Ministry of Agriculture

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Communities and persons interested in planting fruit trees as part of their Labour Day project will be able to collect seedlings from the parish offices of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), and the Social Development Commission (SDC).

Approximately 35,000 fruit tree seedlings including ackee, jackfruit, lychee, mango, naseberry, pomegranate, dwarf june plum, otaheite apple, cherry, custard apple, sweet sop, guinep, star apple, and guava, will be distributed to all persons interested.

Locksley Waite, fruit tree crop agronomist at RADA, has said that it was important for persons to care for the trees that they would be planting.

"The performance of your plant begins in the nursery, and only plant good, quality plants. Avoid planting plants with bench, fork, and swan neck roots.

In preparation, you should dig your hole two feet deep, two feet wide and remove both top soil and sub soil," Mr. Locksley advised.

"You need to add five to 10 pounds of well broken down organic matter to this hole and mix it with your top soil; you also need to refill the hole with top soil. Plants should only be planted as deep as it was in the bag and immediately after planting you need to irrigate, it is also good to mulch plants, which should be a minimum of three inches thick," he added.

Mr. Waite also told JIS News that fruit trees should be pruned to prevent them from attaining a height beyond 15 feet. This, he said, would "allow for easy reaping and general tree management."

For young fruit trees, pruning should start at a height of three to four feet and for bearing trees, pruning should take place after reaping.

Currently, RADA is preparing leaflets containing information on the basic principles of planting and managing fruit trees and these will be distributed before Labour Day on May 23.

The tree-planting initiative is in keeping with the National Labour Day theme: 'Eat what we grow, Grow what we eat', as a means of securing Jamaica's food supply.

The National Labour Day Project is at the Buff Bay High School in Portland, with a 'baby' project at Tranquillity Primary School, also in the parish, where 70 fruit trees will be planted. At Buff Bay High, a plant nursery will be established to supply the school and farmers in the area.

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