. Vanilla culture in Puerto Rico. Vanilla; Orchids. VANILLA CULTURE IN PUERTO RICO 25 or hibiscus cuttings about the base of the vanilla and the support tree. A leguminous support tree is desirable because it furnishes a certain amount of nitrogen to the vanilla roots. Roots of a legume bear nodules containing bacteria which have the power to assimilate nitrogen from the atmosphere. A part of this nitrogen is released into the neighbor- ing soil; also, the leaves which are used for mulch are high in nitrogen. An unidentified species of hibiscus is being used as a support tree in Dominica and a
. Vanilla culture in Puerto Rico. Vanilla; Orchids. VANILLA CULTURE IN PUERTO RICO 25 or hibiscus cuttings about the base of the vanilla and the support tree. A leguminous support tree is desirable because it furnishes a certain amount of nitrogen to the vanilla roots. Roots of a legume bear nodules containing bacteria which have the power to assimilate nitrogen from the atmosphere. A part of this nitrogen is released into the neighbor- ing soil; also, the leaves which are used for mulch are high in nitrogen. An unidentified species of hibiscus is being used as a support tree in Dominica and appears to be It retains most of its leaves. Figure 16.—The chief disadvantage of dwarf bucare (Erythrina herteroana Urban) as a support tree for vanilla is that its leaves drop during the dry season. This dropping can be checked to some extent, but not entirely, by heavy pruning at the end of the rainy season. during the low-rainfall season. The cashew nut tree (Anacardium oc- cidentale L.) has been tried on Las Mesas near Mayaguez, P. E., and shows promise in this locality. In Mexico the cat-nut tree (apparently Tdbernaemontwna citrifolia L.) is frequently used by growers. In Puerto Rico the "pomarrosa" (Caryophyllus jambos (L.) Stokes) and the mango are not particu- larly desirable because scale insects that feed on these trees release a honey dew which falls on the leaves of vanilla and causes a black fungus growth as shown in figure IT. This black coating on the leaf may indirectly affect the physiological processes of the plant. Such a coating on the beans also necessitates special cleaning before curing. 8 Louis de Vertueil, Superintendent of Agriculture, Dominica. British West- Indies. 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-. W
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookpublisherwashingtondcus, booksubjectorchids
