File:Vanilla culture in Puerto Rico (1948) (19947213374).jpg

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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VANILLA CULTURE IN PUERTO RICO 29 In Puerto Rico technical advice and assistance in laying out con- tour lines and terraces is available through the local Soil Conservation Service. Either the homemade equipment shown in figure 19 or an engineer's level and target are convenient for locating individual ter- races at the same level on a contour line. Figure 20 shows implements suggested for use in terracing and planting a vanillery. Special attention is needed from time to time to see that there are no low areas which contain water for several days after a heav)T rain or which tend to keep the area waterlogged. At the beginning of the dry season it may be advisable to place wooden or dirt dams in the terrace channels in order to catch and retain more rainfall in the soil during the infrequent showers. Planting distance.—It is a mistake to plant the vines so closely that passage between them is difficult. While more vanilla can be pro-
Text Appearing After Image:
Figuke 19.—This home-made level is useful on sloping land for locating vanilla terraces at the same level on a contour line. For example, the right stake above is near the border of the new vanillery and indicates the center of a terrace. The level is placed as shown. By holding its right leg stationary the left leg is raised or lowered up or down the slope until the water bubble indicates that equipment is level; the left stake is then driven as shown. Thus, the leveling equipment is moved to the left on a contour level line around the slope as terrace stakes are driven 5 feet apart. Length of bar may be 5 feet, or more, depending upon planting distance. duced per acre by close planting, this usually results in poor air circu- lation and increases the likelihood of diseases developing under the more or less continuously moist conditions. Also, wider spacing tends to retard the spread of root and other diseases if they develop on scat- tered plants. A rectangular planting with plants spaced about 5 to 8 feet apart in the rows and the rows 10 feet apart, is a desirable one. The number of cuttings required per acre for a spacing of 10 by 8 feet is 544.9 If 4 cuttings are planted in each hill, a system followed by some growers, the total cuttings per acre would be 2,180. Those who use the latter system claim that it induces heavier production at an earlier date. A 10-foot spacing one way should give ample room for bringing in the mulch and for traffic during the pollination and harvesting. It may be desirable to divide the vanillery into convenient-size blocks of one quarter acre or less with roadways between for mulch carts. 9 The number of plants required per acre can be determined by multiplying the planting distances (for example, 5 by 10) and dividing the product into 43,560, the number of square feet per acre.

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