The Avocado


Book Description

This book is comprised of 15 chapters covering principles and basic understanding in avocado science, technology, best management practices and postharvest aspects. It is aimed at avocado researchers, libraries, teachers and academics, students, advisers, cutting edge growers and industry support personnel. Topics discussed include the history, distribution, uses, taxonomy, botany, genetics, breeding, ecology, reproductive biology, ecophysiology, cultivars and rootstocks, propagation, biotechnology, irrigation and mineral nutrition, crop management, foliar, fruit and soil-borne diseases, insect and mite pests and harvesting, packing, postharvest technology, transport and processing.




Don't Throw It, Grow It!


Book Description

Eat Your Vegetables (and plant them too!) You can also have houseplant fun with fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices. From the common carrot to the exotic cherimoya, dozens of foods have pits, seeds, and roots waiting to be rescued from the compost bin and brought back to life on your windowsill. Planted and nurtured, the shiny pomegranate seeds left over from breakfast and the piece of neglected gingerroot in your refrigerator will grow into healthy, vigorous houseplants kitchen experiments in the wonder of botany."




Edible Backyard


Book Description

In this practical step-by-step guide, gardening teacher Kath Irvine shares her wealth of knowledge from more than 20 years of helping Kiwi gardeners design, build, grow and maintain their own productive edible gardens. Kath's sage, hands-on, often humorous advice steps readers through everything they need to know to grow great produce at home, including garden design, tools and equipment, seasonal planting advice, soil fertility, seed-saving basics, managing pests and diseases, and how to incorporate organic and permaculture gardening methods into any home garden. While documenting a year on her own property, Kath shows how you can successfully produce bountiful crops throughout the seasons to provide a steady, daily harvest with minimal wastage. The book is illustrated with hundreds of stunning photographs and helpful hand-drawn illustrations that share clever design concepts and planting plans for gardens of all shapes and sizes. Kath is the perfect guide, and this easy-to-understand, comprehensive book is ideal for gardeners at any skill level, from beginners setting up a new garden from scratch, to intermediate trouble-shooters, to advanced green-thumbs seeking deeper knowledge.







Biennial Report


Book Description













Propagating Plants


Book Description

Are you interested in growing your own plants from scratch? This reference book will teach you how to propagate virtually every type of plant. If you're a thrifty gardener who wants more plants for free, then this book is perfect for you! From fruit trees and ornamental shrubs to exotic orchids and succulents, get all the info you'll need to propagate plants at your fingertips. Discover the experts' secrets to perfecting plant propagation with this easy-to-follow gardening manual. A horticulturist's delight, this new edition features more than 1,800 detailed illustrations and photos that show both practical step-by-step gardening techniques and the plants themselves. How long do your seedlings need to germinate? What makes a healthy stem cutting? How do you know what type of rootstock to use when grafting plants? Find out the answer to these questions and more in the most comprehensive guide to propagating plants ever published. From palms and roses to culinary herbs and conifers, each chapter contains popular and botanically interesting plant groups. Explore the modes of propagation that are unique to the featured plants. Learn about their characteristic ways of reproduction and how these are exploited in various techniques. The techniques are fully illustrated with step-by-step photographs and explanatory artworks. The plants' special needs are discussed, with expert tips on how to achieve success. This gardening book is crammed with hundreds of step-by-step tutorials and clear advice, ranging from straightforward and simple to more in-depth. The rating system in the plant-by-plant A-Z dictionaries provides you with a quick reference to the relative ease or difficulty of each method of propagation. Fill Your Garden with Beautiful Plants for Next-To-Nothing Plant propagation is a fun, rewarding and inexpensive way to add shrubs to your garden or multiply your collection of houseplants. This book helps you successfully reach your goals while steering you clear of common mistakes. It's an indispensable reference book for every propagator's bookshelf. Use this comprehensive gardening guide to: - Find out how to propagate more than 1,500 garden plants. - A-Z dictionaries of different genera of plants, like perennials, vegetables, or bulbous plants. - Follow the visual step-by-step guides and authoritative advice on cutting, layering, sowing, grafting, and more.