Bwa-yo - Société Audubon Haiti

108 Zaboka
Figure 13.4 Avocados ready for transport to the Port-au-Prince market from the
Lascahobas region.
Figure 13.5 P americana lumber is common
in the urban market as traditional timber
species become depleted.
Propagation: Most of the trees found
in Haiti are propagated from seed,
though seedlings are not true to type.
In the lakou, rotten fruit or seeds
thrown away in a shady and composted
area are left to germinate. By far the
most common method is to plant the
seed directly in a restricted location of
the courtyard. Volunteers hardly ever
are transplanted, but are allowed to
grow where they germinate. No traditional
method of vegetatively propagating
the species by cuttings has been
observed in Haiti.
Grafting and budding techniques
are preferred for the propagation of
local selections and imported commercial
cultivars. Much ofthe most recent
work in Haiti has been to introduce
late-maturing Guatemalan hybrids to
expand the avocado fruiting season.
Rootstock is usually of the locally
available West Indian variety and is
grown in polythene bags. The large
seed produces a pencil-size shoot suitable
for cleft grafting in 2--4 weeks