Thread: Avocado trees in Nong Khai

I tried posting some avocado tree info on one of the previous avo threads but seems to have vanished.

I have 2 small blocks of avocado trees on a farm here in Nong Khai. 12 varieties of various ages between 2 and 5 years.
A total of just over 100 trees.
My initial trees came from a few different sources in Thailand.
The trees that I had delivered from other provinces were young and not ready for planting out. They need some time to get stronger in the bag before planting out.
Now I have better success with trees from my own nursery.
Half of my trees have produced fruit. The others are too young - 1 or 2 years in the ground.

By following a few basics avocado can be successfully grown in NE Thailand.
My wife has some video of clips on her YouTube channel called "Alexander Farm"
I anyone would like any information on avocado trees you can leave a comment under one of her video clips.

Interesting project and I did check out your wife's videos. Do you only grow the round type? I grew up eating the Haas variety and got a bit spoiled. They seem to be much greener and creamier than the Thai ones. Once in a while I do get a good Thai avocado though. Good luck.

Originally Posted by aging one

They seem to be much greener and creamier than the Thai ones.

A minority type here in NZ with a more yellow-meat, sometimes can be a bit dry but generally good eating.

My b.i.l took s few dozen pips with him back to Malaysia and young trees are doing well - no fruit yet.

Originally Posted by Chris L

My wife has some video of clips on her YouTube channel called "Alexander Farm"

Watched - well done. (Either your avocados are quite large or your Mrs is tiny )

I read somewhere that the avocado tree is an evergreen deciduous that can grow tall when allowed. So I planted some as future shade trees on the Western fence. Fruit would be a bonus. They were bought in as young trees. All died. Since then I have planted out some of the saplings the gf insisted on growing from seed. I think we have 6 now, of unknown, various types. They have been nursed through the dry season and have shown different willingness to grow. Anyway still alive. The strongest has made 1.5m, the oldest and apparently least successful is not 0.5m.
The soil here is okay, typical Isaan hard as rock without water yet stuff generally grows well.
Do you feed the trees? Here they get water. We aren't very skilled farmers.

There are a few different shapes.
Round - Petersen, Reed, Booth 7
Oval - PeterHass, Buccaneer,
Pear - Pinkerton, Fuerte, Hass, Booth 8

The Petersen is not highly rated but the fruit from our trees have good taste and texture. I will get my first Reed fruit this year. It is a round fruit but highly rated.

I have 15 Hass trees planted last year. They are growing very well. The guy from the nursery near Chiang Mai said that they may not do very well in this area. Next year will tell.

I also have a 9 year old tree that was grown from a seed (Avo from a street hawker in Port Gentil - Gabon) It has heavy fruit set, big pear shaped fruit, very good taste.

BTW - The trees flower from December to April. Different varieties....different times. One tree will be in flower for about 3 to 4 weeks.

Every variety has quite different characteristics.
The bigger varieties can reach 10m and give plenty shade.
If you have a small space the trees don't mind pruning. Semi dwarf tree like Pinkerton is good.

Avo trees have a tap root. Too much water is a problem. Plant the trees on a mound. Dont dig a hole in the hard clay soil.
Young trees suffer from over watering. Less is safer than too much. After 2 years in the ground they pretty safe. 2 to 3m tall
The avocado has surface feeder roots. These are what really matter. Plenty of mulch and surface water spray works well.

Salinity is a problem in Isaan area. You can get a cheap EC meter on Lazada. An Aussie govt. website advises that max EC value for avocado is 700ms
Test your water before planting. My village water is 1500ms. The borehole in the garden reads 550ms.
EC over 700 wont necessarily kill the tree but it will negatively affect the performance as the number gets higher.

Young trees need shade cover. 2m structure with 50% shade cloth on top and sunny side helps the tree to get started.

Originally Posted by Chris L

Every variety has quite different characteristics.
The bigger varieties can reach 10m and give plenty shade.
If you have a small space the trees don't mind pruning. Semi dwarf tree like Pinkerton is good.

Avo trees have a tap root. Too much water is a problem. Plant the trees on a mound. Dont dig a hole in the hard clay soil.
Young trees suffer from over watering. Less is safer than too much. After 2 years in the ground they pretty safe. 2 to 3m tall
The avocado has surface feeder roots. These are what really matter. Plenty of mulch and surface water spray works well.

Salinity is a problem in Isaan area. You can get a cheap EC meter on Lazada. An Aussie govt. website advises that max EC value for avocado is 700ms
Test your water before planting. My village water is 1500ms. The borehole in the garden reads 550ms.
EC over 700 wont necessarily kill the tree but it will negatively affect the performance as the number gets higher.

Young trees need shade cover. 2m structure with 50% shade cloth on top and sunny side helps the tree to get started.

Originally Posted by Shutree

I read somewhere that the avocado tree is an evergreen deciduous that can grow tall when allowed. So I planted some as future shade trees on the Western fence. Fruit would be a bonus. They were bought in as young trees. All died. Since then I have planted out some of the saplings the gf insisted on growing from seed. I think we have 6 now, of unknown, various types. They have been nursed through the dry season and have shown different willingness to grow. Anyway still alive. The strongest has made 1.5m, the oldest and apparently least successful is not 0.5m.
The soil here is okay, typical Isaan hard as rock without water yet stuff generally grows well.

Do you feed the trees? Yes. Twice a year they get 15-15-15. Amount depends on the age of the tree. A bucket of compost for each tree once a year. Once a week during budding and flowering the trees get a foliar spray - Multiflor. This helps with fruit set. Basically micro elements that may be deficient in the soil.

Clay soils here can be acidic. Avocado trees like ph around 6.5. If you have acid soil, ph 5 to 6 is quite common in these clay soils, add some dolomitic lime. Cheap and available many places.
Sprinkle a bucket full around the drip zone of the tree once a year and measure the ph until it gets around 6.5.

Here they get water. We aren't very skilled farmer You really don't need to be a skilled farmer. I'm an ex-seaman and never had any previous farming experience. Apart from getting nice fruit, the avocado tree grows quickly once it gets its roots established. Its a joy to observe daily progress.