Title: Vanilla culture in Puerto Rico
Identifier: CAT31289489 (find matches)
Year: 1948 (1940s)
Authors: Childers, Norman Franklin, 1910-
Subjects: Vanilla; Orchids
Publisher: Washington, D. C. : U. S. Dept. of Agriculture
Contributing Library: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library
Digitizing Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library

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40 CIRCULAR NO. 2 8, FEDERAL EXPERIMENT STATION PRUNING THE SUPPORT TREE The amount of sun reaching the vanilla leaves should be carefully regulated. Generally speaking, vanilla can withstand more sunlight during the rainy, high-humidity season than during the low-humidity drought period. Therefore, it is highly important that the support trees maintain their foliage during the dry season. The best time to prune the shade tree would not necessarily correspond with the pruning period for the vanilla. Some growers follow the practice of pruning the dwarf bucare shade trees about 2 to 3 months before the beginning of the dry season (see fig. 28). This reduces the top of the plant in pro-
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Figuke 28.—A, A system of pruning dwarf bucare support trees near Morovis is to remove the tops of alternate rows about 2 months before the dry season. Remaining rows furnish some shade for pruned rows; the unpruned rows will be pruned the next year. B. Two months after pruning; note the new leaf development on the dwarf bucare and the increased growth of the grass cover crop as a result of more light. Grass will be cut and used for additional mulch. portion to the roots, induces new shoot growth at a lower level, and en- ables the tree to retain some of the new foliage during the dry season. The increased light that reaches the ground when this practice is fol- lowed stimulates additional cover crop growth that can be cut and used for additional mulch. On dwarf bucare the new foliage usually fur- nishes adequate shade within 4 to 6 weeks after pruning. Alternate rows can be pruned in alternate years, or. at an interval of 3 or 4 months in one year, preferably during the rainy season in the latter case. Thus, one row partly shades the other while leaves are developing on the pruned row. This system of pruning dwarf bucare has been used only in the Morovis area and is not necessarily adapted to other areas. Experiments at this station have indicated (7) that exposure of vanilla plants to about one-half of full sunlight induces good growth and fruiting (fig. 29). Vanilla leaves show yellowing and sun scald

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