Bark damage on an avocado

Article here on girdling avocados you might want to read:

In my case the girdling extended for about eight inches, so it couldn't heal.

It does explain the anomalous flowering, however. Still, it doesn't seem like a good practice for general cultivation. It's effectively starving the roots. I don't see how that can pay in the long run, especially in a less-than-ideal growing environment like mine.

The practical effect is to suggest that top-working the tree is the next step. If that fails, time to yank it. It'd be nice to find out if the fruit that has set is any good. But, if it is, the solution would be to graft _that_ wood onto a different rootstock.

In the meantime I've purchased three commerical varieties; Sir Prize, GEM and Sharwil. They've been in the ground about three weeks so far. The Sharwil promises to grow like a weed, the other two are diffident but pushing buds at least. Winter will tell the real story....

Thanks very much for writing!

bob prohaska

In case you didn't read all the way to the comments... I found them interesting, voicing some of your concerns too.

Seems girdling would only be done on some branches, not the whole tree. It would insure the grower that part of their tree would likely have fruit this harvest season.

I'd noticed small trees on my property flowering after rabbits had badly girdled them earlier during winter. They always die but I'd never paid attention to whether they set fruit or not. Plan on paying better attention to this, for curiosities sake.

After thinking it over, maybe shortening the life of the tree, at least in a commercial context, makes sense. I've noticed that the nut tree orchards near me are getting pulled out and replaced with presumably more profitable crops. Sometimes with newer varieties of the same tree. It seems odd, but industrial agriculture is the model of rational action.

Did the trees you observed live long enough to ripen any fruit they might set? I summarily removed the girdled avocado limb, thinking any fruit set would never mature.

In the case of the lemon tree last spring, fruit on the girdled branches didn't drop, but it was large, bland and not representative of the other fruit on the tree.

Thanks for writing,

bob prohaska

Some nut crops are very high in water demand, which may be why they are changing.

AFAIK the goal isn't to reduce water usage, it's to maximize profit. The most common species swap I see is almonds replacing walnuts. Both use about the same amount of water per pound of yield, but the price for almonds has historically been higher than for walnuts.

As a gardener I'm tempted to keep established trees for as long as they yield a normal crop. An industrial gardener has motivations that change much faster than the life of a tree.

bob prohaska

These are Autumn Olive trees, once promoted as "good for wildlife". Now they're considered an invasive species🙄️ Parents planted some along with some neighbors long ago. Rabbits always do a number on them once snow begins stacking up to some depth. I've noticed the blooming and leaves on girdled trunks and branches but never thought to check again in the fall when they'd be fruiting. Had thought it was just a last "hurrah" before succumbing to the girdling. Plan on looking closer this fall for curiosities sake...

That (bland taste) doesn't surprise me. Seems to be a common result when maturing fruit has been forced or speedy growth is involved.

Fast growth, longer shelf life and handling durability seem to be the desired traits nowadays for crop producers😑️