Grow avocado as source of income

Avocados are some of the most coveted fruits in our diets and it is rare to find a fresh food market in Uganda where they are not stocked.

They are normally consumed as part of our major meals, lunch and supper, but some people consume them as single fruits or as part of fruit salad packs. They are said to have healthy fat and lots of other nutrients.

Avocados are among export crops in many countries since they are widely consumed in the US, Europe, and Asia.
Green gold
Two weeks ago in Mayuge District, the Minister of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAIF), Vincent Ssempijja, launched a national campaign for farmers in Uganda to produce more avocados with a view to turning it into one of our country’s major export crops.
Ssempijja’s emphasis was on the Hass avocado variety and it should therefore be the variety that farmers aiming at earning good money should grow.
Valuable investment
According to Wikipedia, avocadoes are a heart-healthy, nutrient-dense food which provides substantial amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients with relatively few calories.

“One-third of a medium avocado (50g) has 80 calories and contributes nearly 20 vitamins and minerals, making it a great nutrient-dense food choice.”

It is therefore a good idea to invest in avocado farming to access the fruits’ nutritional benefits and to tap into its big local and export market.

Our neighbour, Kenya, and South Africa, are among the biggest exporters of the crop in Africa.
Agronomy
Ms Juliet Biira, a crop technician at Mukono Zonal Agricultural Research Development Institute (MUZARDI) Kamenyamiggo Satellite, told Seeds of Gold that good avocado production begins with obtaining good planting materials and application of good farming practices.

“Here we provide farmers with grafted seedlings of two avocado varieties, SEMIL 43 avocado, and Hass avocado which are the most popular and most marketable,” says Biira. “Besides being tasty, SEMIL 43 is favoured for its large fruits and good canopy in compounds where it provides good shade. With good agronomical practices a single mature tree may yield between 1,000 and 2,000 fruits.”

Hass, which is named after its original American breeder, Rudolph Gustav Hass, is liked for its unique taste and marketability. Its fruits are small which makes it possible for traders to pack large numbers of fruits in crates. They are on high demand on the export market and it has a very long shelf life.
Plant structure
At Kamenyamiggo, Biira prepares the seedlings by grafting which is interesting because according to an online article by Molly Synder (SoulBoxer) the Hass avocado was first produced in California, USA, at the beginning of the last century by Rudolf Gustav Hass who purchased some local avocado seeds and grafted them to the Fuerte variety.

After a couple of failed attempts the Hass variety was born. Today, the Hass avocado – which is a dark green avocado with bumpy skin – accounts for more than 80 per cent of all avocado crops in the US.
Biira defines grafting as the science of uniting or joining the parts of two independent plants in such a manner that they unite

together and develop into a single plant. The part which bears the root system is called a rootstock. The rootstock has a well-developed root system and it is expected to be resistant to nearly all soil borne diseases.
And the part of the graft which is to become the shoot system is

called scion. The scion is the stalk of the plant that is preferred by the farmer or the market, with good characteristics such as good taste.
Grafting
Biira begins with getting seeds from the local small fruit avocado varieties which she cuts into half and plants in polythene pots filled with fertile soil. “As I said, we have to ensure that the farmers take planting material that is free from disease and strong enough to sprout and grow with vigour.”

She makes sure the soil which she uses in the nursery to prepare seedlings is free from weed seeds and mixes it with organic manure at the ratio of 2-1 (two wheelbarrows of loam soil and one wheelbarrow of cow dung).

It is in such soil that she puts into polythene pots before planting in them the seeds of the local avocado varieties. She then waters the pots twice every day for quick germination of the avocado seeds.

“Normally within three months the seeds germinate and we have seedlings that are strong enough to be used as rootstock for grafting with scions of either Hass or SEMIL 43 avocado varieties. By a slanting cut, I remove the top of the rootstock using the grafting tape.” “I tie the scion and the rootstock together and cover them with transparent polythene for about one month. I continue watering the grafted seedlings twice every day, morning and evening, after which I look out for signs of sprouting and new shoots on the scion which usually takes place within two months. Once these are noticed, the seedlings are ready for planting.”
Advice
Biira goes on to explain, “The farmer who grows avocado for export is strongly advised to plant grafted avocados from a recognised avocado nursery to be sure of the variety that he or she is producing. If they are going to grow Hass avocado they have to make sure it is truly a Hass avocado because its appearance and taste are well known. It is also important that they go for disease free plantlets.”
Planting
She goes on to say that the farmer should dig a hole about two feet by two feet and fill it with loamy black soil that is well mixed with about one basin of organic manure. When filling up the hole with soil it is good to reserve some space for runoff water to settle in around the centre of the hole where the young tree is to be planted.

The idea is that the young tree needs a lot of water and in case of insufficient rain the farmer should be prepared to regularly water it.

When planting, the farmer must remove the block of the soil that contains the roots from the polythene container. It is that block that is placed in the hole and covered up a little more with some soil, making sure that the graft union remains out and well above the soil.

Then lastly the farmer should do what we call spot mulching using grass or some leaves to sustain soil moisture around the root area of the young plant.
Spacing
With regard to spacing, Biira said, “This depends on the amount of land the farmer intends to devote to avocado growing. Many people grow avocado trees in their compounds as fruit trees but also to provide shelter while many others grow them in their coffee or banana gardens as an alternative source of income and as a way of household nutrition enhancement.” Spacing of up to 35 feet between trees is recommended for people who intercrop avocado trees with crops such as bananas. To achieve good harvests the farmer should regularly bury organic manure such as livestock droppings around the tree bushes.

Inorganic manure can also be used where the soil has been tested and found to lack particular nutrients.
Maturity
The SEMIL 43 variety usually grows faster than the Hass avocado but with good agronomical practices the farmer should begin harvesting avocado fruits after approximately three years. The Hass avocado often spreads out its branches widely and the fruits can be picked without the need for a ladder. For people setting out to have avocado orchards spacing of twenty-five feet between trees is good.

She said there are some challenges to be faced by the farmer growing avocados. “They are attacked by pests like fruit flies which can be fought with the use of fly traps. Birds also feed on the fruits. Avocado trees also often get abortions which begin with loss of flowers and very young fruits which is usually caused by water stress or lack of soil nutrients.”

Next week we will profile a success story of Abubaker Sengendo who is growing Hass avocado on 1000 acres.