Introduction

Avocados produce valuable fruit and have huge potential for mountain farmers in Haiti. We tried to introduce different varieties to lengthen the fruiting season and have better shipping qualities (e.g. uniform size, harder skins for resistance to bruising, and long shelf life). We struggled for several years, trying to plant grafted avocado trees that we bought from nurseries in the Dominican Republic and potted trees that we grafted ourselves. But in the harsh conditions, the grafted avocado transplants were not very hardy. The survival rate was very low.

Then we visited some Haitian farmers near the border with the Dominican Republic. They worked on farms in the Dominican Republic and brought avocado production into Haiti. They had similar frustrating experiences when planting grafted avocado trees from Dominican nurseries. So, they developed a method of grafting onto plants growing in fields instead of in tree nurseries. Now they are growing ‘Hass’ avocados in Haiti and can sell them across the border for export to the US and Europe. 

My technicians have learned the method and are teaching other farmers. They directly seed local avocadoes into their fields. When the seedlings are two years old, they graft in the field, using mostly cleft and side-veneer grafts (Figure 5). Technicians graft on cloudy, rainy days to shield new grafts from harsh sunlight. They cover the new graft with a plastic bag to keep it humid. They leave the bag on for one month, poking some holes in the bottom of the bag to let it breath while making sure the top of the bag stays intact to maintain humidity in the bag and thus keep the graft from drying out.

One problem is that, in our area, the budwood is normally ready for grafting in the winter when it is sunny. Grafting when it is cloudy and rainy means that the budwood might not be ideal. One advantage is that you will not lose the rootstock. If you graft and are unsuccessful, just wait and try again. 

In our experience, one year after grafting, you will start getting fruit (Figure 6) on trees that seem much hardier than those from a nursery. Maybe this is because the taproot of rootstock planted directly into the field is never disturbed. In establishing in-field rootstock plants, plant seed from locally adapted varieties to ensure that the variety grafted onto the rootstock will be well nourished in your context. Seed is cheap, so plant plenty and select only the plants that are growing well to graft onto.