Mobility between the trees and cross-pollination efficiency. Most serve your trees twice a week during bloom!
ing bloom! If bee density on the
honey bees collect nectar and pollen within a limited area of 1 to 3
trees. They often perform cross pollination only between neighbor-
ing treesthat carry opposite-stageflowers and are at a distanceof not
more than two rows. A small percentageof the foraging honey bees
(2 - 4Vo)move fartherbetweenrows andfields, andmay carry avocado
pollen fbr hundreds of yards away from its source. These are the
scoutbees,which, for the sakeof information gathering,move among
different locations and flowering speciesthroughout the food col-
lecting flight. The efficiency of crosspollination betweenneighbor-
ing trees is similar to the efficiency of close pollination, but it drops
dramaticallywith increasingdistancefrom the pollen source(Table2).
Doespollination limit avocado productivitl?
One may assumethat, in the caseof the avocado,pollination cannot
play a role as a limiting factor to yield. A medium-sizedmature avo-
cado tree producesabout I million flowers during a 30 - 60 day flow-
ering season,or approximately 10,000to 40,000 new f'emaleflowers
ner day. Out of this, a total of only 400 to 600 flowers need to be
,7/:cessfully pbllinated and fertilized to produce a reasonablecrop.
Theoretically, this can be accomplishedby 2 - 3 honey beesin just 1
day,during the t hr of the male and female flowers' self-overlap,if the
beesdevote only half of their visits to the female flowers. However,
field observationsshow that a measurableinitial fruit setrequiresthe
activity of 5 - 10 honey beesper tree for the entire female blooming
period. At least one week of this level of visitation is needed to
achieve a fair crop, and much more is neededfor a good one. This
paradox can be explained by the need for more than2} pollen grains
per stigma for efficient fertilization and the low averagenumber of
pollen grains that is depositedon the stigma by the bee during a visit.
It may also stem from the heavy selective initial-fruit drop (where
mostly cross-pollinatedfruits remain on the tree) and the inability of
the honey beesto perform as efficient crosspollinators.
To summarize,pollination may be a limiting factor for avocadopro-
ductivity where one or two of the following conditions exist:
1.- The activity of the pollinators, which in most casesis the honey
I J, bee,is low, due to a low population of pollinators in the vicinity, or
to the presenceof more attractive competing bloom.
2. Cross-pollinationefficiency is low, due to both the low mobility of
the pollinator insect, as in the case of the honey bee, and the
typical tree's relatively largedistancefrom the pollinizer.
3. For situationsin which efficient self-fertilization within the male-
stage flower does occur, and self-pollination may be efficiently
carried out by wind and/or gravity, pollination cannot be a limiting
factor to yield. There are cultivars, however, in which the male
flower's inner stamensare tightly closed around the stigma. In
such cases,self pollination may still require the involvement of a
pollinator.
What can be done to improve pollination?
Many worthwhile actions can be taken:
Introduce honey beehives to the orchard andkeepthem theretbrough-
out the blooming season. Do not assume that t hive per acre is
sufficient. To achievegood pollination, you needat least5 - 10 honey
beesper medium tree, and the presenceof more beesis better. Ob-
flowering treesis lower than 5 - 10, you should add more hives. Only
rarely is t hive per acre sufficient, and in many cases4 strong hives
per acrearerequired!
Add pollinizers to the orchard. Most avocadocultivars need cross
pollination to achievetheir yield potentials. Crosspollination is effi-
ciently performed only between adjacenttrees, and generally not be-
tweentreesseparatedby more than two rows (about40 ft). Therefore,
the minimum density of pollen-donor trees should be set to every 4n
row. Not all cultivars areefficient pollen donors. Consult your exten-
sion adviser,and find out which pollinizers you should use,basedon
the orchardcultivarcomposition.
Keep the orchard open. Direct sunlight should reach the lower
branchesof each tree. This can be accomplishedby pruning your
trees. Improved light penetration into the grove enablesthe lower
branchesto carry more bloom, encouragesa higher honey bee den-
sity in the orchard, and increasesthe potential for cross pollination.
Alternative insect pollinators should be considered. In Israel, a local
species of bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) has been studied as an
avocadopollinator. In environmentswith low honey bee activity, and
also when pollinizers are spacedat a distancegreaterthan 40 ft, bumble-
beessignificantly enhancedyield. In Mexico, about 8 local speciesof
stinglessbees(Apidae, Meliponinae) havebeenobservedextensively
visiting all types of avocadobloom, which appearsto be more attrac-
tive to them than to honey bees. Thesespecies,which are likely to be
the original pollinators of avocado, should be evaluated,especially
within Mexico, for their potential superior pollination efficiency in
avocado orchards.
A Review of Avocado Pollination
and the Role of Pollinizers
A. Elizabeth X'etscherr, Thomas Davenport2, Sharoni
Shafit', Arnon Daga, Nickolas Waserl,
and Mary Lu Arpaial
t University of Califurnia, Riverside,CA
2 Universityof Florida, TREC,Homestead,FL
3 TheHebrew Universityof Jerusalem,Rehovot,Israel
4A.R.O.,The VolcaniCenter,Bet-Dagan,Israel
I.Intmduction
Avocado(PerseaamericanaMill.)is anunderstorytreenativeto the
tropicalandsubtropicalregionsof CentralandSouthAmerica.Culti-
vars(varieties)of Guatemalan,
Mexican,andWestIndianoriginhave
spreadandbecomeimportantcropsin manyregionsaroundtheworld
(Bergh,1986;Davenport,1986).In Israel(IS),avocadois a major
exportcrop,with exportsaveragingover$35million annually(Dag
andRegev,1999).In theUS, avocadosalestotal $392million, with
Califomia(CA) accountingfor 95.'77oof thenetworthandFlorida(FL)
4.2%(Anon,2000).Wehaveinitiateda cooperative researchproject
to examinesomeof the many unanswered questionspertainingto
avocadofloral biology, pollination, and the role ofthe Europeanhoney Cultivarsvary considerablyin the seasonaltirning of their flowering
bee in avocado fruit production under California and Israeli condi- as well as other floral attributes.suchas f'lou'ersize. Avocadoculti-
tions. We presenta review of what is known in generalterms about varsaretypically separated into earll'- andlate-bloominggroups(Ish-
avocadopollination, the role of the honey bee, and somepreliminary Am and Eisikowitch. 1998a). About 85cl of the cultivars in IS are
early-bloomingtypes,including'Ettin-eer'.'Hass'.'Pinkerton', and
data that we have collected during the last seasonon honey bee race-
'Fuerte',which aregenerallycharacterizedbr low fruit productivity'
specific visitation to avocado,and pollinizer effects on fruit yield.
These cultivars flower at the sametime as r.r'ildflowersand citrus,
The avocado flower is consideredto have open form, with exposed which in generalseemto be very attractivefood sourcesfor honey
nectarandpollen. This is characteristicofplants that havenot evolved bees. Honey beesoften prefer the competingl-lowersand abandon
with specializedpollinators, but rather are visited by a range of in- the avocadobloom (Clark, 1923; Eisikowitch andMe lamud. 1982; Ish-
sects. A plethora of insect speciesvisits avocadoin its native envi- Am andEisikowitch,1998a; Vithanage,1990). Late-bloomingculti-
'Nabal' and 'Reed', which typically provide good truit
ronment, and many of them provide efficient pollination (Ish-Am et vars include
al.,1999a). Europeanhoney bees(Apis mellfera L.)' introducedto yields. Thesecultivarsbloom when there is little competitionfrom
to be
the New World in modem times, are anatomically suited as efficient other crops or natural vegetation,and are therefore more likely
pollinators of avocadoand areusedfor this purposeworldwide (Dav- visited by honey bees.
enpofi, 1986;1998;Ish-Am andEisikowitch,1993;Ish-Am etal.,l999a;
Vithanage, 1990). Bumblebeesmay also be efficient pollinators of Honey bee visitation rates to avocado correlate positively with fruit
Ish-Am
avocado(Ish-Am et al., 1999b)but are prohibitively expensivefor setandyield (Eisikowitch and Melamud, 1982;Ish-Am, 1994;
most commerci4l uses. andEisikowit ch. 1992:1998a; Robbertse et al., 1998 ; Vithanage' 1990!
This finding was further supported in the spring of 1999 in IS, wh'-
wh'.;',
7. Avocadoflowering and pollination the wildflower bloom was weak and delayed due to a dry winter. Con- |
numbers were observed working the early
Nirody (1921) was the first to report on the flowering behavior (syn- sequently,large honey bee I
if a I
chronousdichogamy) of avocadoin FL. Individual flowers openfirst avocadoflowers, and fruit yields were exceptionally high. Thus'
as functionally female, and then close and later reopen functionally honey bee line could be developedthat preferred avocadoover alter- |
male to revealpollen. Cultivars can be classifiedinto two complemen- native vegetation,yields could potentiallybe greatlyincreased.
I
tary flowering types. "A" flower cultivars have flowers that open as
female rnthe morning of the first day, and then reopen as male on the Although grower experience and research data suggest the benefits I
pollinizers
afternoon of the following day. "B" cultivars have flowers that open of outcrossing,the importance of placing honey beesand I
of I
as female in the afternoon of the first day and reopen as male the in avocado groves to promote outcrossinghas been a subject
morning of the following day. The opening and closing times of the disputefornearlyacentury(Stout,1923;GustafsonandBergh,1966; I
flowers tend to be synchronizedwithin a tree as well as among trees Kobayashiet al., 2000). Indeed,the mere requirementfor cross-polli- |
of like cultivar within an orchard. This meansthat type A or B pollen nation between cultivars has come into question in light of reports I
is releasedin the orchard at the sametime that type B or A flowers of that temperaturefluctuations can causeoverlap of the male and fe- |
the complementarycultivar are in the female stage,respectively. For male phaseswithin a canopy (Sedgleyand Grant, 1982)' This enables I
this reason,it is common for growersto facilitate crosspollination by "close" pollination (a type of selfing) to occur betweenflowers of the I
introducing honey beesand pollinizers into orchards. sametree or cultivar. In addition, given appropriateconditions, such I
ashigh humidity, self-pollination within a flower during the male lhase
i
I
v
35
(.)
€\l
.F) 30 Figure1. Thepercentageof honeybees,
c) returning to their hives,whose honey
+) O
o L 25 stomachscontained perseitol,indicat-
q)
q) ing that they had beenforagingat avo-
20 cado flowers. Data were collectedat
+) the ACW Farmin Fallbrook,CA and the
rFr F 15 Orr Farmin Somis,CA. Differencesbe-
0 tween the racesare non-significantat
+) {) both sites,and the differencebetween
{-t 10
c) a sitesin the percentageof avocadofor-
c, agersis also non-significant(P > 0.15
tsr s€
(t) 5 in all cases).
q)
tr{ o
AC\il Orr

Study site
 can take place, provided the stigma (the female portion of the flower ('Simmonds', 'Tonnage',and 'Choquette')in FL indicatethat over
on which the pollen is deposited)hasnot yet senesced(Davenportet 857oof the maturefruit arederived from self-pollinatedflowers (Dav-
al.,1994). For most growing regions,however,it has beenassumed enport, unpublisheddata). Recentresearchexaminedthe rate of out-
that selfing should not be relied upon as the sole means of ovule crossingof'Hass' from coastalandinlandorchardsofCA (Kobayashi
'Hass' yield resultedfrom self pollination
fertilization(Peterson,1955).Accountsof single-cultivargrovespro- et al., 2000). Most of the
ducing high yields in the apparentabsenceof complementary culti- (about60 to 807o),althoughoutcrossingwas found to explain roughly
vars have been cited as evidencethat pollinizer interplantings to fa- l}Vo of the variance in yield. It is unclear, however, whether honey
cilitatepollination arenot necessary(Hodgson,1947;Gustafsonand bees were available to serve as pollinators in this study, since the
Bergh, 1966). More recentwork by Vrecenar-Gadus and Ellstrand presenceor absenceof honey beeswas not monitored(M. Clegg,L.
( 1985),however,showedthat single-cultivar groves canreceivesub- Francis,personalcommunication). Severalworkers have also exam-
stantial amounts of pollen from distant pollinizers in other groves. ined the relationshipbetweendistancefrom a pollinizer and outcross-
This meansthat high yields in single-cultivar orchards cannot neces- ing, aswell as yield. Although resultsfrom thesestudiesvary in their
sarily be interpretedas strictly the result of self-fertilization. magnitude and in their statistical significance, generalfindings indi-
catethat outcrossing(Degani et aL.,1991),aswell as yield (Ellstrand,
Recent observations of avocado floral behavior and pollination in 1992),conelatenegativelywith distancefrom a pollhizer.
southem FL, however, have prompted a reexamination of the ten-
dency of avocado to self-pollinate. Researchshowed that cross- The key to understandingthe importance of crossvs. self-pollination
pollination occurredin only about l7o of avocadoflowers, despitethe appearsto be the proportion of viable female organsthat persist into
presenceof honey bees and other pollinating insects in orchards. the male phase. Dry, Mediterraneanclimatesmay promote high cross
within flowers, without the aid of insects,occurredin vs. self-pollination ratios becauseof excessivedesiccationof stigmas
3l.lf-pollination
more than 957oof the pollinated flowers of most cultivars grown in in the male phase.Conversely,more humid conditions may promote
southemFL (Davenport,1989; Davenportet al.,1994). This is be- high ratesof selfpollination due to the increasednumber ofreceptive
cause,contrary to previous assumptions,a substantialpropotlion of stigmasin the male phase. Hence honey beesmay increasefruit yield
stigmasremain receptiveuntil the closeof the male stage(Davenport, in dry climates by increasingthe number of pollinated female phase
1986). Moreover, pollen typically disperseswithin thirty minutes af- flowers if sufficient hives are deployed to saturateboth the avocado
ter dehiscence(Davenport, 1998) and may, therefore, be efficiently orchardand the more attractiveneighboringflowering plants,whereas
transferredby wind or gravity within flowers to receptive,white stig- honey beesmay havelittle impact in conditions where self pollination
mas in the male phase, giving rise to self-pollination rates propor- predominates.
tional to the number of receptive stigmaspresent.
2. Honey bee behavioral genetics
Previous Australian research indicated that pollen tubes stop grow- Behaviorsof honeybeesvary amongindividuals, amonggeneticlines,
ing sometime within 24 hrs after pollen is deposited on the stigmas of and among races. Variation at all these levels has an important ge-
flowers that are in their male-phase (Sedgley, 1977a; 1977b). This nefic component(FrumhoffandBaker,1988;RobinsonandPage,1988).
finding supported the argument that fertilization cannot occur during Various behaviors that have been genetically selected have direct
the male phase. T. Davenport recently examined pollen-tube growth consequences for foraging performance. These include aspectsof
in male-phase pollinated flowers that still bore receptive stigmas (which
are still white, as opposed to brown and desiccated). He observed Table 1. Proportion
{o/oof total) of flowers in which the
pistils at 24 and48 hrs after pollen deposition in the male phaseand
pollen tube penetrated the ovule within 48 hr after hand
that, regardlessof the pollen source,eachcultivar displayed a pollination (HCP) from adjacent complementary
J.trd cross
substantialproportion of flowers in which ovules were penetratedby pollination (HSP) from same cultivar,
cultivar, hand close
a pollen tube within 48 hrs of pollination (Table l). These data sup- pollination (NSP) within the male phase
and natural self
port the contention that a substantialportion (-25Vo to -85Eo) of the
avocado flowers.
male-phasepollinated flowers are successfullyfertilized and that fer-
tilization generally occursbeIweenZ4 and 48 hrs after pollination. In Cultivar Race FloralType HCP HSP NSP
addition, outcross pollen from the complementary cultivars tested
appearedto have no benefit over (selfl pollen from the samecultivar, booln / GA/V B a1 A1
//"1 | 69.14 73.44
in terms of pollen-tube growth.
Brooks Late cAru 82.88 5 0 . 1 2 5 7 . 2 8
Selfing is clearly the primary mode of avocadopollination in FL, and Choquette CIW 59.94 70.0'1 75.84
results in successfulfertilization, but is it universally effective in the
production of a crop? Researchersin IS found that
'Hass' fruit de- Monroe c/w B 25.00 23.58 30.16
'Ettinger' (Goldring et al.,1981; Degani 64.68
rived from flowers pollinated by Simmonds 63.77 58.19
'Ardith' (Degani et al.,l99l) were preferentially re-
et al., 1989)and
Tonnage G,4/V R 39.77 57.27 56.46
tained on the plant all the way to fruit maturity, relative to fruit derived
from self-pollinatedflowers. Somepollinizers, however,havenot shown Tower 2 B 64.91 73.68 76.76
this effect when tested. Degani and Gazit (1984) observedthat the
proportion of self-pollinated progeny ranged from 8 to 93Voin caged and WestIndianracehvbrid;W is
Race:G/W is Cuatemalan
pairs of several cultivars. Likewise, studies of three cultivars West Indianrace.
leaming andmemory (Benataret al., 1995;BrandesandMenzel, 1990; visitation to avocadoby NWC beesas comparedto IT beesat the Orr
Brandeset al., 1998),flightrange (Gary andWitherell, 1977),andthe Farm in Somis. Differences betweenthe races,however,were negli-
tendencyto collect nectaror pollen (Hellmich et al', 1985; Calderone gible at ACW (Fig. 1). In IS, honey was extractedfrom eachhive
and Page,1988;Gordon etal.,1995:Page,1999), as well as actual separatelyat the end ofthe seasonand PSL concentrationwas deter-
preferencesfor certain crops over others(Nye and Mackenson, 1968, mined for eachhoney sample. The honey yield from NWC beeswas
1970). Through artificial selection,lines with significantly betterper- significantly greaterthan that of IT bees. Additionally, at one of the
formance in desiredtraits can be createdwithin a few generations. sites,the honey collectedfrom the NWC hives had significantly more
PSL and tendedto be darker. Color is anotherindicator of visitation to
One of the most successfulbreeding programs in the U.S. is that of avocado,as avocadohoneyhas a molasses-likecolor. The resultsof
the New World Carniolanhoneybee(NWC) (Cobey,L999),atacethat the honey data support the hypothesis that NWC honey bees are
is now used extensively. It was observedat ACW Farm in southern more attracted to avocado than IT honey bees. They also suggest
CA that NWC beeswere very active on avocado,even though com- that the strength with which honey bees are attractedto avocado is
peting vegetation was in bloom in the surrounding area. Such levels influenced by competing forage, becausedifferences between the
of activity were not observedon nearby farms where Italian (IT) honey races were more pronouncedat some sites than others.
beeswere commonly employed(R. Hofshi, personalcommunication).
These observations raised the hypothesis that NWC bees have a 2. Effect of pollinizing cultivar on'Hass' yield
greater genetic predisposition to avocado visitation than IT honey M. L. Arpaia and B. Faber setup a pollinizer (B-flower type cultivar)
bees. trial in Oxnard, CA in 1998. The goal of the trial is to quantify potential
'Hass' yield in relation to nearest pollinizer type at{,
differences in
'Hass' cultivar is of the A-flow-) I
II. Pretiminary results from experiments in Israel and California the distancefrom the pollinizer. The
'Hass' with rows of differr
7. Honey bee race-speciilc visitation to uvocado type. The trial grove contains 6 blocks of I
'Hass'. follow- |
Colonies of NWC and IT honey beeswere placedin equal numbersin ent pollinizers interplantedwith every 6ft row of 'Bacon'.The 'Ettinger',
two avocado orchards each in IS and CA. Various techniqueswere ing B-flower types are included as pollinizers: I
'Z:utano','Fuerte','Marvel', 'Nobel', and'SirPrize'. 'Harvest'.an A-
employed to look for race-specificdifferencesin the bees' visitation |
to avocado. Avocado nectar is unusual in that it contains a 7-carbon flower type, is also included. The latter four cultivars are new selec- |
(7C) sugar,perseitol (PSL), and its 7C precursor,D-mannoheptulose. tions from the UC Riverside AvocadoBreedingProgram,whereasthe I
These are the major transport sugarsin the avocado tree (Liu et al., first 4 cultivars are long-used standards. Fruit yield data were col- |
'Hass' and pollinizers in 3 experimentalblocks
1995, 1999). PSL has been found in the nectar of all avocado cultivars lectedfrom a subsetof I
not
tested to date, and has not been found in the main flora competing during March 2001. The preliminary harvestresults. which have I
with avocado,suchascitrus or wild mustardflowers (Ish-Am, 1994)' yet been statistically analyzed,are presentedin Figure 2. The data I
the
Therefore,PSL offers a tool for measuringhoney bee nectarforaging corroborates the fruitlet count data that was presented both at I
bee race, foragers were FaIl2000 Avocado Research Symposium and at recent avocado grower
activity on avocadobloom. For eachhoney I
caught upon their return to the hive. Honey-stomachcontents were meetings. This data strongly suggeststhat there can be a distance I
'Hass' yield as related to the distance from the pollinizer.
then collected from each bee and analyzed for the presenceof PSL effect on I
using High PerformanceLiquid Chromatography. ln Callfomia, 21.67o The data also suggeststhat there may be pollinizer varietal effects on I
'Hass' yield. The datafrom this first year showsthat the highestfruit
(overall) of beesreturning to hives had PSL in their honey stomachs, I
'Zutano'
meaning that an averugeof 22Voof nectar-foraging trips from a given counts were obtained when 'Bacon'. was the pollinizer variety fol- |
'Ettinger' and then Of the 2 unreleased"B" flower I
hive were to avocado. There was a non-significant trend toward more lowed by rl
\ti
Fruit Count
t20
Figure2. The influenceof pollinizerson
100 'Hass'fruityieldin March2001. Datawere
collectedfrom'Hass'trees locatedat vary-
80 ing distancesfrom interplantedrows of
pollinizersin a grovecontaininghoneybees
60 at a densitvof 2.5 hives/acre.

40

20

0
Zttano Ettinger Bacon Marvel SirPrize Fuerte Nobel Harvest

NearestPollinizer Variety
 'Marvel'
selections, it appearsthat the may also serve as a
good pollen donor. This is of interest since the 'Marvel' tree is con-
siderablysmallerthanthe 3 top pollinizer varieties. Henceour prelimi-
nary work confirms previous observationsby others on the potential
benefit of using pollinizers to boost the yield of 'Hass' avocadoin
Califomia.
III. Futuredirections
We plan to continue the studies outlined above with ongoing fund-
ing from the California Avocado Commission (to A. E. Fetscher,N.
Waser,T. Davenport, and T. Chao). In the upcoming season,we will
collect additional datafrom the pollinizer site to determineif pattems
detectedfrom the 2000 fruiting seasonare repeated. We also will
monitor the incidence of receptive stigmas persisting into the male
phaseof flowers at this site, as well as the frequency of visitation by
both NWC and IT honey beesto 'Hass' and the other cultivars, and
we will study floral biology and phenological pattems of the various
cultivars. In addition,we will examinea similar setof variablesin other
orovesin Ventura County CA and elsewhere.
\./
Can You Make Money Growing Cherimoya in the
Coastal Regions of California?
A Sample of Establishmentand Production
Costsand Profitability Analysis
Etaferahu Takele
Universityof California,AreaFarmAdvisor,RiversideCounty
Cherimoya production in the coastal regions of Califomia has been
i-.7eloling, and severalfarm advisorsat the University of California
have been gathering information regarding production practicesand
the economicfeasibility of the crop. In this article,I provide estimates
of the costsand capital needsfor producing cherimoya in the coastal
regions of California, as well as a basis for evaluating profitability
using gross and net margins to determine economic profit. Because
values of land and water vary tremendouslywithin the region, I also
provide guidelines to adjust gross and net margins to accommodate
such variations.
Determining Establishment and Production Costs
Establishmentand production costs for cherimoya in the coastalre-
gions of Califomia are determined basedon information gatheredfrom
growers and shippers. In addition, growers and farm advisors sug-
gest that some of the cost information from a recent study conducted
for lemon production in Ventura County (Takeleet a1.,1997)will be
applicableto cherimoyaproduction. The following dataand assump- Labor: The averagecost of labor is estimatedto be $8.65/hour (the
tions have been used in determining the cost of cherimoya produc- samerate usedin lemon production costs)for both machine and non-
tion. machine workers. However, labor wage payrolls carry benefits in-
Operating assumptions and costs
Preplant and P lanting: Land preparationcosts$816/acre.Land prepa-
ration is performed on a custom basis and includes removing trees,
subsoiling, and leveling. To determine planting costs, I based this
analysison 134 treesper acre(18' x I 8' spaceplanting). The cost of
planting is calculated at$I4.20ltree ($12.20 to purchasethe tree and
$2.00 for labor to plant trees).I am assumingthere is a loss of 2 trees/
acre in the first season.These are replanted inyear 2.
Irrigation: Based on the lemon production cost study, the average
cost of water purchasedfrom the Coastalregion of VenturaCo. is $ 190
per acre-foot. The amount of water applied is estimatedto be 4 to 9
acre-inches/acreduring the first two yea.rsof establishmentand 16 to
20 acre-inches/acreduring years three to five. After the trees have
reached full production, water application is assumedat an annual
r ateof 24 acre-inches/acre.
Prune and Sucker: We calculatedpruning and suckering costsbased
on data we have for lemon production. These operationscost about
$100/acreduring the first and secondyears of establishment,$2201
acreduring the third and fourth years,and about $500/acreduring the
fifth and production years. Because these operations are usually
performed on a conffact or custom basis, they are charged on a per
acrebasis.
Pest Control.' Insect control during both the establishmentand pro-
duction years includes a biological control program using deccolate
snails for snail control at $50/acrelyearand chemical and or traps for
ants and rodents at $150/acrelyear.
Weedcontrol: Weed control includes hand weeding, which was esti-
mated to take 20 hours/acrelyearduring both establishmentand pro-
duction. Costs of hand weeding are calculated at labor rate. Also
chemical herbicide control may be used. In this analysis, we used
Roundup at lqtlacrelyear during both establishmentand production.
Fertilization: According to growers surveyed, the rate of nitrogen
(N) appliedrangedfrom 17 lb/acrein the first yearto abott204lblacre
in production years. In addition, micronuffients (zinc sulfate and
manganesesulfate) are each applied at the rate of 8 lb/acre eachyear
during both establishmentand production periods. The cost of N is
approximately $0.174b and micronutrients cost an averageof $0.37l
lb. Fertilization is through the irrigation system.
Pollination: Hand pollination is requiredfor production of cherimoya
in Califomia. Hand pollination is estimatedto take about one hour/
acre for each application of pollen during years four and five of the
establishmentperiod and two hours/acrefor each application of pol-
len during the production years. Annually, pollination is done every
other day for abouttwo months. This brings the total time for pollina-
tion to 30 hours/acre each year during establishmentyears and 60
hours/acre each year during production. Costs of pollination are
calculatedat labor rate.