Propagation of Cloves
Cloves thrive best in insular maritime climates at low altitudes in the tropics. They are seldom grown above 200-300 in above sea level, but Yegna Narayan Aiyer (1960) records them at over 900 m in India, and Sheffield (1950) at 600 in in the Seychelles. In their original home in Banda in the Moluccas, which is practically on the Equator and where the trees are semi-wild, the rainfall varies from 2 210-3 607 mm per annum, with no pronounced dry period, and temperatures ranging from 24 to 30 C in the south-east monsoon and from 27 to 33 C in the north-west monsoon. Some drier weather is desirable for harvesting and drying of the crop. The continuously humid climate of Singapore was not as successful for cloves as was Penang.
The average rainfalls for Zanzibar, 6 S, Pemba, 5 S, and the clove-growing areas in the Malagasy Republic on the small island of Sainte Marie at 17 S and at Tamatave on the east coast of the mainland at 18 S. Many of the clove-growing areas of Zanzibar Island have a higher rainfall than Zanzibar Town and often have 1 800 mm per annum or over, while some areas of Pemba may reach 2 000 mm per annum. The higher rainfall of Pemba, as well as the soils and configuration, are better suited to cloves than Zanzibar. The heaviest rainfall of Zanzibar, the masika season, falls during the months of March to May, during which the crop is usually planted.
In Zanzibar the screens are usually made of dried coconut palm midribs or thin twigs of other trees placed side by side and strung together with thin coir rope. More permanent structures can he erected, but it should be remembered that it is necessary to replace the topsoil removed at each transplanting and to provide compost. Vertical screens are usually provided at the side of the nursery. The seeds for sowing are collected from fully ripe mother-of-cloves, which have fallen on the ground below healthy, high-yielding, regular- bearing mother trees. A single parent will yield about 4 000 fruits in a fair season, but about half the seeds will be discarded as unsuitable for planting. If possible seeds should be obtained from the mwaka crop, when ripe fruits will be available at the end of the year, when conditions are more suitable for sowing, and will give the seedlings about 16 months in the nursery.
The custom is to be deprecated, as such seedlings are usually leggy with poorly developed root systems, and grow into seedlings which compare badly with nursery-grown plants. The seeds may be planted in pots made of bamboo joints, which tend to restrict root development, or in baskets, or in polythene bags.
In Madagascar the poorer soils are used for clove production, the better soils being reserved for coffee and vanilla. The first plantings were made on the small island of Sainte Marie off the east coast, where the soils are generally poor and eroded. In the Soanierana – Ivongo region on the mainland, now one of the main clove-growing areas, the soils are more fertile.
Good healthy trees are seldom seen in marginal areas with thin sands, heavy clays, or on highly calcareous soils. Good deep drainage is essential and waterlogging is fatal. If cloves are grown in hollows or low-lying areas, in which the water table is high in the rainy season, the roots do not penetrate deeply, so that the trees suffer in the dry season and during severe drought will die. Shade in the early stages and windbreaks are desirable.
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