so far been identified for rootstock use. Available seeds coming
from the season’s produce are usually sown and the resulting seedlings are used as
rootstocks.
3. PRODUCTION OF PLANTING MATERIALS
Since the avocado is not considered a major fruit in the country and is planted mostly
in backyards, only a limited amount of planting material is being produced in a few
government institutions and private nurseries. Planting materials may come in the form of
grafted plants or seedlings for rootstock use. Government agencies such as the Bureau of
Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture and the University of the Philippines Los
Baños, particularly the National Seed Foundation and the Department of Horticulture,
produce a few hundred grafted plants of locally available varieties. Small private nurseries
which also sell sexually propagated avocado plants are a good source of seedling rootstocks
for propagation. Seedlings grown in the nurseries are heterogeneous - each seedling different
from another, even though the seeds may have come from one variety or only from one
parent tree.
The commonly used and preferred method for large-scale propagation is grafting.
This method is less labour-requiring, faster and economical in the use of scion materials. In
the case of cleft-grafting, 6-12 months old seedlings are used as rootstocks. Budwood sticks
are obtained from the season’s mature growth with well-developed terminal buds. New
shoots are formed within three to four weeks.
Other methods of propagation which are sometimes employed are inarching and
shield-budding. Inarching is a slow and laborious process although it can be used during the
rainy season when grafting and budding cannot be done successfully. Shield-budding on the
other hand is a fast method. However, it requires skill.
41