Avocado Grower's Handbook

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

  1. CHAPTER I - HISTORY
  1. CHAPTER II - GROVE DEVELOPMENT
  1. Climate
  2. Water
  3. Soil
  4. Land Selection
  5. Land Preparation
  6. Land Clearing by Machine
  7. Land Clearing by Hand
  8. Erosion Control
  9. Planning Considerations
  10. Flood Waters
  11. Bee Locations
  12. Leach Fields
  13. Fruit Removal Systems
  14. Work Areas
  15. Ranch Roads
  16. Other Amenities
  17. Layout
  18. Orchard Layout
  19. Tree Shape
  20. Irrigation Systems
  21. Sprinkler
  22. Drip
  23. Filters
  24. Fertilizer Application
  25. Hot Line
  26. Tensiometers
  27. Soil Percolation Testing
  28. Botany
  29. Recommended Varieties
  30. Fuerte
  31. Hass
  32. Zutano
  33. Bacon
  34. Reed
  35. Other Varieties
  36. Jim
  37. Pinkerton
  38. Santana
  39. Dooryard Trees
  40. Fruit Drop
  41. Nursery Practices
  42. Planting
  1. CHAPTER III - T.L.C. GROVE CARE AND MAINTENANCE
  1. Irrigation
  2. Determining Soil Moisture
  3. By Tensiometer
  4. Soil Tube
  5. Soil Auger
  6. Evaporation Pan
  7. Water Conservation Practices
  8. Salt Accumulation and Leaching
  9. Measuring Irrigation Water
  10. Fertilizer Elements
  11. Photosynthesis
  12. Essential Plant Elements
  13. Nitrogen
  14. Phosphorus
  15. Potassium
  16. Fertilizing
  17. Fertilizing Through Drip System
  18. Fertilizing by Hand and by Sprinkler System
  19. Zinc
  20. Other Nutrients
  21. Leaf Analysis
  22. Weed Control
  23. By Machinery
  24. By Hand
  25. By Herbicides
  1. CHAPTER IV - PESTS AND DISEASES
  1. Insect Pests
  2. Brown Mite
  3. Ants
  4. Other Pests
  5. Beneficial Insects
  6. Vertebrate Pests
  7. -Rats and Squirrels
  8. Gophers
  9. Deer and Rabbits
  10. Snakes
  11. Other Pests
  12. Snails
  13. Diseases
  14. Root Rot
  15. Sunblotch
  16. Black Streak
  17. Armillaria Root Rot
  18. Verticillium Wilt
  19. Phytophthora and Dothiorella Cankers
  20. Dothiorella Fruit Rot
  1. CHAPTER V - ORCHARD OPERATIONS
  1. Safety Precautions
  2. Grove Thinning, Stumping and Regrafting
  3. Hass
  4. Fuerte
  5. Girdling Fuerte Trees
  6. Tree Replanting in an Existing Grove
  7. Grafting
  8. The Cleft Graft
  9. The Whip Graft
  10. The Saw Kerf Graft
  11. Budding
  12. Propagation of the Hass Variety
  13. Follow Up
  14. Wind Damage
  15. Fire and Cold Damage
  16. Pruning and Training Trees
  17. Pinching Back
  18. Shaping for Future Tree Form
  19. Developing Scaffold Branches
  20. Skirting
  21. Dead Wooding
  22. Topping Tall, Upright Varieties
  23. Props
  24. Jungle
  25. Trees that have been Tipped Over in a Wind Storm
  26. Fencing
  1. CHAPTER VI - MARKETING
  1. Harvesting
  2. Season of Maturity of Varieties
  3. Field Tests for Maturity
  4. Laboratory Tests for Maturity
  5. Cold Damage
  6. Wind-Scarred Fruit
  7. How to Pick
  8. Calendar of Events
  9. Marketing Organizations
  10. Cooperative Organizations
  11. Calavo Growers of California
  12. Index Mutual Association
  13. Avocado Grower's Bargaining Council
  14. The Independent Packer
  15. California Avocado Advisory Board (CAAB) and the California Avocado Commission (CAC)
  16. Promotion
  17. Isadora and Her Avocado Plant
  18. How to Grow an Avocado Tree
  19. Foreign Markets
  20. Aerial Survey for Estimating Crops
  21. Avocados-A Growth Industry
  1. CHAPTER VII - THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN BUYING AN AVOCADO ORCHARD
  1. Area Selection
  2. History of the Grove
  3. Irrigation System
  4. Fertilizing History
  5. Production
  6. Do You Really Want to be a Grove Owner
  1. CHAPTER VIII - FINANCIAL
  1. Consultants
  2. Labor and Other Costs
  3. Reserves
  4. Estate Planning
  1. CHAPTER IX - AVOCADO, THE PEOPLE FOOD
  1. Nutrient Density-A New Weight Loss Kick
  1. CHAPTER X - ALTERNATIVE CROPS
  1. Carob
  2. Cherimoya
  3. Feijoa
  4. Fig
  5. Guava
  6. Jojoba
  7. Kiwifruit
  8. Kumquat
  9. Lime
  10. Macadamia
  11. Mango
  12. Oriental Persimmon
  13. Pomegranate
  14. Sapote
  15. Other Alternative Crops also Offer Options
  16. Apple
  17. Pear
  18. Plum
  1. GLOSSARY
  1. INDEX