How to Plant Avocado Seeds? Latest Planting Method Explained in Detail

Avocado is a deciduous tree of the genus Persea in the Sapotaceae family, also known as oil pear, alligator pear, butter pear, etc. It is called “forest butter” because it is rich in plant fats. It originated in Mexico and Central America, and now there is a small amount of cultivation in Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Guangxi, Taiwan, China, Yunnan and Sichuan in China. Let's take a look below at how to plant avocado seeds!

Avocado Growth Habits

Avocado likes light and prefers a warm, humid climate. It is not cold-tolerant; only a few varieties can tolerate short-term low temperatures of 0 degrees. The suitable average annual temperature is 20-25°C. Cold resistance varies by variety. Cold-resistant varieties can tolerate low temperatures of -6°C, while varieties with low cold resistance wither when encountering low temperatures of 0°C. It needs annual rainfall of more than 1000 millimeters. The roots are shallow, and the branches are fragile, so it cannot withstand strong winds. The impact of strong winds can lead to reduced yield. It has strong adaptability to soil.

How to Plant Avocado Seeds?

In production, avocado is generally propagated by seed. When sowing, remove the seed coat and sprout the seeds in a sand bed. Choose a place with deep soil, good drainage and shelter from wind for planting. A spacing of 5*(6-7) meters is more suitable. Mixed planting of varieties can ensure pollination. After sowing, the seeds germinate in 30-40 days. After about 1 year of cultivation, they can leave the nursery for planting or grafting.

Avocado Planting Management

1. Planting: When avocado seedlings are 10-20 cm tall, transplant them by size grade, with a spacing of 30×60 cm. Water thoroughly before transplanting, and dig as deep as possible to avoid damaging the roots. The planting spacing is 5-6 meters. Grafted seedlings planted for 3-4 years or seedling plants for 4-6 years bloom and bear fruit.

2. Mulching: Avocado is a fruit tree that grows under tropical rainforest conditions and in competition for sunlight. The high-temperature and high-humidity environment makes it grow quickly. Therefore, avocado cultivation abroad often emphasizes growing grass or green manure near the plants in the early stage, and applying a large amount of mulch near the root zone.

3. Fertilization: Avocado conventionally requires nitrogen fertilizer more than 4 times a year, usually by broadcast application or through the irrigation system. During the young fruit stage of mature trees, apply 50 kg of organic fertilizer and 50 grams of compound fertilizer per tree, and apply again after harvest, with the amount doubled.

4. Drainage: Avocado needs to keep the root zone soil moist throughout the year. It is very sensitive to soil drought. Once short of water, physiological functions are blocked and tree vigor weakens, causing leaf and fruit drop, and reducing cold resistance in winter. Therefore, irrigate appropriately during drought, but pay attention to drainage during the rainy season.

Avocado Pest and Disease Control

1. Anthracnose

[Damage] It harms mature fruit and can also infect leaves, young branches, flowers and young fruit, causing fruit drop and fruit rot.

[Control] Remove diseased branches in the orchard, prune diseased leaves, and eliminate the source of infection. After harvest, carry out low-temperature pretreatment and low-temperature storage as early as possible. The key to control is to minimize the occurrence of other fruit diseases and avoid mechanical damage during fruit transport.

2. Scab

[Damage] In the early stage, affected fruit produces slight round brown scab-like protrusions, which later turn brown to light purple. After the fruit matures, the lesions join together, the center sinks, and the peel becomes rough.

[Control] Prune diseased branches to reduce pathogens, and spray Bordeaux mixture or other copper preparations.

3. Stem-end rot

[Damage] The fruit stem is infected first, and slight wilting appears around the fruit stem. As the fruit matures, the pathogen invades the fruit, and obvious black rot appears around the fruit stem, with a clear boundary between diseased and healthy parts.

[Control] Remove the source of infection in time, avoid the accumulation of diseased residues in the orchard, and covering the ground under the tree with film or weeds can promote faster decomposition of diseased residues. In addition, do not harvest on rainy days.

4. Sooty mold

[Damage] The surface of fruit, leaves and stems is covered with a large amount of black soot-like mycelium and spores, and grows on the honeydew secreted by wax scales and whiteflies.

[Control] The key is to control pests and reduce honeydew production. A better method is to use natural enemies for biological control.