. Vanilla culture in Puerto Rico. Vanilla; Orchids. 22 CIRCULAR NO. 2 8, FEDERAL EXPERIMENT STATION VARIETIES The only variety of vanilla grown commercially in Puerto Rico is Vanilla fragrans. V. pompona can be grown successfully and, in fact, has been more resistant to adverse conditions of soil and drought at the Federal Experiment Station than V. fragrans. As stated earlier, however, the pompona beans are of low quality and bring a low price which would probably not be worthwhile under the condi- tions of relatively high labor costs prevailing in Puerto Rico. SITE AND PREPARATION Selection
. Vanilla culture in Puerto Rico. Vanilla; Orchids. 22 CIRCULAR NO. 2 8, FEDERAL EXPERIMENT STATION VARIETIES The only variety of vanilla grown commercially in Puerto Rico is Vanilla fragrans. V. pompona can be grown successfully and, in fact, has been more resistant to adverse conditions of soil and drought at the Federal Experiment Station than V. fragrans. As stated earlier, however, the pompona beans are of low quality and bring a low price which would probably not be worthwhile under the condi- tions of relatively high labor costs prevailing in Puerto Rico. SITE AND PREPARATION Selection of a good site is of prime importance in successful vanilla culture in Puerto Rico; in fact the location of the site may make the. Figuke 14.—The site shown is favorable for vanilla because it has an eastern exposure and is protected on three sides by hills. The slope is about 15 percent. Dwarf bucare is the support tree. difference between success or failure in the venture. Figure 14 shows a site on which vanilla has been successfully grown over a period of at least 12 years. The land has an eastern exposure with a moder- ate slope for good drainage. It receives the morning sun but escapes some of the afternoon sun which falls behind the hill at about 4 p. m. In winter the sun is lower toward the south and strikes the plants more at an angle. The vanillery is surrounded on three sides by hills and, therefore, receives protection from continuous winds and hurri- canes. In general, observations in Puerto Rico show that the more success- ful vanilleries are located on concave slopes and nearer the base of. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Childers, Norman Franklin, 1910-. Washington, D. C. : U. S. Dept. of Agriculture
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookpublisherwashingtondcus, booksubjectorchids
