It bears a lot of fruits year-round.
Its medium-size fruits are fine-textured and very sweet. It is also decorated
because of its green and yellow leaves.
It can already be raised effectively
thru grafting by means of the method called Crown Grafting, using green chico
seedlings as rootstocks. It is a technique whereby the leaves of the scion are
not removed. The newly grafted seedlings are then placed in an enclosed
chamber. In a matter of just few weeks, the graft will be well-established. The
seedlings produced through crown grafting are ready for planting within a
shorter period than when the traditional grafting method is used.
It can be grown direct in the ground
or in rubberized container. It is both an economic and decorative plant and
could be grown in the yard wherever it is possible in containers. It can be
maintained as low-growing yet very fruitful. The main trunk was detopped so
that many branches develop. For as long as the tree in container is adequately
fertilized, it will produce plenty of full-sized fruits.
The rubberized container is provided
with drainage holes. Then growing medium that is rich in organic matter is
used. This could be a mixture of old rice hull, garden soil and old animal
manure (chicken, carabao, horse and the like). Also the plant should be
regularly fertilized with chemical fertilizer both foliar and the kind that it
placed in the soil.
Complete fertilizer may be applied
every month in the containerized chico, the rate depending on the size of the
tree. When the fruits are still very small, ammonium sulfate may be added
(half-half) to the complete fertilizer. When the fruits are already big, the
complete fertilizer may be reinforced with equal amount of 0-0-60 (muriate of
potash) to make the fruits sweeter. Micro-nutrients or trace elements may also
be added in small amounts to make the fruits are juicy.
When the plant is in the ground, it
should be provided with good drainage. If the soil is hard clay, a cubic meter
hole may be dug and filled with a mixture of well-decomposed animal manure,
rice hull and topsoil. Addition of old manure twice a year may be done. Also,
chemical fertilizer (both applied in the soil and through the leaves) will keep
the tree in good shape.
Mealy bugs may infect the plants.
They are usually in the company of ants. The mealy bugs suck the sap of the
tree which could cause stunting. Sooty mold could also result because the
secretions of the mealy bugs can attract fungal growth. The pests, however, are
easy to control by spraying any of the standard insecticides.
A surefire way of multiplying the
variegated chico even by inexperience hobbyists. This is through inarching.
This is done by taking rootstocks with a stem about the size of the small
finger. Then select a branch of the same size of a tree grown in the ground or
in a container. Remove strip of the bark and portion of the wood of the
rootstocks, about three inches long.
Then make similar cut on the branch selected. Join the two by means of
tying tightly with the plastic straw. In two months the union would have been
achieved. Cut off the branch below the point of union and also cut the top of
the rootstock above the point of union. You will then have a young tree with
variegated top.
