========================================== Rare Fruit News Online - All Year for 1998 ========================================== Rare Fruit News Online January 1, 1998 RFN199801A.txt Rare Fruit News Online consists primarily of messages from subscribers. Sometimes there are questions to be answered by those with knowledge and experience (and, we are fortunate to have them among us.) Others consist of feedback to letters posted in an earlier issue. Sometimes there are references thought to be of interest, such as books, periodicals, or - more likely - web pages and their URL addresses. It works, because of the teamwork among you, and I'm pleased to be part of it. If you ever want to write about changing your email address or unsubscribing or almost anything, please include your WHOLE name (especially the LAST name) as my address book is set up that way. To see back issues of the newsletter, visit the online group, "OldRFN" OldRFN is at http://www.visto.com/j.html?g=16812838.WDY3NjdX Please keep me advised of trouble with the OldRFN webpage. How are you and your fruit trees surviving this another winter of El Nino? There are several new subscribers, usually with questions that they believe you may be able to answer or provide insights. Let's not let them down. Subject: Rare Fruit News Online Web Page Revised Subject: Ong Nursery: Rare Fruit in San Diego Subject: Chat, Use AOL Instant Messenger? or What? Subject: New Subscriber From Florida; Looking For Seeds Subject: New Subscriber (Brazil) Wants Seed Exchange Subject: Seeds from Brazil Subject: New Subscriber in Louisiana Subject: New Subscriber from Thailand Subject: New from West Indies wants help growing mangosteen, etc. Subject: New Subscriber from Exeter California Subject: New Subscriber from San Francisco, CA with problems.... Subject: New Subscriber wants Chat (and to remove gophers!) Subject: New Subscriber from Honolulu: Need help deciding what to grow Subject: New Subscriber from Florida; Interested in "Star Fruit" Subject: Supplemental copy about Jujube Subject: Re: Getting longan to flower- cultivars Subject: Lychee info needed Subject: Re: Lychee info needed Subject: Grafting Lychees, Using Mycorrhizal, Increase Lychee Fruit Subject: Don Chapman Discusses mycorrhizae Subject: Three new supplements available upon request from Leo Subject: unidentified mango cultivar Subject: Re: Thai longan cultivars Subject: Correspondence between Sainarong Rasananda and Doron Kletter Subject: Visit to CA & FL by Aussie Lychee Grower! Subject: Re: Visit by Aussie Lychee Grower? Subject: black sapote - When can I eat it? Subject: Re: black sapote - When can I eat it? Subject: Greetings & Thanks Subject: Seedless fruit Subject: Importing Fruit Trees and Quarantine Subject: Rare Fruit Web Page from Brazil Subject: The Brazilian Webpage is in Portuguese Subject: *Maybe* Bowen Isn't The Best Mango! Subject: Your mango blooming out of season Subject: Mango tree size and fruit nursery info in Aus Subject: Re: Mango tree size and fruit nursery info in Aus Subject: Quang's Place Subject: Re: Quang's Place Subject: The June plum is the spondias dulcis, or ambarella Subject: Seeds - Sapote and Sapodilla Subject: Re: Seeds - Sapote and Sapodilla Subject: Sapodilla, black sapote, carambola, and Doug Richardson ------------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 13:17:55 +0000 From: Leo Manuel Subject: Rare Fruit News Online Web Page Revised I spent several days trying to communicate with my Macintosh-unfamiliar ISP, so I could upload my revised webpage. Somehow I lost my earlier notes on how to do it, and my provider has no clue how any Macintosh applications works. I used the application Fetch and finally got it to reach my provider with FTP. Anyhow, I got it up and added a link to Florida Rare Fruit Council, Intl. If you're in the neighborhood of my web page, drop by to see if you see something I don't that should be revised. I find it difficult to proof-read anything I've written. Leo ---------- From: Leo Manuel = "fruitrare" Date: December 26, 1997 Let me begin by saying that I don't know anything about Chat, Chat programs, etc. So, if you do, you're 'way ahead of me, and you should write to discuss it. A relative got me to download AOL Instant Messenger from http://dynamic.aol.com/cgi/aim-download. To use it you download AIM, pick a screen name and a password, and sign on. Then you will automatically go to AOL's home page to register. I have never used Chat programs, but it may be similar. It supposedly notifies others on your "Buddy" list that you're online, so that they can communicate in real time with you. Some of you have written about using Chat. This may be a possibility My screen name is fruitrare, and if there is sufficient interest, we can get something going in that. I'm certainly not recommending it at all. I've had it for only a few hours, so I haven't chatted with anyone yet. If you are using it and want to chat with other RFNO-ers, you can let me know and I'll publicize it here. If you have other Chat applications that work well for you, let us know. Let us know your screen names, software, etc. Also, directions as to where to get the software would be helpful. By the way, am I the only one of us with a Macintosh? Leo ----------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 06:37:20 +0000 From: Leo Manuel Subject: Ong Nursery For Rare Fruit in San Diego Quang Ong is a young Vietnamese university student who has started a rare fruit nursery in San Diego. At the moment, he attends school during the week and is available to show you plants on Saturday or Sunday BY APPOINTMENT. (619) 277-8167 The nursery is in the Linda Vista suburb at 2528 Crandall Dr., San Diego, 92111 The fruit he carries are: Acerola, Ambarella, Apple, Asian Pear, Canito, Cherimoya, Chinese Jujube, Citrus, Fig, Guanabana, Jaboticaba, Jack Fruit, Longan, Loquat, Lychee, Malay Apple, Mamey Sapote, Mango, Miracle Fruit, Otaheite Gooseberry, Papaya, Peach, Persimmon, Pomegranate, Plum, Sapodilla, Star Fruit, Sweet Sop, Tropical Guava, and Wax Jambu. Not all fruit will be in at all times, however. This announcement is unsolicited and Quang does not know it's here. Leo Manuel -------------------- From: Charles Novak Subject: New Subscriber From Florida; Looking For Seeds Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 18:57:40 -0500 Hi Leo, I am Charles Novak, living in Plant City, Florida, near Tampa I have over 200 different fruit trees. I'd like to also grow: Salacca Edulis, Melastoma Malabathricum, Nephelium Lappaceum, Nephelium Mutabile, Borassus Flabellifera, Myristica Fragrans, Nipa Fruticans, Morinda Citrifolia, Kundang, Kabong, Ficus Roxburghii, Garcinia Prainiana, Garcinia parvifolia, and Garcinia Cambogia. Can anyone help me obtain some seeds of the plants I want to grow? Charles ------------------------------------ Date: Thu Dec 18 10:40:16 1997 „From: Ricardo Barbosa Subject: New Subscriber (Brazil) Wants Seed Exchange Hi Leo. My name is: Ricardo V. Barbosa I live in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The home state of Cherry of Rio Grande and Jujuba trees. It is the southermost state of Brazil, where the climate is similar to zones 9 and 10 of USA. I am a retired chemical engineer, and my hobby is to collect fruit trees or vines. I have more than 60 kind of trees, and I would like to contact others collectors for seeds exchange. Best regards. Ricardo. ----------------------- Date: Mon Dec 22 15:37:02 1997 „From: "Ricardo Barbosa" Subject: Seeds from Brazil Hi Leo. My interest is to exchange seeds of fruits I don't have. I`m not looking for any special fruit. I'm just a beginner with less than 80 trees, the majority not yet fruiting. Attached you will find the list of the trees I have. It's an excell file. The list is not ready. I will upgrade it with more informations. If you have interest in any seed, or if you need a particular information about any fruit of the list, ask me. If it's not yet fruiting, I can look for seeds elsewere. PITANGA is a very resistant tree, and it's not common the fruit to be attacked by insects. It's not a fast grower, but it fruits soon.They are not high, maximum 5 m. Anywhere you go around here you find native trees. You find them even in the cities, where they are planted in the houses gardens. They can be yellow, orange, red or dark purple colored. There are differnt sizes, from 1 cm to 1 inch. The smallers are more sweet. RIO GRANDE CHERRY fruit is bigger than pitanga fruit, and the tree can arrive to 8m high. The taste remembers pitanga, but is sweeter. The color is allways dark-red. There are two sizes. The smaller is also called MURTINHA in the North of Brazil. The tree is very resistan too, but grows wild less frequently than pitanga trees. The problem of this fruit here is the attack by the fruit fly. It happens very soon, just after flowering. It's very difficult to have a sane fruit without some cares. If I want to eat fruits from my tree, I must put some fruit fly traps on the tree at the time it is flowering. I can save 50% of the fruits this way. Another ennemy of this tree around here is the "saw bug", an insect that can cut branches up to 2 inches diameter. It's a big insect. It bites the branch while circulating it slowly. The bitten ring grows deeper until the branch falls. Do you have fruit flies in US? GUAVA is a plague. It is surelly the more abundant native fruit tree in the region. In the land where I grow my trees I had to cut two trees because I needed space. I have still four native trees possibly older than me. Frequently I cut new trees that grows under the olders, originated by fallen fruits. I planted a white cultivar two years ago and recently acquired a dark red cultivar. The fruits are severelly attacked by the fruit fly. When they rippen in the tree, it's impossible to eat the pulp because the worms inside. But the shell is kept intact. It's impossible to eat all the production. We make a kind of jam with the guavas. We call it GOIABADA. There is a goiaba relative very common here too, the ARACA. I think you call it brazilian guava. It is a smaller fruit with similar structure, but better taste. The yellow cultivar is even better than the red one. Best regards. Ricardo. -------------------------------- Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 20:47:16 -0600 From: "H. Allen Sylvester" Subject: New Subscriber in Louisiana Dear Leo, I am responding to your posting to the trop-bio e-mail list. 1. I am H. Allen Sylvester 2. I live in Baton Rouge, LA USA 3. My rare fruit INTERESTS: I have 2 small greenhouses here in Baton Rouge and a house for eventual retirement (15 years or so) on the Hilo side of the Big Island of Hawaii. My wife is Thai and I spent two years there in the Army (69-71). Noy is a common Thai nickname, so I was wondering if your daughter-in-law is Thai? I have containers with bearing Surinam cherries, carambola and several citrus. We went to Florida in August 96 and met several members of RFCI and got quite a few small Eugenias of various species and several other things. We were in California this past July and I was able to visit a few CRFG members. I have been a member of CRFG since I was a graduate student at UC Davis, about 1973. I have been a member of RFCI for about 3 years. I would be interested in receiving back issues of your newsletter. Thank you. Allen ------------------------------- Date: Wed Dec 24 04:26:05 1997 Subject: New Subscriber from Thailand From: Warawit Viboonpattama Sukhothai I am Mr. Warawit Viboonpattama My home is in Sukhothai/Thailand The fruit I am interested in are mango, jackfruit, banana Warawit ----------------------------- Subject: New from West Indies wants help growing mangosteen, etc. Date: Tue, 30 Dec 97 06:56:00-0400 From: "William Glover" Leo Manuel, Many thanks for your prompt response and the very interesting reading. I am William Glover, but as do all proper West Indians, I also have a nickname which is 'Pincher', deriving from my wholly organic method of dispatching caterpillars which hereabouts grow up to six inches long and are always in season. I live in Nevis, West Indies, a microdot in the northeastern Caribbean. Have four acres about 6 km (3.5 miles) north of our capital city of Charlestown and some 100 km (60 miles) due west of Antigua. Since 1984 have been growing mango, papaya, longan, banana, citrus (lime, lemon, orange, kumquat, grapefruit), breadfruit, carambola, ackee, Surinam cherry, Barbados cherry, Harpephyllum caffrum, and a few others. What I'm looking for from readers of RFNO: a. Any tips for growing mangosteen and rambutans successfully on a semi-arid island receiving about 1250mm rain/year and with an average rH of 75% would be most welcome? b. Any suggestions for defeating the depredations of monkeys, apart from shooting them, would also be appreciated. William Glover NEVIS, West Indies -------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 07:25:53 -0800 From: Martin Berghuis Subject: New Subscriber from Exeter, CA Hi, I am interested in your newsletter. Is it Email newsletter? I am also a member of the CRFG and chairman of the Sequoia chapter, which we started in Tulare county. We were tired of the traffic of Orange county and moved to this quiet area, not to far from the Lindcove Fieldstation. On the 9th of January we will have our annual fieldtrip to that station. You are welcome to attend. We must have met at one of the meetings. I was a member of the North S.D. County chapter for many years. We love this area, but we have to learn to live with this colder climate in the winter and warmer climate in the summer. My containerized Starfruit is now under plastic. Surprisingly the Jambolan plum is doing well here in the shadehouse without additional protection. I am also a bamboo grower and member of the American Bamboo Society. We have more than 40 varieties, most of them clumpers. Regards, Martin Berghuis, Exeter, CA P.S. I am interested in all kinds of fruit trees, hardy and semi-hardy. ----------------------------- Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 13:10:30 +0000 From: Aaron Gilbert Subject: New Subscriber from San Francisco, CA with problems.... sign me up for the electronic newsletter. my name is Aaron gilbert and i live in San Francisco, Ca. reach me at agilbert@wenet.net. Right now i am trying to grow organic pomengranetes, apricots, mulberry, passionflowers and an assortment of berries. to some these fruits might not be rare or exotic, but for a city boy like me anything fresh out of a garden seems exotic (and rare and expensive), especially after the garbage you buy out of the stores here. i have had some luck, although i would like to get higher yields. this year i am replanting my yard. right now i looking for information about how to remove pollution from the soil, especially lead. an ongoing problem i have is with ants and the mites they raise to milk. i can keep them under control, but they always find a way to outsmart me and come back. they just love my yard and flowers. Aaron ------------------------------ From: Carl Hansen Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 17:24:09 EST Subject: New Subscriber wants Chat (and to remove gophers!) My name is Carl Hansen. I am sixteen and I grow miracle fruit(fruiting), black sapote,mango, lemonade berry, tamarind, pitanga, pitomba, grumichama, and guava. Besides fruit I also have an allspice tree. I live in Leucadia Ca. I have been a member of the crfg for a year and a half. I am interested in all types of subtropical and tropical fruits. Right now I am having problems with a gopher. I would like to see any of the past news letters deeling with the fruit I grow, or how to get rid of a gopher. I was also wondering if the members of this newsletter ever meet in a chat room. If so when? THANKS Carl ----------------------------- From: Yudhvir S. Sidhu Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 14:35:11 -1000 Subject: New Subscriber from Honolulu: Help Me Decide What To Grow! My name is Yudhvir Sidhu, and I live in Honolulu, Hawaii We will be purchasing a fruit tree or nut tree farm on the West coast somewhere in the future (4 to 5 years). We are interested in supplying a niche/specialty market for a fruit or nut. All I can think of now is either Pistacio or Neem. We have not done much research. I am hoping your mailing list would guide us in selecting what we are going to grow. Yudhvir ------------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 13:59:31 -0500 From: Terry Nelson Subject: New Subscriber from Florida; Interested in "Star Fruit" I want to subscribe to Rare Fruit News Online. My name is Terry Nelson. I live in Naples, Fl 34120 and am interested in Star fruit Terry ------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 00:52:17 +0700 From: tdwesqr@infonews.co.th Subject: Supplemental copy about Jujube Dear Sir, I did received my supplemental copy of the JUJUBE with great thanks. I sincerely appreciate the information sent and find them interesting and useful. Many Thanks and Best Regards Tuaytep -------------------------- Date: Sun, 14 Dec 1997 11:55:27 +0700 From: sainarong Subject: Re: Getting longan to flower- cultivars There are hundreds of longan cultivars in the world, but not all that many which are popular. The three major producers of longans are Thailand, Southern China and Taiwan. The major longan cultivars originates from China, Thailand, Taiwan, Hawaii and Vietnam. The longan cultivars from China are the oldest. For various reasons, they are not very popular outside China. They are none too popular in China either. Recently, I have heard of reports of two new better cultivars from China, but I do not have much information about them. All Chinese cultivars like cold weather (but not frost, though). The areas where they are grown is colder than the areas where lychees are grown. I do not know very much about the Taiwanese cultivars. They are not too well known outside Taiwan. From what I know about the climate of Taiwan, I would assume that they do not need such cold weather as the Chinese cultivars to flower. There are only a few Taiwanese cultivars. Vietnam is a new comer to the longan scene, but it seems to have a lot of potential. A few Thai horticulturists have visited Vietnam and written about Vietnamese longans. The longans there have some strong favorable features, but, it seems that the unfavorable attributes overides these at the moment. So the present vietnamese cultivars are not all that good. There are a few American cultivars, the most well-known of which is Kohala. The original tree is probably still alive in Kohala, Hawaii. It was grown in about 1956. It seems to be similar to the Chinese cultivars in that it like fairly cold weather, and is more cold-resistant than other cultivars. The cultivars from China and from Thailand are not very compatible. For example, you cannot graft a Thai cultivar onto a Chinese tree and vice versa. Many, nay most, people outside Thailand consider the Thai cultivars to be the best. It is almost certain that the Thai cultivars originally came from the Chinese cultivars, but nobody knows when and how. Nowaday, the Thai cultivars are very different from their Chinese ancestors. They are incompatible in many ways. One cultivar cannot be grafted onto the other. The Thai cultivars are not as cold-resistant as the Chinese ones, and are generaaly grown in areas where the temperature is less than the areas where lychees are grown. This is because the Thai cultivars do not flower well in colder climate. The major Thai cultivars are Ee Daw, Haew, Shompoo and Biew Kiew in that order. The most tasty, according to my fellow longan growers, are Puang Tong, Shompoo, Biew Kiew, Haew and Ee Daw in that order. Export consists almost entirely of Ee Daw. Let's talk about Ee Daw first. I would say that well over 3/4 of the longans grown in Thailand is Ee Daw. Its disadvantages is that it is not as tasty as the other cultivars. However, its advantages are many. Longans are notorious for their biennial fruit bearing. Ee Daw hovers between annual and biennual bearing. It flowers profusely.The trees are the sturdiest and most disease-resistant. The fruits have a longer shelf-life, are larger, and are less inclined to perish during transpotation. It tastes pretty good.Ee Daw also makes better canned and dried longans The Australians have tried to grow all the major cultivars, and, most surprisingly, they reported that Ee Daw fared by far the worst of the whole lot. The other three can be grown in Queensland, Australia without much difficulty. sainarong --------------------------- Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 20:48:08 PST From: Doron Kletter Subject: Lychee info needed Hi Leo, I am considering the thought of getting a Lychee tree. I've heard they can be fussy about the climate, needing cool dry winters and wet humid summers. The CRFG fact sheet says it has fruited in Santa Barbara. What do you think? At least there is plenty of chilling hours up here. How difficult are they compared with the Longan? Some of the varieties I could find available are 'Brewster', 'Mauritius' (same as 'Kwai Mi'?) and 'Bosworth'. I've read there is considerable variation in adaptability, irregular bearing, and quality. Do you or anyone else have any recommendations or prior experience? Doron --- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 06:38:41 -0800 From: Leo Manuel To: Doron Kletter Subject: Re: Lychee info needed Doron, I have had Kwai Mi and now have Brewster lychee trees. Kwai Mi had large fruit and was a beautiful spreading tree, but in the dozen years I had it, I harvested not many more than a dozen fruit. My Brewster is too young to bear. I don't expect any lychee will bear much here, but possibly they will where you are. I expect you'll get other ideas from reader/growers when I publish your letter. Yours, Leo --------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 00:25:35 -0500 From: rbeck Subject: Grafting Lychees, Using Mycorrhizal, Increase Lychee Fruit Hi Leo, Mario, and all. A few thoughts on previous mail... Several FL grafters use whip grafts at 1/4" caliper for lychee. Budwood must be prepped and rootstocks actively growing and yet the rate of 'take' is low, so cost is high. My limited experiences confirm that the lychee cambium is erratically active and even approach grafts are not always a sure thing. The 'Emperor' I have is on Mauritius stock and after three years has finally past 1" caliper and 4' tall. As with lychee air layers (no tap roots) these grafts need 2 years in containers before setting out. Then they begin to grow well. This year I began using Mycorrhizal products with my soil mixes and have seen better growth with jakfruit seedlings and think Lychee air layers could profit from being inoculated while still on the parent tree. I have changed my FL soil with organics and using 4-6" mulch. In Florida,' plant shallow, mulch deep'. The lychees and jakfruit trees respond well to deep mulch. Of course, keep mulch away from trunk a foot or so. Here are some latest 'tricks' growers are sharing to get more lychee fruit in S FL. 1. When harvesting trim back 24". Some say 'then allow 2 flushes of growth only. Cut off any more than that'. Some don't. 2. Control watering during dormant period. Very little. Don't force new growth in fall/winter. 3. Make sure all Nitrogen fertilzer is used up by Oct. Use only quick release fertilizers, avoid 'slow release' types for lychees. 4. If you girdle branches, do so in the first or second week of September only. Use a double cut girdle. Do not remove the wood. Don't girdle all branches. 5. In the spring, begin fertilizer and irrigation when flowers come out. 6. Provide wind breaks. When lychees are in flower it is our dry/windy season! 7. Fertilize from flower to October. Use small amounts with minors and iron regularly, say every 60 days. These are the things we can attempt to control. Some things we can't control .... chilling. Lychees need 3 months of comlpete rest. If they get it the flower buds cells of differentiation will produce more fruiting flowers, instead of vegetative growth. Regards, Bob Eck, near Ft Lauderdale, FL --------------------- Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 10:36:11 +0000 Subject: Don Chapman Discusses mycorrhizae http://www.bio-organics.com/third.html (Copied verbatim from above webpage (Leo)) In this article, I would like to look a little closer at the relationship between mycorrhizal fungi, bacteria, the soil, and plant roots. For many types of plants, the presence of mycorrhizae on their root systems is virtually a requirement for good health. Without the fungi, the plant will struggle to survive, and may not. In the thin mucus layer exuded by roots, microscopic life flourishes. Countless organisms exist in this mucus layer, where nutrient exchange takes place between the soil and outer root cells. The plant itself can be said to be a contributor to its own feeding, as the root exudes help support many types of beneficals, which help with the nutrient gathering process, which makes a more vigorous plant, which then exudes more mucus on more roots, etc. This is all an elegant system of cooperation between many life forms, typical of Nature's imaginative design. In this root mucus, a certain form of fungi (endomycorrhizae, typically in the Glomus family) was most likely a plant parasite at some time, but also had the ability to extend its own root threads (hyphae) out into the surrounding soil to gather nutrients. At some point, a symbiotic (or more properly, a mutualistic) relationship developed between many categories of plants and these fungi. The plant, which could extend up into the sunlight, allowed the fungi to partake of carbohydrates formed through photosynthesis, and the fungi brought soil nutrients into the actual cells of the plant roots. As with most symbiotic relationships, the plants gradually turned over more and more of the nutrient gathering process to the fungi and even stopped forming feeder roots, thereby becoming increasingly dependent on mycorrhizae for uptake of nutrients. This "specializing" undoubtedly allowed both organisms to succeed during droughts and other stressful situations. While most plants use one type of mycorrhizal fungi or another, some are far more dependent than others. In general, plants that have only a few thick roots tend to lack the ability to take in adequate nutrients on their own. Some examples are asparagus, citrus, avocado, melons, grapes and roses. The reason for this is fairly simple - if you picture a single long asparagus root, it only makes contact with the soil that is actually touching it. Consequently, the total root surface area exposed to soil nutrients is quite small in proportion to the rest of the plant. To a grower, this type of plant usually gains a reputation as being a "heavy feeder". Whenever you see the "heavy feeder" phrase used to describe a plant, is it safe to assume that the plant is mycorrhizae-dependent and needs luxury levels of added nutrients to yield good crops without the fungus. However, when farmers or home gardeners routinely apply synthetic NPK to crops (in recommended amounts), those salt fertilizers can eventually harm the biological, chemical, and physical properties of soil. The recognition of these damaging effects has led to the concept of sustainable agriculture, which is more biology-based in nature, rather than only chemistry-based. With the right type, or types, of mycorrhizal fungi present on the roots, a plant can effectively gain access to a hundred times more soil area. This in itself is of great value and has been widely documented, especially as a way for a plant to access Phosphorus. But the mycorrhizal benefits do not stop with the simple boosting of nutrients to its host plants. There are also important physical changes that take place within the plant root cells and in the structure of the soil outside the roots. In loose sandy soils, for example, the fungal hyphae cause the sand granules to clump together. This clumping together of granules then holds moisture and can harbor populations of beneficical microbes which fix nitrogen, solubilize organic matter, and perform other useful functions. A natural plant-sustaining system develops in the soil around mycorrhizal roots. This, then is the essence of a mycorrhizal relationship. The fungi assumes the role of an essential "bridge" or coordinating mechanism between bacteria and other biolife, and the soil nutrients needed by plants, even to the point of blocking toxins from entering the host roots. And what does all this interesting underground action mean, in practical terms, to the average farmer, orchardist, or home gardener? Is there any real difference between the human's "plant food" and the nutrients provided by biological activity. The simplest answer is that biologically-active soils give more complete nourishment to plants. No matter how many soil chemistry tests are performed, the strategy of using Nature's own seeking/screening/selection procedures for nutrients cannot be fully duplicated by man. Creating the mycorrhizal association with the appropriate species of fungi, and then providing a broad range of organic matter and trace elements in the soil for the fungi to choose from can make very significant differences in plant performance. For container growers or propagators of high-value rare plants that are "temperamental" in nature, creating a mycorrhizal root-zone environment can make difficult-to-grow plants suddenly routine. Yields of food crops can be increased - sometimes very substantially - with far less fertilizing and water, while ornamentals will bloom or bear lush foliage with little care and attention. However, it must be emphasized that mycorrhizal fungi are not simply an "add-on" to a conventional fertilizing program. If soils are made artifically rich in nutrients, especially with added Phosphorus, the symbiotic association may not take place. But, making a conversion from "feeding" plants to creating bio-active soil conditions is not always a simple or quick undertaking. Soils that have been chemically degraded for years or sterile potting mixes will need time to develop balanced biological life. An inoculation of mycorrhizal spores at planting time is certainly part of a good game plan, but taking the time to learn how to make the mycorrhizal fungi flourish, along with other plant-supportive biolife in a specific soil, is a new and different approach that won't "feel right" to some growers. The attitude "I'll give my plants the things they need" is almost universal among farmers as well as nursery owners and home gardeners and placing trust in friendly microorganisms to provide plant nutrients takes a mindset that differs substantially from that of conventional horticulture. In this regard, a few progressive growers may move out ahead of the universities. However, the booming desire for chemical-free organic produce has spurred great interest in biology-based growing techniques among many segments of our society. In most cases, this has not gone past the use of compost, but an exciting new era of bio-organics does seem to be emerging. A prediction: In coming years, we will all learn much more about Nature's elegant micro-systems, and we should be better able to manipulate those systems to our advantage, both for food production and for super-healthy ornamental plantings. --------------------- Three additional supplements available upon request from Leo: 1. Mycorrhizal FungiŃNew Findings, More Questions! by Don Chapman Tropical Fruit News 31(4): 4-5 1997 [Rare Fruit Council, Int.] 2. The Sugar Apple, extracted from Tropical Fruit News 31(11) Nov 97 3. Experiments with Mycorrhizal Fungi and Tomatoes --------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 23:26:56 +0700 From: sainarong To: mjdodgson@rocketmail.com Subject: unidentified mango cultivar Mark The unidentified cultivar could be Nam Doc Mai, but I doubt it. There are over 170 pure Thai mango cultivar, and Nam Doc Mai is one of them. As a matter of fact, there are 9 Nam Doc Mai cultivar, called Nam Doc Mai #1 to Nam Doc Mai #9, the most well-known one being number 4. Nam, by the way, means water, and Doc Mai means flower, so Nam Doc Mai presumably means water from flower. There are a few Thai cultivars which looks like the mangoes in your pic, for example Nang Klang One and Thong Ply Kan, but I do not think they are well-known enough to be exported to Australia. So those mangoes are probably, but could be, from Thailand. For your info, the Thais eats mangoes in 3 ways. One is when they are ripe like you do. The second way is when they are still green. The third way is as a sweet-and-sour mango salad-also when the fruit is still green. We are amazed that you only eat mangoes when they are ripe! It is like knowing only the missionary position - sorry... Of course, different cultivars are good for different ways of eating (pardon me, but I cannot find the proper words to express myself). Another interesting sideline. One of the reasons Thai Mangoes are not widely exported is that what we consider tasty, you do not, and vice verse, so the same cultivar cannot be produced for both export and local consumption. sainarong --------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 08:21:49 PST From: kletter@IMPACT.xerox.com (Doron Kletter) To: sainaron@samart.co.th Subject: Re: Thai longan cultivars Dear Sainarong Rasananda, Thank you for the informative review of longan cultivars. The only variety that is readily available in the US is the 'Kohala', imported from Florida. I've heard the Thai varieties are considered the best. I would very much like to try one of the better cultivars. Problem is the seeds loose viability very quickly. Doron ------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 07:24:58 +0700 From/To: sainarong To/From: Doron Kletter Correspondence between Sainarong Rasananda and Doron Kletter Doron: Do you grow Lytchee as well? Sainarong: Yes, but for fun only. I have about 150 trees. I do not know very much about lychees. The cultivar I grow is the local one called Hoang Huay. You probably have never heard of it. Doron: I am considering the thought of getting a Lychee tree. I've heard they can be fussy about the climate, needing cool dry winters and wet humid summers. The CRFG fact sheet says it has fruited in Santa Barbara. What do you think? At least there is plenty of chilling hours here. How difficult are they compared with the Longan? Sainarong: For me longan is much iseasier to take care of. Some of the varieties I could find available are 'Brewster', 'Mauritius' (same as 'Kwai Mi'?) and 'Bosworth'. Sainarong: I have no experience with those at all. Doron: I've read there is considerable variation in adaptability, irregular bearing, and quality. Sainarong: That I can confirm! Which is why I am reluctant to advise you. Fortunately for you, compared to longan, there is much much more reseach done on lychees, and there are a lot of people with pretty good experience on lychee. I am certain you will get better advice from them, but if you want any help or advice from me, I shall only be too happy to oblige. Doron: Are Lychees in Thailand propagated from seed or by air-layering? Sainarong: Almost 100% by air-layering. There are quite a lot of lychees grown in Thailand. I have visited probabably the biggest and most modern lychee orchard here. Good luck. Sainarong ------------------------ From: "Chris & Sue Hoger" Subject: Visit to CA & FL by Aussie Lychee Grower! Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 09:52:51 +1100 Hi Leo. My name is Chris Hoger and I found your name and address on the internet. I am a commercial lychee grower from near Cairns in Far North Queensland, Australia. My wife and I have a lot in common with you in that we are both former teachers who have taken up fruit growing. Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to be granted a Nuffield Scholarship to study lychee and tropical fruit growing overseas. As part of my travels I am visiting Florida and Mexico, and then moving into California. I was wondering if it would be possible to visit you while I am in your part of the world. I am interested in learning as much as I can about what other people do, but also share some of my knowledge gained over the past 10 years. My wife (Susan) and son (Nicholas- 13) will be with me at this time (if I can drag him away from Disneyland), which will be around late May or early June next year. Any assistance you can give me (even if it's an hour of your time one day in your orchard) would be greatly appreciated. And if you have any other people in your area, or even Mexico, you feel I should contact, I would really be thankful for their addresses. Hope to hear from you soon. Chris Hoger Chairman - Far North Queensland Lychee Growers Assoc Inc The Big Lychee Koah Road Koah via Kuranda Queensland, Australia 4872 Tel: (07) 40937037 -------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 17:39:59 +0000 From: Leo Manuel To: Chris & Sue Hoger Subject: Re: Visit by Aussie Lychee Grower? Chris, it's much too far in advance of the date to be sure of what I will be doing at that time, but I would be glad to see if you if it works out. My wife and I have parents in their 80's and 90's and we could be visiting them in Kansas and Oklahoma at almost any time. I'm sure I can give you no help with lychees. I have one (Brewster) that is about 5 ft tall, and I haven't put it in the ground yet. I had Kwai Mi where I used to live, and in the dozen years I had it it had not much more than that many fruit, although they were large and lovely, and the tree was beautiful. I really like the fruit and wish I could get them to produce. I'll be all ears, when I see you, as to what varieties and cultural practices to utilize. If you'll subscribe to the newsletter, I'm sure there will be several interested and interesting grower/readers with whom you could communicate. Visit my webpage again, as I just uploaded a changed version today, for complete details. I'm sending a copy of the Dec. 15 issue of Rare Fruit News Online in a separate email. Horticordially, Leo ---------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 21:32:43 -0500 From: WALT ROWE Subject: black sapote - When can I eat it? Hello Leo, How is everything growing? I have a quick question for you or the group. This is the first year that I've had fruit on my Black Sapote and I don't really know how to tell when the fruit is ripe. Right now they are large (about the size of a hard-ball), green on the outside, and very hard. Do they soften when mature? I don't want them to rot on the tree. The "Florida Fruit" book suggests the fruit should ripen in November. Any help would be appreciated. Walt Rowe ----------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 22:06:31 +0000 From: Leo Manuel To: WALT ROWE Subject: Re: black sapote - When can I eat it? Walt, here's a quick response from George Emerich: Leo: I don't know where Walt is so I will wing it as best I can. Please understand that I am not an expert but in California I am a little like the one-eyed man in the land of the blind. Few people here know even as much as I do. My hands on knowledge comes from having four trees which have been producing fruit for ten to fifteen years in Northern San Diego County in the great state of California. My Black Sapotes bloom and set fruit in July and August and ripen in June and July of the following year. The best tasting fruit is that which is checked daily during the ripening period and not picked until the shiny green appearance has mostly changed to a dull olive-drab color and they are soft. This is a little tricky because if you wait too long you may find them splattered all over the ground. Commercially, I assumed that they are picked generally by size when the crop starts to ripen. If they are really mature, they can be picked very hard and shiny and will soften in about a week or ten days and be quite good but not as good as the tree ripened fruit. Frankly, I don't know when they bloom in Florida but I know they ripen in November into January. I hope this helps. George Emerich ---------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 22:26:58 +0700 From: Sainarong To: leom@rarefruit.com Subject: Greetings & Thanks As I shall be away next week, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for opening a brand new exciting horticultural world for me. What you have done for me has gone beyond the Rara Fruits News Online. You have stimulated me to talk to interesting people all over the world through the Net. Thank you ever so much, Have fun, enjoy yourself, don't do anything I wouldn't do(which give you a pretty large leeway!), and greetings to every member of the RFNO. Sainarong ------------------------------ From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Seedless fruit Date: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 14:33:47 -0800 Hi Leo, I just read an article about seedless eggplant produced by plants that have been genetically altered. Normal eggplant fruit need a hormone from the seeds to develop into normal sized and shaped fruit. They put the gene for this hormone into the plants genome, so it was expressed without seeds being present. This allowed normal looking and tasting fruit to be produced even under unfavorable conditions (low light and temperature). This technique should work in any plant that produces a fruit, you just have to insert the correct gene for the hormone and seedless fruit could be produced in the absence of pollination. Just think of the cherimoya yield one could get! And look at the savings in labor. There would be lots of fruits to try, assuming someone who could do the transfer thought it was worth the effort for the specific fruits. Of course, they have to see how stable the insertion is and what exactly it does to yields, but just think of seedless cactus fruits. Or you name it! Just thought you would like to know about this before it becomes a really big deal. Later, Bob --------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 08:50:53 PST To: Leo Manuel From: Doron Kletter Subject: Importing Fruit Trees and Quarantine It does not make much sense to have quarantine at the receiving site, does it? I would strongly recomend contacting a grower here who has done it before and has met the plant import requirements. The minimum quarantine time is varying depending on the plant, the type of pests/deseases, and the risk it may carry to the industry. As you may have already noticed, some germplazm material may be held for months. You need someone who is prepared to take care of the plant for a long period. Hope this helps, Doron P.S. Thank you for the informative OCR pages! I particulary liked the article about the lychee cultivars and yield. And it could have not come in a better time, as I am about to order a tree. BTW. Has a Dec 15 RFNO been distributed yet? If so, I did not get it. Could you please re-send? Thx. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 21:45:08 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Dodgson Subject: Rare Fruit Web Page from Brazil Hi Leo Another quick note about a new rare fruit site I found: http://www.agrov.com/agrov/vegetais/frutas.htm I think it's Portuguese (or Spanish ... hell, I don't know!), so it's only pretty pictures for me. My fruit growing update The mango seeds of Winter's, Bowen, Leo #5 now range in height from 2 inches to 6 inches. My Florigon tree has just put on a growth spurt of 12 inches on the two branches, and the R2E2 has put on about 3 inches. Kind of disappointing considering the guy at the nursery said the R2E2 would perform the best under my climate. I bought the Florigon from a helpful nursery a couple of suburbs away and the R2E2 from interstate! I have added the addresses from Louis Glowinski's updated book on fruit growing under Aussie conditions to my web page. I sent away to 20 or so nurseries requesting catalogs. The best I have seen so far is from a NSW company called Greg Daley's Fruit Tree Nursery. Very cheap too: $7.90 for an ice-cream bean plant, up to $29 for a grafted pontin mamey sapote. Still waiting for the other catalogs before I decide which plants to buy. Bye for now, and merry christmas Mark Dodgson ----------------------------- From: ABILIO GARCIA Subject: The Brazilian Webpage is in Portuguese Date: Tue, 30 Dec 1997 00:17:43 +-100 Hello Leo Thanks for your informacion. The Webpage: http://www.agrov.com/agrov/vegetais/frutas.htm is brazilien and is very interesting is about tropical brazilien fruit agriculture. They show a map list of different plant fruits with technical and botanical cultivation information. And with the peopel or enterprise fruit producters. And have a possibility to search of supplies and machines for fruit agriculture. But they still in construction the pages. I ask by mail if they send seeds in the moment they don't give me a answer. Leo if you want to know something of this web, ask me and i translate with my poor english. Yours sincerely Abilio, Portugal --------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Dec 1997 21:21:46 +0800 From: Clement Subject: *Maybe* Bowen Isn't The Best Mango! Hi Leo Thanks for the latest edition of Rare Fruit News Online. It's the best way of finding information on those Rare Trees. As you already know that the only place to find information was through library which can be very frustrating when its unavailable. I find the information you sent me very useful, keep up the the good work. We need more people like you around to share information and contacts that lead me to someone nearby with the same interest in which I might never know. You might like to ask Sainarong about Thailand Mango. He might be the one with better ideal because there are so many varieties over there and some of them taste great depend on you of course. To me its "One man's food is the other man's poison", you might have to taste first to compare the difference. Have you come across the new mango call R2E2? Any way I went to your home page and I like it, especially when you mention your dog Jacko. We have one too Its GIGI , also blue heeler. Excellence guard dog and very obedient. I saved her life when she was about to be put down at the dog pound. The price was A$20 for that lovely 1 1\2 yrs old dog and we enjoy having her as it goes along very well with our kids. She also like to go to beach for a swim, run around and socialize (sniff around) with other dog. I will be getting a White Sapote in 4 months time after John Sojka twisted my arm. He highly recommended it because its as easily grown over here and need the same attention as citrus tree. My Lychee (12) drops off after a heat weave (above 40s) despite that i water 4 times per day ( 10 liters each) over the top of the tree to increase the humidity. I'll be asking Sainarong for help on that. Have you got any suggestion? Chances of Charimoya having a reasonable crop was dash also due to the heat, I think. Anyway its going to be another sad year. Maybe better luck next session. That's all for the time being. Bye and take care. We wish you and your family Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Once again keep up the good work. Clement and Family --------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 27 Dec 1997 08:17:32 PST To: leom@rarefruit.com From: Doron Kletter Subject: Your mango blooming out of season Leo, I have Nam Doc Mai and Edwards too. Mine did not misbehave. It must be the combination of several factors, although late fertilization can certainly encourage flowering. Most likely the warm fall temperatures, the availability of water, and a relatively long resting period from the last growth flush. Do you recall when was the last flush? But since you are already in that situation, I would recommend to not let the trees set any fruit. Do not attempt to trim the flower panicles completely, however, as this will induce more growth and the tree will eventually re-bloom. Your goal is to get the trees back in sync with nature. Please keep me posted about your trees. And please be patient with the mail - it is expected to come on and off periodically till the 28th. So here we go again.. Doron ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 Dec 1997 18:48:48 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Dodgson Subject: Mango tree size and fruit nursery info in Australia Hi The picture of my mango trees (perhaps a little optimistic on that point) on my web page (follow link titled "Fruit I grow") has the R2E2 on the left and the Florigon on the right. Since that time the R2E2 has grown only 4 to 6 inches on one branch, with the Florigon around 12 inches on 2 branches. I would estimate the R2E2 to be around 3 feet tall, with the Florigon 4 1/2 feet. As to the other mangoes, all the others are from seed, with the biggest around 4 to 6 inches tall. As we've just got miracle grow in this country, this year I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately I used it on young seedlings of chiles/tomatoes and they've stopped growing leaves, so maybe the same has happened to the the seedling mangoes. Oh well, only time will tell I guess. At least with the organic stuff I use I don't have to bother with reading instructions: chicken poop, blood and bone, and worm juice don't have instructions! I tried removing the individual seedlings from the poly embryonic mango seeds, but they looked too tangled up to bother. I think I'll just have to pick a seedling and cull the rest. Any ideas on which one is the "bad one"? I have scanned a couple of pages from Glowinski's updated book on aussie fruit growing (follow link titled "Fruit I grow", then follow link "Fruit Information"). I mentioned in my last email the Greg Daley fruit tree nursery catalog. From looking at past RFN's it appears he's on your list. Does he still subscribe to your list, and if so has he given you a new email. I tried his gdaley@nrg.com.au, but it appears to not exist. I have made a short list of 15 trees from his nursery, from acerola cherry, babaco, cherimoya, jaboticaba, macadamia, miracle fruit, etc, and of course of couple of mango cultivars. I'll wait for the other nurseries to respond before I purchase, as I'd prefer to buy selected cultivars if possible. Some of his rarer fruit list don't appear to have cultivars as I've seen in other publications (CRFG fruit facts, etc). Mark Dodgson --------------- Greg Daley, do you still receive the newsletters at this address? Leo --------------------------------- Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 10:43:49 +0000 From: Leo Manuel To: Mark Dodgson Subject: Re: Mango tree size and fruit nursery info in Aus Happy Holidays, Mark! I've been able to separate multiple seedlings of mangoes sometimes, and othertimes, I've left them together until later to decide which to remove. My understanding is that sometimes they are all copies of the mother, but when not, the really vigorous one is NOT. That makes it very hard to destroy it, and I believe I would at that point try very hard to separate the most vigorous one from the others, favoring the others. I've killed and damaged so many trees from fertilizing inappropriately that I've become very conservative. I think the organic stuff is definely the way to go. Greg Daley at that address apparently either receives the mailings or aren't rejecting them with any notice to me. Happy '98! Leo ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 Dec 1997 19:30:50 -0800 From: Jose Miguel Gallego Subject: Quang's Place (Nursery) Leo, Happy Holidays!! I went to Quang place today, it is amazing, good thing I did not bring my checkbook and I controlled myself on not asking if he accepted credit cards... sight... well I did buy a june plum and a solo papaya. I am planning on getting one of his wax jambo, golden nugget mango, Ong's guava and... I don't know where to put ALL of the others that I am buying!! He is receiving some bare roots next Sunday and I was wondering if you and Jim were interested in going. How about? Let me know. Jose ------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 10:06:18 +0000 From: Leo Manuel To: Jose Miguel Gallego Subject: Re: Quang's Place Jose, Happy Holly Daze to you as well! Of course I'm interested. Which Sunday? January 4? And, what is a june plum? Leo --------------------------- Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 12:33:42 -0800 From: Jose Miguel Gallego Subject: The June plum is the spondias dulcis, or ambarella Leo, Yes, Jan 4. The june plum is a plum that you can only eat in June. (hehehe) It is the spondias dulcis, or ambarella. It is a small, yellow plum looking fruit. It has kind of a pineapple taste (and smell), little acid and a seed pod that looks like a rambutan but hard. I know, I should have spend my money on this one, but it is dwarf version which makes more rare and since I am running out of space, I am beginning to understand the meaning of dwarf trees. Jose ---------------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Seeds - Sapote and Sapodilla Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 11:42:45 -0800 Hi Leo, I got an email from John Sojka a couple of days ago saying he sent you some black sapote and sapodilla seeds. I hope they sprout for you, this is not the best time of year for sprouting seeds, but if they are fresh, then maybe bottom heat will do the trick. I would think you could get lots of black sapote seeds from George Emerich, since he has two bearing trees in front of his house. As for sapodilla seeds, there is a large bearing tree somewhere around LAX, I just don't know the exact location. I need to spend some time looking for it. My friend Jack Swords managed to get some seeds from it and gave me a seedling. I am hoping to get some caimito seeds from John Sojka and if I have any luck getting some up I'll let you know. By the way my 'Arkin' carambola has started to drop fruit, I'll report back on the taste in a week or so. Later, Bob ------------------------- Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 12:18:46 +0000 From: Leo Manuel To: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Re: Seeds - Sapote and Sapodilla Hello, Bob, The black sapote and sapodilla seeds already had a half-inch root when they arrived. I have a black sapote that hasn't borne yet, but no sapodilla. I'm trying to get them to sprout in the garage. I'll let you know. I should get graftwood from a good fruiting black sapote. What's the fruit like on a sapodilla? I don't have any carambola in the ground. They haven't done well for me in the past. I've got one in a pot, but I don't know anything about it. Good to hear from you, Leo --------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: Leo Manuel Subject: Sapodilla, black sapote, carambola, and Doug Richardson Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 15:12:02 -0800 Hi Leo, Good to hear that John sent you seeds already sprouting! He probably didn't know it, though. The sapodilla fruit is very sweet, probably with a Brix over 30. The fruit is oblong, pointed on the bottom, brown, with kiwi like fuzz all over it. The fruit texture is like a gritty pear, translucent-brownish and reminds one of brown sugar because it is so sweet. I was lucky enough to find some in a fruit market in Cancun a couple of years ago and I still have some seedlings from the seeds I brought back. They grow very slowly! Probably the best bet is to locate the tree near LAX and see if I can talk the owner into allowing some airlayers to be put on it. I have a sapodilla tree in the ground that I found at Doug Richardson's and it hasn't grown much at all in a couple of years. Speaking of Doug, he has started to move his bananas to the empty area on the east side of La Conchita. He also has started to "clear" the former banana grove with a D9 cat. On last Friday I caught the tail end of the "cat" leveling his third field of about 2 acres. It was very sad! He's under the gun to move everything by the end of February and to leave nothings standing when he's gone. It goes without saying, be careful who you pick as a landlord. As for a good black sapote, again I would direct you to George, his are pretty good as black sapotes go. He probably wouldn't say much good about them, but they were okay by my taste buds. Talk to you later, Bob >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - January 1, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online January 15, 1998 - AKA RFN199801B.txt We continually add new subscribers, often because they expect you can answer questions for them, and you usually don't let them down! Thank you! There's another supplement available for the asking: Ask for Annonas. It's real title is Other Annonaceous Fruits, by Har Mahdeem, from Tropical Fruit World September/October l990 Page 118-120 There were no responses to the subject of chat. Perhaps this newsletter is like a chat group, with two-week pauses between questions and responses. As I said, I haven't much experience to go on, but if you have suggestions, feel free to voice them. I stumbled across two web pages relating to mango, from which I copied large portions, at the bottom of this newsletter. Also, another web page, Bruns Lab, has multiple links to web sites of mycorrhizae and biological interest. If you have multiple email accounts and write from a different one than you expect the newsletter to be delivered, be sure to let me know whether the different address is a change of address, an alternate address, or whatever. It's confusing to me, also, when you write from an account that is not your own. Suppose you are Jim Jones writing from an account "Mary Martin" . I may assume that it's Mary who's the subscriber. Then, when I get email from Mary, signed Jim, I get confused. Actually, I'm rather easily confused, and I can spend lots of time sorting through past letters trying to figure out the correct information - time I'd rather devote to watching the fruit garden develop. And, finally, most mail I get from you does have a "relevant" SUBJECT line - one that distills the essence of your message. I appreciate that. Also, most of it has your REAL name either in the signature or imbedded in the FROM line. I appreciate that. Thanks!! ----------------------------------- From: HMHausman Subject: New subscriber, Davie FL, seeks to develop new lychees Subject: New Subscriber in Escondido, CA with a wish list From: Cat Melvin From: steve Subject: New subscribers seek hardy rare fruit for Wash. state From: Leo Manuel To: Steve Berg Subject: Re: New subscribers seek hardy rare fruit for Wash. state From: Veronica Stork Subject: New subscriber interested in Mangosteen for Arizona? From: Leo Manuel To: Veronica Subject: Re: New subscriber interested in Mangosteen for Arizona From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: New Subscriber Oregon [Leo: See His Web Page!] From: David Subject: Control of mites and such To: David Subject: Re: Control of mites and such Subject: Fruits in season, Thailand, January From: "Sainarong Rasananda" From: "Ricardo Barbosa" Subject: AGROV site and more From: Jon Verdick (Friend of few words) Subject: mystery fruit-Sounds like "physalis peruviana" aka "Poha". From: Cucho Subject: Advice on growing Mangosteens and Rambutans From: Cucho Subject: Questions about Imbe From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Seed Exchange From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Trees for Hawaii From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Rambutan and mangosteen Subject: Re: Growing Mangosteens and Rambutans From: "William Glover" Subject: Re: Rambutan and mangosteen From: "William Glover" From: gilbert Subject: Help: I need to find number of chill hours in N. CA From: les69a@webtv.net (Les Severson) Subject: What to grow in MN (zone 4) Please respond directly to Les From: les69a@webtv.net (Les Severson) Subject: What to grow in MN (zone 4) From: Leo Manuel To: Les Severson Subject: Re: what to grow in MN (zone 4) Subject: Webpage: World Market for Mango Subject: Webpage: HOME FRUIT PRODUCTION - MANGO From: Leo Manuel ---------------------------------------------------------------- From: HMHausman Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 21:13:15 EST Subject: New subscriber, Davie FL, seeks to develop new lychees Dear Leo and Betty Manuel: I attended a meeting of the Broward Rare Fruit and Vegetable Counsel last night and one of my friends told me about you folks. Let me first introduce myself, my name is Harry M. Hausman. My wife Nancy and I live in Davie, Florida. Davie is in western Broward County, west of Fort Lauderdale. It is considered "horse country and grove country." We reside on a 2 1/2 acre tract and I have been avidly planting the acreage with every variety of good tasting tropical and sub-tropical fruits that I can find that will grow here. I have all of the fruit trees that you mention in your home page and a bunch more. My special interests include mangoes (I have 30 varieties in the ground), lychees ( I have 10 varieties in ground), longans (I have 4 varieties), carambolas (I have 6 varieities), and Annonas (I have 10 or 12 or so). I have an especially keen interest in collecting, growing, and developing new Lychee varieties in order to lengthen the fruit bearing season which here in Florida is painfully short. In any case, I'd very much like to receive the newsletter that you refer to and will be more that happy to exchange information about trees and fruit with your members. Actually, I tried to set up my own informal sub-tropical fruit network on AOL but it looks like you guys are way ahead of me. I'll pass your web site on to the others that I been talking with. Hope to hear back from you soon.......... Harry ------------------------------- Subject: New Subscriber in Escondido, CA with a wish list From: Cat Melvin Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 19:39:56 -0800 Hi, Leo! It took me a while (since the fair in June!), but here I am. Please "subscribe" me! Cat Melvin Secretary/Editor CRFG N. San Diego County Need many kinds of trees. We have 3.5 acres we are beginning to populate. So far we have planted (small, young trees): lemon; walnut; avocado (old, nonproducing); mango; banana; fig; loquat; mulberry; pomegranate; apricot; blackberry; grapes. We need: peach; nectarine; apple; citrus; avocados; plum; rose apple; passion fruit; raspberry; etc. etc. etc. I'm also looking for a good-sized weeping willow, white birch, and cork oak. Leo, please also send me the back issues. Thanks! -------------------------------- Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 15:49:13 -0800 From: steve Subject: New subscribers: Seek hardy rare fruit for Wash. state Hi. We are Steve and Jeannie Berg We live in Port Orchard, Washington, not far from Puget Sound. Steve is a retired Navy Officer and Jeannie is a Navy Officer on active duty. She hopes to retire soon. We built our home last year and this winter we have planted apple, nectarine, peach, plum, pear, cherry and apricot trees. We've also planted a number of different types of berries and grapes. We love to try some rare fruit trees but we except that many of the exotics will not grow this far north. We're really interested in gaining information about hardy rare fruit trees which could withstand temperatures in the teens occasionaly and thrive here in the northwest US. Steve ----------- To: steve Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 18:23:59 -0800 From: Leo Manuel Subject: Re: New subscribers seek hardy rare fruit for Wash. state Steve and Jeannie, I will put you on the mailing list, publish your letter, and maybe someone will have suggestions. What you can grow may depend somewhat on your willingness to protect plants. I know that some growers keep their tender plants in pots and wheel them in and out of protection when the threat of cold arises. Some use green houses. Some dig around the plants and lay them down on the ground, where they can pile insulative leaves and mulch over them. If you have a south-facing wall or west-facing wall, either of which with a roof overhang that extends out a few feet from the structure, you can provide quite a bit of protection by planting very near the wall and under the overhang. Perhaps, instead, you'll find ideas about "rare" plants that are sufficiently hardy that you can grow them without extraordinary precautions. Leo --------------------------- Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 17:59:15 -0800 From: Veronica Stork Subject: New subscriber interested in Mangosteen for Arizona My name is Veronica Peterkin We live in Yuma, AZ We have mangos, guavas, passionfruit, cheramoyas, jujubes, kiwis, etc. We are looking for a source for a mangosteen tree. I've never seen them outside of Sri Lanka. I may have once seen them in Malasia. I would like to try to grow them here. The fruit is round and about 4" in diameter. The skin is a hard maroon colored shell about an eighth of an inch thick. When opened the fruit is almost an opalescent white. The taste sweet ambrosia not at all insipid with a firm smooth texture. Veronica ------------ Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 19:43:39 -0800 From: Leo Manuel To: Veronica Subject: Re: New subscriber interested in Mangosteen for Arizona Veronica, Mangosteen is such a delicious fruit that everyone who can wants to grow it, but it can't be done in AZ outside of a greenhouse. If you want to be on the mailing list, let me know. There are people on the mailing list who live where mangosteen can be grown. Horticordially, Leo ----------------------------------- Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 07:53:08 -0800 From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: New Subscriber Oregon [Leo: See His Web Page!] Dear Leo: I'd be interested in seeing your newsletter. I use my real name on my letters, I live 20miles south of Portland, Oregon, and you can find more information on my web site at http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom Thank you. -Lon Rombough ------------------------------------ From: David Subject: Control of mites and such Date: Sat, 3 Jan 98 18:19:52 -0800 One of your readers wrote in asking about how to control the mites and ants in his garden. I'm having some success with an experiment of my own (near Santa Monica) and I'd like to get some comment what I'm doing. I bought one of those hose sprayers and filled it with pine sol. I heard that ants hate the smell of pine. These types of insects breathe through their "skin." When they get wet, the water beads and they continue to breathe. If you add soap to the water, it doesn't bead on their skin any more and they literally drown. For the past 4 weeks I've been washing my citrus trees with everything from pine sol to dishwashing detergent. I set the sprayer to 3 tablespoons per gallon. I wash 'em once a week. So far, I've noticed that the trees are thriving and there are no insects setting up shop. .....of course, it could be due to the cold weather. The real test will be this spring when the insects get serious..... Anybody else has success or failure with washing their trees with soap? David ----------- Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 18:54:51 +0000 From: Leo Manuel To: David Subject: Re: Control of mites and such David, I heard a speaker at the Festival of Fruit talking about the deadly effect of soap on insects. He was talking about "killer" bees and steps to control them. Apparently if you have a sprayer with (I believe the proportions are right) 1 Tblsp of dishwater detergent per gallon of water, and spray any colony of insects so that they are thoroughly wet, that the insects will die in VERY short order. (Very few minutes, but I've forgotten how many.) It's interesting that it's working so well. I'd expect that plain water washing the dust off would be beneficial to a slight degree, also. Leo ----------------------- Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 14:33:00 +0700 From: "Sainarong Rasananda" Here are some of the fruits in season in Thailand in January. Following are the prices of some Thai fruits. If you would like to get more imformation, please look in to this web site http://bday.net/tat/fruit_index.html Name Market Price(US$Lb.) Remarks (US$@48Baht) Tangerine 0.19-0.33 all year round Guava 0.19-0.28 all year round Rose Apple 0.28-0.37 end of season Banana 0.83-1.04/ comb all year round Sapodilla 0.28-0.47 middle-end of season Watermelon 0.28-0.37 all year round Mangosteen 0.37-0.47 out of season Coconut 0.29/fruit all year round Papaya 0.19-0.28 all year round Have a happy 1998. Sainarong ----------------------------- From: "Ricardo Barbosa" To: leom@rarefruit.com Subject: AGROV site and more Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 16:36:43 PST Hi Leo. FIRST: I hope 1998 brings to you and to your family the fruits you are waiting for. SECOND: The webpage you discovered is a brazilian one. It's a rural catalog where the fruits are a small part. It's so provisory that I could not identify who is making it, if a government or a private organ. It contains only fruits of commercial interest. You can translate almost all the fruit names with the list I sent you, where the portuguese and english names are side by side. The nurture informations are very poor. I think CRFG gives far more informations when you find the plant in their files. Can't you read spanish? It's not so far from portuguese. Your first name means lion in latin, and Manuel is certainly one of most used first names in Portugal. If you need any translation, do not hesitate to ask me. THIRD: Can americans receive seeds by mail. Is it legal? In Brazil I consulted the mail system, and they informed I can receive seeds in small amounts and with no commercial purposes. FOURTH: How and when can I get seeds of: - Pawpaw, the US native annonaceae - Blueberry, a cultivar that could grow well here - Muscadine Grape, another US typical - Black sapote. Have you any seeds available at the moment? FIFTH: I'm confused with Sapodilla, Sapote and White Sapote. I have two different kinds of sapote trees I would like to identify. Do you know any site where we can find pictures of these fruits and trees? CRFG site is very poor about this subject. I live in the capital of the southermost state of Brazil located exactly 30 degrees South. This means a climate similar to US zones 9-10. But my greenhouse is under construction, and this means no problems with winter frosts. The city is locted at sea level. I've just purchased this weekend a new pitanga tree. I took the decision of purchasing it because the size of the leaves. I never saw so big. This means big fruits. It`s not so small (1,5m) and costed me US$ 5,00. I think next year it will fruit. A portuguese called Abilio sent me a message. Thanks for giving him my address. Regards. Ricardo ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 21:58:04 -0800 From: Jon Verdick (Friend of few words) Subject: mystery fruit-Sounds like "physalis peruviana" aka "Poha". Jon -------------------------------- From: Cucho Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 15:15:01 EST Subject: Advice on growing Mangosteens and Rambutans Leo, I can give some advice to Pincher in Nevis on growing Mangosteens and Rambutans, maybe he can learn from my mistakes. I live in South Florida where we have two distinct seasons, one wet and hot and one cool and drier. Except that this distinction is somewhat blurred this year, thanks to el Nino?. My experince growing Magosteens and Rambutans was a complete disaster, but I did learn a few things about these trees. They both require the following: 1. High relative humidity. They grow well in the South Florida summers, but do not like our drier winters. In my opinion temperature drops did not kill my seedlings, the lack of humidity did. 2. Moist acid soil. Mangosteens specially require the soil to be moist at all times. 3. Magosteens develop a long tap root with very few side roots. Any damage to the tap root can be lethal. Be very careful while transplanting them, better yet, plant it in its permanent location if possible. 4. Shade the mangosteens until they are about fairly large, about 3 or 4 feet tall. This may take a few years, since they are very slow growers. 5. I would not use chemical fertilizers on these trees until they are fairly large. Only well composted manure. 6. The Rambutans are notorious for developing chlorosis, and once they turn yellow it is very difficult to impossible reversing this. I would suggest using chelated iron supplements regularly and other micronutrients, before the onset of chlorosis. Sorry, but I can't give you advice on controlling monkeys. I do have problems with possums eating my fruits, but I've decided to let them eat all they want as long as they leave me some. Good Luck, Mario Lozano ------------------------------- From: Cucho Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 16:34:33 EST Subject: Questions about Imbe Hi Leo, As always, Kudos on a terrific newsletter. Leo, maybe you or one of your readers can help me decipher what is wrong with my Imbe (Garcinia Livingstonei) tree. The tree, or maybe more appropriately shrub, is growing very nicely and is now about 8 feet tall with some spreading branches towards the base. It began flowering last Spring and it produced flowers during most of the year, it is producing lots of flowers right now (my trees are fooled by the unusually warm and rainy Winter, possibly caused by el Nino, and most of them are flushing like in the Spring). It produces small fruits, no bigger than ¼ inch and they turn orange and drop off. My question is, do I have a male tree that will never produce anything but these tiny fruits? Or is this normal behavior for Imbes and later I will get larger fruits? I know that Mamey Sapotes behave this way and after a few seasons of dropping small fruits it starts holding the fruits to maturity. I would appreciate to hear from anyone experienced in Imbes. The tree is in a very good spot on my yard and if it will never bear anything better than tiny fruitlets, I have other worthwhile trees in pots, that will be very happy to take the space. Best Regards, Mario Lozano in Ft. Lauderdale FL. ----------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Seed Exchange Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 15:54:25 -0800 Hello Ricardo, I saw your letter on the Rare Fruit Newsletter Online and would like to see if we could exchange seeds. You mentioned that you have a list of your plants in an Excel file, could you send that file to me as an enclosure? Also, could you give me the names of some fruits or some fruit families that you are interested in acquiring seeds from so I can let you know if I will be able to assist you in your search. You live in a part of the world that has a lot of interesting fruits, most of which are very obscure in the United States. I could give you a general idea of what I find interesting at this time--Annonacea, Myrtaceae, Passifloracea. As I said, let's see what you have and what you are interested in obtaining and we can go from there. Fruitful wishes, Bob Holzinger ------------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Trees for Hawaii Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 09:14:50 -0800 Hello Yudhvir, Saw your question on RFNO. Neem may be something to try in Hawaii, but I thought that pistachios like hot and dry conditions, with some winter chill. I may be mistaken. One thing that I would recommend, though, is growing something to sell to the resorts and big hotels on the islands. In my two trips there it seemed that no one was offering interesting fruits that were in season, just the usual papaya, pineapple, guava, etc. You should do some research first to see if there would be some demand, but I would think that supplying things like mangosteen, rambutan, longan, lychee, different Annona species, etc. would be a good idea. Shipping to the states may be difficult, so determine your market size in Hawaii and anything you could ship to the mainland would be just a bonus. Good luck! Bob Holzinger ------------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Rambutan and mangosteen Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 09:07:40 -0800 Hello William, Just a couple observations on rambutan and mangosteen. I talked to someone growing them on the big island of Hawaii and he felt the rainfall on the Kona Coast (about 50 inches or 1270mm a year) was too little for the mangosteen and marginal for the rambutan. He was looking forward to growing them both on the Hilo side where the rainfall was over 100 inches or 2500mm a year. The fact that the humidity is at least 75% year round where you are may compensate somewhat if you can irrigate with clean water because I know from personal experience that rambutan do not like water with salts in it. A friend in California has several four foot tall mangosteens in pots in a greenhouse, so they must not be as picky about the quality of the water. Looks like you may have a chance for success, so go for it! Good luck, Bob Holzinger ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Growing Mangosteens and Rambutans Date: Fri, 9 Jan 98 07:54:54 -0400 From: "William Glover" Mario Lozano, Many thanks for the tips about growing mangosteen and rambutans. Will persevere. Almost wish I had some possums as they are tastier than monkeys. Warm regards, William Glover ----------------------------- Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 14:45:59 +0000 From: gilbert Subject: Help: I need to find number of chill hours in N. CA leo- i have a question for you and/or the other readers of the newsletter. Where can i find the numbers on the number of "chill" hours in nothrn california counties for the last several years. aaron gilbert ------------------------------- From: les69a@webtv.net (Les Severson) Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 11:48:32 -0600 Subject: What to grow in MN (zone 4) Please respond directly to Les Starting out with only 2-3 acres. Looking for something profitable. would appreciate help. Would like your opinion on some of my ideas. Thank you muchly. Presently starting a few of each of these; Honeycrisp and Harelson apples and Mesabi cherries. I live in S. Mn. (zone 4) Also need marketing ideas. Thanks and regards, Les Seversom ----------- Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 17:12:07 -0800 From: Leo Manuel To: Les Severson Subject: Re: what to grow in MN (zone 4) Les, I doubt that this newsletter will be of much help as most of our readers either live in warm-winter climates like Southern California or Florida, or are interested in growing exotic warm-winter fruits. I would suggest talking to local farm agents or possibly post questions in the Garden Web: http://209.25.46.109/Garden_Talk/_disc7/00000032.htm where people write in from all climate zones. Don Gholston is remarkably knowledgeable about many things in fruit growing, and you might check with him about where to look for help. Don Gholston: DGholston@aol.com I wish I could be more helpful. Good Luck! Leo Manuel ---------------------------------------- Subject: Webpage: World Market for Mango http://www.milcom.com/rap/mps/mango.html September 1995, RAP MARKET INFORMATION BULLETIN, No. 9 ($10) Table of Contents Production and Exports Markets Grades and Standards Sources of Technical Information INTRODUCTION Mangoes are the fruit of the Magnifera indica tree, native to India. They are lowland tropical plants that tolerate a wide range of rainfall, although they need dry weather at the time the fruits are formed. Worldwide production, heavily concentrated in Asia, is estimated at 17 million metric tons per year. Although more than 500 varieties exist, only a few move in international trade. The mango is often hailed as the most popular fruit in the world, but until recently it was considered an exotic, specialty item in import markets such as the United States and Europe. Despite rising demand in these markets, competition is formidable because many producing countries are now growing the few varieties in demand and shipping them in large volumes. Consequently, producers cannot rely simply on volume exports to make money; instead, they must compete on the basis of appearance, quality, and price. PRODUCTION AND EXPORTS North America Mexico is the largest exporter of mangoes in the world. Varieties include La Criolla, Manila Super, Haden, Kent, Tommy Atkins, Irwin, Sensation, Van Dick, and Palmer. Production is estimated at 1 million metric tons annually, the growing season lasting from April to September. Fruits are exported to the United States, France, Canada, and Japan. Over the last five years, exports to the United States have been increasing at an average rate of 20 percent a year, reaching 108,385 metric tons (US$89.8 million) in 1994, double the volume of 1990. Exports to other countries in Europe and to Japan are also thriving, reaching 3,406 metric tons and 1,700 metric tons, respectively, in 1994Ńhigher than the exports of any year before. U.S. production of mangoes centers in Puerto Rico, with some production occurring in Florida as well (2,500 metric tons). U.S. exports of mangoes were 18,500 metric tons (US$ 21.4 million) in 1994Ń11,248 metric tons to Canada, 4,069 metric tons to the Netherlands, and 1,176 metric tons to Japan. South and Central America More than 15 Latin American countries produce mangoes, exporting to the United States and Europe. The season varies from one country to another, but fruits generally are available from September to May. U.S. importers refer to product from these countries as off-shore mangoes because they are counter-season fruits compared with those from Mexico. Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru benefit from duty-free access to the United States and the European Union (EU). Brazil is the largest exporter with total exports of around 8,000 metric tons in 1994. Major markets are the United States, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, and Portugal. BrazilÕs season is from October to March. Brazil used to supply a quarter of the EU market, but in 1994 BrazilÕs market share dropped to 12 percent as exports decreased from 10,000 metric tons the previous year to 5,600 metric tons. Exports to the United States also dropped from 3,150 metric tons in 1993 to 2,200 metric tons. Venezuela exports between 5,500 and 6,500 metric tons each year, with peak season being in June and July. The United States constitutes the largest market, taking 2,800 metric tons in 1994, followed by the United Kingdom (1,300 metric tons) and Portugal (1,050 metric tons). According to some U.S. importers, Venezuela, Peru, and Guatemala are now supplying better product than Mexico. Peru produced 8,000 metric tons of mangoes in 1993. It is the second-largest supplier to the United States after Mexico, with exports amounting to 3,450 metric tons in 1994. PeruÕs exports to the EU are usually around 1,500 to 2,000 metric tons but in 1994 were only 821 metric tons. Major European markets include the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Peruvian mango season runs from November through March. Guatemala grows primarily the Kent, Haden, and Tommy Atkins varieties, which are in season from March until June. GuatemalaÕs exports to the United States have risen dramatically from 622 metric tons in 1993 to 2,376 metric tons in 1994. Costa Rica produces Tommy Atkins, Irwin, Keitt, Mora, and Haden - Tommy Atkins and Irwin being the main varieties. The season runs from February to June, peaking in March and April. In 1994, exports totaled 2,500 metric tons, and in 1995 they are expected to exceed 4,000 metric tons. The main shipping destinations in 1994 were the Netherlands and Germany. Haiti, which supplied the United States with 13,438 metric tons of product in 1991, began exporting again in 1993 after a trade embargo was lifted. Exports to the United States, however, were only 2,742 metric tons in 1994, whereas exports to Europe were 206 metric tons. Ecuador exported 1,450 metric tons of product in 1994, 61 percent of which went to the United States, and the remainder to France, Spain, and the Netherlands. Many trees begin bearing this year, so exports are expected to increase considerably. Africa In 1994, South Africa became the second-largest supplier to the EU after Brazil, with exports reaching 5,256 metric tons compared with 3,647 metric tons in 1993. The South African season runs from January to May. South Africa was expected to export 1.5 million boxes (7,500 metric tons) in 1995. Its major markets are the Netherlands (taking 1,900 metric tons in 1994), France (1,270 metric tons) and the United Kingdom (814 metric tons). In 1994, exports from C(te dÕIvoire to the EU doubled, reaching 5,000 metric tons. C(te dÕIvoire is the largest supplier to France, accounting for 35 percent of that countryÕs imports last year. Production is primarily of the red Kent and the green Amelie varieties, which are fiberless and highly appreciated in the French market. The season runs from March to July, peaking between mid-April and late June. This year, some French importers blamed lack of export controls for the fact that many Ivorian loads arrived in bad shape and overripe. Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, and Kenya are other major African suppliers. In 1994, Mali exported 837 metric tons to the EU (67 percent to France and 32 percent to the Netherlands). Malian varieties are the same as for C(te dÕIvoire. Burkina Faso exported 735 metric tons to the EU, 63 percent to France and 24 percent to the Netherlands. Gambia exported 610 metric tons to the United Kingdom, up from 485 metric tons in 1993. Guinea exported 457 metric tons to the EU, including 334 metric tons to France and 94 metric tons to the Netherlands. Kenya exported 1,580 metric tons of mangoes to Europe and other destinations in 1994. Middle East In 1994, Israel exported 4,150 metric tons of mangoes. The country forecasts exports of 6,000 metric tons for 1995 and hopes to export 10,000 metric tons by the year 2000. The Israeli production season runs from July to November. In 1994, exports to the EU reached 3,178 metric tons, up from 2,975 metric tons in 1993 and from 2,514 metric tons in 1992. France and the Netherlands are the major markets, taking 900-1,000 metric tons each, followed by the United Kingdom with 461 metric tons in 1994. Egypt produced 196,775 metric tons of mangoes in 1993 and exported 2,410 metric tons, mostly to regional markets. Asia India is the worldÕs biggest mango producer (10 million metric tons in 1992) and exports primarily the Alphonso and Payri varieties. For the second consecutive year, India has suffered from substantial droughts, which have caused large decreases in production. Exports totaled 22,124 metric tons worth US$13.9 million in 1993-1994. Exports to Europe were 1,265 metric tons in 1994. The United Kingdom is IndiaÕs largest European market, taking 83 percent of all Indian mango exports to the EU. The Indian mango season runs from April to August. Pakistan produced 787,000 metric tons of mangoes in 1992. It is the largest supplier of mangoes to the United Kingdom, supplying 3,000 metric tons in 1994. Total exports to EU countries amounted to 3,277 metric tons in 1994, compared with 2,500 metric tons in 1993. PakistanÕs production season runs from June to August. Mangoes from Pakistan are generally the very sweet varieties, similar to those from India. The Philippines is the largest suppliers to Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The season runs from June to August. After four year of continuous growth, exports to Japan dropped from 8,032 metric tons in 1993 to 5,464 metric tons in 1994. Still, the Philippines retains 72 percent of the Japanese market, having invested heavily in vapor heat-treatment technology to ensure that export varietiesŃprincipally the Manila SuperŃcould be certified as fruit fly-free by Japanese quarantine inspectors. Australia estimates 1994 mango production of more than 35,000 metric tons, against 22,370 metric tons the year before. The country started to export its Kensington Pride variety to Japan this year after winning Japanese health authoritiesÕ approval of its vapor heat-treatment program. Australia also supplies other Asian markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Taiwan, Thailand, and New Zealand also export mangoes to regional Asian markets, the most popular Thai variety being the sweet "honey mango." Europe Spanish growers are switching to popular varieties such as Tommy Atkins and Keitt and hope to boost mango production by 70 percent over the next five years. However, growers estimate that total production will probably not exceed 10,000 metric tons. MARKETS North America U.S. imports of mangoes have more than doubled in the last five years, reaching 123,093 metric tons in 1994 (see Table 1 and Figure 1). The customs value of imported mangoes that year was US$107.4 million, up from US$65.2 million in 1990 (Table 2). Mexican mangoes have accounted for almost all of this increase in imports and represented 88 percent of the volume of U.S. imports in 1994, when no other single country accounted for more than 3 percent. However, Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Brazil have also expanded exports to the United States since 1990. Mexico supplies the United States primarily from March to September, with peak supplies arriving May through July. Other shipments arrive in the United States as follows: Haitian product between March and July, peaking from April to June; Brazilian product between October and December; Peruvian product between January and February; and Venezuelan product between March and July, peaking in April and May. U.S. mango consumption is still very low (less than one pound per person) but is increasing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent per year. Mangoes are still primarily an ethnic food, and only one-third of American households have ever purchased the fruit. Mangoes are very popular in cities with high Latino and Asian populations. However, mangoes are appealing to a wider population, and demand likely will continue to grow. The most popular varieties are Tommy Atkins, Haden, Kent, and Keitt. Fresh mango prices are significantly lower when Mexican supply is highest from March to September according to 1994 New York wholesale market price reports. Early shipments of Haden mangoes from Mexico earned US$9.00-US$12.50 per carton (8s-14s) in February and March, before the price dropped to US$6.00-US$9.00 per carton from April to June. Tommy Atkins shipments from Mexico sold in New York for US$4.50-US$9.00 per carton from April to August 1994, with prices generally below US$7.00 per carton (8s-14s). Late Mexican shipments of Keitt and Kent earned US$4.50-US$6.50 per carton (8s-14s) from June to September. Prices reported in New York for Haitian Francine and Francis mangoes ranged from US$7.50 to US$12.50 (mostly US$7.50-US$9.00) per carton (8s-14s) from December to May. Brazilian Tommy Atkins, which began the season in late October and early November at US$18.00 per carton (7s-14s), fell in price to US$7.00-US$8.50 per carton as Brazilian supplies arrived later in the year. Peruvian product entered in January, at the end of the Brazilian supply period, and prices were generally US$12.00-US$13.00 per carton during the next two months for Haden and Kent varieties. Venezuela and Guatemala supplied New York from March to June with Haden and Tommy Atkins. Prices were generally strong in March but declined considerably as Mexican supplies increased in May and June. Canada Canada imported 16,372 metric tons of mangoes, valued at C$19.0 million, in 1994 (Tables 3 and 4). This quantity is a significant increase from five years ago, when only 9,714 metric tons of product (C$10.6 million) were imported. Like the United States, Canada received most of its increased supply from Mexico: Mexico supplied 69 percent of Canadian imports by volume, and the United States contributed an additional 18 percent. The remainder comes from countries such as Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, and the Philippines. Europe Total imports from non-EU sources reached 45,118 metric tons for a value of US$53.0 million in 1994, not including DecemberÕs imports by the Netherlands and Belgium, for which figures are not yet available (Table 5). Imports have increased every year since 1988, when only 27,354 metric tons of product were imported (see Figure 2). The Netherlands has greatly contributed to this growth: Dutch importers have brought in mangoes from a variety of countries and shipped them throughout Europe. Many countries ship mangoes to the EU, the largest suppliers being Brazil (12 percent of all 1994 non-EU imports, based on volume), South Africa (12 percent), C(te dÕIvoire (11 percent) and the United States (11 percent). Mexico, Pakistan, Israel, and Venezuela all provide about 7 percent of EU imports (see Figure 3). Brazil ships mainly during the winter season (November to January), whereas South AfricaÕs peak period is January to April. C(te dÕIvoire sends product to France and other destinations from March to June, and the United States supplies product primarily from June to October. MexicoÕs season extends from March to October, most of its product appearing in Europe during the summer months. Both India and Pakistan send mangoesŃmostly to the United KingdomŃfrom April to August. VenezuelaÕs main season is April to July, and IsraelÕs comes at the end of the summer, from August to October. The Netherlands imported 15,461 metric tons (US$17.7 million) of mangoes from non-EU sources in 1994 (Table 6). The United States and Brazil were the largest suppliers, accounting for 3,577 metric tons and 3,119 metric tons each. Other major suppliers include South Africa, Mexico, Israel, and Costa Rica. Almost half of all imported mangoes are re-exported, mostly to Germany but also to Austria, Switzerland, and Scandinavia. Still, Dutch con-sumption (imports minus exports) stood at 9,456 metric tons in 1994, the second largest in Europe after the United Kingdom. Dutch consumers, like most Northern Europeans, generally prefer red mangoes, although Dutch importers said that green-colored West African mangoes have found a following in the Netherlands. Mexican exporters send Tommy Atkins, Haden, and Kent mangoes by sea container; Israel supplies mostly green-colored Tommy Atkins, Kent, and Lily varieties by sea container. During the winter months, Dutch importers receive product from Brazil and South Africa, as well as from Guatemala and Peru. Kenyan product generally arrives in December as the Brazilian season is ending and the South African one is about to begin. Nineteen supplier countries are listed in 1994 price reports published by the International Trade CentreÕs Market News Service. Average weekly importer selling prices for top suppliers are summarized in the box above. The United Kingdom imported 11,181 metric tons of mangoes (US$11.8 million) from non-EU sources in 1994, down from a high of 13,029 metric tons in 1991. Pakistan supplied 3,005 metric tons, Venezuela 1,293 metric tons, and India 1,049 metric tons. Very sweet Indian and Pakistani varieties are favored by consumers. Importers describe the U.K. market as very competitive and not short of supply. Product is currently sourced from Brazil, Costa Rica, Peru, Gambia, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, and St. Lucia. Kenyan mangoes are available in U.K. markets, but not consistently. In 1994, Market News Service reported importer selling prices for 20 different suppliers to the U.K. market, most of which are only occasional suppliers. Brazilian mangoes shipped by air sold for between £1.23 and £2.50 per kilogram during BrazilÕs main supply period (October-January). Prices for Mexican mangoes sent by air and for Israeli Kent mangoes were reported between July and October, earning £1.25 to £1.90 per kilogram and £1.00 to £2.00 per kilogram, respectively. Venezuelan mango prices from March to July were between £1.50 and £2.38 per kilogram. France is the third-largest mango market in Europe. French imports in 1994 from non-EU countries stood at 10,326 metric tons, worth US$13.7 million. These figures represent increases of almost 1,000 metric tons and US$1.5 million from the previous year. Mangoes are available year round, with supplies coming from C(te dÕIvoire, South Africa, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Mali, and many others. Importers report that October is the only month during which they have difficulty finding supply. C(te dÕIvoire was the largest supplier in 1994, with 3,534 metric tons, followed by South Africa, with 1,268 metric tons, and Brazil and Mexico, both supplying 1,000 metric tons. Currently C(te dÕIvoire accounts for 34 percent of French import volume and supplies the market at very competitive prices from April to June. In 1995, however, many Ivorian shipments were of poor quality, arriving in bad shape or too ripe in the market. The Kent variety is most popular in France as a whole, because of its taste, reddish coloration, and lack of fiber, but in the southern part of the country consumers prefer Tommy Atkins. Importers reported that a price drop would be helpful to stimulate demand. About 30 percent of mangoes are distributed by supermarkets, the remainder being distributed through traditional Halles, open markets, and other retailers. Market News Service reports importer selling prices for 18 different suppliers to France in 1994, with the top suppliersÕ representative prices summarized in the upper box on the left. Germany imported 10,052 metric tons of mangoes in 1994, 70 percent of them from other EU countries, mostly the Netherlands. Major non-EU sources of supply are C(te dÕIvoire, South Africa, and Costa Rica, each supplying 600-700 metric tons. German consumers tend to prefer red mangoes. In 1994, Market News Service reports importer selling prices for mangoes entering from 15 exporting countries, most only sporadic suppliers (see bottom box on page 7). Asia Hong Kong constitutes the largest import market in Asia for mangoes. In 1993, 27,895 metric tons of product were imported, worth US$27.4 million (see Table 7 and Figure 4). The Philippines is the largest supplier to this market, accounting for almost 80 percent of the volume of all imports in 1993. Thailand and Australia each supply about 6 percent, although the declared value of Australian product was twice that of Thai product (see Table 8 and Figure 5). However, customs statistics from 1994, which unfortunately combine mangoes with avocados, guavas, and mangosteens, show that imports of these commodities (of which mangoes is by far the largest) dropped by almost 2,000 metric tons. Australia and Indonesia were the only countries to increase their supply levels, although the market share of the top suppliers remained relatively unchanged. Japanese imports of mangoes grew from 5,510 metric tons in 1990 to 9,264 metric tons in 1993, but, in 1994, they dropped to 7,606 metric tons (“2.3 billion) (Table 9). This decrease is attributable to the overall decrease in the Japanese economy (the burst-bubble economy) and to increased consumption of other imported fruits, such as citrus and apples. Trade statistics show that the Philippines was the only producer to suffer from this decline. All other producers except Taiwan increased supply in 1994. Almost half of Japanese imports arrive between March and May, and another 28 percent during the next three months, June through August. Imports are at their lowest from November to January. The Philippines dominated the 1994 import market with a 72 percent share by volume. Mexico and the United States accounted for 22 percent and 2 percent, respectively. All other suppliers (including Thailand, Australia, and Taiwan) shared the remaining 3 percent of the volume of 1994 imports. Japan requires that all mangoes entering the country be treated for fruit flies. Sweet, fleshy mangoes are preferred to fibrous mangoes. Manila Super mangoes from the Philippines, and Haden, Keitt, and Tommy Atkins mangoes from Mexico and the United States are popular varieties. Singapore imported 10,300 metric tons of mangoes, avocados, guavas, and mangosteens in 1993, worth US$9.0 million (import statistics for mangoes alone are not available) (Table 10). Singaporean imports have grown by 41 percent since 1990, when only 7,303 metric tons of product were imported. Malaysian product accounted for roughly half of all imports by volume, with Thai product taking up 27 percent. In value terms, however, Malaysia accounts for only 24 percent of all imports; the Philippines accounts for 22 percent, and Australia and Thailand for 20 and 19 percent, respectively (Table 11). GRADES AND STANDARDS Minimum standards for mangoes are defined by the United Nations ECE Standard FFV-45: "in-tact, firm, fresh in appearance, sound (produce affected by rotting or deterioration such as to make it unfit for consumption is excluded), clean, practically free from any visible foreign matter, free from black stains or trails that extend under the skin, free from marked bruising, practically free from pests, practically free from damage caused by pests, free from damage caused by low temperature, free from abnormal external moisture, free of any foreign smell and taste. UN/ECE mango standards divide mangoes into three classes; Extra Class for mangoes of superior quality, free of defects; Class I for mangoes of good quality, with slight defects of shape or of the skin; and Class II for mangoes that do not qualify for inclusion in the higher classes but satisfy the minimum requirements. In the United States, the Mexican Mango ExportersÕ Association (EMEX) decided to suspend quality inspections at the border in the beginning of 1995. Mexican and South American mangoes arriving in the United States no longer require quality inspections at the border, but some importers still require that mangoes be checked before shipment or on arrival, and some exporters voluntarily carry out inspections before shipment. Mangoes shipped in international commerce generally are packed in one-layer, 4- to 5-kilogram cartons that hold from 8 to 16 fruits per carton. SOURCES OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION Gomez-Lim, M.A. "Mango Fruit Ripening: Physiology and Molecular Biology." Acta-hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. May 1993. (341) p. 484-499. Willis, L.E.; Marler, T.E. "Root and Shoot Growth Patterns of ŌJulieÕ and ŌKeittÕ Mango Trees." Acta-hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. May 1993. (341) p. 264-270. Goguey, T. "Study of the Effects of Three Flower-inducing Substances on ŌKentÕ and ŌZillÕ Mango." Acta-hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. May 1993. (341) p. 216-224. Nunez-Elisea, R.; Davenport, T.L.; Caldeira, M.L. "Bud Initiation and Morphogenesis in ŌTommy AtkinsÕ Mango as Affected by Temperature and Triazole Growth Retardants." Acta-hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. May 1993. (341) p. 192-198. Lavi, U.; Sharon, D.; Tomer, E.; Adato, A.; Gazit, S. "Conventional and Modern Breeding of Mango Cultivars and Rootstocks." Acta-hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. May 1993. (341) p. 146-151. Yahia, E.M.; Hernandez, M.T. "Tolerance and Responses of Harvested Mango to Insecticidal Low-oxygen Atmospheres." HortScience. Alexandria, Virginia: The American Society for Horticultural Science. October 1993. v. 28 (10) p. 1031-1033. McCollum, T.G.; DÕAquino, S.; McDonald, R.E. "Heat Treatment Inhibits Mango Chilling Injury." HortScience. Alexandria, Virginia: The American Society for Horticultural Science. March 1993. v. 28 (3) p. 197-198. Mitcham, E.J.; McDonald, R.E. "Respiration Rate, Internal Atmosphere, and Ethanol and Acetaldehyde Accumulation in Heat-treated Mango Fruit." Postharvest-biol-technol. Amsterdam; New York: Elsevier. July 1993. v. 3 (1) p. 77-86. Johnson, G.I.; Mead, A.J.; Cooke, A.W.; Wells, I.A. "Stem End Rot Diseases of Tropical Fruit Mode of Infection in Mango, and Prospects for Control." Acta-Hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. October 1992. v. 2 (321) p. 882-890. Shu, Z.H.; Lin, S.L.; Lee, K.C. "Effects of Microelement-containing Pesticides on Nutrient Concentrations of Mango Leaves." Acta-Hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. October 1992. v. 2 (321) p. 553-560. Pongsomboon, W.; Whiley, A.W.; Stephenson, R.A.; Subhadrabandhu, S. "Development of Water Stress and Stomatal Closure in Juvenile Mango (Mangifera Indica L.) Stress." Acta-Hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. October 1992. v. 2 (321) p. 496-503. Roy, S.K.; Joshi, G.D. "An Approach to Integrated Post-harvest Handling of Mango." Acta-Hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. August 1989. (231) p. 649-661. Veeresh, G.K. "Pest Problems in Mango: World Situation." Acta-Hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. August 1989. (231) p. 551-565. Khedkar, D.N.; Roy, S.K. "Storage Studies in Dried and Dehydrated Raw Mango Slices." Acta-Hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. August 1989. (231) p. 721-730. Pandey, P.M.; Chauhan, P.S.; Sharma, Y.K. "Studies on Some of the Physiological Attributes of Mango." Acta-Hortic. Wageningen: International Society for Horticultural Science. August 1989. (231) p. 381-393. ------------------------------------------------ Subject: Webpage: HOME FRUIT PRODUCTION - MANGO HTTP://leviathan.tamu.edu:70/0h/mg/fruits/mango/mango.html Julian W. Sauls Extension Horticulturist INTRODUCTION Mango is regarded as the queen of fruits in tropical areas of the world. Prior to the severe freezes of the 1980s, numerous mango trees were in production in yards across the lower Rio Grande Valley, including a small orchard near Mercedes. Grown for its large, colorful and delicious fruit, the medium to large evergreen mango tree is also attractive in the home landscape. Its rounded canopy may be low and dense to upright and open, with dark green foliage that is long and narrow. CLIMATE Mango is adapted to lowland tropical and subtropical areas. Winter temperature is a major consideration, as leaves and twigs, especially on younger trees, can be damaged at temperatures below 30 degrees. Flowering and fruiting are seriously affected at temperatures below 40 degrees during bloom. There is no apparent difference in cold hardiness among varieties. SOIL AND SITE SELECTION Mango requires soil having good internal drainage, but is not particular as to soil type. Trees can tolerate minor flooding, but have low tolerance for salts, boron and lawn herbicides. Because of its extreme sensitivity to cold, mango should be planted in the most protected site in the yard--within 8 to 12 feet of the south or east side of the house. The tree must receive full sun for optimum growth and fruiting. VARIETIES There are two principal types of mangos: Indian and Indochinese. Varieties of the Indian type typically have monoembryonic (single embryo) seeds, highly colored fruit and are subject to anthracnose disease. Those of the Indochinese type have polyembryonic seeds (multiple embryos), and fruit usually lacking in coloration, but they may have some resistance to anthracnose. There are some varieties, however, that do not fit clearly into either group. Varietal choices in Texas are limited. More common commercial varieties include 'Haden', a red and yellow fruit of about a pound and quarter that matures in June; 'Irwin', a red mango of just under a pound that matures in June; 'Tommy Atkins', a red and yellow fruit comparable to 'Haden' in size and maturity; 'Kent', a green, red and yellow mango of about a pound and a half in size that matures in July; and 'Keitt', a green and pink mango of a pound and half that matures in August. Other varieties may be equally acceptable; for example, 'Julie' and 'Manila' are probably of better eating quality than the more brightly-colored commercial types. PROPAGATION Polyembryonic types generally come true from seed, which is the common method of propagation in the tropics. Monoembryonic types do not come true from seed, so they must be grafted onto seedling rootstocks, using almost any available mango seeds. The fibrous stone or pit should be removed from the seed. The seed should be planted concave edge down and about 1 inch deep in any good potting soil. Germination may take two to three weeks; graftable seedlings of a quarter inch diameter take about six months. Veneer or side veneer grafting and chip budding are the most successful methods of propagation. Most propagation occurs in winter, using rootstocks grown from the previous summer's production. Cleft grafting is also practiced. PLANTING Because of frequent freezes, mango trees may not achieve maximum size, so they can be spaced 12 to 15 feet from each other or other trees. Because trees are normally grown in containers of soilless media, much of the outer layer of media should be washed off the sides and top of the root ball immediately prior to setting the tree in the ground. This practice exposes the outer part of the root system to the actual soil in which the tree must grow, thereby enhancing tree establishment. Newly planted trees should be staked for support for the first year. Build a water ring several inches high and thick atop the soil around the tree. The ring should be a little wider than the planting hole--take soil from elsewhere in the yard if there's not enough left over from planting. Fill the basin with water--after it soaks in, a little soil may be needed to fill in holes made as the soil settles around the root system. YOUNG TREE ESTABLISHMENT Newly planted trees should be watered two or three times the first week, then once or twice per week for several weeks. Simply fill the water basin and let the water soak in. The water ring will gradually erode away over four to six months, at which time the tree can be considered established. Delay fertilization until new growth occurs after planting, then apply monthly into September. Scatter the fertilizer on the ground under the tree and promptly water thoroughly. Using ammonium sulfate (21-0-0), use one half cup monthly in the first year, one cup per month in the second and two cups monthly in the third year. For other fertilizer analyses, adjust the rate accordingly. All lawn grass and weeds should be eliminated for several feet around the young mango, as the tree cannot compete for water and nutrients until it is much larger. As the tree grows, widen the grass-free area beyond the canopy. Organic mulches are excellent for mango trees. No pruning or training should be necessary except to remove deadwood. Winter frost protection is essential. Soil banks around the young tree trunk provide excellent protection--they should be put up in early December and removed in early March. Young trees can also be draped with a blanket or similar covering just prior to a predicted cold spell--pull the corners outward and anchor them to the ground. It is not necessary that the cover reach the ground. Any additional, practical heat source under the tented tree will probably save even the foliage. Incandescent lights, electric heaters, camp lanterns or stoves are good heat sources. MATURE TREE CARE Cultural practices are designed to maintain good growth and production. Irrigation, nutrition, and weed and grass control are the major practices in mature mango tree care. Irrigation is the same as for other established fruit and nut trees--water slowly, deeply and thoroughly. Repeat as needed, based on soil type and prevailing weather. Weekly soakings during the summer are more than adequate. Fertilization, using 21-0-0, should be at the rate of one to two cups per inch of trunk diameter per year, split into equal applications in February, May and August. Simply scatter the fertilizer on the soil surface under the tree, then water thoroughly. Weed and grass control under the tree is desirable to reduce competition and can be easily maintained by use of organic mulch replenished as necessary. The only pruning necessary is to remove dead or damaged branches, which will occur following major freezes unless excellent cold protection methods are practiced. Then, pruning should be delayed until the extent of freeze damage can be ascertained. PRODUCTION, MATURITY AND USE Grafted trees will begin to produce in the third year after establishment, with mature trees capable of producing three to five bushels. The mango fruit develops rapidly, as the time from flowering to maturity is only 100 to 150 days, depending upon variety. Mangoes will ripen to best quality on the tree. Mangoes can be harvested at color break and ripened in the kitchen. Color break is the change from pure green to yellow, usually on the blossom end of the fruit. Another indicator of maturity is a change in color of the flesh around the seed from white to yellow. Fresh consumption is the most important use of mango, but the fruit can be frozen, dried or canned Mango can be used in jams, jellies, preserves, pies, chutney and ice cream. Green mangoes are sometimes eaten raw in the tropics. PROBLEMS The largest problem of mango is anthracnose because it attacks all parts of the tree and is probably most damaging to the flower panicles. On maturing fruit, the fungus causes irregular black spots that may be sunken slightly and show surface cracks. A grouping of spots forms a large, damaged area. Tear streaking is common, resulting from fungal spores that wash down the fruit from infected twigs or flower stalks. The disease can be controlled with fungicides. Powdery mildew can be a serious problem under conditions of high humidity and rainfall during bloom because the disease would limit fruit set. Serious defoliation would not be expected under Texas conditions. Mites and scale insects can attack mango trees, but they rarely limit growth or production unless populations build to high levels. EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION DISCLAIMER The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and that no endorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service is implied. 11-92, New HORT 2-2 -------------------------------- (Leo: The following site has links to everything biological!) Bruns Lab with web sites of mycorrhizae and biological interest http://mendel.berkeley.edu/boletus.html The BRUNS LAB 341 Koshland Hall Department of Plant and Microbial Biology UC Berkeley Links to Web Sites of Mycological Interest: British Mycological Society Forest Mycology and Mycorrhiza Research Team: Corvallis Oregon Fungal Genetics Stock Center ICOM1: the First International Conference on Mycorrhizae ICOM2: the Second International Conference on Mycorrhizae Mycological and Lichenological Collection Catalogs Mycology Resources on the Internet Mycological Society of America Mycological Society of San Francisco Mycopage Root Biology and Mycorrhiza Research Group: University of Guelph Ontario Taylor Lab at UC Berkeley The Tree of Life: Ascomycota The Tree of Life: Basidiomycota Links to Other Web Sites of Biological Interest: Entrez Browser Genome Sequence Data Base Microbial Germplasm Database MacClade Home Page Phylogenetic Analysis Computer Programs Plant Biology at UC Berkeley Plant Biology (Biosciences): The World Wide Web Virtual Library Ribosomal Data Base the rThe rRNA WWW Server The Tree of Life: A Phylogenetic Navigator for the Internet WWW Sites of Interest to Botanists >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - January 15, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online February 1, 1998 AKA RFN199802A.txt What's in this issue: From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Invitation to visit Thailand on a Horticulture trip(!!) From: Leo Manuel To: sainaron@ksc9.th.com Subject: Re: Invitation to visit Thailand on a Horticulture trip From: Jack Tomlinson Subject: New Subscriber, Africa, Seeks Exotic Fruit Ideas From: Ed McCluskey Subject: New Subscriber from Portland OR From: Kyle Harbert Subject: New Subscriber Seeks Help With Hydroponic Garden... From: Richard Prior/CML/Furman) & Reply by Leo Subject: New Subscriber With Questions Atemoya, etc. From: "Fielder, Rosemary" Subject: New Subscriber in search of PawPaw trees for sale! From: "Ben Poirier" Subject: New Subscriber Wants To Exchange Plant Information From: Linda Kincaid Subject: New Subscriber Wants Pink-Fleshed Apple, etc. From: Robin Shafer Subject: New Subscriber Seeks Dwarf Mango Information From: Dan Duprey Subject: Mycorrhizae and Mango Graft Time in FL From: Veronica Stork Subject: Flamboyant Tree From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Mangosteens From: Sven Nehlin (USB) Subject: Conversation About Sapotaceae From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Do you Know Of Any Technical Websites? Subject: Rasananda & Jack Fruits for South Africa From: Sainarong Rasananda & Jack From: DGholston@aol.com To: Sainarong Subject: Re:Sub-tropical & Tropical Fruits for South Africa From: "Dan Duprey" Subject: Re: Chris Rollins & TROPICAL FRUIT WORLD From: jcubero@magicnet.net Subject: waterapple From: Greg Daley Subject: Change of Email Address From: "Richard Prior" Subject: Re: atemoya - new to me! From: "Oliver Patterson" Subject: sapote/sapodilla/white sapote confusion From: Martin Nemzow Subject: Edible Dates in Miami Beach?? From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Thai frults From: HMHausman To: sainaron@samart.co.th Subject: Florida longans From/To: Sainarong Rasananda And Cucho Subject: Re: Thai Longans From: Matthew Shugart Subject: Chill hours From: Bill Burson Subject: Chocolate Persimmon Scionwood - Which Floridian Asked For It? >>From Discussion list for New Crops Reply-To: Discussion list for New Crops From: "W.J.SWART X2383" Subject: Searching for Information: diseases of crops Reply-To: Discussion list for New Crops From: Ron Bunch Subject: Re: DISEASES OF NEW CROPS Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Ben Alkire Subject: Purple Mangosteen, Garcinia - request Reply-To: Discussion list for New Crops From: Carla Casler Subject: Re: pinenuts & aflatoxins Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: crystal Subject: Hydroponic mailing list Reply-To: Discussion list From: Bob Batson Subject: Blue Honeysuckle, a Fruit for Even the FAR North Reply-To: Discussion list for New Crops From: Raquel Krach and Greg Massa Subject: New Crops for Rice Farmer From: Dan Hemenway Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 19:18:40 EST Subject: Re: New Crops for Rice Farmer >>From the Zingiber list From: paullgj Subject: cold tolerance of banana cultivars Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com To: zingiber@coollist.com From: paullgj Subject: Re: What is cavendish Choke Throat? From: Lester Kallus Subject: Re: TROPICAL PLANTS Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com From: "Miguel" Subject: Methods on micropropagation Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com From: "Jose Almandoz." Subject: RE: TROPICAL PLANTS Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com ------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 12:15:09 +0700 From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Invitation to visit Thailand on a Horticulture trip Leo, an idea have struck me. Why not arrange for a group of tropical fruit lovers to make a horticultural trip to Thailand? As you know, our local currency have gone down from 26 per $ to 54 per $, so the cost of living here is very cheap for you. Moreover, Thailand is having 1998 as a Visit Thailand Year, and our Tourism Authority is actively promoting such trips. I have the horticultural connections to make to trip a good one, and would be happy to organize such a trip. BTW I am not in the travel industry, and would not dream of making any personal gain from this, I am just a contented orchardist. Sainarong ------------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 06:58:20 -0800 From: Leo Manuel To: sainaron@ksc9.th.com Subject: Re: Invitation to visit Thailand on a Horticulture trip What an idea! What time of year would maximize one be best, seeking to maximize the availability of "best" fruit and minimize weather discomfort? What length of time minimum would be desirable? Is there any way to get an estimate of cost, however rough an estimate it would be? Are there government gardens or experiment stations to visit? Looking forward to hearing more. (And, readers, what do you think?) Leo ------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 20:40:12 +0200 From: Jack Tomlinson Subject: New Subscriber, Africa, Seeks Exotic Fruit Ideas Leo, I would like to receive your newsletter, and if my experience could benefit anybody I would like to help. My real name is Jack Tomlinson and we farm in what is now known as the Mpumalanga Province. We are in a small town called Hazyview, it is close to Nelspruit and the Kruger National Park. We have been farming with Litchi's for 30years, Mango's for 25 years, Macadamia nuts about 25 years and avacado's for 15 years. As you know by now, we planted some Longan in Sept. 1997. We are looking for another exotic fruit that will do well in our area, we were thinking of Custard apple or Rambutan or a fruit called Kwa-Luk, if anybody can help, it will be most welcome. Thanks, Jack --------------------------- From: Ed McCluskey Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 23:26:49 EST Subject: New Subscriber from Portland OR Please send rare fruit newsletter. Ed McCluskey. Portland, OR Interest subtropicals, citrus. Current: Pineapple Guava, Figs Send earlier issues also. Thank you. Ed -------------------------------- Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 18:08:21 -0800 From: Kyle Harbert Subject: New Subscriber Seeks Help With Hydroponic Garden... Hi, My name is Kyle Harbert, I live in salem Oregon. I recently built a hydroponic garden, I also ordered some vanilla plants, I'm looking for a way to acquire a dwarf sweet lime tree. I'm also going to build a larger garden, and filling it up with cool rare fruits has always been my plan. This sounds like a good way to do it. Feel free to send anything concerning cultivation of vanilla, lime, lemon, and grapefruit plants, your help is appreciated. Sign me up! Kyle Harbert Kyle, see Hydroponic mailing list at ----------------------------------- From: "Richard Prior" Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 17:26:49 -0500 Subject: atemoya - new to me! Leo! Thanks for writing back! I sent the following note to you last week Friday and it boomeranged right back at me. I was very disappointed. But now I'm not! To: leom@rarefruit.com From: Richard Prior/CML/Furman) Subject: New Subscriber With Questions Atemoya, etc. Please add me to the mailing list. I'm rather new to the rare fruit game. I've been growing for a few years, not seriously, though, until now. Before I continue, here's the personal information you request on your web page: Richard E. Prior Greenville SC 29617 I live just on the 7 side of the 7/8 zone line, wishing daily it were the 10! Most of my plants are therefore container grown. I'm sure there are other people on the list who are also container growers and I hope to learn the tricks for adapting tropical and sub-tropical trees to containers (and making them happy there). Here's what I have in my collection now, with a few comments for each. AVOCADO. 6 yrs old grown from pit. Got caught outside on a cold night (mid-30s) and turned black. I've whacked it back to a 6" stick and it's coming back gangbusters. I doubt it will ever fruit in a container. Question: When I pinch it back to get it to branch, I get one small shoot that peters out and one strong one leaving me basically where I started. What gives? VANILLA ORCHID. 6 yrs old started from a cutting with 2 leaves. It grew to a length of about 10' before it got cooked when I forgot to open the vents in my cold frame greenhouse on spring day. I rescued a few sections, but them in a coco fibre bowl with the same bark dirt mix I'd used before, tied the whole mess up in a plastic bag with vent holes. They're doing nothing. Not dying, not growing. Are they still in shock? Do they need counselling? I don't know. BANANA. Dwarf Cavandish. 3 yrs old. Started from a tiny (6") mail order sucker. I originally put it in a HUGE container (20 gal?) where it appeared to do nothing for two years. Last spring I repotted it, pruning roots, in a 10 gallon. It took off and has grown to about 4". I learned that lesson. Now I'd like to put a few outside in the ground, just for foliage (I have no delusions) I want fast growing big ones whose corms will survive the winter if covered over. Musa basjoo has been suggested as the hardiest, but I can't find them for sale anywhere. Orinoco looks like a candidate too. What to group members think? APRICOT. Three trees, all different varieties, 2' tall when planted in June. They're 4-5' now. ATEMOYA. I just got this tree yesterday in the mail (bare root, moss wrapped) from Lychee Woods in Ft. Lauderdale. It's a a new graft (Bradley/Priestly), supposedly hardier, sturdier and more pest resistant (than what, I don't know). This is my first big investment in a rare fruit and want to do it right. No tree will be more doted on than this. Unfortunately, I have little idea how to dote on it! I'm having a devil of a time finding any information about caring for it. Lychee Woods sent no tips or instructions at all. The best I've got is an entry for cherimoyas in the Ortho Citrus and Sub-tropical Fruit book. Is that close enough? Here are my main questions: The tree is 2.5-3' tall with no branching. The stem was coiled in a box. Since planting (24 hrs ago), it retains that curvature. I assume it will stand up on its own soon. How old is it (probably)? One? When should it be pruned to promote branching? Given the banana saga above, I'm starting it in a 5 gallon pot. Is that good? When do I move it up? I'm using Osmacote for fertilizer. I included it when I potted it. When and how often should it get more doses? Atemoyas are deciduous, meaning they have dormant times. When? How long? What conditions do I need to create for it to think it's sleepy time (so it can come back and bloom)? At what age should it begin blooming anyway? I assume I'll have to pollinate it by hand. No biggie. As for watering, I made a good drainage promoting mix to plant it in. I know it doesn't like wet feet. But should the soil stay moist, or does it prefer to dry out good between waterings? What about light? Full sun? Diffused light? Shade? The atemoya is my main concern. If I can get the knack of it, I'd like to get another, maybe a Gefner. PAWPAW. I've sent for three, but don't have them yet. They thrive outdoors in my zone. When is better to plant them? Is now ok, or should I wait till spring? That's it for the moment. Thanks for being there! Richard P.S. I've been growing palms too. Many from seed. Everything I read suggests "palm fertilizer" but no one says what it is! Could anyone give me the composition so I could at least try to fake it? ---------------- Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 17:03:48 -0800 From: Leo Manuel To: Richard Prior Subject: Re: atemoya - new to me! I don't know why my email doesn't always work. I've heard from others that mail initiated at my web page sometimes bounces. There must be an error in the page.... Richard, I believe that the atemoya will be very cold sensitive, intolerant of frost, at least until it gets some size. It is a hybrid of cherimoya and an annona that is cold sensitive. The cherimoya and atemoya are "briefly" deciduous. They drop their leaves for a very short interval in the early spring, here in S. California. I'd be cautious about fertilizing, and would not use slow-release ones, as you don't want it with tender new growth during the winter, most likely. It will probably begin to bloom in a year, buy the flower has to be hand pollinated, in order to get fruit. When it shows blossoms, then get more information as to how that is done. The flowers are "complete" but the pollen doesn't shed at the same time the flower can be pollinated. The female receptive stage comes earlier, then after that comes the pollen shedding, too late to pollinate itself, but possibly another flower will be receptive then. You can store the pollen for a short time. I expect you will get mail from other reader/growers, with more useful information. Attached to another email is an introduction to the newsletter and the last issue. If you want some of the back issues, let me know. If attachments don't work for you (in a word processor, maybe?) let me know and I'll enclose your copies in email. Horticordially, Leo ----------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 14:08:54 -0800 From: Rosemary Fielder Subject: New Subscriber in search of PawPaw trees for sale! Leo, Your website is very interesting and good. My name is Rosemary Fielder. I live in Santa Clara, CA but my family lives in a small town north of Sacramento called Oroville. Mostly kiwi, oranges, olives and miles of rice grow there. While stationed in the Navy at Norfolk, Virginia I was introduced to paw paws. I understand they grow here and I'm interested in purchasing two or three trees. Have you or someone you know had experience with Paw Paws? Taking your advice at the end of your website.....I will contact CRFG and maybe get some help/info. there also. Thanking you for all your good help! "One is closer to God in a garden, than anywhere else on earth!" Agape, Rosemary ------------------------------------------- From: "Ben Poirier" Subject: New Subscriber Wants To Exchange Plant Information Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 12:26:59 -0800 Yes Leo, I would like to subscribe, and here is the info you wanted: My name is Ben Poirier. I live on an acre of land in "Avocado country" - northern San Diego county near Fallbrook and Escondido. This is a nearly frost free hilltop location which also gets some breezes off the ocean 11 miles away to moderate the hottest days. I have been collecting and propagating unusual fruits for about 20 years. I am especially interested in the Mytraceae family and have a large collection of these plants. Many varieties should do well in this area and produce superior fruits ( A Eugenia aggregata producing larger fruits and one producing large quantities of these fruits is an example) A project I am working with involves selecting a superior Carambola variety which will produce well in California. About 25-30 seedlings of the sweeter Florida varieties have been planted out and the first two have begun fruiting. The quality on both of these is superior to a grafted "Arkin" which is also fruiting. There are also a few Canistel and Lucuma planted out for the same reasons and a couple flowered last year, but set no fruit. Some propagated plants are available for sale. As far as questions go, I would like to hear if anyone has had success fruiting the above mentioned three fruits and their results and conditions. -------------------- Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 20:19:34 -0800 (PST) From: Linda Kincaid Subject: New Subscriber Wants Pink-Fleshed Apple, etc. Leo, Name: Linda Kincaid City: San Jose, CA Background: 2 years chair of Santa Clara Valley Chapter CRFG, Originated idea of Heritage Orchard at Prusch Park in San Jose - home to 250 stone fruit trees, 40 fig trees, 150 grape vines, all unique & rare. Orchard maintained as CRFG project, with support from city of San Jose. Home Orchard:Antique peaches, plums, plumcots, apricots, citrus, figs, kiwi, paw paws, white sapote, avocado, feijoa, currants, hunting for pink-fleshed apples. Garden under everything. Other activities: Flameing environmentalist, write fruit growing and organic horticulture articles for CRFG. Oh - I'm also a Silicon Valley techie. Questions needing answered: Best sources of funding for Heritage Orchard? Other sites (and groups) wanting preservation fruit collections? Who has pink-fleshed apples I don't have yet? Passion-of-the-week: Protesting deplorable new USDA Organic regs which will put an end to organic as we know it. Linda ------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 21:35:34 -0500 From: Robin Shafer Subject: New Subscriber Seeks Dwarf Mango Information Greetings from the icy north- I am interested in subscribing to your newletter- i live w/ my husband and son in waterville, Maine, born and raised in Puerto rico, and am searching specifically for a colleague who has asked about dwarf mango trees. do they exist, etc. I have had little success so far in finding info. I have an evolving garden, though not many fruit trees. One apple tree which grows and produces, in spite of me! I do not use pesticides, and consider myself a novice in the world of gardening. Please respond- My name is Robin Shafer- e-mail is arthaiss@mint.net Thank you- Robin ------------ Robin, Julie seems to be the most dwarfing of well-known mango varieties. Leo ------------------------------------- From: Dan Duprey To: Leo Manuel Date: Sunday, January 11, 1998 11:50 PM Subject: Mycorrhizae and Mango Graft Time in Florida Hi, Leo, Sorry to take so long getting back. I thought I'd find in my notes the answer to your question about when Floridians graft mangoes. But the only mentions I found said that they can be grafted whenever suitable rootstock is available. At various lectures I think I've heard that they are grafted "whenever they are actively growing." Sorry to not be of much help. The Zill family (who named the Dot and Carrie mangoes, among others) have perfected a way to graft on very young seedling turpentine mangoes; I think that implies August/September. I've never successfully grafted anything, so my memory for the details isn't that good.... Dot is indeed a very good mango, very richly flavored/fruity, and good even when very ripe. My tree, after applications of chelated iron and manganese, appears to be in good health, except for the problem with the necrotic splits on some panacle stems I mentioned before. My neighbor's Dot, which never got chelated minerals, is nearly dead from severe dieback. Of course, we both are gardening in sand that is devoid of nutrition. Perhaps in your drier climate Dot would do just fine. Or it could be that my particular speciman has some sort of chronic problem/disease that I haven't addressed, like mango malformation or young tree decline or ??? I haven't heard of a source for Kensington Pride mangoes. Since they have been in Australia for a good while, I suspect that at some time they were tried in Florida, but weren't well adapted here. As far as pronouncing mycorrhizae, when my former tropical fruit professor talked about it, he pronounced the first 3 syllables like the words: my core RYE. I think the zae has the same vowel sound as the ae in alumnae (whatever that is). Dan Duprey ------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 08:54:00 -0800 From: Veronica Stork Subject: Flamboyant Tree Leo You probably know the Flamboyant Tree as a Mexican Flame Tree. In Asia and Africa and Puerto Rico they call it Flamboyant Tree. In Arizona they call it Mexican Flame. It can be a tall graceful tree with spreading branches, very much like the trees you see animals grouped together under in the African veldt. In the spring and summer it is covered with red flowers with yellow centers that somewhat resemble orchids but are in bunches. Hence the name Flame or Flamboyant tree. Because I guess it is. It is very sensitive to cold. Once I started to look around in Yuma I realized that many of the plants we dont see very often have been growing there for years. Yuma has a large Hispanic population and theyve been bringing in Mangos and Guavas and Flamboyant trees etc for I guess many years. Recently I found a 40 foot guava full of guavas with many more rotting on the ground beneath it. Veronica ---------------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Mangosteens Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 10:57:42 -0800 Hi Veronica, I saw your request for sources of mangosteen trees and also read Leo's response, which I agree with. However, if you still want to try mangosteen from seeds, there are two sources I know of: Ed Kraujalis in Florida imports seeds from Asia in the summer and is taking orders now; and you could take a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia in July, eat some fruit and take the seeds home to plant. I did the later a couple of years ago and of course the plants didn't survive for me. If you want Ed's number get back to me I have to look for it at home. A friend got some seeds from Ed a couple of years ago and the trees are 3-4 feet tall in his greenhouse. I think the key is high humidity, along with warm temps, so you would need to get a structure to keep the humidity high enough. Good luck, Bob Holzinger ---------------------------------- From: Sven Nehlin (USB) Subject: Conversation About Sapotaceae Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 09:20:11 +0400 (GMT) Hi Leo, I got an e-mail Jan 13 from Ricardo Barbosa re: SEEDS, but he forgot to put his e-mail and I don't receive as previously the path in the e-mail heading. Here it is: Hi Sven. I got your e-mail from the Rare Fruits News Online. I could see you are an expert. I'm a beginner as a fruit trees collector, and I live in the southermost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, in Porto Alegre town, more than 5.000 miles South of Venezuela. (almost precisely at 30'South) I'm confused about Sapotaceae (Sapotes and Abius) US, Brazilian an scientific names. Do you know any source of pictures or images that can help to identify these trees. I have three trees named in Brazil as: Sapoti, Sapoti Branco and Abiu (Pouteria Ramiflora as a Brazilian book). Is there some relation of these trees with the trees americans call Sapote, White Sapote, Sapodilla, Black Sapote, Green Sapote, Mamey Sapote, Abiu, etc? I have interest in exchanging seeds, and I have a list of my trees. Do you have interest in seeds exchange? I can read Spanish. Can you read Portuguese? Best regards. Ricardo ------------------------------------ Ok Ricardo, Thanks for the e-mail. I have got four valuable books in Portuguese: Frutas indigenas by F.C. Hoehne (Inst. de Botanica, Sao Paulo) Frutas comestiveis da Amazonia by Paulo Cavalcante (INPA, Manaus) and the Spanish-Portuguese and Portugues-Spanish dictionaries so I don't have any problem of reading either language! I have found in the first book as "Sapoti" Achras Zapota L Calocarpum sapota (Jacq.) Merrill The Achras generum may be distinguished from Calocarpum by having the sepals in two verticils, whereas the latter has got them in a spiral disposition. There is a drawing of the two species (and plenty of others in both books). Then you have Chrysophyllum cainito, Cainito and Pouteria caimito, Abio. In the Amazon area there are different other species called Abiorana. Chrysophyllum lactescens, "Casa d Anta" or "Bacupari" and Chrysophyllum Burnahem, "Burnahem", "Casca Doce" or "Imira-Eem" are two other species closely related and described as delicious fruits. As "sapoti" is also included Manilcara zapodilla and Lucuma Botyrocarpa (Kuhlm) from Espititu Santo and Lucuma torta from other locations in Brazil, which need to be revised taxonomically. Also the genus Ecclinusa is mentioned. In the "Frutas comestivas da Amazonia", published by the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Chrysophyllum cainito L. is called "Camiquie", "caimito", "caimitero", and there is another species of the Manilkara, huberi (syn. Mimusops huberi) called "Macaranduba" or "Macaranduba-verdadeira". This one is probably "only edible to survive" as I have tried the Mimusops commersonmii here. More important is Pouteria caimito (syn. Lucuma caimito), Abiu which is cultivated all over, also called "abiurana", in Venezuela "Abiu" and "Temare". To this genus you can add Pouteria macrocarpa (syn. Lucuma macrocarpa, P. venosa) "Cutite-grande", "Cutitiriba- grande"), Pouteria macrophylla (syn. Lucuma rivicoa) "Cutite", "Cutitiriba", "Tuturuba", Pouteria pairy (syn. Lucuma pariry, Eglerodendron pariry) "Pariri", Pouteria speciosa (syn. Lucuma speciosa) "Pajura-de-Obidos", Pouteria ucuqui "Ucuqui", which are found in different regions of Amazonas. I would like to add Pouteria campechiana "Canistel","Egg fruit" which I have and I will save seeds for you in the next harvest. Then of course the Pouteria viride "Green sapote" and maybe you can get seeds from the seedbank (Banco de semillas) of Catie, Turrialba, Costa Rica, if you write to them. (I did not get any answer by e-mail) This wellknown university has the "Green sapote" and many other species in their plantation. In Venezuela we also have Pouteria obovata "Lucumo", "Lucma" and the above mentioned Pouteria caimito "Abiu", "Temare", which is not the same as "Caimito" Chrysophyllum cainito. As with many sapotes they have to be ripe to avoid the latex (sticky sap). There are about 80 different species of Pouteria and we have 23 in Venezuela. To me the most important sapotes are: Chrysophyllum cainito "Caimito", "Star-Apple" Manilkara achras "Nispero", "Sapodilla" Pouteria caimito "Abiu" Pouteria campechiana "Canistel", "Egg fruit" Pouteria sapota "Zapote", "Sapote mamey" Pouteria viride "Zapote verde", "Green sapote" I should also mention the "Miracle fruit" Synsepalum dulcificum which is a curious little fruit which changes the taste from acid to sweet. The "White sapote" belongs to the Rutaceae (Orange) family and the name is Casimiroa edulis with an inferior variety Casimiroa tetrameria and the "Black sapote" belongs to still another fine fruit family Ebenaceae and the scientific name is Diospyros digyna (syn. D. ebenaster) an excellent tropical fruit related to "Kaki" and "Mabolo" or "Velvet apple". I have these except Kaki which is for a more temperate climate. My location is 66deg.52' W and 10deg.26,5' N at 3200 ft a.s.l. Yes I'm interested in seed exchange incluing edible palm fruits! Fruitfully, Sven Nehlin snehlin@neblina./reacciun.ve -------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 18 Jan 1998 00:22:49 -0800 From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Do you Know Of Any Technical Websites? I am at this very moment going through your RFNO. It occurs to me that, for those really deeply interested in the tropical and sub-tropical fruits, there are two very important usages of the Internet, namely: 1. Discussion groups. 2. As a source of detailed technical information. The first item should pose no problem for us. However, I have considerable trouble in finding sufficient good technical (horticultural, botanical , production and marketing) information anywhere in the world on these fruits. So, if anyone knows of any websites which have these information, I beseech you to share them with us, as Leo is doing. For my part, I shall endeavour to do the same. Sainarong ---------------------------------------- Subject: Rasananda & Jack Fruits for South Africa Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 17:54:07 -0800 From: Sainarong Rasananda & Jack Jack here is a professional orchardist in South Africa. He has been growing mangoes and lychees for a long time, and has recently planted longans. He is thinking of branching out to rambutan. As his climate seems to be more similar to that of California and Florida than to that of Thailand, maybe you are in a better position than I am to give him suggestions. Sainarong ---- jack wrote: Here is some info on our seasons, we consider spring to start at the beginning of September. But our rain season usually starts in August.Our average rainfall is as follows: Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May Jun Jul 19.1 32.7 71.1 138.9 133.1 165 196 73.7 47.6 22.4 0.5 0 These figures are average for the last four years. Our temperatures range form winter low of Min 5 degrees Celsius to a Max of 28. In summer we have an average Min of 19 to a Max 0f 42, humidity in the months os Oct to April is usually above 60%. Maybe this will help you in suggesting an alternative to Rambutan and Longan. What is Kwa-Luk like, do you know the fruit at all? Is there anybody doing Custard Apple in your country, if so, how do they do over there? Go well Jack ----------------------------------- Date: Sun, 18 Jan 1998 14:26:19 -0500 (EST) From: DGholston@aol.com To: Sainarong Subject: Re: Sub-tropical & Tropical Fruits for South Africa Sainarong said: Jack here is a professional orchardist in South Africa. He has been growing mangoes and lychees for a long time, and has recently planted longans. He is thinking of branching out to rambutan. As his climate seems to be more similar to that of California and Florida than to that of Thailand, maybe you are in a better position than I am to give him suggestions. Don says: Sainarong, Rambutans prefer a hot-wet equitorial climate with an even distribution of rainfall throughout the year. For best results a temperature range of 15 C minum to 35 C maximum is ideal. Low temperature and frost is usually not tolerated at any stage of plant growth. Shelter from wind is is recommended as it helps to create a more humid microclimate, as well as protecting trees from damage. The plants are otherwise grown successfully in a wide range of soils as long as they don't suffer from waterlogging too frequently. Rich, mildy acidic clay loams are preferred. I hope this helps. Don Gholston -------------------------------------- From: "Dan Duprey" Subject: Re: Chris Rollins & TROPICAL FRUIT WORLD Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 19:55:13 -0500 Hi, Leo: Some partial answers to a couple of your questions: I don't know if Chris Rollins has an email address. If he does, he may be reluctant to give out to his radio audience, since he could end up overwhelmed with gardening questions. Tropical Fruit World was discontinued back in 1991, sadly. I have 4 issues of it, going from July/August 1990 to January/February 1991. In addition to the annona issue, which you apparently have, there is a mamey sapote issue, a mango issue and an issue with articles about Malaysian fruit, Hawaiian mangos, and ultra-tropicals. The picture on the front of the mango issue is a gorgeous close-up of Hayden mangos--it could make a mangophile positively multi-orgasmic........ I don't know if any back issues are still available, though it seems unlikely. Dan Duprey dupreyd@gate.net ---------------------------------------- From: jcubero@magicnet.net Subject: waterapple Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 18:22:17 GMT http://www.best.com/~vtb/travel/fruits/fruits3.html I found a fruit called the waterapple on this site. Does anyone know anything more about it? I found out that the latin name is Eugenia Acquaea. Kym ----------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 06:57:30 +1100 From: Greg Daley Subject: Change of Email Leo I have changed sevice providers and my new email address is gdaley@nor.com.au Could you kindly change this. We are in the middle of summer and have just started picking our mangos. Our first soursops ripened this week. This was encouraging as were we are is not real tropical. Regards Greg Daley ------------------------------------ From: "Richard Prior" Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 09:20:43 -0500 Subject: Re: atemoya - new to me! Leo, Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! By the way, before I forget, please send me the supplement on annonae. My atemoya is in a container. About 5-gallon to begin with. If I planted it outside it would die. Richard --------------------------------------- From: "Oliver Patterson" Subject: sapote/sapodilla/white sapote confusion Date: Fri, 23 Jan 1998 20:42:52 -0500 It was odd to read that Ricardo--who lives in Brazil--is building a greenhouse because he has had problems with winter frost! Brazil *is* a huge country, but it is weird to imagine frost there nonetheless. Pitangas (a.k.a. Surinam cherries) are widely planted here in central Florida, despite the fact that they are among the most sensitive to cold of the Eugenia species. Somehow, they perform very well here. My young tree has flowers on it already. I plan to harvest the fruit as soon as possibly in order to avoid fruit fly infestation. Regarding sapodilla, sapote, and white sapote: The white sapote is easily identified by its palmate (hand-like) leaves (this type of leaf is very uncommon); the sapodilla has simple, glossy leaves and relatively small brown fruits that resemble pears in texture; and the "sapote" could be the mamey sapote, which has very large leaves that look like those of the plumeria, and very large fruits with red flesh. Perhaps these simple descriptions will be of some assistance. Oliver Patterson in Mount Dora, Florida (Sunset zone 26) ------------------------------------ From: Martin Nemzow Subject: Edible Dates in Miami Beach?? Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 09:15:13 -0500 I live in miami beach. Many date palms around here. Cost for buying them is about $100/ft...very pricey. I have been told that the fruit is not edible because it is too wet for proper ripening. However, it turns yellow and drops. Questions are: 1. is it edible and how are dates processed (generally) to be edible? 2. are the fallen fruits viable to germinate, and if so, how? Martin Nemzow Miami Beach, FL 33141 ----------------------------------- Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 14:07:08 +0700 From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Thai frults Here are some of the fruits in season in Thailand in January. Following are the prices of some Thai fruits. If you would like to get more imformation, please look in to this web site http://bday.net/tat/fruit_index.html Name Market Price(US$Lb.) Remark (US$@54Baht) Tangerine 0.34-0.46 All year round Guava 0.21-0.25 All Year round Rose Apple 0.29-0.34 middle-end of season Banana 0.42-0.51/comb All year round Sapodilla 0.25-0.38 middle-end of season Watermelon 0.25-0.34 All season Mangosteen 0.34-0.25 Out of season Coconut 0.25-0.42/ea All year round Mango 0.42-1.01 Out of season Sainarong Rasananda ------------------------------- From: HMHausman Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 23:56:14 EST To: sainaron@samart.co.th Subject: Florida longans Dear Sainarong, I have received and thank you for your recent letters. I have a few comments about Florida longans and then some additional questions. You have apparently noticed the general lack of interest in longans by most Americans. The reason for this is unclear. It seems everyone has heard of, if not tried lychees but few (except people of oriental descent) have heard of or tried longans. Here in Florida there is a core of sub-tropical/tropical fruit collectors that have attempted to spread the word about this and other rare fruits. Obviously, there is considerable work to be done on this front because most of the public remains ignorant. Only oriental groceries carry longans in season and there are no dried, canned or other longan products any where else. I, like the others, first learned of and tried lychees before longans. However, once lychee season is over (usually by the end of June) longans are still not ready to be harvested. The similarity of the two fruits made looking forward to longan season a very natural progresssion. The selected varieties here in Florida are Kohala, Dagelman, Kay Sweeny, and University of Florida #1 and #2. There are many seedlings fruiting at various collectors' properties and at agriculural experimentation stations but I do not know of any that have been acclaimed superior or worthy of selection. Of the selected varieties I have personally only tried Kohala and Dagelman. The characteristics of Kohala are fairly well known. This is a fairly large fruit, with crisp white flesh and a sweet, pleasant, somewhat spicy taste. I believe this cultivar was brought here from Hawaii by Bill Whitman of Bal Harbour, Florida. I don't know the history behind the Dagelman cultivar. It was comparable in taste to the Kohala but I seem to recall it being a larger fruit. Unfortunetly, due to the rarity of these fruits I haven't tried them side-by- side and this makes comparison somewhat difficult. I am told that the Dagelman is supposedly a dwarf to smaller tree than the other longans. So far, the small tree in my yard does not seem to be following this prescription. It is growing at the same rate if not faster than my other longans. There are various potential explanations for this and the truth will only be revealed over time. The Kay Sweeny is a variety coming from the Kampong, the property which contained the home of Dr. David Fairchild. Fairchild traveled the world and brought many new plants and trees to the USA in the early 1900's. After he died, Kay Sweeny bought the property and the curator of that property, Larry Schockman, has named some of the best fruiting cultivars on the property after Sweeny. The University Of Florida selections are totally unknown to me but I am trying to procure them now. I hope to be able to make some more side-by-side comparisons this summer. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the friend of mine who travels to Thailand each year and who has brought back so many things that I have growing in my yard. His name is Bruce Livingston and he can be reached at Santol@gate.net. By carbon copy of this letter to him I am hoping that you two can get together. I know he would be most interested in visiting you and learning from you on his next trip this summer. Bruce presently teaches the Sub-Tropical Fruit Culture class at Broward Community College here in southeast Florida. Now for some more questions: 1) Does girdling the branches of longans help in fruit production and/or prevention of alternate bearing? 2) Have you any information or experience with reducing the numbers of fruit within fruit clusters to increase the size of the fruits carried to maturity? 3) How important is wetness/dryness in obtaining blooms, fruit set, and sizing of fruits? 4) Is fertilization necessary for instigating blooms, fruit set, and/or fruit sizing? And if so what formulation and when should the fertilizer be applied? Thanking you in advance for your kind advice, I am anxiously awaiting your next correspondance. Best regards.......Harry ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 23:14:36 -0800 From/To: Sainarong Rasananda To/From: Cucho Subject: Re: Thai Longans Cucho wrote: As I stated before, Lychees and longans are some of my favorite fruit trees. Longans is my principal interest. I also grow lychees. I have three Kohala Longans and two air layers of new experimental cultivars locally developed in Florida, which remain as of yet unnamed. Sainarong wrote: Most interesting. Here in Thailand, we do not try hard enough to develop new cultivars. A pity. Cucho: One of these cultivars is an extremely fast and vigorous grower, it is quite large already, but no fruit yet, the tree has large leaves and is very ornamental. A friend of mine tells me that when it fruits, I should get large fruits, his idea is that large leaved longans produce large fruits. Does your experience correspond with this? Sainarong: I have never thought of that! Come to think of it, he could well be right. I am in the city right now. When I get back to my beloved orchard, I shall take a look around and talk to people. I shall then report back to you my findings. Cucho: Also in your experince have you found a reliable way of shocking longans into fruiting, by girdling or pruning as is normally done with lychees? If so would the best time be September? Sainarong: This is a long subject. The quick short answer is no. I shall write to you about this next week. BTW Leo has a very pertinent article on this. You should ask him for it, if you have not already done so. Have fun. ------------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 14:26:12 -0800 From: Matthew Shugart Subject: Chill hours Greetings. This is the time of year when those of us who grow deciduous tree fruits in areas that are also mild enough to grow subtropicals start wondering which of our cultivars will bloom and set fruit this year. Prompted in part by the recent query on RFNO about determining chill received in norther California, I'm submitting my musings on the topic, which I first posted in more or less the same form on alt.agriculture.fruit many months ago. DETERMINING CHILL RECEIVED The most accurate way is to use a recording thermometer, so you know just what temperature it was each hour (or minute, if you really want to get serious). Even then, you will not be exact. Consider the following: 1. Different cultivars will go dormant at different times. When do you start assuming the tree is accumulating chill hours? 40 degree nights when the tree hasn't even gone dormant yet aren't much good. Same thing in the spring. Some bloom early, some late. When do you stop counting? I don't know the answer to this one, but it would be important in figuring accurately both how much (useful) chill you get, and how much your fruit varieties need. Late bloomers are not necessarily higher in chill (yet some wholesale growers persist in estimating chill requirements on the basis of bloom sequence, which is bogus.) A late bloomer may have accumulated all the chill it needs but not bloom for a while because it is waiting for days to lengthen or to accumulate a certain amount of warmth before breaking dormancy. 2. There are numerous chill models out there. Which one you use will determine your estimate of chilling received. The common one is to count a chilling hour for every hour below 45 (but above 32) and to take away a chill hour for every hour above 65 (some say 70, some 60). Now, if you've ever tried growing deciduous fruit trees in a low-chill environment like southern California, you know that that simple model cannot possibly be right! We can grow a wide variety of fruits with (alleged) chill requirements of 400-500 hours, even in areas that would not get even half that by the below-45/above-65 method of estimating accumulated chill. In fact, more complex chill models are used by some researchers. From various sources, including the journal Fruit South and the UC Extension Service, I have gotten models that suggest you get the equivalent of a full hour of chill (called a "chill unit") only between about 38 and 43 degrees, F. But you get between half a chill unit and a full chill unit between 34 and 38 and also between 43 and at least 48. And you get less than half a chill unit, but more than zero, up to at least 54. After 60, it turns negative, at a rate of less than one unit per hour till 65. You have to take away two chill units above 70 (and maybe -3 above 75, etc., though the models I've seen do not go that high). The Fruit South article I mentioned has a method of estimating chill received. You simply take the average temperature for the coldest month at your location. Usually that is January, although at my location it would be typically about mid-Dec. to mid.-Jan. It works out to about 400 accumulated chill units if your clodest-month average was 58. An average of 56 yields around 500. This cannot be perfectly reliable, but it will give you a good idea. For example, the model I referred to above would suggest that a higher spread between day and night temperatures would be less net chilling. The reason is that as you go high enough, you subtract more than one unit per hour, but as you go lower, you cannot add more than one unit per hour, and you get zero "chill" anytime you drop below freezing. So if you are in a relatively humid coastal area, where the temperatures for a 24-hour period are, say, 47-65, you may actually accumulate more chill units than a drier inland area, where the temperatures might be 41-71, even though both have averages of 56. So, contrary to much conventional wisdom, oastal areas may be better locations for receiving chill than near-coastal inland areas, at least in southern California. 3. To determine chill at your location, use a minimum-maximum thermometer (kept in the shade, so you are measuring AIR temperature, and not the effect of sunlight on the thermometer or its housing) and don't forget to check it at least every 24 hours! Then figure you average for the coldest month and go from there, as alluded to above. That won't help you for this past winter, of course. (Here in San Diego, we can already speak of the 1997-98 winter as "past," as far as chill is concerned!) The best way to get a history of chilling received is, first, to check with local agricultural extension offices and see if they have the information. You can also go through back issues of newspapers for nearby weather stations, and average the temperatures for January. But keep in mind that the chill received can vary tremendously over small areas, due to variations in topography, extent of built-up area and human activity (less developed areas will tend to be cooler, other things equal), and other factors. Therefore, there is really no substitute for tracking your own temperatures. 4. Don't believe chill estimates listed in nursery catalogues. Many are way off. Many are, as I mentioned, determined based on bloom dates. I find they are more often overestimates than underestimates, but both types of misestimates can be found. If you have the space, are willing to invest the time, and a sense of adventure, push the limits. Try fruits that interest you, even if the conventional wisdom says you can't possibly get enough to chill to grow whatever it is. If it remains unproductive after several years, graft it over to something else, or remove it. Matthew Shugart --------------------------------- Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 01:49:17 EST From: Bill Burson Subject: Chocolate Persimmon Scionwood - Which Floridian Asked For It? A few months ago a reader from Florida asked for some scion from my Chocolate Persimmon, I have lost his e-mail address and name, I know he was a reader of yours. He was involved with the Florida Persimmon growers. If you could broadcast this for him to contact me, I would appreciate it. My two e-mail addresses "PowayBill@aol.com" & "PowayBill@juno.com" Bill Burson -------------------------------- >>From Discussion list for New Crops Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: "W.J.SWART X2383" I recently embarked on a research program specialising in diseases of new crops - both woody and herbaceous. I am currently engaged in looking at diseases of Amaranthus spp., pistachio and Juglans spp. and Opuntia. I would appreciate any info regarding these crops specifically as well as any other relevant info on diseases of other new crops. Many thanks. Prof. Wijnand J. Swart Dept of Plant Pathology Univ. of the Orange Free State Bloemfontein 9300 South Africa ----------------------------------------- Reply-To:Discussion list for New Crops From: Ron Bunch Subject: Re: DISEASES OF NEW CROPS At 09:07 AM 1/19/98 GMT2, you wrote: >I recently embarked on a research program specialising in >diseases of new crops - both woody and herbaceous. I am currently >engaged in looking at diseases of Amaranthus spp., pistachio and >Juglans spp. and Opuntia. I would appreciate any info regarding >these crops specifically as well as any other relevant info on >diseases of other new crops. > >Many thanks. > >Wijnand J. Swart A good starting point for Opuntia is the FAO book described as follows from a previous e-mail. I will also forward your message to the discussion list CACTUS-L@TAMUK.EDU for other possible comments. I thought the cactus readers would like to know the availability of the FAO monograph on Cactus. It is 215 pages long and has chapters on History, ethnobotany, anatomy and morphology, environmental biology, reproductive biology, domestication of related varieties, propagation, tissue culture, orchard care, nopalito production, pests, biotic and abiotic diseases, post harvest managment, food manufacture and by-products, forage, control of wild opuntias, cochineal proudction, and energy jproduction. The exact citation is: Agro-ecology, cultivation, and uses of cactus pear. FAO Plant production and protection paper 132. G. Barbera, P. Inglese and E. Pimienta-Barrios (editors). coordinated by E. de J. Arias-Jimenez. Ronald A. Bunch Ph.D. Plant Breeder D'Arrigo Bros. Co. of Calif. Salinas, CA 93902 ------------------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Ben Alkire Subject: Purple Mangosteen, Garcinia - request Dear NewCROP listmembers: The following request for information concerning cultivation requirements of Mangosteen - Garcinia sp. has been recieved at the Purdue Center for New Crops. Can anyone on the NewCROP list with helpful information please forward their advice to Dr. Francisco Rodriguez in Colombia? Send email directly to him at: juanfe@cable.net.co Additionally, NewCROP has cultivation information on a closely related species: Garcinia hombrioniana: A Potential Fruit and an Industrial Crop at: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-472.html Thank you very much, Ben Alkire On Sat, 17 Jan 1998, Juan Manuel Rodriguez Gomez wrote: > Dear Sir: > We are very pleased to find you in the intenet. We are very interested on GARCINIA MANGOSTANA LINN, and we would like to know if you are > kind enough to send us this information. > 1. The fertilizers (which are they) > a) For trees 7-8 years old beginning production. > b) The amount in kilograms per tree, and how many times per year. > c) other organic fertilizers? > d) If the trees dispose of individual source of water, and how much should > be given to ech one when not enough raining is available. > > 2. Countries in Latin America where there are shortages of this fruit > and, if possible, some addresses. 3. A good book or books, which could be useful to us for the purpose. > > We thank you for your time and good willing and expect your news at your > convinience. > > Sincerely yours, Francisco Rodriguez, M.D. ----------------------------------- Reply-To:Discussion list for New Crops From: Carla Casler Subject: Re: pinenuts & aflatoxins Regarding food safety, food processing, etc. there is a very good database, Food Science and Technology Abstracts or FSTA, which is produced by the International Food Information Service. There is also a new Web site that IFIS helps maintain, Food and Nutrition Internet Index, http://www.fnii.ifis.org/ at the bottom of that Web page are links to IFIS and other food research organizations. Carla Long Casler Arid Lands Information Center, OALS, UA Tucson, ------------------------------------ Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: crystal Subject: Redwood Forest & Hydroponic Mailing List Cross-posted from: Hydroponic mailing list at Crystal wrote: Aeroponics seem to require more electrical needs than the NFT or other techniques. Due to the need for the pump, can't we substitute it for sprinklers instead? I don't see how you can payback, unless yields are so good and it's a commercial. Otherwise, an rural homestead (or urban greenhouse) might need some RE source and transformers. Rob Smith wrote: Crystal - There is nothing wrong woth the concept of Aeroponics and certainly for a bit of hobby fun why not put in a simple system, however from a commercial point of view there have not been any definive examples of higher cost Aeroponic hydro systems outperforming 'well designed and operated' NFT and 'well drained' media hydro growing systems. Crystal wrote: On another topic: Does anyone have greenhouse using CO2 gas? How safe is it for human exposure inside - and for how long? Rob Smith wrote: The required levels of CO2 to promote optimum plant performance are not threatening to man. Are you sure? Crystal wrote: Can trees be grown in/out of these greenhouses? Or is there a certain stage where they must be transplanted to soil? Can an apple tree (for instance) be harvested from seedling to fruit stage entirely hydroponically? Ron Smith wrote: Trees grow fine in hydro media beds - just make sure that the bed/ media depth is sufficient to provide good drainage when the tree develops to its ultimate size! Crystal wrote: Is there a limit to the species of trees grown hydroponically? Redwood forest, cedar, oak? =) I would assume that the only running costs in such systems would be the nutrients and electric power. And perhaps the costs of the enclosure: apartment, aerodome, warehouse etc. Of coz, citing references would be helpful. Best Regards, Crystal. ------------------------------------------------------------ >>From the Zingiber list From: paullgj Subject: cold tolerance of banana cultivars Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com Ok, let's give it a try. I have a tropical agriculture page at http://www.utb.edu/~paullgj/tropicalagriculture/tropag.html. In it I detail my experiences with various banana cultivars on winter cold in South Texas. I'd like your comments. Post on the zingiber. Gene J. Paull ----------------------------------- To: zingiber@coollist.com From: paullgj Subject: Re: What is cavendish Choke Throat? Darryl Clark asked: Can anyone explain the above phrase and if it is a disease, what it's symptoms/cure is? Thanks a "Bunch" Paul says: Cavendish "choke throat" happens when the banana plant flowers during the winter months. The inflorensence does not completely emerge, it is stuck in the "throat" of the plant. Needless to say, the banana fingers can not mature. Dwarf Cavendish seems especially affected by this, more so than taller varieties of Cavendish. To avoid this, I plant the banana corms in mid-July, hoping for flower (shoot) one year later in mid-summer. This avoids the "choke- throat." The Cavendish cultivar Gran Nain, a slightly taller plant, is not afflicted with choke throat; however, its leaves seem (to me anyway) much more effected by cool/cold winds than Dwarf Cavendish. In a true tropical climate (night-time temps. rarely going below 55-60) choke throat would not be a problem. For a complete discussion of Cavendish cultivars see: Robinson, J.C. 1996 Bananas and Plantains; Wallingford, England: CAB --------------------------------- From: Lester Kallus Subject: Re: TROPICAL PLANTS Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com I'm on Long Island. It's not a 4b area, but even at a 7a level, you'd still have to bring some things in for the winter. For gingers, etc, I'm growing hedychiums outside and have managed to leave them in the ground over the winter and have them come up the next year. Other gingers and related plants I have to bring in. I have 3 banana plants; Ae Ae, Zebrina & Velutina. When the first frost is threatened, I slice the tops off, plant the corms in a large pot and bring them indoors under metal halide bulbs for the winter. ---Leo: Some of letter was omitted--- As for mail order, if you're careful, you'll find some fine sources on the web. Les --------------------------------------------------------- From: "Miguel" Subject: Methods on micropropagation Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com Hello anyone My name is Miguel, I live in Martinique (French West Indies) and I work on micropropagation of tropical plants. I am looking for methods on micropropagation of Banana, Heliconia, cane and rose. If anyone can give me a help I'll very happy. Thank ! Miguel GUITTEAUD ----------------------------- From: "Jose Almandoz." Subject: RE: TROPICAL PLANTS Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com It is my experience that old Musa basjoo clumps have a higher frost resistance than young plants, which is normal. Basjoo fruits well here, but it usually does so very late in the year, the plants having a hard time to mature the fruits most years, all depending on weather. I know a very ancient clump that produces seeds; this I was told it is uncommon; so rare that two experts were even doubting wether if the seeds were coming from a basjoo at all... I think it would be very interesting to grow some basjoo from seed, to improve the gene pool, as all the plants here are produced by division (I believe in Holland they micropropagate it). BUT as I wrote before I was not lucky with the sowing. The problem is that this very special clump grows in a municipal, city garden, and the gardeners get rid of the fruits as soon as they can because they look 'dirty'. One year I was lucky as they left them till Christmas, but for the most they are not that patient... Has anyone grown Musa basjoo from seed, I wonder??? Basjoo fruit is very small, has very little flesh and lots of seed. It smelled vaguely to banana (perhaps more the peel than the flesh) but I guess it is completely inedible... Jose Zone 9, San Sebastian (43:20N), Basque Country, coastal Northern Spain Humid oceanic climate. Very hilly, very green, very beautiful!!! :-) ------------------------ Reply-To: Discussion list From: Bob Batson Subject: Blue Honeysuckle, a Fruit for Even the FAR North Blue Honeysuckle, a Fruit for Even the FAR North The article by Dr. Maria N. Plekhanova excerpted below original appeared as "Blue Honeysuckle: A New Berry From Russia" in _Pomona_ 29(1), Winter 1996, 46-48, published by the North American Fruit Explorers, Rt. 1, Box 94, Chapin, IL 62628. NAFEX member obtained the article from a Russian friend. Sweet blue honeysuckle, a new berry plant, has currently gained wide popularity with gardeners in the Russian north, in the zone of risky horticulture. Practically in any amateur's or farmer's garden, from three to 15 plants may be found. Large nurseries are eagerly growing the blue honeysuckle bushes and sell[ing] them to the population. Commercial plantations of the crop, each covering from 10 to 25 hectares [25 to 62 acres], are concentrated mostly in western Siberia. The major advantage of blue honeysuckle that facilitated its rapid spread over Russia is its extra-early ripening. The taste and color of berries reminds one of highbush blueberry. Blue honeysuckle ripens 10 to 14 days earlier than strawberry. Ripening occurs when the orchards produce very few vitamin-containing products, therefore blue honeysuckle makes a good addition to the people's diet, as its berries contain 6-8% sugars, 2-3% acids, 40-170 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams, and from 1,200 up to 1,800 biologically active polyphenols per 100 grams. Berries can be consumed fresh or frozen. They are used for producing jam, juice, fruit and berry infant food mixtures, [and] beverages, as well as for obtaining natural food pigment or dark red color, which is used in caramel and marmalade production. By 1995, over 50 blue honeysuckle varieties had been registered in Russia. All of them were developed from Lonicera caerulea ... Among the species forms, those with bitter-tasting, hardly edible berries prevail. Good-tasting sour-sweet berries with nice aroma are characteristic only of L. caerulea var. kamtschatica that grows in the Asiatic part of Russia on the Pacific Coast, in Kamchatka Peninsula and in eastern Siberia. It is from seedlings of that particular strain from Kamchatka that the first varieties of blue honeysuckle, namely `Sinyaya Ptitsa', `Goluboye Vereteno', `Gerda', `Fialka', `Morena', etc. have been selected. All of them are noted for large fruit ... One berry reaches 1.5 to 2 grams in weight at a length of 3 to 4 centimeters. Ripe berries are easy to detach from the pedicel; they can easily be harvested both manually and with a berry-picking combine. The other advantage of blue honeysuckle is its outstanding winter hardiness, allowing for cultivation of the crop as far north as far north as agriculture in open ground is even possible, even beyond the Polar Circle. In winter, the plants can stand frosts down to -46 degrees Celsius [-51 degrees Fahrenheit] without being damaged. In springtime, flowers withstand frosts of -8 degrees Celsius [18 degrees Fahrenheit]...this crop is only suitable for cultivation in the northern temperate climates. In the south, winters with frequent fluctuations from cold to warmth will damage flowering buds.... Blue honeysuckle is a thick upright bush from 1.0 to 1.8 meters, 1.5 to 2.0 meters in diameter. These are the dimensions reached by the bush on the 10th to 14th year after planting. During the first years, the plant grows comparatively slowly, but a yield of 300 to 500 grams of berries [per bush] can be obtained in the second to third year after planting. Maximum yields of 2 to 5 kilograms per bush are obtained from 7- to 15-year-old plants. Blue honeysuckle is a long-lived plant that can be grown in a garden for 25 to 30 years. Blue honeysuckle is a cross-pollinated plant, like apple, plum, or sour cherry. A good yield of berries is obtainable only by planting two to three different varieties together. Bumblebees and bees act as pollinators, for blue honeysuckle is a good nectar plant that flowers in early May. Concerning soil requirements, blue honeysuckle is not demanding. Soil acidity may vary from acid to neutral, with pH from 5 to 7. Humus content in soil should be high; its deficiency can be compensated for with organic fertilizers. Blue honeysuckle grows well on moist land, but swamped places are inappropriate. The highest yields can be obtained in open, sunny places. The best season for planting blue honeysuckle is autumn. Spring planting is absolutely unacceptable, for plants start growing at an air temperature around 0 to 2 degrees Celsius [32 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit] when the soil is not ready for field work.... No pruning is performed on young plants. After 8 to 10 years of fruiting, lightening or thinning type [of pruning] should be applied. In order to obtain annually long shoots and, consequently, good yields, application of nitrogen mineral fertilizers is recommended in spring., and of phosphorus and potassium in autumn. Soil around plants should be mulched with organic matter. Blue honeysuckle is resistant to fungus diseases of leaves and berries. Protection from birds is required at harvest season.... The plant is propagated by green cuttings, bush division, and ... tissue culture. Seed sowing is used only for breeding purposes. The N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR), the Russian plant genebank, holds the first place in Russia in domestication of blue honeysuckle and other wild-growing fruit and berry plants. Its collection of blue honeysuckle varieties and species is the most complete one in Russia and numbers over 400 accessions.... Professor Maria N. Plekhanova (Dr. Biol.), author of the present paper, has been carrying out research on wild and cultivated blue honeysuckle for 20 years.... Currently, Dr. Plekhanova is implementing a program of blue honeysuckle breeding in Russia.... For more details, please contact Prof. Maria N. Plekhanova at this address: N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry, 42, B. Morskaya Str., 190000, St. Petersburg, RUSSIA. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Reprinted with permission from the May 1996 _HortIdeas_. Copyright 1996 by Greg and Pat Williams. Bob Batson bob@sky.net Kansas City USDA zone 5b ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 08:37:32 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion list for New Crops From: Raquel Krach and Greg Massa Subject: New Crops for Rice Farmer I am a rice farmer in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. For various reasons that I'm sure many of you an guess (e.g. want to diversify to reduce risk), I am looking at alternative crops. Our soils are mostly heavy clay, neutral to slightly alkaline, and we have abundant water. We also have about 50 acres that is sandier and could probably support an orchard that could tolerate some seasonal flooding. The most promising candidates for our land that I have been able to come up with include purple vetch grown for seed, hybrid poplars (Populus trichocarpa x deltoides) for dimensional lumber and pulp, and organic rice (not a "new" crop, but a market diversification for us). I have also considered bamboo shoots, walnuts (conventional and organic), and organic chickens. So, here are my questions. Does anyone have experience with any of these alternatives? Am I missing something? Since I'm rather new to this field, can anyone provide me with other places to look for alternative crops, or tips on marketing something that is new to an area? Thank you in advance for any help you can provide. Regards, Greg Massa ---------------------- From: Dan Hemenway Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 19:18:40 EST To: leom@rarefruit.com Subject: Re: [Fwd: New Crops for Rice Farmer] Thanks Leo (Responding to a letter from New Crops list: New Crops for Rice Farmer) I'm not sure all crops listed will take seasonal flooding. The really profitable species of bamboo might not, for example. There are small diameter species that could work. We've got one on trial here, planted on a small mound just to help it get established. Bamboo takes a few years from planting to really get going. Mayhaws are my big interest as they have potential for both food and medicine (same products, even). But I keep looking. I'm buying some hybrid willow and some European elder (Sambucus nigra) this year to try out in the flooding areas. My four mayhaws planted last year are under a foot of water (the tops stick out, of course). I wish they had been a bit more established. Well I have about 50 sprigs from seed. In another year they would probably be big enough to take grafts and save the named varieties if the flooding does kill them. I've decided to give up on one Chinese hawthorn, as some members of the genus actually prefer well drained sites, and move it to a higher area. We are about 3/4 underwater. Can't take much more of this dry season. :-) Actually, it proved out my predictions about waterlines exactly,but I figured I had another year, minimum, to get ready. The organizing principle of the Universe is silliness. Dan Hemenway >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - February 1, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online February 15, 1998 AKA RFN199802b.txt What's in this issue? First: New Subscribers Seek Your Help Subject: New Subscriber with Annona Squamosa Pollination Questions From: Wayne A. Miller Subject: New Subscriber: Help! Banana trees won't fruit From: DAVID W VADER From: Richard Wanberg Subject: New Subscriber, N. CA, Wants To Grow SubTropicals; Advice? Subject: New Subscriber: Wants to grow tropicals on a balcony From: Fayaz Mawani From: Glenn Young Subject: New Subscriber, S. Pasadena CA Subject: New Subscriber; GA; Wants Suggestions From: Jane Rosenberg-Coombs From: Konosuke Degi Subject: New Subscriber: Okinawa, Japan --- From: Konosuke Degi Subject: papaya varieties wanted To: Konosuke Degi Subject: Re: papaya varieties [Check with NEWCROPS] From: Konosuke Degi Subject: dragon fruit or pitaya: Information needed, please From: Leo Subject: I'm Looking For Good DARK Red Guava From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Possible Horticultural Trip to Thailand-Is Anyone Interested? From/To: Sainarong Rasananda To/From: HMHausman Subject: Thai Longans Discussed by HMHausman and Sainarong Rasananda From: To: Cucho Subject: Thai Longans Discussed by Cucho and Sainarong Rasananda From: To: HMHausman Subject: Longans; More Discussion HM Hausman & Sainarong Rasananda From: To: HMHausman Subject:Longans; More Discussion HM Hausman & Sainarong Rasananda2 From: Kevin Subject: Black Sapote - Is Something Wrong? - Help! From: Darryl Clark Subject: Web resources for int'l habitat and climate? Check out: http://www.worldclimate.com From: bburson@ibus.com To: rosemary.fielder@lmco.com Subject: pawpaw trees cheaper at Northwoods Nursery? ------- Leo Manuel Subject: Winter '97/'98: Survival? From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Storm Damage From: Bill Burson Subject: Winter '97/'98: Survival in Poway, Ca From: "Ricardo Barbosa" Subject: El nino From: Kym Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98: Survival? No Problems Here!! From: Trudy Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98: Survival? From: "Darla Dunigan" Subject: Re: Mango Sampling Sessions 1998 & Water Problems From: "John Sojka" Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98: Survival? In Australia From: "John Sojka" Subject: Please, I'd like help finding these seeds, please! From: Jon Verdick Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98: Survival? [in San Diego] From: "Dan Duprey" Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98 & OK to crowd mango trees? ------- To: Dan Duprey Subject: Crowding trees - I done some of it (Leo) From: Doron Kletter Subject: February RFNO delivered? & How I Solved Excess Wet Problem From: SherHoudin@aol.com Subject: Dehydrator information sought Subject: Commercial Growers: This Question Is For You. From: Manuel Valdez From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Dovyalis seeds Wanted: From Florida? From: Andy Butcher Subject: President Plums Subject: The address for Going Bananas From: paullgj Subject: Rare Fruit Discussion Homepage http://24.4.65.133/rarefruits From: Jose Miguel Gallego -------- Extracted From NEWCROPS List----- Subject: Blue Honeysuckle, Lonicera caerula, where to purchase? From: Connie Kehler With Some Replies To: Multiple recipients NEWCROPS Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: "Robert H. Faust" Subject: Re: seeds of papaya Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Anna Whipkey Subject: Re: dragon fruit [Hylocereus (Pitahaya)] in Israel Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: P Lovett Subject: Re: dragon fruit [Hylocereus undatus] ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: New Subscriber with Annona Squamosa Pollination Questions Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 14:34:42 EST From: Wayne A. Miller I am Wayne A. Miller, in San Clemente, California, on a hill facing west toward ocean, 365 feet above sea level, approx. 1 1/2 miles from shoreline. I am growing a sweetsop in my yard. The tree is surprisingly vigorous in the climate and local conditions here. The tree is currently approx. 6 feet tall by 5 feet wide. It had a few flowers last June and August, which I attempted in hand pollinate in the same manner as a cherimoya, but unfortunately I really didn't have any fresh pollen from a male phase sweetsop flower to pollinate female phase flowers because of the lack of flowers in general. Hopefully there will be many more flowers on the tree this summer, but in case there are not, I have a question. Can sweetsop flowers be successfully pollinated with Cherimoya pollen? If I do this, do I risk the chance of having a hybrid fruit (viz, atemoya or something like it?). Also, I am growing a seedling annona reticulata (Common Custard Apple, Bullock's Heart, Corazon). The available literature on this plant is very limited. Any additional information of any kind on this plant would be very appreciated (viz, anyone else who has tried to grow it in Southern California, what was their experiences with it, etc..). Please respond. Wayne A. Miller ----------------------------- Subject: New Subscriber: Help! Banana trees won't fruit Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 11:26:21 -0800 (PST) From: DAVID W VADER Hello, I am writing in regards to your website. My name is David Vader, and live in Las Vegas, NV. I am really interested in growing tropical fruit. I am origianlly from Thailand and we grow everything there from mangos, bananas, guavas, custard apples, etc. Living in Las Vegas, with a pleasant climate, I started growing tropical fruits 2 yrs ago. I have 2 Orinoco banana trees, a lime tree, pummello, kumquats, guava, sugar cane, and taro plant. In the winter the plants need babying, but they come back by the first of March and do well until the middle of December. I am particularly interested in banana fruiting, my treee is 7 feet tall, so I was wondering what to do to make it fruit. Send me your newsletter please I would be interested. Thank you, David Vader ----------------------- From: Richard Wanberg Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 16:08:49 EST Subject: New Subscriber, N. CA, Wants To Grow SubTropicals; Advice? Just saw your web site and would be very interested in getting a copy of your newsletter. Have been a member of CRFG for 4-5 years now but have just recently moved from Germany back to Northern California. Although I live in Sunset Zone 16, I am interested in growing as many sub-tropicals as possible, including: Banana, Babaco & Chamburro Papayas, Passion fruit, (heard rumors of someone growing Phillipino Mangos here too!). Thanks in Advance! Richard Wanberg San Anselmo, CA 94960 Email: mbasf@aol.com (attn: Richard) ------------------------------- Subject: New Subscriber: Wants to grow tropicals on a balcony Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 23:16:54 -0800 From: Fayaz Mawani Please sign me up. My name is Fayaz Mawani I currently live in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where the winters are warm. Within the next month I will be moving to St. Petersburg Fl. My interest is tropical fruit and rare fruits, especially dwarf varieties, as I am planning to live in an apartment. (With a balcony) Over here in Vancouver, I have had success with growing Mission Dark figs, red and green grapes (fruit and leaves for cooking) cherries, and local varieties. A lot of people here also grow kiwi fruit. After I move, I am interested in starting a vainlla vine, perhaps a black peppercon vine, and if they are available a dwarf mango variety. Along with herbs, and small vegetables. I would also like to cultivate jasmine. Fayaz ------------------------------- From: Glenn Young Date: Mon, 9 Feb 1998 20:48:37 EST Subject: New Subscriber, S. Pasadena CA I am Glenn G. Young of 238 St Albans Avenue, South Pasadena, Ca 91030-3516, Phone (213) 257 - 9900, Fax (213) 257 - 9800, e-mail ggyoung@aol.com I have just been elected President of CRFG for the next year and would like very much to be on distribution for your news letter. I have about 170 trees of all types on 3/4 acre in South Pasadena. Leo I have the list of my trees on an Access spreasheet if you would like a copy let me know and I will send it along. Glenn Young -------------------------------- Subject: New Subscriber; GA; Wants Suggestions Date: Wed, 2 Feb 1998 00:11:55 -0500 From: Jane Rosenberg-Coombs Hi, I am interested in your rare fruit newsletter. My name is: Jane Rosenberg-Coombs I live in Roswell, Ga (metro Atlanta) I have : kiwi; 3 apples; cherry; paw paw; mulberry; pineapple guava; dwarf mango; cherimoya and I can't remember what else I am struggling and running out of space. Would love to find a place to get scions to increase varieties. Also, would love to grow chestnut (but too little space) star fruit; and black currant. Thanks, Jane ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 13:14:31 +0900 (JST) From: Konosuke Degi Subject: New Subscriber: Okinawa, Japan I would like to subscribe to Rare Fruit News Online. I interest in tropical fruit. There are mango,lychee,papaya,pineapple,citrus, passion fruit,atemoya,pitaya,acerola,guava and carambola in Okinawa. I would like get sample issue and copies of earlier issues. Sincerely yours Konosuke Degi Fruit tree breeding laboratory Nago Branch, Okinawa Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station 4605-3,Nago city,Okinawa, 905 Japan ------------------------------- Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 11:31:32 +0900 (JST) From: Konosuke Degi Subject: papaya varieties wanted Hi, Leo, Okinawa is southern islands of Japan. We grow papaya in persistent ion framed vinyl net house. Because there are occurrence of leaf-distortion mosaic virus disease and strong typhoon. The vinyl use in winter rainy season and take off in summer. Our majour variety is sunrise solo. But sunrise has few week points,for example long internodes, small fruits,high occurrence of deformed fruits etc. We search for seeds of papaya varieties having low bearing height, high quality fruit and dwarf. Please give me any suggestions about this problem. Thank you. Konosuke Degi ------------- Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 08:48:12 -0800 To: Konosuke Degi Subject: Re: papaya varieties Konosuke, You might also write to the list: NEWCROPS with your question. It deals with a wide variety of crops. Leo ------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 11:32:15 +0900 (JST) From: Konosuke Degi Subject: dragon fruit or pitaya: Information needed, please Dear Leo, I introduced dragon fruit in Okinawa southern islands of Japan from Taiwan. It is very delicious and having attractive beauty appearance. Formosan said that dragon fruit came from Vietnam. I think that dragon fruit is belonging Hylocereus. Also,it may be pink pitaya. But there are two types of dragon fruit, pink fresh and white fresh. Are there same species? And I would like to get other varieties or species of Hylocereus or resemble genera. Please send me information. Konosuke ------------------------------- Date: 2/15/98 From: Leo Subject: I'm Looking For Good DARK Red Guava I'd like your recommendations about DARK red tropical guavas. Some added features (besides dark red flesh) Helpful but NOT necessary: Large in diameter Sweet flavor and good taste (latter is pretty subjective) Relatively small seed cavity Relatively small seed size Less "dirty gym-socks" odor. (Doesn't bother me, but my wife objects.) I believe guavas are under-appreciated, but there are some pretty good ones. I wait with bated breath.... Leo ------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 13:51:57 -0800 From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Possible Horticultural Trip to Thailand-Is Anyone Interested? I am in the process of finding the requested info. Visit to a Government Reseach Station should not pose any problem, but I have not made any inquiries as yet. Fruit-wise the best time is April-June, which is unfortunately hot and humid. Moreover, the growers may not have time to take as good care of you as they would like to as they will be busy harvesting. Climatewise, November to January is the coolest and the most pleasant, note that I say cool, not cold. I am in the process of gathering the required info. How is the response to the idea of the trip? Sainarong ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 00:56:04 -0800 From/To: Sainarong Rasananda To/From: HMHausman Subject: Thai Longans Discussed by HMHausman and Sainarong Rasananda HMHausman: The two cultivars are called (please excuse the spelling as the transliteration from Thai to English is probably questionable) "Edo" and "See Jampoo." Supposedly, the former is an equal or better fruit than "Kohala" and is a very reliable bearer. The latter is a pink colored fruit of superb quality but an unreliable bearer. Have you heard of either of these?? They are supposed to be newly developed cultivars. Sainarong Rasananda: You asked me about Thai longans, a subject about which I know something. You may be getting more than you've bargained for. I shall be writing to you in installments. I think this willbe easier for both you and me. Here goes. Puang Thong (golden bunch) is considered the best longan by the growers. However, it does not take kindly to transportation, and the shelf-life is not long. So, outside the orchard areas, it is almost unkown, even to the Thais! But if an honored guest like yourself visit me, I would offer you Puang Thong. It is a fairly recent cultivar. The longans Thais like best are See Chompoo (color pink), Biew Kiew (green irregularly-shaped) and Ee Haew in that order. However, the growers do not like to grow them as the return is not as high as for Ee Daw. All the cultivars mentioned are probably about 30-50 years old. About 80 % (my estimate) of the longans grown in Thailand are Ee Daw. Ee is a prefix. Daw, in the local dialect, means light; even the Thais needs further clarification, in the local dialect, light means that it is inclined to bear fruits easily. More than half of our longans are exported; almost all of our exports are Ee Daw. The advantages of Ee Daw are - It bears fruits almost every year. It flowers quite heavily. It is easy to grow and to look after. The fruits are quite large, crisp and sweet. The skin is thick, which means longer shelf life, ease of transport. It can be easily canned or dried. The price is good. No wonder the growers like to grow Ee Daw. HMHausman: The next two have been in the ground for less than a year and are aquisitions from Thailand. The two cultivars are called "Ee Daw" and "See Chompoo." Supposedly, the former is an equal or better fruit than "Kohala" and is a very reliable bearer. The latter is a pink colored fruit of superb quality but an unreliable bearer. Sainarong Rasananda: Although Ee Daw is the most prolific bearer in Thailand, surprisingly it performs very badly elsewhere. The Australian researchers have tried to grow Ee Daw, See ChomPoo and either Ee Haew or Biew Kiew in Queensland. They rejected Ee Daw completely, and propagated the latter two for commercial purpose. If you want to know, I shall tell you my hypothesis why Ee Daw does not do well outside Thailand. Surprisingly few Thai consumers have heard of Ee Daw, but most have heard of See Chompoo, which they particularly like. The latter is eaten fresh , and does not lend itself to canning and drying. I myself grow mostly Ee Daw, and a few Ee Haew and See Chompoo. I have difficulties with the latter two. I am beginning to think that the latter two need diiferent methods of looking after and I am treating them like I treat Ee Daw. Puang Thong, practically no one outside the main producing area in Thailand has heard of it, yet we producing think it is the best. I air-freighted some Puang Thong to my Singaporean cousin, he thought it was marvellous. BTW be warned that all Thai cultivars were 'born' in Thailand, and are adapted to the local environment. Here we grow our longans in the less-cool climate than we grow lychees. This is in contrast to the Chinese and Kohala cultivars which are grown in colder climate than lychees. On Kohala, the Australian researchers have also successfully grown Kohala, but they consider it a distant second to the Thai cultivars. I have their report, but not with me here, so I cannot produce the quote. So long, for the moment. Sainarong Rasananda ------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Feb 1998 21:12:40 -0800 From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Cucho Subject: Thai Longans Discussed by Cucho and Sainarong Rasananda Cucho: As I stated before, Lychees and longans are some of my favorite fruit trees. Sainarong Rasananda: Mine too. However, rabutan is my favorite fruit. Cucho: One of these cultivars is an extremely fast and vigorous grower, it is quite large already, but no fruit yet, the tree has large leaves and is very ornamental. Sainarong Rasananda: One word of warning. If you fertilize the young longan too much, especially with nitrogen, you may find that, although it grows very fast, it is quite hard to get it to bear fruit during the first few years after it has reached 2 or 3 meters high. Cucho: Also in your experince have you found a reliable way of shocking longans into fruiting, by girdling or pruning as is normally done with lychees? Sainarong Rasananda: Although such methods are supposed to help, I have not yet found anyone who can consistently induce his/her longans to bear fruit every year when other conditions, such as the weather, are unfavorable. There are orchards which bloom every year, but the particular location was perfect. I doubt if the owners of those enviable orchards could make other orchards elsewhere bloom consistently. There are, however, one or two I have met, who might just be able to do that, but I cannot be sure. I, and many academics and researchers, think that we have the theory nailed, but we just cannot put into into practice. So, it is not really theory, just mere hypothesis. I am still learning from successful longan growers in Thailand, who finished elementary school. They are my respected teachers. BTW this year, I, and most other Thais, have a very poor longan harvest. That just go to show how good I am. Cucho: If so would the best time be September? Sainarong Rasananda: The best time would be after the last vegetative flush has fully matured. Each flush takes about 45 to 60 days to mature. Sainarong Rasananda ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Feb 1998 20:51:34 -0800 From: Sainarong Rasananda To: HMHausman Subject: Longans; More Discussion HM Hausman & Sainarong Rasananda HMHausman: Does girdling the branches of longans help in fruit production and/or prevention of alternate bearing? Sainarong Rasananda: In Thailand, girdling or cincturing is the common practice for lychees. I have not heard of anyone in the North of Thailand (where 90% of the longans are grown) trying girdling. I think it is because our longan bark structure, unlike the lychee ones, makes girdling difficult. However, the academics still say that girdling should help. In central Thailand, we have a new cultivar, called Petch Sakorn. Most of the Petch Sakorn orchards practise girdling, and they claim good results. The Petch Sakorn bark structure is similar to the lychee one, which makes girdling easier. I grow a few Petch Sakorn for study, it has not yet flower (it should have). Maybe I shall try girdling them. I take it that you are conversant with the theory and practice of girdling. HMHausman: Have you any information or experience with reducing the numbers of fruit within fruit clusters to increase the size of the fruits carried to maturity? Sainarong Rasananda: Personally, no. But I have heard of people who have, and they claim success. If it is a bumper crop and nothing is done to reduce the number of fruits, what generally happens is this; you experience quite a lot of fruit drops, the fruit size is smaller than desirable, some of the fruits in a particularly large cluster rot, the probability of alternate bearing is increased. HMHausman: How important is wetness/dryness in obtaining blooms, fruit set, and sizing of fruits? Sainarong Rasananda: The answer to this should be quite a long one. Briefly, there are four major factors which control blooming; they are climatic conditions, irrigations, nutrients and tree canopy management or pruning. Although the climate is the major factors, all the factors are interchangeble - to a certain extent. So, the answer appears to be that you need to water-stress if other conditions are unfavorable, but if other conditions are favorable, water stress will not be required, and may even be undesirable. After fruit set, you should gradually give longan more water. In Thailand, where it is very hot and dry, longans must have a lot of water throughout the whole period, otherwise the fruits will be very small - I have bitter experience of this! I shall touch on the fourth question later this month. As I still have a lot to learn about longans, if anyone has any comments or even disagree with me, I shal be very pleased to hear them. I learn more from people who disagree with me than from people who take my words as absolute truth. HMHausman: Is fertilization necessary for instigating blooms, fruit set, and/or fruit sizing? And if so what formulation and when should the fertilizer be applied? Thanking you in advance for your kind advice, I am anxiously awaiting your next correspondance. Best regards.......Harry ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 09 Feb 1998 19:09:55 -0800 From: To: HMHausman Subject:Longans; More Discussion HM Hausman & Sainarong Rasananda2 HMHausman: You have apparently noticed the general lack of interest in longans by most Americans. The reason for this is unclear. It seems everyone has heard of, if not tried lychees but few (except people of oriental descent) have heard of or tried longans. Sainarong Rasananda: According to an Australian article, longan is an acquired taste. You only like it after the third or more try. After that, you become very fond of it. How true is this, do you think? But, if you ask an Asian, he will say that Westerners like fruit which have both sweet and sour taste at the same time. Longan has only sweet taste. He will go on to say that you should forget about introducing longans to the Westerners. Here, I disagree. I have heard of many Westerners, like those our RFNO group, who are very fond of longans. I also recall my students' days in England. My English friends used to look at Thai food as if it was something the cat has brought in (an English saying - are you Americans familiar with it?). Now, there are at least one Thai restaurant in almost every English town. What I am saying is that, with globalization, people's taste changes. HMHausman: Here in Florida there is a core of sub-tropical/tropical fruit collectors that have attempted to spread the word about this and other rare fruits. Obviously, there is considerable work to be done on this front because most of the public remains ignorant. Only oriental groceries carry longans in season and there are no dried, canned or other longan products any where else. Sainarong Rasananda: Really? Canned longan is, according to this Australian article, superior to canned lychee, because it does not lose its essence. Thailand and China produce a lot of canned longans. Chinese are very fond of dried longan; it is an essential ingredient in many Chinese medicine. At present, at least half of our longan export to China is the dried stuff. It is quite delicious too, I might add. Only longans with crisp, thick flesh make good dried and canned material. I am very surprised that you cannot find any canned or dried longans. How can we correct this? HMHausman: The selected varieties here in Florida are Kohala, Dagelman, Kay Sweeny, and University of Florida #1 and #2. Sainarong Rasananda: I have heard of a few more not-well-known ones. I do not have their names right here with me. HMHausman: Of the selected varieties I have personally only tried Kohala and Dagelman. Sainarong Rasananda: Unfortunately, I have not tasted any non-Thai longans. HMHausman: I believe this cultivar Kohala was brought here from Hawaii by Bill Whitman of Bal Harbour, Florida. Sainarong Rasananda: I have an article by Bill on the origin of Kohala. HMHausman: I am told that the Dagelman is supposedly a dwarf to smaller tree than the other longans. So far, the small tree in my yard does not seem to be following this prescription. It is growing at the same rate if not faster than my other longans. I have not heard of any dwarf cultivars. Longans can be 'dwarfed' if the water level in the soil is very close to the surface. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the friend of mine who travels to Thailand each year and who has brought back so many things that I have growing in my yard. His name is Bruce Livingston and he can be reached at Santol@gate.net. By carbon copy of this letter to him I am hoping that you two can get together. I know he would be most interested in visiting you and learning from you on his next trip this summer. Bruce presently teaches the Sub-Tropical Fruit Culture class at Broward Community College here in southeast Florida. Sainarong Rasananda: Hello, Bruce! Pleased to make your acquaintance. Looking forward to meeting you. ----------------------------------- Date: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 10:53:47 -0800 From: Kevin Subject: Black Sapote - Is Something Wrong? - Help! Hi Leo, I really enjoy your newsletters...I finally have a question for you if you can help. I have a Black Sapote which is planted in a container, really nice guy named Chuck mailed it to me from Florida after I became interested in trying to grow one. It about a foot tall and has dark green leaves around the base, with the new leaves being almost a yellowish, I have not given it any type of fertilizer since i received it close to 3 months ago and transplanted it to it new container, is it normal for the new leaves to be yellowish or is it lacking in some sort of fertilizer? I keep it in the newly built greenhouse now, which stays faily warm during sunny days........ Any help would be greatly appreciated...............Kevin ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 21:46:14 -0800 From: Darryl Clark Subject: Web resources for int'l habitat and climate? Check out: http://www.worldclimate.com Hello Leo: Thanks for the newsletter, as usual. I thought the letter from Chris was a potentially good question and data tidbit for the rest of the Rare Fruiters. Take Care, Darryl Chris Coleman wrote: > > Anyone know of some good web resources for world climate and habitats? I'm > aware of . While it offers good temp. and > rainfall data, it is too coarse in scale and incomplete. Ideally, I'd like > to find maps of rainfall and temperatures by month, principally for the > tropics, much like our regional climate centers do for the U.S. > > Chris ------------------------------ From: bburson@ibus.com To: rosemary.fielder@lmco.com Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 09:42:51 -0800 Subject: pawpaw trees - cheaper at Northwoods Nursery? Pawpaw seedlings and grafted cultivars are available from various sources. Examples are: Raintree Nursery, 391 Butts Rd, Morton, WA 98356, (360)496-6400 Northwoods Nursery, 27635 S. Oglesby Rd, Canby, OR 97013,(503)266-5432 Corwin Davis, 20865 Junction Rd, Bellevue, MI 49021, (616)781-7402 The least expensive place I have found is Northwoods Nursery in Oregon (just outside of Portland). Very in-expensive... Bill ------------------------------- Leo Manuel Subject: Winter '97/'98: Survival? Is it time to talk about the devastating rains and the consequences to your rare fruits? Southernmost California probably was less affected than the either coast in the United States. I haven't seen much soil erosion, but the saturated soil may show damaging effects to several trees, especially mangoes near my house. Tell me how you are coping. Leo ---------------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Storm Damage Date: Wed, 4 Feb 1998 11:51:45 -0800 Hi Leo, Email has not been smooth the last few days for me, so forgive me if you've already gotten this message. The enclosure you sent with the latest newsletter couldn't be opened by my computer, so could you send it as just an email message as you have been doing. Hope you got a little of the rain that went through here, but not like we did. The last two days I have had 8.8 inches and since last Friday I have had 10.4 inches. I have some erosion damage to my banana area and the top part of my trail down the hill will need to be dug up and re-inforced, it's started to push out the retaining boards and slide down the hill. The only plant that looks worse for the wear, besides the bananas, is the carambola. It really doesn't do well in high winds. Later, Bob ------------------------------- From: Bill Burson Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 18:18:01 -0800 Subject: Winter '97/'98: Survival in Poway, Ca I have recently potted several plants (100+) with a 70/30 combination of "store bought" & "mulch pile" soil. This AM (it has not rained in ~ 24 hours + I noticed water standing in ~ 40% of these pots, I have since drained them but next time I will buy SuperSoil brand & see if the problem repeats itself. Bill Burson ---------------------------------- From: "Ricardo Barbosa" Subject: El nino Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 18:00:27 PST Hi Leo. It's always a pleasure to receive an e-mail from a lion like you. Americans are not the only to suffer the "El ni–o" effects. We are having one of the most rainy Summers I remember. Because water saturated soil I lost two new fig trees I planted last Winter. It was a very sweet white cultivar that a friend brought from Spain. Some other trees are suffering and I hope they do not die. But the banana trees seem very happy. Last weekend I went to the beach (80 miles East from here) with my family and we could not go to the sea because the rain. We are now in vacations time and many people goes to the coast to get more cold airs. Friends of mine that are there to stay one month told me that in January it rained more than 50% of the days. Best regards. Ricardo -------------------------------- From: Kym Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98: Survival? No Problems Here!! Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 01:36:42 GMT Personally, it couldn't be better! I haven't had to run the sprinklers since about October and we have had no frosts! I haven't had to protect any plants at all! The coldest it's been all winter was 37 degrees- for about an hour! Kym ------------------------------- From: Trudy Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 19:26:57 -0500 Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98: Survival? None Here, Either! So far winter has been extra kind to me. While many have had too much rain our ground is higher than most and it's hard to saturate sand unless there is absolutely nowhere for water to run. So the excess rain has been a blessing and there has been no need to water at all. Also the temp has not dropped below 40. My only complaint would be the wind of the past few days. The banana leaves are shredded and ragged looking and some of the other plants are looking stressed. Trudy in Florida ----------------------------------- From: "Darla Dunigan" Subject: Re: Mango Sampling Sessions 1998 & Water Problems Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 15:11:11 -0800 Hi Leo, Re: water problems with mangos, water doesn't present much of a problem in my experience except when they don't get enough. If you have a problem with standing water, you may want to try mounding soil around the tree to keep water from just standing. It is important to keep the bud-union dry though. Re: The mango sampling. Darla and I usually set up the sampling sessions with about 20 different varieties at a time. The fruit is cut and placed in containers which are kept cool until the sampling. Each of the participants is given a scoring sheet, we also provide plates and plastic forks. Each container is marked, A through the apropriate letter for the number of samples. The participants are then asked to sample and score the fruit. We suggest to people that they go through once and try to determine which are their favorite 5 fruit and then zero in on the best one. The participants score the various mangos from #1 for their favorite on down to the one they liked the least. What is truly interesting, is that since the mangos from our collection are the best from around the world, you would think there would be a difficult time deciding which one people would like. The participants almost always have a clear favorite. Often one that is different from the one a spouce, kids or friend chose as the "obvious" best. Participants are told after they have completed and turned in their evaluation forms the names of each of the mangos and which ones they liked. As I said previously, we welcome participation by those with seedling fruit for evaluation. If we get serious interest, we will have to ask for help from the participants in preparing fruit for sampling as that is the most labor intensive part of the event. This year we will probably have around 60 different mango varieties fruiting in our collection (not counting our seedlings) and can expect to have perhaps around half of that number available at any one time for sampling. Some are early and some are late while most will fall in midseason. Re your questions, I was suggesting that anyone who wanted to contribute fruit of their seedling mangos during a mango sampling event would be welcome and they could get an objective evaluation of its quality. The timing is subject to weather. It could be anywhere from October to December and we won't know until we see what kind of spring and summer we have. Hope you are able to stay dry. Tim, "The Mango Man" ------------------------------------- From: "John Sojka" Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98: Survival? In Australia Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 17:01:59 +0800 Dear Leo, Our climate seems simlar to yours and our soil type. For clay all I know is helpful is changing the gradients or slope of the soil or put in sub soil drainage and Gypsum plus lots of organic material helps. Our winters seldom see a fost and in summer our capital Perth gets hot, with days of 100 f + hovering between 34 - 43 C. We are much cooler which is a relief as I hate continually hot weather. But we do get days over 100 F. Once it gets over 40 c things cook but in Albany we don't have days in a row of these temperatures. One day however a few years back it hit 47C but thay was a freak day and it killed a lot of plants and established trees - I wasn't here when it occured and I hope it doesn't do it again. Do you grow Babaco's ? mine are starting to fruit and I can't wait till they are ready. - Nice with sugar. Chow 4 now, John Sojka ---------------------------------- From: "John Sojka" Subject: Please, I'd like help finding these seeds, please! Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 12:49:49 +0800 Hi leo, How are you and how is your new year progressing ?.What sort of soil do you have ? - it sounds like it is subject to waterlogging, is it full of clay ?- our's is shocking and in winter the water sits there so unless you do something about it plants that don't cope with waterlogging get very sad and sick and even terminal like my Babaco. So have you discovered any intersting new trees or seeds lately? I am STILL!!!!!!! looking for seed for the following fruit trees and I wonder if you wouldn't mind asking the ever increasing crew of RFO liners if anyone can send me a small quantity of any of the following. I am prepared to cover all expenses and within reason to pay for th seed as well. The following are some of the varieties I am chasing though I am interested in more if it is rare. In the next newsletter, can you ask if anyone can supply or tell me a contact for seeds of the following. The Casana - Cyphomandra Casana The Lucmo or Lucuma -Pouteria obovata The Pitomba - Eugenia Luschnathiana The American Paw Paw - AsiminaTriloba The Canistel - Pouteria Campechiana The Jelly palm - Butia Capitata The Naranjilla and Green Sapote I am also interested in new rare varieties from latin America or Asia and I will try anything as I have freinds further North of me who can grow the more cold sensetive varieties. It is summer here and everything is growing but not as well as I would have hoped for. While I am still very intersted in growing unusual fruit , it's only a hobby and I do it in my spare time as I am a Christian Pastor and life can be very hectic. It is great to get out into my garden to unwind and I marvel at the many beautiful and different things God has made. As a Christian, I am a creationst and I believe all the wonderful things including fruit trees were specially created for our enjoyment by God. As a hobby it's great to share my interst in fruit growing with people over here and around the world. I have made contact with guys in Western Australia through your news group and on my next holiday I plan to visit Clement Teng in Perth and a few guys in Bunbury. Leo, what is the climate range over there ?. Average temps, maimums - minimums etc in centigrade if possible, it would be interesting to compare it to us. Hope to hear from you some time, All the best John Sojka. -------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 18:32:59 -0800 From: Jon Verdick Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98: Survival? Leo, Everything is soggy here, but not real problems yet. The rain and wind may still cause problems for my early peach trees which are already in bloom, but only time will tell. Jon ------------------------------- From: "Dan Duprey" Subject: Re: Winter '97/'98: Survival? Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 22:48:20 -0500 Hi, Leo: I think South Florida has so far been spared the worst consequences of El Nino. We're getting a bit too much rain and cloudy weather, which is especially tough on the tourist industry. And recent rainy days and cold nights may have been tough on mango pollination. I don't really know yet. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried planting several cultivars of a fruit tree in the same, large planting hole, as a way to save yard space. I've heard this suggested several times, in regard to mangos, but can't really picture how it would work. Would extensive pruning be necessary? Dan Duprey ----- Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 20:08:15 -0800 To: Dan Duprey Subject: Crowding trees Dan, I'd think that you would have to prune extensively, as you would in any fruit tree with excessive inside branches. I'd guess you'd be able to have about the same amount of fruit as with only one tree, and you might need to hack more of the more aggressively growing ones in order for the slower-growing ones to compete. It might work best when the natural maximum height of each cultivar is the same. I wouldn't want to try it with more than three trees, and I wouldn't exactly put them in the same hole, but very close - maybe 12 to 18 inches? I believe it would be better than grafting several varieties on one tree and risk losing all if one goes down of a virus or whatever. I haven't done it, exactly, but I've planted deciduous trees in a row with a foot or less of space. That's been done in England for many years with apples. It makes sense to me. Leo ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 06:48:04 PST From: Doron Kletter Subject: February RFNO delivered? Leo, Was there a February release of RNFO? The only indication I got was some correspondance from Sainarong. This time I did not even get your other message boadcasting the release. Would it be possible to re-send? How are your trees coping with the extra water this year? You have no idea how happy I am to have installed drainage pipes and pumps last year (not to mension the greenhouse). Doron ------------------------------- From: SherHoudin@aol.com Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 09:37:11 EST Subject: Dehydrator information sought Can any of the readers direct my wife and I to a company that sells high quality :"professional" dehydrators. We bought a simplistic one, without a fan, but it just doesn't do the job. When we will be dehydrating fruit, we want a heavy duty apparatus that will do the job well and speedily. What companies manufacture such? Address and if you know price range? Your information will be much appreciated. E-mail to me at : SherHoudin@AOL.com or call me in San Diego, California at 619 552 8576. Joel and Arlene Moskowitz ------------------------------ Subject: Commercial Growers: This Question Is For You. Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 11:34:58 -0600 From: Manuel Valdez Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: I'll appreciate if you could bring me information about importers and exporters countries and market worldwide of the following products: Guava (Psidium guajava), Wax Apple (Syzygium samaragense), Star Fruit (Averroha carambola) and Chinesse Guinda (Ziziphus mauritiana). Thank you very much. Sincerely yours, Manuel Valdez AGEXPRONT. ------------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Dovyalis Seeds Wanted: From Florida? Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 15:38:28 -0800 Hi Leo, I read an old issue of the Florida Rare Fruit Council, Int. that talked about a hybrid of two Dovyalis species, D. abyssinica x D. hebecarpa. It was a chance hybrid found in a USDA Subtropical Research Unit at Chapman Field. The article said that lots of people in Florida were growing this hybrid, I was wondering if anyone in the RFNO group from Florida could send some seeds to me when this plant next fruits. The main plus is that it is self fruitful, which D. caffra is not, and D. caffra is the only species of this genus that I have come across. So please post this in your next mailing for me. Thanks Later, Bob ------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 00:37:53 -0800 From: Andy Butcher Subject: President Plums Leo, There must be a reason you spend so much time in front of a computer. It turns out we always are doing what we want, even when we deny it. You just have to face the fact, what you really like is doing what you are doing. It turns out there is quite a contingent of rare fruit growers here in Santa Clara County, where I was born and grew up on a Santa Rosa Plum Orchard. My grandfather was a fine orchardist. One of his crops was the President Plum. Have you ever heard of that? He grew it and shipped it by rail to New York where it was sold to Hotels for fruit baskets. It was the largest, most beatiful piece of fruit you ever saw. The reason you don't see them around, is the same reason it had such a limited market in its day. It had no flavor. What a contrast to his Santa Rosa plum, which has so much incredible flavor. Grandpas name was A.C.Butcher, and his son's name is Robert T. Butcher, who is still growing Santa Rosas in the Santa Clara Valley. Another Japanese Plum we had growing up (I dont know if this is another Burbank) was the Shiro Plum. It was yellow. If you picked it just before it was dead ripe it had a fine sweet flavor. If you waited too long, it was too sweet. I will pass your Web site to other fruit enthusiasts. Andy Butcher ------------------------------------- Subject: The address for Going Bananas Date: Sun, 15 Feb 1998 13:37:02 -0500 (EST) From: paullgj The address for Going Bananas is as follows: Going Bananas 24401 SW 197th Ave. Homestead, Florida 33031-1174 Send $1.00 and ask for a catalogue. They have a wide selection which they sell as corms. Most a $15.00. They have a very wide selection of Cavendish cultivars which is what I try to grow. Gene Paull Brownsville, Tx., zone 9b ---------------------------------------- Subject: Rare Fruit Discussion Homepage http://24.4.65.133/rarefruits Date: Sun, 15 Feb 1998 13:22:08 -0800 From: Jose Miguel Gallego Hi Leo, I finally got the time to play around with my new version of FrontPage 98, I had a good excuse, the Registration Page for the Festival. This is the first version of FrontPage that is complete and easy to use (I have copies of version 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, etc). This is one of the types of applications that I was talking about, that you should set up (http://24.4.65.133/rarefruits). The other is where your IP handles the hosting, but you may be limited to the amount of traffic you can have. Hosting it at home, it doesn't matter, as long as you have you computer on and on-line all the time (which is our case). Let me know what you think. Jose ---------------------------- Subject: Blue Honeysuckle, Lonicera caerula, where to purchase? Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 11:54:25 -0600 From: Connie Kehler To: Multiple recipients of list NEWCROPS Does anyone know where one could purchase some blue honeysuckle plants? I am in Canada. Connie ------------ Andrea Gunner says: Dear Connie, I don't know for certain but would suggest that you contact one of: Adera Nurseries 1071 Wain Rd, Sidney, B.C. V8L 5V1 (604) 656-3445 or 1-800-661-3123 Piroche Plants Inc. 20542 McNeil Rd Pitt Meadows, B.C. V3Y 1Z1 604) 465-7101 Spaargeren, W.J., b.v. PO Box 18 2770 AA Boskoop, Holland Tel 011 31 1727 17071 FAX 011 31 172 218058 Regards, Andrea Gunner ---------- Bob Batson says: Connie, Edible Landscaping used to sell Lonicera careula, but a quick look at their website (http://www.eat-it.com) just lists L. kamschatica. They do, however, ship plants to Canadian customers. Bob Batson -------------- Lon J. Rombough says: Connie, T & T Seeds in Winnepeg has the stock, but won't have them on sale for a year or so. -Lon Rombough http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom -------------- gerald creps says: Connie, page 13 1997 to 1999 catalog---800-524-4156...Edible Honeysuckle (lonceria kamtschatica...from the Czech Republic...must have at least two for cross pollination....enjoys cool temp... call or write...Edible Landscaping, P.O. Box 77, Afton, VA 22920... I hope this helps....Poppabear ------------------ Anna Whipkey says: Connie, Aubin Nurseries (PO Box 1089, Carman MB R0G 0J0 Canada, 204/745-6703) has Lonicera caerula var. edulis Anna --------------------------------------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: "Robert H. Faust" Subject: Re: seeds of papaya University of Hawaii at Manoa sell a kapoho which is a low growing papaya of the solo type which is now gaining favor. Robert H. Faust Ph.D. Agroecologist Faust Bio-Agricultural Services, Inc. Telephone exchange road P.O. Box 800, Honaunau, Hawaii 96726 ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Anna Whipkey Subject:Re: dragon fruit [Hylocereus (Pitahaya)] in Israel Mizrahi and Nerd are doing research on Hylocereus (Pitahaya) in Israel Yosef Mizrahi Department of Life Sciences Institutes for Applied Research Ben Gurion University of the Negev Israel: http://www.bgu.ac.il/life/mizrahi.html e-mail: mizrahi@bgumail.bgu.ac.il Avinoam Nerd Institutes for Applied Research Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer Sheva 84105 Israel e-mail: aavi@bgumail.bgu.ac.il Anna ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: P Lovett Subject:Re: dragon fruit This is an article that will be included in the forthcoming ICUC Global Newsletter (very soon!). And just in case anyone has anything else to add I may just have time to squeeze it in, if sent to me before 13/2/98 UK lunchtime Peter Lovett PNL@soton.ac.uk ICUC researcher Dragon Fruit of Vietnam A juicy, sweet-and-sour fruit occurring in the southern part of Vietnam has been overlooked for inclusion in the Prosea volume 2 Edible fruits and nuts. It is the fruit of a plant called dragon fruit or green dragon in English, oeil de dragon in French and in Vietnam it is known as thanh long or garu . Its scientific name is Hylocereus undatus (Haw. ( Britt. & Rose (synonym Cereus triangularis auct. non Haw., C. undatus Haw.) belonging to Cactaceae. Originating from Central America it is cultivated in Vietnam and in Indonesia (Java). The fruit is eaten fresh or prepared into fruit juice and also sometimes as a vegetable. The anthocyanin of the fruit is used as a dye and the fruit also has medicinal properties. Although mainly exported from Nicaragua, the export value from Vietnam was 300 tons in 1990 with a value of US$450,000 (1kg = US$1.50) mainly to Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Vietnam the average yield of dragon fruit ranges from 20-25 tons per ha per year and a crop may produce fruits for up to 15 years. Extracted from an article by Dzuoung Duc Huyen & N. Wulijarni-Soetjipto in Prosea Newsletter No 18, April 1997. >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - February 15, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online March 1, 1998 AKA RFN199803A.txt From: Leo Manuel Subject: Where to buy NAA (napthaleneacetic acid) crystals? What's in this issue? New Subscribers Seek Your Help From: stephan.reeve@tdp.org Subject: New Subscriber, Maui, HI & Plans For Tropical Fruit Grove From: NickSchaefer Subject: New Subscriber, Belgium From: Gail Newcomb Subject: New Subscriber, New Zealand, Becoming Self-Sufficient From: Gail Newcomb Subject: New Zealand Kiwifruit Next: Readers Report From: Matthew Shugart Subject: dark red guava From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Searching for Lyman Hardy (In Florida?) From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Cost of horticulture trip to Thailand From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Re: Cost of horticulture trip to Thailand From: "Harry W. Mazal OBE" Subject: Papaya Plant Sale in San Antonio! From: Konosuke Degi Subject: mango variety From: moshe Subject: Re: mango problems in Okinawa From: Doron Kletter Subject: Lychee report - Lessons Learned From: Richard Wanberg Subject: RFNO From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Newsletter and Importing Seeds From: Mark Dodgson Subject: Re: What's New in Australia From: jmshoe@awod.com (J.M. Shoemaker) Subject: Re: fejoa Request for Seed Source From: sainarong Subject: Thai fruits Now From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Thailand Fruit in August Next: Readers Write To Each Other Subject: Re: tropical fruit From: "Jeff Earl" To: Richard Wanberg From: "Jeff Earl" To: Richard Wanberg Subject: attn :Richard re Tropicals From: Richard Wanberg To: Jeff Earl Subject: Tropicals From: Kym To: Paul Subject: going bananas From: Kym To: APARATMED Subject: sweetsop pollenation From: Richard Wanberg (MBASF@aol.com) To: Paul Subject: Banana Cold Hardiness From: "Ricardo Barbosa" To: Oliver Subject: From Sapote to Pitanga From: Doron Kletter To: Linda Kincaid Subject: pink-fleshed apples From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: Konosuke Subject: Hylocereus species From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: David Subject: Orinoco bananas From: DAVID W VADER To: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Re: Orinoco bananas From: Richard Wanberg To: Richard Subject: subtropicals From: Matthew Shugart Subject: High-density planting Subject: Black Sapotes From: David To: Kevin From: Sainarong Rasananda To: HMHausman Subject: Re: Florida longans [Relationship of fertilizer & bloom] From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Mario Lozano Subject: Re: Thai Longans From: Mario Lozano To: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Re: Thai Longans From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Mario Lozano Subject: Dormancy in winter for Lychee and Longan Next: Extracts from NEWCROPS and Zingiber Lists Sender: Discussion list for New Crops Subject:Re: dragon fruit Sender: Discussion list for New Crops Subject:Pitaya = Dragonfruit? Sender: Discussion list for New Crops Subject:Tropical germplasm and Cornucopia: Where'd It Go? Sender: Discussion list for New Crops Subject:Fourth National New Crops Symposium Subject: Zan Moreno banana is a dwf Cavendish cultivar Sender: zingiber@coollist.com ------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 13:25:06 +0000 From: Leo Manuel Subject: Where to buy NAA (napthaleneacetic acid) crystals? Do you know where small quantities (100 gms) of NAA can be purchased? There has been some success in air-layering SOME varieties of mango, using NAA and lanolin. Do you know from personal experience whether it is likely to be successful? Thanks! Leo -------------------------- New Subscribers Seek Your Help From: stephan.reeve@tdp.org Date: Wed, 25 Feb 98 17:48:27 Subject: New Subscriber, Maui, HI & Plans For Tropical Fruit Grove Aloha Leo, I came across your web page by way of the CRFG site. I hope to participate in your rare fruit newsletter. Here's my personal info as requested. Stephan Reeve Fruition Hana Maui HI 96713 I just got my own place and am beginning to convert an 11 acre pasture, surrounded by 60' mango trees, to a tropical fruit grove. Some of the fruits I plan to grow are: Durian: I'm a durian fanatic so I'll plant many of them. Here in Hawai'i we have only the commercial Thai clones, whereas I greatly prefer the Malaysian cultivars, particularly the "red" fleshed types from Penang: Udang Merah (D175) and Khun Po Ang Bak (D164). How can I obtain malaysian durian clones? Also I'm excited to grow some of the other Durio species, particularly D. graveolens (Red-fleshed durian), D. dulcis (Red durian), D. oxleyanus, and D. kutejensis. Leads and seeds greatly appreciated. Artocarpus: We have good jakfruit cultivars here already. There are just a handful of Marang (A. odoratissimus) trees in the islands but I managed to get seed of 6 types from Sarawak for trial here; they've just sprouted. I'm looking to grow Pedalai (A. sericicarpus) as well as A. lakoocha, A. sarawakensis, and am looking for seed of Entawak (A. anisophyllus). I'm looking to grow a great variety of tropical fruits including, Atemoya, Rollinia, Canistel, Lychee, Mangosteen, Rambutan, Star Apple, Sweetsop, Pommelo, etc. I'm growing many of them just for myself (I eat all raw, mostly fruits) and friends but do plan some direct marketing. I plan a small market planting of mammey sapote and hope to get some of the recent selections from Florida. I look forward to corresponding with other fruit lovers on these and other topics. I'd love to receive seeds of those species we don't yet have here and I'm very happy to offer anything I can find here in the Hawaiian Islands. Steph ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 13:43:12 +1100 From: NickSchaefer Subject: New Subscriber & "What's Chilling Req. for Pawpaw?" Hi Leo, thanks for replying. I am Nick Schaefer, Mullumbimby Ck, NSW, near Brisbane, Queensland We have been farming on the north coast for approx 7 years, mainly Lady Finger (~sugar) bananas, mangoes, avocados, lychees, Tahitian limes, lychees and taro. A number of horticultural plants have become naturalised on our farm and in our district such as guavas (regular and strawberry), passionfruit, cape gooseberry and coffee (as an understory plant in rainforest). We are about to plant out papaya (known as pawpaw in australia), and Davidson plums (Davidsonia pruriens) (this is a local rainforest plant that is seen as having potntial as 'bush tucker'. We are also looking at the creeping cactus Pitaya or dragon fruit (which also is naturaised here). We are wondering also about the possibility for Capulin cherries, cherimoyas (known to grow in the area) and possibly american pawpaw (Asimina triloba) although we may not have enough hours of chilling. I would like to know the chilling requirements for pawpaw. I have just emailed Des Layne of the american pawpaw foundation-he may be able to help on this one? Thanks Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby, NSW, Australia ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 08:40:30 +0000 From: Vincent Turkelboom (Pito) Subject: New Subscriber, Belgium Hello, We are interested in the "rare fruit-newsletter". Information from myself and my work: I am Vincent Turkelboom, Provinciaal Instituut Tuinbouwonderwijs, A school-teacher with the speciality fruitculture (practice) in a school for horticulture in Mechelen (Belgium) Antwerpsesteenweg, 145 B-2800 Mechelen (Belgium) (Europe) I have now trees of Malus domestica, Prunus persica, Prunus domestica Also I have Rubus idaeus, Rubus fruticosus, Ribes rubrum (white), Ribes uva-crispa, Ribes 'Jostaberry', Ribes nigrum, Fragaria ananassa. In the horticulture-school we have many others sorts of fruit: Actinidia deliciosa, Corylus avellana, Cydonia oblonga, Morus nigra, Morus alba, Amelanchier lamarckii, Castanea sativa, Juglans regia, Mespilus germanica, Prunus dulcis, Prunus armeniaca, Prunus avium, Prunus cerasus, Pyrus communis, Pyrus pyrifolia, Ribes 'Worchesterberry', Ribes rubrum, Vaccinium corymbosum and Vitis vinifera We are interested in to grow Asimina triloba (Pawpaw), Actinidia arguta, Aronia, Hippophae, other Cydonia cultivars, Passion Fruit, Citrus, Jujube, Japanese Persimmon, and other fruitsorts and cultivars. USDA Climate Zone 7/8 Vriendelijke Groeten / Friendly Regards / Amities Vincent Turkelboom ------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 10:02:52 +1300 From: Gail Newcomb Subject: New Zealand Kiwifruit Hi Leo I am the Secretary/Editor of the Bay of Plenty Branch of New Zealand Tree Crops Association so always on the look out for information! We have an Internet site at www.nzero.co.nz/treecrops which we are hoping to update regularly - and which links to the National Tree Crops On Line page as well as our Home Page www.nzero.co.nz/ecoworks. Love your 'rare fruit' - kiwifruit! A couple of acres of our land was originally a 'Kiwifruit Orchard' We have kept 3 rows which we leave to mature on the vine and use no sprays whatever. The taste is incomparable with early picked fruit. We have a glut of it. And we now consider what we have pulled out one of our worst WEEDS! It is still coming up everywhere, through everything and is very hard to destroy! As you can tell we are interested in ALL kinds of trees and fruits as are our members so we have a great variety to look at on our Field Days. We are going to Nelson in April for the National Tree Crops Conference in combination with ACOTANC members from Australia. So looking forward to learning about even more crops. Regards Gail ---------AND--- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 09:01:05 +1300 From: Gail Newcomb Subject: New Subscriber, New Zealand, Becoming Self-Sufficient Yes I am interested in subscribing to your news online I found your page through CFR Yes I would like to see a sample My name is Gail Newcomb Our address is "Ecoworks' (which is near the TAURANGA, in the Bay of Plenty, North Island. New Zealand. We are growing a variety of crops as a hoping to be self sustaining. Connections with NZ growers of most varieties through NZ Tree Crops Association. Would like to know more in general to pass on to members and use excerpts for our small newsletter (at present being snailed to members but hoping to do more nationally online) Any exchange of information welcomed. Gail -------------------------- Readers Report -------------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 11:14:59 -0800 From: Matthew Shugart Subject: dark red guava Leo, I have a "Red Malaysian" that might meet your criteria. Are you familiar with this variety? Mine came from Exotica in Vista (though I acually bought it at Laguna Hills Nursery in Orange County, because Exotica had sold out). It is a seedling. I was told that it is not propagated asexually and usually comes true from seed. I like it better than any other guava I've tasted. As you said, that is subjective. A co-worker, who is Vietnamese and says she really loves guavas, said she thought the Red Malaysian I gave her was among the best guavas she'd had. It does not have much of that musky flavor, except in the skin (which can be avoided). I usually let them get really soft (almost rotting) before I eat them, at which point they are very sweet. Sometimes I eat them when they are still crisp; although they have less sweetness then, they do have an interesting and--to me--agreeable flavor at that stage. The skin is very light in color, almost beige, but with some pinkish blush. The flesh is quite dark red. Seeds are very small, as is the seed cavity. The tree has borne heavily and young. It's also a very attractive ornamental, as the leaves are a very reddish purple (changing to dark green with purplish overtones as they age). Let me know if you have more questions about it. Matthew Shugart Carlsbad, California -------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Searching for Lyman Hardy (In Florida?) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 07:20:18 -0800 Hi Leo, In August of 1990 Lyman Hardy gave a talk to the Florida Rare Fruit Council, Int. about a number of issues, and a summary of is talk was in the November 1990 issue of their Tropical Fruit News. One item that caught my eye was his "work" with genetic engineering. He claimed that the cold hardiness of certain fruit trees is determined by the DNA in the mitochondria of the cells of these trees. This mitochondria could be transfered to other plant cells and confer their cold hardiness to these cells, which could be grown into mature plants. I would like to know from the Florida members of RFNO if Mr. Hardy has done any further work on this subject and if he has published his findings. Why don't you through this out in your next newsletter and see if we get any responses. Thanks Leo. Later, Bob -------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 12:19:32 +0700 From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Cost of horticulture trip to Thailand The approximate cost of a one-week horticulture trip to Thailand is about U$1000. The breakdown of the cost is as follows: Return air-fare from L.A. to Bangkook $680-750. 3-4 days coach trip to various orchards and research stations - $130-170. 3-4 days sight-seeing and shopping around Bangkok - $ 120-160. It appears that if there are sufficient people interested, the arrangement should be within our ability. Sainarong Rasananda (About 20 people should be sufficient) --------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Feb 1998 16:53:29 -0600 From: "Harry W. Mazal OBE" Subject: Papaya Plant Sale in San Antonio! Dear Leo, Thank you for your interesting and pertinent Newsletter. I always read it with great care and enthusiasm. I am happy to announce that the San Antonio Botanical Society, (benefactors of the San Antonio Botanical Gardens) will be having Mr. Moy's hybrid papayas for sale again this year. All proceeds from the sale will go to support research activities in the Gardens. This year we will have the already hugely successful Moy Dulce, a dioecieus hybrid that produces fruit 11 months after seeding. Our plants were started in October in our new, modern greenhouse, built exclusively with funds from our sales. Many of the females have already set fruit! This plant only requires 145 days with daytime temperatures above 70 degrees after the flowers have set to produce ripe, sweet papayas in the area around San Antonio. We have about 2,000 Moy Dulce Papayas for sale. We are usually sold out after Viva Botanica (see below). A new, experimental papaya (Carica papaya, var. Moy Aromatic), will also be available. This is a dwarf dioecious hybrid which we believe will be suitable for container growing. We only have 300 of these -- half will presumably be males -- and they too will be available during our sales days: Sunday March 1 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Saturday March 14, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM (coinciding with the last sales day for the highly successful Garden Center plant sale across the parking lot from the Gardens). Saturday April 4 and Sunday April 5 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (coinciding with "Viva Botanica," our annual Spring Festival which - apart from our plant sale - also has music, entertainment, food, and fun for the whole family. Apart from papayas, we will also be offering a number of tropical and native hybrid hibiscus developed by Mr. Moy, a few Carambola seedlings, and a number of other exotics. Because the papayas are already four feet tall (or more!), we cannot ship them, although we can sell them on other dates at the Gardens by special arrangement. I will be happy to answer questions by e-mail: hmazal@txdirect.net For the record, I am Harry W. Mazal, First Vice-President of the San Antonio Botanical Society, and founder of the Plant Propagation and Sales Group at the Gardens. We are a 100% volunteer organization. Thanks, and kindest regards, Harry ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 16:47:24 +0900 (JST) From: Konosuke Degi Subject: mango variety We have two problems in mango growing in Okinawa. First is mango decline problem. Because, about 50% of growing area is calcareous soil. We would like to introduce root stocks like 13-1. The 13-1 is famous calcareous soil tolarant root stock in Israel. Second is dwarf variety or root stock. Mango is grown in vinyl house in Okinawa. Because, it is rain and high humidity in mango flowering season, and heavy anthracnose disease occoured. major vaiety is Irwin. Irwin have attractive skin color and good quality and semi dwarf. But growing period in vinyle house is only 10 years. We need dwarf variety having atractive red skin fruit like Irwin or dwarf ro ot stock. Please give me any suggestion. Konosuke --------------------Moshe Supplies The Following----------- Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 05:54:49 -0400 From: moshe Subject: Re: mango problems in Okinawa hi leo! 13-1 is a rootstock that was developed in israel for use in alkaline soils, where the south african rootstock, the 'sabre' was not so good. it is propgated by seeds. for more information i can try nd get the article that was published about this rootstock. about el nino - until now we didn't have here something unusual. hope that it will stay like this. moshe ----------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 10:12:43 PST From: Doron Kletter Subject: Lychee report - Lessons Learned Leo, I am excited to report that my young Lychee tree (a Bosworth 3) is definitely going to bloom this year. It is all covered with clusters of fresh greenish flower panicles emerging from the branch terminals. No girdling was necessary. I am very grateful to Mr. Sainarong Rasananda from Thayland. I basically followed his advice to withhold water and fertilizer throughout the winter. The plant is in a large pot, which I moved into my (unheated) greenhouse in January and put under stress; I only watered it when the soil was getting dry and in a small quantity at a time (once a week on average). My experience so far has led me to believe that the Lychee needs cool and dry winters to flower. About two months of water stress seem to be sufficient. The opposite conditions of warm and wet will promote vegetative growth. Perhaps this explains why you were having such difficulty with an outside tree that was exposed to the rain. Though I cannot say for sure, I believe El-Nino also played a significant role; The greenhouse floor is made of gravel that was providing little moisture from all the rain outside; And the temperatures were certainly more stable, cool, but none-the-less somewhat warmer than usual. The greenhouse also provided wind protection. The idea appears to be working for now, but I'm not sure what to do yet when the tree will get larger. Have you seen a similar behavior with your trees this year? I will keep you posted with regard to fruit set, if any. Doron -------------------------- From: Richard Wanberg Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 18:09:14 EST Subject: RFNO Dear Leo, I thoroughly enjoy my new membership in RFNO. Thanks for all you efforts to make this possible. One question for the next newsletter.... I'm looking for information / tips on building a small, INEXPENSIVE greenhouse for my backyard. It will not require heating. I've begun to sift through the myriad web sites on the web but haven't yet found what I'm looking for. Any ideas? thanks! Richard Wanberg San Anselmo, CA ----------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" Subject: Newsletter and Importing Seeds Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 08:09:02 -0800 Hi Leo, I finally found out how to open the newsletter as an enclosure, so I'm okay with that format. It's good to have at least one computer geek in the office. I have asked Ricardo Barbosa in Brazil to send some seeds to me and they are slow in arriving. I said something to Ben Poirier, who has already received seeds from Ricardo, and he said he has had bad experiences in using the USDA stickers for importation. I just wonder if my seeds were held up because I had Ricardo use a sticker. It would be really too bad if I had to ask Ricardo and John Sojka and whoever else to send seeds with no identification on the package because the USDA has field representatives who don't know what they are doing. As an experiment I'll ask Ricardo to send some seeds without a sticker and see if they get through and how long it takes. I'll let you know because it may be important for other online members to know as well. Later, Bob -------------------------- Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 14:31:23 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Dodgson Subject: Re: What's New in Australia Hi Leo Yes it has been a while ... but time goes fast in paradise ;-) I think I can say that here in Melbourne it has been a disappointing summer. Hasn't hit the 40 deg C like last summer, and to my recollection the mornings have been cold. For that matter, we haven't had too much rain either: you guys must be getting our allotment as well. My young mangoes are all doing well. I have an adjustable shade cloth over the top section of my glass house that constantly shades the mango seedlings. I have 5 Winters, 3 Leo's #5, 3 R2E2, 4 unknown Philippine (maybe I could name it Mark's #1), and around a half dozen Bowen. Unfortunately, I learnt that I shouldn't use slow release fertiliser on mangoes under six inches in height: I lost 4 unknown Philippines that way. One of my mango grafts has really kicked on: the Florigon is now nearly up to the height of the glass house (6 foot at the front) in it's first season. I think the current growth flush is about the 4th of the season. The R2E2 is a little slow growing though. Safeway is also offering mangoes other than the usual Bowen and R2E2: Keitt. Unusual to get fruit different than Bowen in Australia in the market. $3 for a huge mango, although I can't bring myself to fork out that much for a mango just yet. Glad to hear you've got some Bowen happening in sunny San Diego. My avocadoes are not really enjoying the direct sun and high winds they're getting in their current position. The two grafts of Fuerte and Bacon I bought from the same nursery in Spring are looking very sick. I'd say the Fuerte has no hope, while the Bacon may come back. Fuerte got burnt back to the stem on one of the rare days we've had over 35 deg C. I didn't realise until the next day that it wasn't in partial shade. Hass has slowed it's growth considerably from earlier in the season and is just starting to show signs of new growth. Reed is performing best of all and I cut back the central leader when it reached around 8 feet tall in it's 50 cm pot. Rincon is also performing well, although I'm having trouble working out which is the central leader and which is a long weeping branch. Wurtz is remaining compact, but today I think I'll send a bigger stake into the pot to train the central leader which is now weeping partially down the plant. My citrus is performing admirably considering the constraint their under: still in 40 centimeter pots. All limes have young fruit set on them. This means no more paying $1.45 for limes at the local Safeway. Lemon has just started signs of growth on the central trunk. White Sapote finally started growth down the length of it's central leader a couple of months back, and that's looking good. The dwarf peach I've harvested a half dozen fruit from in it's first season. It's now concentrating it's efforts on growth. We also had $6 a kilo for fresh Bengal lychees last month. I dined on fresh lychees for days, unfortunately I didn't eat them quick enough and some of them succumbed to mould. The lychee season aint that long though, so looks like I'll have to wait till next season for more. I would like to try longans as I've heard the taste is more pronounced than lychee. My chiles are just starting to fruit due to my lateness in starting them from seed this season. I have over 80 chiles in 20 cm pots in my glasshouse at the moment: it's getting very crowded in there currently. There are around half that number outside the glasshouse. Bye for now Mark Dodgson http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/2609 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 14:42:11 -0500 From: jmshoe@awod.com (J.M. Shoemaker) Subject: Re: fejoa Request for Seed Source leo thanx for the info! Leo said: I believe FEIJOA SELLOWIANA is what you're looking for. There are several possible sources of seed. What you might try is doing an internet search for FEIJOA SELLOWIANA, if you don't find them below: http://www.johnnycyberseed.com/p2438.htm http://www.boldweb.com/greenweb/seedbank.htm http://w3.aces.uiuc.edu/horticulture/sources/tropical.htm http://www.mnsinc.com/menoldre/R&D_Enterprises/Fruitnut.html http://www.cog.brown.edu/gardening/cat16/f31idx.html#starthere Leo Joe & Pat -------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 16:03:44 +0700 From: sainarong Subject: Thai Fruits Now Here are some of the fruits in season in Thailand in February. Following are the prices of some Thai fruits. If you would like to get more information, please look into the following websites. http://bday.net/tat/fruit_index.html http://asiatour.com/thailand/e-02trav/et-tr155.htm http://www.su.ac.th/thailand/fruits/fruits.html Name Maket Price(US$Lb.) Remarks (US$@48Baht) Tangerine 0.19-0.33 all year round Guava 0.19-0.28 all year round Rose Apple 0.28-0.37 end of season Banana 0.83-1.04/ comb all year round Sapodilla 0.28-0.47 middle-end of season Watermelon 0.28-0.37 all year round Mangosteen 0.37-0.47 out of season Coconut 0.29/fruit all year round Papaya 0.19-0.28 all year round Enjoy your fruits. sainarong ------------------------- Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 09:45:40 +0700 From: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Thailand Fruit in August Leo asked: My son and daughter-in-law are going to Thailand in August. What fruit's ripe then? Leo, the major fruit season is from April to June. In August, the sole major fruit will be longan and rambutan (the longan crop is very very bad this year). However, we can produce many fruits, such as mangoes, tangerines, etc. out of season. The price will, of course be higher than normal. BTW the weather has been very unkind to us this year, we expect pretty low production for most crops. The website below has a chart of the availability of fruits in Thailand from month to month. However, the number of fruits seems to be too few; the website belongs to a canned-fruit company, and they probably only shows the friuits which they can. http://www.malee.co.th/html/season.html This next website has many more fruits, but no chart. You have to click on each fruit to know the season, which is prominently displayed. http://asiatour.com/thailand/e-02trav/et-tr155.htm Sainarong Rasananda -------------------------- Readers Write To Each Other -------------------------- Subject: Re: tropical fruit Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 22:10:40 -0800 From: "Jeff Earl" To: Richard Wanberg Dear Richard Wanberg in San Anselmo, CA Thanks for the reply... Sorry about my web page..... I canceled my subscription to one of my ISP's.....so went my web page! The Bananas I grow are believed to be mutated dwarf orinoco. I say mutated, because they do not act like published reports say they should act. I call the new var. " California Gold" 1. The trees are stout, not thin like the orinoco. 2. The tree fruits at 4ft to 6ft. 3. The tree fruits in an area, prone to freezes. ( The fruit carries through the winter, without loss in flavor, inspite of winter daytime high temps that sometimes fail to reach 40f, during foggy periods) 4. The fruit tastes as good or better than store bought fruit! The plant fruits, even after a cold snap burns the leaves. The plant regrows rapidly in the spring and sends out a flower in June or July. With the fruit ripening in Oct. I grow a Babaco Papaya on the north side of my house. ( They don't like Modesto's hot summer sun) Fruit that is on the plant during the winter will ripen in the spring....as long as the frost dosn't get it! Some people like the fruit's taste, others don't. ( I don't, but I grow it for it's Tropical look!) Macadamia grows well here in the San Joaquin Valley!( Var. Beaumont) Yes! They fruit! Every year! They seem to be as hardy as lemon trees. I dont see any frost damage untill the temp drops below 24f. ( Slight leaf burn) I have a tree that was froze to the ground in 1990 ( 18f) That came back and produced nuts 2 years later. The Guavas I grow are "psidium guajava' (Aka :tropical guava. ) The leaves on the plant will freeze at 28f. However the plant is a weed and it recovers fast. It fruits well in mild years( " El Nino".) Jeff Earl Modesto, Ca -------------------------- From: "Jeff Earl" To: Richard Wanberg Subject: attn :Richard re Tropicals Date: Sun, 15 Feb 1998 14:59:37 -0800 Hello Richard, I also live in N. California- Modesto. I grow and fruit many different types without frost protection... Inc. Macadamia, Avocado, Tropical guava, Banana and Jaboticaba. Visit my web page at...... www.thevision.net/jearl or email me jeff.earl@ccc-infonet.edu Jeff Earl Modesto, Ca ------------------------------- From: Richard Wanberg To: Jeff Earl Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 16:15:45 EST Subject: Tropicals Dear Jeff, Thanks for your E-mail! I wasn't able to access your web site at the address given or via Thevision's index of sites......still, I do believe I saw an article on you in CRFG Fruit Gardener some time ago. I have a myriad of questions and my experience is limited to arm-chair reading but I'll try to limit my questions. Bananas: If I remember correctly, you had an Orinoco Dwarf growing by your house. 1). What is the fruit quality like? 2). Was it completely defoliated in the winter? 3) What other cold & wind hardy varieties have you experimented with? Babaco: This was the first plant to go into my garden and it began fruiting last fall. The fruit reach 6-7" in length before cold weather stopped their growth. They've been hanging on patiently thru the winter. Can I assume that they will continue to ripen once warmer weather returns? I also started some Chamburro Papayas by seed (Carica pubescens). They reportedly have poor quality fruit but are hardy to 28F. The little quys wilted at the first light frost however (in a raised bed under an overhang). Any experience here? Macadamia: Has your macadamia fruited in Modesto? Tropical Guava: Are you referring to Psidium guajava or Psidium cattleianum as having grown in Modesto? Last but not least, any suggestions on inexpensive mail order nurseries for sub-tropicals? Iam looking forward to CRFG's next plant sale....that may be the ticket. Thanks in advance for your help. Regards, Richard Wanberg San Anselmo, CA ------------------------------- From: Kym To: Paul Subject: going bananas Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 04:23:33 GMT I don't know if you've ever have the chance to go to the "Going Bananas" farm, but I went last summer and took some pictures if you care. Between every row of bananas is a row of lychees. The best part is that you can taste banana varieties you've only read about like "praying hands" and "red dwarf" to comparison shop. So, just for fun, if you want to see what the farm looks like, just let me know! Kym (Florida) ------------------------------- From: jcubero@magicnet.net To: APARATMED@aol.com Subject: sweetsop pollenation Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 04:23:31 GMT We had an "expert" talk to our Tropical Fruit Club last year about the annona family and he said that you could freeze the pollen to use later...since you wouldn't have to hold onto the frozen pollen too long--a couple of days at the most, right? the pollen shouldn't go "bad" before you get to use it. It's also a matter of timing, our tree sex changover is definitely about 8am, so that's what time someone has to be out there with the little "sex" brush. Maybe you're out there too early or too late? Kym (Florida) -------------------------- Subject: Black Sapotes Date: Mon, 16 Feb 98 00:41:32 -0800 From: David To: Kevin Dear Kevin, I read your letter about black sapotes and I may be able to offer some assistance. I grow black sapotes and have been frustrated in that I can't seem to get them to sweeten up at all. My tree was touch and go for the first year. I live near Santa Monica, CA, and kept it covered in a frame built out of pvc with plastic sheeting over it during its first winter. I'm happy to say that the tree is now aobut 9 feet tall and covered with large (but insipid) balck sapotes. What part of the world do you live in? There are two common sources of yellow leaves; either a lack of nitrogen or a lack of iron. In a pot, I would stick to feeding it fish emusion or some other natural fertilizer. Also try iron sulfate. Not "Ironite." That stuff doesn't work. Iron sulfate works like a charm for yellow leaves on citrus. Let me know how that works out. David ------------------------ Subject: Banana Cold-Hardiness From: MBASF@aol.com To: Paul Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 16:35:43 EST Dear Paul, I thoroughly enjoyed your tropical agriculture web site on bananas and other bits of info from you in Rare Fruit News Online. I've recently moved to California, just north of San Francisco (Sunset zone 15, USDA zone 9) and am very interested in bananas which will both thrive and produce good guality fruit here. Just a few questions for you: You stated that you don't grow Orinoco bananas and that they grow (unaffected by cold) like weeds where you live. Is it the quality of the fruit which keeps you from growing them or just their ordinary reputation? Any experience with the following varieties: Cardaba, Brazilian, Ice Cream & Pisang raja. All have been praised as exceptionally cold hardy by various catalogs but I remain somewhat suspicious. A mature Rajapuri was completely defoliated by 3 consecutive nights of light frost while the 2 baby Ensetes at its side remained undaunted. Thanks in advance for any tips you might be able to throw my way. best regards, Richard Wanberg San Anselmo, CA -------------------------- Date: Wed Feb 18 11:14:34 1998 From: "Ricardo Barbosa" To: Oliver Subject: From Sapote to Pitanga Hi Oliver. I would like to thank you for the informations about "Sapotes". And: 1) Surprised me the way you became surprised with frost problems in Brazil. And I'll surprise you again and a little more. If I lived 50 miles West of where I live my problem would not be frost only, but it would be the snow that falls some days in winter. The southermost state of Brazil where I live is placed between 27 and 32 degrees South, and the town where I live is placed almot exactly on the 30 degrees South parallel line. If we consider the latitude as a first aproach for climate reference (and it is) and if you look to the US map you will see that the 30 degrees North line passes almost exacly over New Orleans. This means that we can expect the same climate for both N.O. and my home town if they are at the same altitude (as they are). This means too that the climate of the Florida State is expected to be warmer than the climate of the southermost state of Brazil. Microclimate deviations can occour due to altitude and lack of rains, but this works as a general rule. And the most important to a fruit collector that lives 30 degrees of latitude like me, and possibly like some of US collectors: I look for contacts with people who lives in regions located over (or near) the 30 degrees lines of the globe to exchange fruit trees. These trees, as a first aproach, would not present temperature adaptation problems. On the 30 degrees South line we have South Africa, Australia, and the South of Brazil, and on the 30 degrees North line we have South US, Moroco, Israel, Northern India, between others. 2) The biggest seven. You were right when you said Brazil is a huge country. Here you have the surface and population of the 7 biggest countries: Surface Population (,000,000 sq miles) (,000,000 inhab.) 1) Russia 6.59 147 2) Canada 3.85 25 3) China 3.69 1,133 4) USA 3.62 250 5) Brazil 3.28 150 6) Australia 2.97 15 US(*) 3.03 249.5 7) India 1.27 844 (*) Without Alaska 3) Fruit flies and Pitangas You said you will harvest your Pitangas as soon as possible because fruit fly infestation. First: I can tell you that the taste of Pitangas matured out of the trees will never be the same taste of Pitangas matured on the tree. Second: Here in Brazil the fruit flies infest the fruits very soon when they are still green, so, soon harvesting does not work here. We use fruit flies traps for Pitangas and for Cherry of Rio Grande. (Rio Grande do Sul is the southermost State of Brazil and is the homeland of both fruits. Small native Pitangas are very cold resistent. Large cultivars are more cold sensitives). You can find how to make the fruit fly traps in an old 1997 issue of Leo's RFNO. Best regards. Ricardo -------------------------- Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 13:33:47 PST From: Doron Kletter To: Linda Kincaid Subject: pink-fleshed apples Linda, Pink Pearl is an outstanding pink-fleshed apple variety. Have you tried it already? Doron -------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: Konosuke Subject: Hylocereus species Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 13:18:30 -0800 Hello Konosuke, A few quick notes on Hylocereus, which may or may not clear up your question in the RFNO. The common Hylocereus found around here is H. undatus. The fruit skin is red and the flesh is white. The flowers need to be cross pollinated. Another species that has been fruited in southern California is H. ocamponis. The skin and the flesh of this fruit are deep red. This plant is also in need of cross pollination, but is different in that it can take direct sun. A third species is H. polyrhizus. The skin is red and the flesh is white to pinkish. I do not know about it's pollination needs. There is another Cactaceae member worth mentioning--Selenicereus megalanthus. This fruit is yellow skinned with white flesh and is self fruitful. It unfortunately has spines on the skin of the fruit. I found the above information in Cornucopia by Steve Facciola and in a CRFG article by Dave Silber. All of the fruit listed are supposed to be good to eat, i.e. sweet and juicy. I have only tasted H. undatus. Hopefully this information gives you some direction for growing one species or another. Take care, Bob Holzinger -------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: David Subject: Orinoco bananas Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 13:05:42 -0800 Hello David, I read your question in RFNO about fruiting your 'Orinoco' banana. Just be patient, the 'Orinoco' bananas I grew years ago fruited between 10 and 12 feet, so yours should do something this summer. I have been told be a banana authority that bananas put out a set number of leaves then flower. You just have three feet of leaves to go. With any luck the fruit will ripen before the weather gets cool again, because that really slows the process down. Good luck! Best wishes, Bob Holzinger -------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 11:19:43 -0800 (PST) From: DAVID W VADER To: Holzinger, Bob Subject: Re: Orinoco bananas Bob, Thanks for your advice on my banana tree. The only problem is that I lost my leaves during a freeze. The trunk and insides are perfectly healthy and green. In fact a new leaf sheath is slowly coming out. Will the fact that my leaves are gone alleviate my chances for fruiting? The trees grow really rapidy once it hits March and we get in the 70's. Right now we are supposed to be in the mid 60's, but with the El Nino and rains we have only been in the upper 50's to around 60. We have not gone below 40 in a while, but hit 38 two days ago. Our average high for the year is 80 so we are uniformally warm except in the summer, when Vegas can get in to the 100s! I know my tree will grow rapidly soon, but like I asked before, will I be able to fruit? I have one tree in the front and tree in the back. Th eone in the back is facing south, so this one is a rapid grower. The one up front looks its best becase it is under a roof overhang that keeps it protected. I am planning to plant a Chinese dwarf, any advice for that? Well thank you so much. Also have you ever lost your leaves and produce fruit, and what is the climate where you are from? Sorry for the length, just excited someone can help me out. I am the only one growing banana trees in Las Vegas, and everyone thinks I am crazy for even trying, but I have had them for 2 years and they are beautiful! Thanks again! David, Las Vegas, NV -------------------------- From: Richard Wanberg To: Richard Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 11:32:04 EST Subject: subtropicals Dear Richard In the last RFNO you requested a lead on where to purchase Musa basjoo. Below is the least expensive source I know of: Tropic to Tropic Plants P.O. Box 1136, Pt. Roberts. WA 98281 Tel: (604) 943-6562 Fax: (604) 948-1996 ctc: Ray Mattei Plants start at $15 and come with complete instructions. I enjoyed 10 foot tall bananas in the summer months of Germany (zone 7) while ice skating on the frozen lake for weeks at a time in the winter. They have a catalog of other "cool" tolerante plants which would also do well in your area. Another excellent catalog for your zone is: Oregon Exotics Rare Fruit Nursery 1065 Messinger Road, Grants Pass, OR 97527 Tel: (503) 846-7578 The catalog is a gem! They don't sell Musa basjoo but just about everything else you can imagine. They are also in Zone 8a...right up your alley. Good Luck! Richard Wanberg San Anselmo, CA -------------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 15:10:16 -0800 From: Matthew Shugart Subject: High-density planting Some comments on Leo's reply to Dan Duprey's queries on high-density planting. Most of my deciduous fruit trees are planted in groups of three or four. I second Leo's point about ensuring that they be the same ultimate height. That can be done best by using the same or similar rootstocks. Most of mine are on Citation, although a few trees on pixie are included along with some Citation. I have a couple of groups that involve trees on Nemaguard or Lovell. Those two are similar enough that planting them together should be OK, but I would not mix Lovell and Citation, or Nemaguard and Citation. It could be done, but you'd be pruning the Lovell (or Nema.) trees so much more that it would probably not be worth it. My trees in such groups are usually 18-24 inches apart. Where I have four in a group rather than three, I will tend towards the 24 inches end of that spectrum, or even put one of them up to three feet from any other tree in the same group. I use a minimum of 8-10 feet between any one tree in such a group and any other tree in a nearby group. This sort of planting can be done for citrus or avocado, too, though I have only one citrus group (and it has only two trees). This practice is sometimes called "Backyard Orchard Culture." Dave Wilson Nursery has a very useful handout on how to do it. There are two documents that can be accessed from the following page: http://www.sonnet.com/davewilson/Ed.html Matthew Shugart ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 22:16:37 -0800 From: Sainarong Rasananda To: HMHausman Subject: Re: Florida longans [Relationship of fertilizer & bloom] HMHausman wrote: > Is fertilization necessary for instigating blooms, fruit set, > and/or fruit sizing? And if so what formulation and when should the > fertilizer be applied? Before going on to fertilization, it is important to remember that the time between harvesting and blooms is very short, only about five months or so. As longan generally have heavy crops, after harvesting, the trees are not in a very fit and healthy state. You have a pretty short period of time to bring the trees to a fit and healthy state. Many believe that this is the reason for the tendency to the biennial cropping phenomenon. This is not an easy task. Many people cannot do it. Frequent fertigation is SUPPOSED to help. Now to fertilization- As with most fruit trees, longans generally need the full complements of all the nutrients. Three nutrients deserve special mention. Nitrogen: after harvesting and pruning, you need to have longans grow very fast. So, a lot of nitrogen is required, otherwise longans will not grow fast enough. The trouble is that nitrogen encourages vegetative growth. So about a month or two before bloom, longans should have almost no nitrogen, otherwise you will get vegetative flush instead of blooms. The question is when to stop applying the nitrogen. In Thailand, at this moment, there is no scientific method, only experience. This is one of the hardest acts for us. Phosphorus: the academics keep telling us that there is absolutely no research evidence that a lot of phosphorus will stimulate blooms. However, most tree growers regularly apply foilar fertilzers with a lot of phosphorus about a month or so before blooms. Potassium: this stimulates production of carbohydrates, which is necessary for blooms, so the academics tell us. So they advise the application of a lot of potassium about a month or so before blooms. The tree growers here follow this advise. In brief, the academics advise the growers to to the carbon/nitrogen ratio high, carbon being carbohydrates. However, I attended a seminar recently in which a researcher told the audience that he tested many mango trees during blooming, and found no evidence that that mango trees which bloom have higher C/N ratio than those which do not. So, is this yet another unproven hypothesis? What is the truth? I do not know. I, however, can positively state that the longan harvest in Thailand this year will be very very very low due almost entirely to unfavorable weather conditions - it has not been cold enough. So, weather seems to be more important than fertilizers. A respected PhD tells me that he is sure there is a hormone which can instigate blooming in longan, and that one of these days he will find it. Fruit Set: in Thailand, we do not apply any fertilizers until a week after pollination has taken place. I heard of a case in which a grower applied fertilizers during the flowering period, and he lost most of his heavy crop. Fruit Size: about a week or two after pollination, when the fruit is about the size of the head of a matchstick, it requires more than normal amount of nitrogen. 100 days after pollination, it regularly needs increasing amount of potassium. The above advice is given by academics. However, the most important factor is regular and heavy watering throughout. The last sentence is me speaking from experience. If you want to hear more of my thoughts, please tell me. If anyone disagrees with what I write, you will be doing me a great favor by telling me. Have Fun. Sainarong ------------------------- From: Mario Lozano Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 09:47:23 EST Subject: Re: Thai Longans Dear Sainarong: Thank you very much for your reply. It does not seem like my longans are going to produce any fruit this year. I have three trees that are of fruiting size, including the one with the large leaves, subject of my question. Two of these trees are over 20 feet tall. I plan to prune them, topping them off at about 15 feet in July (which would be the time of harvest if they had fruit). Do you think that this is advisable, and would encourage fruiting next year? This year's wheather conditions here in Florida, and probably worldwide, have been to say the least unusual, lots of rain, with very few cool dry days. Our normal winter conditions are cool nights with very little rain and lower humidity. These conditions induce dormancy on Lychee and Longan trees, however, this year all of my trees, except for one Brewster Lychee which is now in bloom, have been growing all winter long. I hope we go back to normal winter weather patterns next year, and this naughty child (EL Nino) goes away for at least a few years. Best Regards, Mario Lozano -------------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 21:11:05 -0800 From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Mario Lozano Subject: Re: Thai Longans Mario Lozano wrote: > the longan tree has large leaves and is very ornamental. A friend > of mine tells me that when it fruits, I should get large fruits, his idea is > that large leaved longans produce large fruits. Does your experience > correspond with this? I have taken a look around and talked to various people. The concensus is that there are some longan cultivars which agree with this theory, but there are also a few which do not agree. So, maybe his theory is correct, but certainly not 100% correct. If the tree is healthy and well-fertilized, especially with nitrogen, the leaves will obviously be larger than an underfed tree. However, over-fertilization with nitrogen is undesirable, but you already know that. Sainarong Rasananda ------------------------------- Date: Fri Feb 27 07:34:30 1998 From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Mario Lozano Subject: Dormancy in winter for Lychee and Longan Mario Lozano wrote: Our normal winter conditions are cool nights with very little rain and lower humidity. These conditions induce dormancy on Lychee and Longan trees.... Mario, can you, or anyone else, elaborate on 'dormancy'? I am interested. I do not think that winter in Thailand is sufficiently cold to induce dormancy. The trees seem to be growing all the time - admittedly a little slower in winter -, and we sometimes get undesirable vegetative flushes in December or January. Is dormancy similar to hibernation in animals? Shall reply to pruning question later. Have fun. Enjoy yourself. Sainarong. ----------------------------------------- Extracts from NEWCROPS and Zingiber Lists ----------------------------------------- -------------------------- Sender:Discussion list for New Crops From: Konosuke Degi Subject:Re: dragon fruit Major variety of 'dragon fruit' belonged to Hylocereus undatus Haw till 1994. This species has white fresh. Jean Bourdeaut (CIRAD-FLHOR) introduced new two species into Vietnam in 1995. There are Hylocereus triangularis(yellow fresh) and H.ocaponis(red fresh). This is an article of TROPICAL FRUIT IN VIETNAM (Tropical Fruit Trees and Fruits). Konosuke -------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NIckSchaefer Subject:Pitaya = Dragonfruit? I recently bought a yellow pitaya (Hylocereus triangularis??) that was in bud. Despite only being a small plant in a 6 inch pot it grew a 13" stalk with flower in 10 days. The supporting stem began to wither slightly and turned a bit yellow. An 8" diameter white scentless flower opened during the night which I helped pollinate with a paintbrush several times thru the night. There were lots of small black ants on the flower but most of these seemed to be on the outside, not on the stigma or anthers. Its now 3 days since the flower opened and the flower stalk has shrunken quite dramatically. What's going to happen now?? Has anyone any experience with fruiting in pitaya? Do they have to be grown in partial shade? Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby NSW Australia -------------------------- Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 13:49:16 -0500 Sender:Discussion list for New Crops From: Ben Alkire Subject:Tropical germplasm and Cornucopia Dear NewCROP List Devotees, Two related topics for discussion: Our much-used Source Book for Edible Plants -Cornucopia - by Stephen Facciola, is now 8+ years old and many of the seed & germplasm sources are out of date. It seems that the book is no longer available. No one seems to know if a second edition (not a 3rd printing) is in the works; and new information about Stephen Facciola and Kampong Publications has been hard to come by. In the past, for tropical seeds we have often cited Southern Seeds (Florida) and Ron HurovUs (in California) as sources - but it seems that they are no longer doing business. 1. Does anyone on the list know the situation with Cornucopia? 2. At the NewCROP Center we get many requests for sources of tropical germplasm. Does anyone know some good current sources for tropical crop legume seeds, especially the lesser known ones? Advance thanks for any information concerning these subjects... Ben Alkire --------- Note: I heard that Stephen Facciola's excellent book has just been revised and will be available very soon, if not already. You probably should have this book! Leo ------------------------- Subject: Zan Moreno banana is a dwf Cavendish cultivar Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 08:29:33 -0500 (EST) From: Glenn Stokes VIA: zingiber@coollist.com Dear GPaul, The Zan Moreno is a dwarf Cavendish cultivar. Similar to the what is termed dwarf cavendish or dwarf chinese, but not same. Height is 5'-6'. Excellent fruit quality. Sincerely, Stokes Tropicals http://www.stokestropicals.com -------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Anna Whipkey Subject: Fourth National New Crops Symposium The following information is also available on the web at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/announce/symposium.html New Crops & New Uses: Biodiversity & Agricultural Sustainability November 8-11, 1998 Sunday November 8 Poster Session, Exhibits and Welcome Reception Reception speaker I. Miley Gonzalez, USDA, Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Concurrent AAIC Division Sessions Kenaf and Fibers, General Crops, High Erucic Oilseeds, Meadowfoam, Epoxy Oilseeds, Jojoba, Guayule Natural Rubber, and Oilseeds Monday November 9 Keynote Addresses: World Biodiversity Update Trends in Agricultural Biodiversity Vernon Heywood, University of Reading, England Strategic Opportunities in New Crops and New Uses Policy Challenges in New Crop Development Robert Myers, Jefferson Institute, Missouri Economics of New Crops vs. New Uses Donald Van Dyne, University of Missouri New Uses from Existing Crops Paul Caswell, Archer Daniels Midland, Illinois Commercialization of Genetically Engineered Crops William Hiatt, Calgene, California Biodiversity and Industry Opportunities Ornamentals: Where Diversity is King Abe Halevy, Hebrew University, Israel Herbals and Pharmaceuticals: Competitive or Complementary Dennis Awang, Mediplant Ontario, Canada Who will Commercialize New Industrial Crops John Gardner, AgGrow Oils, North Dakota Processes and Strategies in Commercializing New Crops Replacing Tobacco Barclay Poling, Coordinator, Specialty Crops, North Carolina State University Replacing Illegal Drugs Eric Rosenquist, USDA, Office of International Programs, Washington D.C. New Crops for Canadian Agriculture Ernie Small, New Crops Program, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa Tobacco Settlement Fund as Related to Crop Diversification Congressional Staff Representative Panel Discussion and Reception at Desert Botanical Gardens Perspectives on the Uses of Plant Introductions Non-Governmental Organizations View of Plant Germplasm Collections Gary Nabhan, Native Seed Search, Arizona Plant Intellectual Property Rights and Exchanges Neil Hamilton, The Agricultural Law Center, Drake University, Iowa Future of Plant Exploration Peter Bretting, USDA,ARS, Plant Introduction Station, Iowa Trends in Community Conservation Hope Shand, RAFI, North Carolina Tuesday November 10 Status of New Crops and New Uses (Two Concurrent Sessions) New Products from Renewables Paper Products and Absorbents from Kenaf Tom Rymsa, KP Products, New Mexico and Bo Buress, KenGro, Mississippi High Performance 4-cycle Lubricants from Canola Duane Johnson, AgroManagment, Colorado Flooring Wood for Transport Vehicles from Trash Trees Jack Jackson, EnviroComp, North Carolina Paraffin Enhanced Mesquite as Charcoal Replacement Doris Carter, Indian Creek Mesquite, Texas Fruit and Nut Crops New Arid Land Fruit Crops Yosef Mizrahi, Ben Gurion Univ. of Negev, Israel New Berry Fruits Chad Finn, USDA, ARS, Oregon New Temperate Fruits Ross Ferguson, Hort+Research, New Zealand Oilseeds and Industrial Crops: Industry Approach Latex Glove Industry Perspective on Hypoallergenicity Microflex, California Epoxy Oil from Vernonia for Paints and Coatings David Trumbo, S.C. Johnson Polymer, Wisconsin Vegetables and Nutriceuticals New Alliums and Their Relatives Michael Havey, USDA, ARS, Wisconsin New Vegetable Crucifers James McFerson, Tree Fruit Research, Washington New Solanums Charles Heiser, Indiana University Oilseeds and Industrial Crops: Genetic Approach The Future of New and Genetically Modified Oil Crops Dennis Murphy, John Innes Centre, England Transgenic Oilseeds Transition from Basic Research to Commercial Products: Michael Lassner, Calgene, California The Development of Novel Oilseed Crops Steven Knapp, Oregon State University Floral Crops New Cut Flower Crops Abe Halevy, Hebrew University, Israel New Protaceous Crops Ken Leonhardt, University of Hawaii New Arid Land Ornamentals Jimmy Tipton, University of Arizona Fiber and Energy Crops Overview of the Department of Energy Biomass Program Janet Cushman, Oak Ridge Nat'l Lab., Tennessee Switchgrass Project at Department of Energy Sandy McLaughlin, Oak Ridge Nat'l Lab.,Tennessee Agronomic Research on Fiber Hemp at Manitoba Jack Moes, Manitoba Agriculture, Canada Aromatic Spices and Medicinals Antidepressants: St. Johns Wort and Other Prozaics Varro Tyler, Purdue University, Indiana Immune Boosters and Antiviral Botanicals: Echinacea and Ginseng Dennis Awang, Ottawa, Canada Antimicrobials: Goldenseal Maurice Iwu, Bioresources Development and Conservation Program, Maryland Tuesday Evening Banquet Speaker Jackie Vieh, Director, Arizona Department of Commerce Wednesday November 11 Panel Discussions Registration $250 US before August 30, 1998. Includes Book, Sunday Reception, Monday evening Desert Botanical Gardens Reception, Tuesday Banquet, coffee and refreshment breaks. $280 US after August 30, 1998. Students $75 US before August 30. Make checks payable to AAIC. A registration form can be printed at this site http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/announce/symposium.html or contact the organizers at AAIC 1998 Conference c/o US Water Conservation Laboratory 4331 East Broadway Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85040-8807 View our Home Pages for conference and membership information and links to other sites. AAIC: http://www.aaic.org PUCNC: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop NUC: http://ag.arizona.edu/OALS/NUC/NUCHome.html >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - March 1, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online March 15, 1998 AKA RFN199803B.txt ------ Leo says: I MAY make supplements of the information contained in the NEWCROP webpages cited just below. Can I trust you to check them out for yourself NOW in the meantime? See if you don't find that at least some of them contain invaluable information. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-486.html Development of Cereus peruvianus (Apple Cactus) as a New Crop for the Negev Desert of Israel http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/V1-355.html Introduction and Domestication of Rare and Wild Fruit and Nut Trees for Desert Areas http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/newcrop_names.html New Crop Name Make-Overs; The same plants are known by several names. Index to Crops - Crops are listed alphabetically by genus and common name http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/indices/index_ab#A (A-B) http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/indices/index_cd#C (C-D) http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/indices/index_efghijkl#E (E-L) http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/indices/index_mnop#M (M-P) http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/indices/index_qrst#Q (Q-T) http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/indices/index_uvwxyz#U (U-Z) -------- From: Leo Manuel Subject: Rare Fruit News Assembly Message Board Let me tell you what I had in mind when I created the Rare Fruit News Assembly Message Board. If you don't know what I'm referring to, let me know and I'll send you the information. I thought that it might be an alternative to a chat room. It will in no way affect the way I distribute the newsletter. So, if you wonder whether you can afford to take time to go to the Assembly message board, just forget about it. I don't think you'll be missing much. So the newsletter continues and the Rare Fruit News Assembly Message Board is there in case you want to use it, but it won't affect the newsletter in any way that I can imagine. There have been about a dozen postings to the Rare Fruit News Assembly Message Board. So it will get some attention from some of you. Leo ------ What's in this issue? New Subscribers Seek Your Help Readers Have Questions or Comments Readers Write To Each Other Extracted From NewCrop List Extracted From Zingiber List ---------------------------- New Subscribers Seek Your Help From: Rob Thompson Subject: New Subscriber with question on fruiting Illama From: Lynne Des Rivieres Subject: New Subscriber, Canada, Wants Help In Indoor Rare Fruit Gardening From: Bruce Livingston Subject: New Subscriber, Hollywood, FL ----------------------------- Readers Have Questions or Comments From: Harry Hausman Subject: A lychee mystery From: Harry Hausman Subject: A lychee mystery continues. Can you help? From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Australian climate data site and What about same for US? From: "Ricardo Barbosa" Subject: Pitangas From: "Duryan Bhagat" Subject: cherimoyas From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Informal Importations ------------------------------ Readers Write To Each Other From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: Nick Schaefer Subject: Seeds, capulin cherry, etc. From: Nick Schaefer To: Bob Holzinger Subject: Foreign Imports From: Mario Lozano To: Sainarong Rasananda Subject: Re: dormancy in winter From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Mario Lozano Subject: Re: Pruning Longans From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Mario Lozano Subject: Re: More Thoughts on Pruning Longans From: Kym Javier Cubero To: Nick Schaefer Subject: paw paws From: Nick Schaefer To: DAVID W VADER Subject: bananas-How many leaves before fruiting? From: Nick Schaefer To: Tim Thompson Subject: Mangoes in Australia From: Nick Schaefer To: Tim Thompson Subject: Mango Varieties From: "George F. Emerich" To Leo & Duryan Bhagat Subject: Re: Wanna ship cherimoyas to New York City? From: Bert Dunn To: Connie Subject: lonicera edulis ------------------------------ Extracted From NewCrop List Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Acid in Carambola etc Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Ben Alkire Subject: Tropical Tree Seed Search Service Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: William Evans Subject: Re: Tropical Tree Seed Search Service Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Monstera maturity and seeds Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Re: Monstera maturity and seeds Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Doug English Subject: Re: Monstera maturity and seeds Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Re : Monstera and Seeds Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: "George \"The Grower\" Mannoe" Subject: Re: Cashew (Annacardium occidentale) Nut Question Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Jules Janick Subject: Re: Pitaya = Dragonfruit? Sender: Discussion list for New Crops To: Jules Janick From: Nick Schaefer Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Jules Janick Subject: Is dragon fruit called dragon eye or Longan? Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Jules Janick Subject: Re: dragon fruit Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Gerry Kregor Subject: Re: Pitaya = Dragonfruit? ---------------------------- Extracted From Zingiber List To: zingiber@coollist.com From: Keith Benson Subject: Banana Tissue Culture - Failed This Time! ----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- New Subscribers Seek Your Help From: Rob Thompson Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 22:43:56 EST Subject: New Subscriber with question on fruiting Illama hello Leo, My name is Rob Thompson i am from Whittier, california (13 miles south of Los Angeles.) I grow a small variety of fruits mostly usual stuff Longans, papaya , starfruit plus a few odd balls: jaboticaba, allspice, etc. please send me some past issues if you can and enter me as a subscriber. Has anyone been successful in fruiting Illama (a. diversifolia) in California? Thanks Rob Thompson ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 00:09:29 -0500 From: Lynne Des Rivieres Subject: New Subscriber, Canada, Wants Help In Indoor Rare Fruit Gardening Hello everyone, My name is Lynne Des Rivieres, I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (zone 4b) I'm an indoor gardener trying to branch out into unusual things. I envy those of you with warm weather and a long growing season. I've tried my hand at avocado, pomegranate, orange and lime with no major problem, but I'm sure that I could do better. I've had some trouble finding information that I can trust. The big wide web, has a lot of conflicting info. I would appreciate any information re above, concerning seeds, pollination etc... I'm also trying to start mango from seed, as well as cherimoya. I don't know anything about them at all. I look forward to hearing from you, Lynne ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 07:26:19 -0500 From: Bruce Livingston Subject: New Subscriber, Hollywood, FL Hello, I only found out about your newsletter last night, and I would very much like to begin receiving it. My name is Bruce Livingston, Hollywood, FL I am a professor with Broward Community College here, and my specialty is tropical fruit. I have an extensive collection of trees on my property, too numerous to list here. Each summer, after I finish teaching my tropical fruit class, I go on plant collecting trips to tropical countries. Lately I'm concentrating on southeast Asia. There are many new introductions to the United States, including new species and new varieties of species we already have, for which I am responsible. I am always happy to diseminate information through a newsletter such as yours, and am hoping to gain useful contacts and useful information. Thank you very much, and I look forward to reading this newsletter. Bruce Livingston ------------------------------- Readers Have Questions or Comments From: Harry Hausman Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 22:02:03 EST Subject: A lychee mystery Dear Leo: Thanks for your efforts in putting together another great news letter (3/98). Two years ago, I took a course in Sub-Tropical Fruit Culture at Broward Community College here in South Florida. The class took several field trips to private nurseries and gardens. Bill Whitman, a gentlemen in his 80's, who has devoted his life to fuiting rare fruits here is Florida, hosted a visit from our class. We were treated to a lychee he called Bosworth III. It was an average sized fruit with a marvelous flavor, firm juicy flesh, a small seed (not a chicken tongue) and the outside skin was kind of a rusty yellowish/greenish red (nothing like the flaming red of Brewster). We were told that this cultivar came from Australia. Since tasting this lychee, one of my friends and fellow classmates have been on a quest for this tree. We found it to be in the possession of only two other nurseries locally. The two were Zill's High Performance Plants in Boynton Beach, FL and Tree Tops Nursery on Pine Island, off the coast of Ft. Meyers, FL. Neither had it for sale. This week my friends and I went on a mini fruit tree safari and we visited Don and Katy Chafin at Going Bananas Nursery in Homestead, FL. They are developing quite an impressive lychee cultivar collection aside from an exqisite banana collection. When we asked about the Bosworth III we were told (after he consulted a reference book or set of notes) that the Bosworth III was the Australian name for the Hawaiian Kaimana lychee. Frankly, we were dumbfounded.....you see I greatly respect Don Chafin's knowledge on the subject but...........two things have left me wondering. The first is that I had visited another nursery in Homestead called Pine Island Nursery. The owner of that establishment had recently returned from Austrailia with many lychee cultivars, among which, she said were the Kaimana and the Bosworth III. In addition, I took the same class last year and when we visited Bill Whitman's house he had just added a new lychee tree to his collection. Previously he had the Bosworth III (which we had tasted) and a tree called The Emperor (which was his pride and joy). Guess what the new tree was????? Yes, the Kaimana. I guess if a retake the class again this year and we go to visit Bill Whitman and both trees fruit we may be able to solve this mystery. The only problem is, with the El Nino affected winter weather pattern very few Florida growers have any lychees. It has been too warm and too wet. So......perhaps there is a reader of this newsletter who has tasted these lychees side by side and who can put this mystery to rest. Is Kaimana and Bosworth III one and the same.....or not???? Best regards.......Harry Hausman ------------------------------- Date: Tue Mar 3 07:02:07 1998 From: Harry Hausman Subject: A lychee mystery continues. Can you help? Dear Leo: I wrote a few days ago about a my dismay and confusion about the relationship of the Kaimana lychee with the Bosworth III lychee. Tonight I attended the Broward County (Florida) Rare Fruit and Vegetable Council meeting and had the opportunity to discuss this confusion with Crafton Cliff. Crafton is a well known local fruit and plant expert who works at Four Fillies Farm, the home of Frank Smathers, Jr (this is ground zero for mango madness in the known universe). According to Crafton, the Kaimana and Bosworth III are different and distinct but......the Bosworth lll is also known elsewhere as the Kwai Mai Pink!! Is this another piece of the puzzle or more confusion?? I still don't know which. Hopefully, there is a reader who has tasted and observed these cultivars and can help me resolve this apparent conflict.. Awaiting help patiently.........Harry Hausman ------------------------------- Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 19:56:19 +1100 From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Australian climate data site and What about same for US? Hi Leo A couple of issues ago Darryl Clark echoed a question from Chris Coleman re world climate data. For Australia the main source is the Bureau of Meteorology http://www.bom.gov.au This provides maps and monthly averages of rainfall, min/max temps for many places across the country along with elevation, lat. and long. What's the best site for such data for the US (esp California and Florida)? Have a fine day Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby, Lat S 28deg 34min; Long W 153deg 31min New South Wales, Australia. --------------------------------- From: "Ricardo Barbosa" Subject: Pitangas Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 22:10:56 PST Hi Leo. You asked me about Pitangas and I will tell you what I observed about this matter. Native Pitangas. The native Pitanga trees we have in the South of Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul State, from 27' to 32' South) is: Tree: small, 9 to 12 feet Leaves: small, 1" long maximum Fruits: small, from 1,0 to 1,5 cm. red or dark red colored almost rounded, almost not grooved very sweet when mature I never saw worms inside them, even when growing wild These trees are very cold resistant because they grow wild all over the State. In some regions of the State the temperature reaches -5'C and it snows. Domestic & bigger cultivars. I never saw big Pitangas growing wild around here. The big cultivars that grow here were always planted by human hands. When I lived in Rio de Janeiro, 900 miles North from here, I saw a wild Pitanga tree with red-orange fruits that had more than 1" diameter, and were deeply grooved. The tree, the leaves and the fruits of these cultivars are bigger. The temperature in Rio de Janeiro rarely drops below 15'C in Winter. I have some trees of big cultivars. As I could observe the fruits never reach 1" diameter and are easily attacked by insects. It seems that the attack to the fruit is done very soon, just after the flower, because the green fruits present scars very soon. These scars deform the fruit as it grows. I do not know what kind of insect does this. It could be the fruit fly, but I never saw a worm in a Pitanga. It seems to me that the big cultivars are best adapted to warmer climates. But I can be wrong because I am not a botanical. I am just a chemical engineer that begun to collect fruit trees it does less than one year. About metallic taste. I think it is related to cultivars and to maturing. The big cultivars I have are never so sweet as the native ones. They are more eye pleasants than mouth pleasants. About seeds bartering. Seeds bartering is the main reason (not the unique) of being in contact with your group. The problem with Pitanga seeds is that the Pitanga trees are no longer fruiting. The Summer is going and the wild cultivar is the first to fruit in December/January. Best regards Ricardo PS: Chat(1) and to bart(2). Two new words to my English vocabulary. that's good. ------------------------------------ From: "Duryan Bhagat" Subject: cherimoyas Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 18:25:02 -0500 Hello - My name is Duryan Bhagat. I found your page through a search for Cherimoyas on Infoseek. I am a HUGE fan of the cherimoya and am truly addicted. When I was five years old my parents took me to India where I was introduced to the "custard apple." I loved them and have been waiting for the cherimoya to take off in this country so they would be more readily available. I am looking for a distributor who might be able to ship me a case of cherimoya. I currently live in New York City and the price of the fruit from the gourmet fruit shops here is outrageous. As their season is limited, I am currently paying the blackmail price but am interested in circumventing the middle man. Is there anyone you know who might be able to help me? Perhaps, yourself? I am more than willing to give you any information you might need and a credit card if this form of payment is acceptable. I can be reached at duryan@juno.com. I look forward to hearing from you. Duryan Bhagat ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 21:52:30 +1100 From: NickSchaefer Subject: Informal Importations Hi Leo Does the newsletter have a policy on moving plant material around the globe without the necessary quarantine inspections? I couldn't help being concerned at Bob Holzinger's suggestion to import seeds from Brazil without the necessary clearances. I know that bureacracy can be a pain in the backside but the kind of informal importation advocated by Bob can have devestating consequences. Even 'legitimate' importation is potentially risky. In Australia we have had a prickly pear infestation that covered thousands of square kilometers, blackberries, camphor laurel, giant sensitive plant, lantana, madiera vine etc etc. Even some crop plants can get away and in our area we have coffee, guavas and elswhere pitanga is becoming a problem. In Florida I believe australian paperbarks or tea-tree are beginning to choke up the Everglades. We need to exercise extreme caution when we introduce new plants. Plants which have become properly introduced as crops hopefully will not have also brought in diseases or pests. Again the risks/consequences with backdoor methods are enormous. Maybe this issue has been discussed before, but I think any idea of undeclared test importation needs to be strongly repudiated. Nick Schaefer - Mullumbimby NSW, Australia PS I love the newsletter. PPS When are they going to get rid of those eucalypts in wild west movies? ------------------------------- Readers Write To Each Other From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: Nick Schaefer Subject: Seeds, capulin cherry, etc. Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 11:58:35 -0800 Hi Nick, I got your comments on importation without permits and I agree wholehartedly with you when it concerns plants and plant material other than seeds. I do not and will not import plants because I don't have the proper post-quarantine facility for them. I do have an importation permit for seeds and do use the system so far. My concern was with people in the system who withhold seeds when they are perfectly legal. Ben Poirier has had some problems with the USDA and a supervisor admitted to him that seeds that were withheld were legal and that the field imspectors made a mistake. Granted one shipment of seeds will not make or break a person's collection, and I do grow only for myself, but I have a problem with people in the system not knowing the rules. I plan to work with the rules as long as the system does the same. Enough about philosophy, now about plants. You asked about some trees to try in your area and I have a few comments on them. The pawpaw (A. triloba) seems to be successfully grown only in the cooler areas of California. Whether it's the lack of cold chilling or just the daytime high temps the pawpaw has not been a success for anyone in So. Calif. The capulin cherry, on the other hand, should do well for you as long as you have two varieties to cross pollinate. My large tree has flowered profusely but only set a few fruit. I have since learned that a cross pollinator will solve this problem. As for cherimoya, the people in Florida do not have much luck fruiting cherimoya and I suspect that the lower temperatures in So. California are needed for fruiting. Cherimoya is a wonderful fruit, so go ahead and give it a try, but don't bet the farm on it fruiting. There are several very knowledgable people here that could tell you more about these fruits and some are on the mailing list for RFNO. Hopefully they give you a response also. Take care, Bob Holzinger ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 15:21:03 +1100 From: NickSchaefer To: Bob Holzinger Subject: Foreign Imports Hi Bob Thanks for your experience with Capulins, A. triloba and Cherimoyas. Pawpaw seeds are not going to pose a problem once I find a supplier, an inspection this end is enough. For Capulins I'm going to need a phytosanitary certificate from the US. In our case whole plant importation requires quarantining for two years. This probably explains why we have hardly any cultivars except for the major crops. BTW If you have any friends down in Brazil who have any knowledge of madeira vine AKA potato vine (Anredera cordifolia) I'd appreciate hearing. This plant is perhaps the greatest threat to the few remaining remnants of rainforest in NE NSW. CU later Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby NSW, Australia ------------------------------- From: Mario Lozano To: Sainarong Rasananda Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 23:33:07 EST Subject: Re: dormancy in winter Sainarong: Your comparison of hibernation in animals, such as bears, etc. with dormancy in fruit trees is very accurate. By the way, dormancy can be induced by various factors or combination of factors, which may affect some plants more than others: 1. Cold or cool temperatures. 2. Change in daylight hours, (in Miami winter days are shorter than summer days). This effect diminishes as you get closer to the equator and increases as you go further from it. It may not be a significant factor in Thailand given your proximity to the equator. 3. Drought conditions. There may be other conditions that affect individual trees, such as injury to the roots or the major limbs, etc. I hope this helps. Best Regards, Mario Lozano ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998 17:22:26 -0800 From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Mario Lozano Subject: Re: Pruning Longans Mario Lozano wrote: I have three longan trees that are of fruiting size, Two of these trees are over 20 feet tall. I plan to prune them, topping them off at about 15 feet in July (which would be the time of harvest if they had fruit). Do you think that this is advisable, and would encourage fruiting next year? Mario, assuming that that this is one question only, the short answer is 'no'. The longer answer is much more complicated. No doubt, you are aware that the academics now consider pruning such an important topic that they decide to call it 'tree canopy management' instead of mere 'pruning'. For my answer, I shall assume that you are interested in pruning as a mean of getting longan to flower the coming year. I would like to add what my comments here are based on experience and talking to others only, not on any research results. Yes, we have noticed that pruning tends to encourage flowering in the next season. If the foilage is too thick, then thinning the foilage encourages blooming. The branch terminals where the blooms appear should be cut or snapped off, even if pollination does not occur; this encourages blooming. However, some people noted that very heavy pruning can delay blooming by about one year. This includes cutting off a few large trunks of a tree; reducing the diameter or height of the tree considerably. It could be that the tree does not have sufficient time to recover. Some say that if you apply regular frequent fertigation, the tree should have sufficient time to recover, even from heavy pruning. Do not take what I say as gospel truth. Nobody knows for sure yet. The thinking appears to be 'if you can bring the tree to a proper healthy state about a month or so before blooming time, that should be perfect'. However, weather appears to play an overiding role on blooming. If you decide on heavy pruning, I would advise pruning in May (at the same time as lychees), this would enable three vegetative flushes before winter sets in. The tree should have a better chance of recovering. Good Luck whatever you decide to do, and do not forget to tell me the result. Sainarong Rasananda ------------------------------- Date: Fri, 06 Mar 1998 09:24:43 -0800 From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Mario Lozano Subject: Re: More Thoughts on Pruning Longans I have discussed this subject with my friends, and they provided the following thoughts. OUR longans have a strong tendency to break off at the v-junctions between the branch and the stem or other branch (unlke mangoes and other trees). If you prune off about 5 feet or more, the new branches may be very small compared to the supporting branches or stems. As longans have pretty thick foilage and heavy crops, the new crop may break out when the fruits are almost ripe, which would be a disaster. Others say that if you prune very heavily and leave only a few feet of main stems and branches, the new stems and branches should be strong enough not to break off, provided that you select the new branches carefully. I myself have seen a neighbor prune off a 7-year-old tree to only 4 or 5 feet. That was 3 years ago. The new branches and stems seem to be doing very nicely. Of course, the purpose of very heavy pruning is not to get longan to flower the coming year. All the above are merely opinions If ypou do not try, you will never know for sure, I say. Most of my experience are based on our local Ee Daw cultivar which, in some aspects, may be quite different from Kohala, which I, unfortunately have never seen - I would like to get hold of one, though, just for experience. More thoughts on longans later. Enjoy yourself; have fun! Sainarong Rasananda ------------------------------- From: Sainarong Rasananda To: Mario Lozano Subject: paw paws Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 03:40:12 GMT Here's an old site I keep around because people are forever convincing themselves here in Orlando that they can grow paw-paws. http://www.bhglive.com/gardening/pawpaw/pawpaw.html Hope you have better luck! Kym (Florida) ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 21:56:03 +1100 From: Nick Schaefer To: DAVID W VADER Subject: bananas-How many leaves before fruiting? Hi David My name is Nick Schaefer and I grow bananas commercially in Mullumbimby, north eastern NSW, Australia. In the right environment bananas are a rather simple plant to look after. The main rule is to keep them growing as fast as possible ie lots of sunlight, warmth, water and nutrients (esp nitrogen and potassium eg urea, or chook manure if your organic). If you can keep them coming along fast they can out grow many disease and pest problems. However as Nevada is not a commercial banana growing area most of these should be absent any way, unless they've been brought in on the plant material. I'm not quite sure of the exact number, but basically a banana plant will throw a bunch after it has produced a fixed number of leaves. Its possible in your case that your plants are still too 'young'. If they are still making new leaf growth it should be just a matter of waiting. A healthy plant should have at least a dozen or so green leaves. If new growth is not occurring from the throat and no flower is emeging (and the 4 conditions above are met ) then you may have a problem. If you have just come thru winter its possible that the growing point (meristem) has been damaged by cold. Another question in your desert environment would be the possiblity of toxic levels of salts in the soil. BTW when you do get a bunch thru make sure you protect it from excessive sunlight - banana fruit and inflorescence stem can be badly damaged by high temperatures coupled with high solar radiation; so cover both the bunch and inflor. stem with insulated reflective material. Finally keep the number of suckers to one or two, otherwise the resulting bunch on the parent stem will be small, fingers not properly filled, and flowering possibly delayed. By the way, the banana is actually a giant herb, it is not woody and therefore not a 'tree', the whole plant is referred to a 'stool' and the main stem is actually composed of leaf bases wrapped around each other and so called a 'pseudostem'. Good growing Nick ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 22:36:59 +1100 From: NickSchaefer To: Tim Thompson Subject: Mangoes in Australia Hi there Tim We have about 50 large mango trees that were planted long before we arrived on our property in Mullumbimby. They are Bowens (= Kensington Pride). They grow on a very steep rocky slope and in good years produce abundant excellent fruit. We do have a slight problem with 'jelly seed' ie when very ripe the flesh around the seed becomes very soft. As most of us here like our mangoes underdone this does not matter - but it is a negative. It has been suggested that in some areas this is related to low calcium levels. On average Mullumbimby has a good climate for growing mangoes ie a dry spring with wet summer during fruit formation. Traditionally we start picking mangoes on 26 Jan (australia day). This last season has been absolutely abyssmal for mangoes (but phenomenal for lychees which we also have) - from what I've seen on the web the whole world's weather patterns have been back to front : for us a moist mild spring and dry summer - el nino, who knows! We are not far from the coast (12km) and are not really in the most ideal location for mangoes. Dedicated growers have plantations somewhat further (70km) west and so avoid more leaf/fruit disease such as anthracnose + later season. Southern California seems like an excellent spot if you can get the water and heat. We are pretty well on the southern most limit for good commercially reliable mangoes; of course in the right site individual trees have been grown 1000km further south. Unfortuneately for us our mangoes were planted with a norherly aspect and so ripen about 2 weeks too early, we just miss out on the end of season kick up in prices (approx 2x). We are still thinking of putting in more mangoes - but in australia we are hooked on the flavour of Bowens (or similar such as Irwin or R2E2), other later varieties such as Kent, Keitt, Palmer and Tommy Atkins don't command the same respect or price. Another problem is that mango plantings have increased astronomically (esp in the Northern Territory and QLD) over the last decade and with the down turn in the asian economies we are likely to be in for a real glut, at least in the short term. I'm sorry I can't really help you on varieties, but if you find one that is bowen flavoured, anthracnose resistant and late maturing let me know. Research is being done on new varieties, if I come across any I'll pass it on. Cheers Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby NSW Australia ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 21:46:40 +1000 From: Nick Schaefer To: Tim Thompson Subject: Mango Varieties Hi again Tim We are thinking of planting more mangoes on our plantation and were interested in a variety known as Julie. Apparently this comes from the West Indies, but is also grown in Mauritius and Indonesia. It is a small (~250g) mango and not really considered for commercial plantings in Australia as it also lacks the Kensington flavour. Nevertheless we think it may have potential for the organic market as it is resistant to both anthracnose and bacterial black spot. I have discussed this with the Queensland Dept Primary Ind. but they feel that Julie is more suited to the tropics and will bear inconsistently at our location. Have you had any experience with the variety Julie in subtropical environments? Or can you suggest another variety that might be grown without spraying? Regards Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 08:44:43 -0800 From: "George F. Emerich" CC: Duryan Bhagat Subject: Re: Wanna ship cherimoyas to New York City? Leo: I am not anxious to ship Cherimoyas although I have done it as a special favor for special people. They are so perishable that I ship "next day" UPS to the East coast and that runs the cost (not including my labor) up so much that it is about the same as the retail price there. I wonder what Mr. Bhagat ate in India called "custard apple". Most places that is a name for Atemoya and seldom for Cherimoya although not unheard of. Some places call Annona Squamosa "custard apple" but more often it is called "sugar apple". Most people from the tropical lowlands of Asia are familiar with Sqamosa and confuse it with Cherimoya. Of course, in my prejudiced opinion, Cherimoya is by far the best of all of the Annonas. George ------------------------------- From: Bert Dunn To: Connie Subject: lonicera edulis Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 08:21:22 -0500 hi connie if edulis is the 'blue' you are looking for, i bought mine at Golden Bough Nursery, Marlbank, Ont regards bert dunn, zone 4B, Ontario ------------------------------- Extracted From NewCrop List Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Acid in Carambola etc Does anyone know whether the major organic acid in Carambola (Starfruit - Averrhoa carambola) is oxalic acid? I believe Carambola belongs to the family Oxalidaceae. If so to what extent are the fruit toxic? Years ago I read that lychees contained an amino acid analog for I think leucine. If so what are the consequences for the consumer. Is it incorporated into proteins and what's the effect on biological activity? More generally does anyone know of good references for biochemical composition of foods (eg essential amino acids, types/concentrations of soluble sugars, organic acids, cholesterol, fatty acids etc)? Or is this kind of info still scattered across the literature? Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby NSW Australia ------------------------------- From: Ben Alkire Subject: Tropical Tree Seed Search Service Dear List members, This URL might be useful to some new crop specialists: I've found a company Hawaii that offers a rare seed search service (not free, at US$50 for three species). If they can't find a source for you in one year, the money is refunded. http://agroforester.com/agfor/seedlocator.html "this service is primarily for researchers, collectors and professionals who are looking for hard-to-find seed collections" Does anyone have any experience with this company and their services? Sincerely, Ben Alkire Purdue New Crop Center ------------------------------- From: William Evans Subject: Re: Tropical Tree Seed Search Service Trying to locate seed????????? try (it's free) http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov:90/pmc/plant_info.html This site is c/o USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and probably isn't as exotic as the other site, however, it is free and very helpful. Was able to locate Acacia mangium seed from a number of suppliers "down under" Gday Bryan Evans ------------------------------------- From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Monstera maturity and seeds The season for Monstera deliciosa is just beginning here, and to my mind this is one of the most tropically exotic tastes. When I first tried them I found I ended up with a tongue like a pin cushion, because of the many tiny needles embedded in the flesh. I believe (but may be wrong) that these are raphides - small elongate spindles of calcium oxalate. The plants had been growing on calcareous soils in a much colder temperate region than where I now live. Here in Mullumbimby the soils are far more acid (~pH 4.5 CaCl2). Does anyone know the reason why some Monsteras contain these needles and others not? I would like to propagate Monstera from seed. But what does the seed look like and where in the fruit is the seed(s)? Last year I ate half a monstera fruit and threw the rest out the window. Now there is a baby Monstera plant growing. Has anyone had any experience in growing Monstera from seed? -- Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby, Lat S 28deg 34min; Long W 153deg 31min New South Wales, Australia. -------------------------------- From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Re: Monstera maturity and seeds I've only tried Monstera from a greenhouse here, but I was told to cut the fruit with several inches of stem and stand it in water for a couple of days before eating it to remove the acid crystals. It did seem to work as I didn't have any problems with crystals in the fruit. The plants here were always started from cuttings, since even a short piece of stem with one leaf could be rooted very easily, just by planting it. Many people grow the vine as a houseplant without ever knowing it produces fruit. (the plant is usually sold as giant split-leaf "philodendron", folks) Lon --------------------------------- From: Doug English Subject: Re: Monstera maturity and seeds Monsteria seed occurs sporadically in segments and is round, hard and easily recognised, but not every fruit has seeds, and only two or four occur in fruit that do. I thought that only unripe segments have crystals? We let the fruit sit until the green "cap" parts drop to indicate ripeness and then use a fork to remove the ripe segments up to the section that is not ripe - it might take three days to eat a whole fruit. The amount of oxalic acid could be a worry because it can combine with calcium in blood and the calcium oxalate crystals filtered through the kidneys can damage kidney tubules. The calcium oxalate crystals in the fruit, as such, are probably not a concern, but I am not sure how they are digested. I was also interested to hear comments regarding oxalic acid in Fivecorners (Starfruit, Carambolas). I thought that the major acid in these fruit was oxalic. The possibility of a slow toxicity from calcium oxalate destroying kidney tubules is a major concern. It is a fact that about 66% of kidney tubules can be lost before any symptoms are evident - ie too late. So far there have been no postings to this subject. Regards, Doug English Smithfield Veterinary Surgery Cairns ---------------------------- From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Re : Monstera and Seeds Thanks Lon and Doug. I have just found six hard, greenish, ~5mm seeds in one of 2 monstera fruit, the other fruit was completely barren - exactly as you described. All seeds are now safely planted. Regards Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- From: "George \"The Grower\" Mannoe" Subject: Re: Cashew (Annacardium occidentale) Nut Question This may help you to start out, but may not be the final word. Cashew=Annacardium occidentale. The fruits are harvested ripe or allowed to fall from the trees and the nuts collected fruim the fruit. The nuts are outside of the fruit or hang from the bottom of the fruit.The fruit cashew apple,itself is astrigent edible and can be preserved. Watch out when hanling it, it contains indelible oils which may stain fabric permanently Nuts are dried in the sun and or on barbeque. After this the nuts are roasted in the shell (just like peanuts). After roasting the nuts are shelled, by hand, and the testa which are the edible part, collected for consumption. The yield of nuts per tree can varie from a couple of punds upto 100lbs. Approximately 120 trees per acre, when mature may yield upto a 1000 kg of nuts. Cashew's native range is mexico-peru the amazone basin and the guyanas and it is interesting to find cashew in Africa where I hope it may be an exellent tree for intercropping or mixed cropping. Cashew is also very draught resistant, grows best on sandy soils with 100-400 mm precipitation. If you need more detailed information please let me know, i can mail that to you or directly to the Sisters. George Mannoe. ------------------------------- From: Jules Janick Subject: Re: Pitaya = Dragonfruit? For information on pitaya check Horticultural Reviews 18:291 (Cacti as Crops by Mizrahi, Ned and Nobel.) and Reproductive Biology of Cactus Fruits Crops. I suggest you contact Yossi Mizrahi mizrahi@bgumail.bgu.ac.il for information. Jules Janick -------------------------------------- To: Jules Janick From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Pitaya I recently bought a yellow pitaya (Hylocereus triangularis??) that was in bud. Despite only being a small plant in a 6 inch pot it grew a 13" stalk with flower in 10 days. The supporting stem began to wither slightly and turned a bit yellow. An 8"diameter white scentless flower opened during the night which I helped pollinate with a paintbrush several times thru the night. There were lots of small black ants on the flower but most of these seemed to be on the outside, not on the stigma or anthers. Its now 3 days since the flower opened and the flower stalk has shrunken quite dramatically. What's going to happen now?? Has anyone any experience with fruiting in pitaya? Do they have to be grown in partial shade? Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby NSW Australia ------------------------------- From: Jules Janick Subject: Is dragon fruit called dragon eye or Longan? Is dragon fruit called dragon eye or Longan? no. dragaon fruit is sometimes called pitaya. Jules Janick -------------------------------------- From: Jules Janick Subject: Re: dragon fruit Also info is on newcrop website http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop under pitaya etc. Also check two articles in Horticultural Reviews 18: 291-346 (1997). Jules Janick -------------------------------------- From: Gerry Kregor Subject: Re: Pitaya = Dragonfruit? Yes, Pitaya do have to be grown in partial shade. I think that the Israelis are using 60%. Last year I travelled to Israel and visited with Yossi Mizrahi's research group. They are doing some fascinating work on production systems, breeding and fruit quality of a range of cacti. I think that they are the "world experts" in this area. They are growing several species of Hylocereus, Selinicereus, Cereus and Opuntia. Apart from Yossi Mizrahi (who is very busy), You might try Avinoam Nerd or Yossi Mouyal. By the way Avinoam Nerd is coming to Australia for sabbatical at the University of Queensland, gatton College in the second half of this year. I am sure that he would like to get out and about to meet cacti growers in Australia, so send me your contact details and I will keep them on file for when he arrives. Gerry Kregor University of Queensland, Gatton College ---------------------------------------- Extracted From Zingiber List To: zingiber@coollist.com From: Keith Benson Subject: Banana Tissue Culture - Failed This Time! Zin-listers Well - the experiment was a bust. I did not get any shoot developement though the meristems I had placed intoculture turned green and plumped up. I will be shelving the project for a while (I am moving to CA) but hope to find someone with practical experience at UC Davis when I get there. If I can't, I will make a go of it again this summer and will keep the list informed as to my progress. To date I have only spent about $120, and have had minimal contamination of my cultures - therefore I think anyone will be able to do this at home with little expense. I think my biggest problem is that I am not trimming the meristems correctly. When things are up and running I hope to post pics and instructions to the webpage. I doubt it will ever come close to the commercial operations - they make 100,000's of plants for pennies, but producing a few clones of interesting varieties to trade with others is a reasonable goal - and there would be no disease transmission!! Keith Benson DVM >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - March 15, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online April 1, 1998 AKA RFN199804A.txt ------What's in this issue?------- New Subscribers Seek Your Help Readers Have Questions or Comments Readers Write To Each Other From Discussion list for New Crops -------------New Subscribers: Can You Help Them?--------------- From: Barry Densa Subject: New Subscriber Out For Fun and Profit! From: Subrata Paul Subject: New Subscriber in Rochester, New York From: Dan & Katri Snyder Subject: New Subscriber, San Diego, Seeks Advice From: Anthony Granatelli Subject: New Subscriber Asks: Lychee in Santa Barbara, Possible? From: David Harles Subject: New Subscriber, Oroville CA, Wants Pecan Tree From: "Marcio Enrique Valenzuela Pastor" Subject: New Subscriber, Honduras, Wants Mangosteen Advice/Help From: Jody Haynes Subject: New Subscriber, Miami; Look Where She Works! From: Alberto Hauffen Subject: New Subscriber, Highland CA, Seeks Your Help From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: New Subscriber - FL ------Readers Have Questions or Comments--------- Subject: http://www.gate.net/~santol/index.html From: Bruce Livingston From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Rare Fruit News Online is on its way - Why? From: Dan Hemenway Subject: Any Good Florida Mulberries? From: "Helga and Bert Dunn" Subject: asimina triloba From: Harry Hausman Subject: A lychee mystery From: Harry Hausman Subject: A lychee mystery continues. From: coskona@aloha.net (Roger Coggburn) Subject: kaimana means diamond in Hawaiian From: Bill Lady Subject: Assembly Site Inactivity From: Kym Cubero Subject: rare fruit assembly From: Harry Hausman Subject: Lychee mystery solved!! From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: New Publication From: Leo Manuel (Withdrawn at request of Doreen) Subject: Mycorrhizal Fungi: http://www.tgn.net/~doreen/fungi.htm Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Cherimoya varieties From: "George F. Emerich" Organization: Emerich Gardens Subject: Re: Cherimoya varieties Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Gail Newcomb Subject: Re: Cherimoya varieties From: Naly Nguyen Subject: Rose Apples; Possible In San Jose, CA? From: Clement Subject: Rare Fruit News Assembly Message Board From: Norm Rohrabaugh Subject: Assembly Rare fruit news - Unused? From: sainarong Subject: Price of fruits in thailand -------Readers Write To Each Other--------- From: Doron Kletter To: Harry Hausman Subject: Re: A lychee mystery From: MBASF To: lfenter@om.com.au Subject: Climate data source for the USA From: Doron Kletter To: HMHausman@aol.com Subject: Re: Lychee cultivar answers From: Harry Hausman To: Doron Kletter Subject: Lychee cultivar answers From: Sainarong To: Kym Cubero & Greg Daley Subject: Getting lychees ana longans to flower From: kletter@IMPACT.xerox.com (Doron Kletter) To: Sainarong Rassanda Subject: Experimental Thai Longan in CA From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: Duryan Subject: Cherimoyas From: kletter@IMPACT.xerox.com (Doron Kletter) To: Sainarong Subject: Re2: Experimental Thai Longan in CA From: Sainarong To: Doron Kletter Subject: Re: Experimental Thai Longan in CA From: DAVID W VADER To: NickSchaefer Subject: Re: bananas From: "Ben Poirier" To: Bill Burson Subject: waterlogged potted plants ---Discussion list for New Crops --- From: NickSchaefer Subject: Re: Living Mulch for Crops and Trees From: Eligio Bruzzese Subject: Weeds used as a replacement, or mistaken for vegetables From: Nick Schaefer Subject: Cashews - Figure of Merit? From: "George \"The Grower\" Mannoe" Subject: Re: Cashews - Figure of Merit? From: NickSchaefer Subject: Pitaya/Hylocereus/DragonFruit from seed? From: "Robert H. Faust" Subject: Re: Pitaya/Hylocereus/DragonFruit from seed? From: NickSchaefer Subject: Chocolate Pudding Plant From: NickSchaefer Subject: Tree Tomatoes From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Re: Tree Tomatoes From: Gail Newcomb Subject: Re: Living Mulch for Crops and Trees From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Re: Living Mulch for Crops and Trees From: Gail Newcomb Subject: Re: Tree tomatoes, C. betacea, 'Tamarillo' From: Barry Densa Subject: Macadamia nuts grow well in S. Florida?? From: Margaret Basile Subject: Re: Chocolate Pudding Plant - What Is It? From: Margaret Basile Subject: Re: Cashews - Figure of Merit? From: NickSchaefer Subject: Ilamas From: "Robert H. Faust" Subject: Re: Ilamas Subject: Re: Ilamas From: Margaret Basile ----------------New Subscribers: Can You Help Them?---------------- Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 10:47:06 -0800 From: Barry Densa Subject: New Subscriber Out For Fun and Profit! We live in Loxahatchee Groves in Palm Beach County, Fla. We've been here almost three years, after seven on Maui -- boy, do I want to grow protea. We live on 5 acres, about three of which is waiting to be put to good use. It's been cleared, but I have to dig a pond and use the fill to raise the land; it's low and holds water in the summer. For a long time we've been hearing how more and more Floridians are taking to growing Lychee nuts. And we've been intrigued. It's supposedly a perfect ornamental and cash crop for Florida, though I'd like to find out where I can read some actual figures. And then we'd also like to try our hand at carambola, passion fruit, mango, macadamia nuts, there's Hawaii again, and maybe even kiwi. So to that end, I've been cruising the web, picking up sites, like yours and learning everything I can about becoming a tropical fruit farmer. I'm currently a real estate agent. I've got a ton of questions but I'll wait to ask until I can't find the answers by flipping what web pages I find. But I'd glady accept any voluntary advice. Thanks, Barry A. Densa ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 12:47:00 -0600 From: Subrata Paul Subject: New Subscriber in Rochester, New York I am Subrata Paul in Rochester, New York (USA) I have citrus and pomegranate right now, I'm growing a grapefruit seedling right now. I am just interested to learn what others have grown from seeds and how they have dealt with growing things in a nontraditional area. Subrata Paul ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:44:57 -0800 From: Dan & Katri Snyder Subject: New Subscriber, San Diego, Seeks Advice I'm interested in your newsletter. The name is Dan Snyder and I live in the Pacific Beach area of San Diego. I joined CRFG last month, so you might see me at the San Diego chapter meetings. The fruit I currently grow: Feijoa - Pineapple Guava Passion Fruit Citrus (Satsuma Mandrin, Blood Orange, Lemon, Lime) Apple (Anna, Golden Dorset) White Sapote (McDill) Carambola - Star Fruit Banana (Dwarf Orinoco, Mysore) Grapes Plants I might like to try: cherry (warm weather variety of course) Yellow Passionfruit Tropical Guava Jabitocaba Grapefruit - maybe grafting a branch onto one of my trees A good street tree that also provides fruit or nuts Dan & Katri Snyder ------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 17:19:20 -0800 From: Anthony Granatelli Subject: New Subscriber Asks: Lychee in Santa Barbara, Possible? I am Anthony Granatelli, from Santa Barbara, CA. I am interested in all rare fruits, including all of the ones you grow. I grow all off these on my property in Santa Barbara. What has been the history of the Lychee tree in California? What California cities have producing trees? I live in Santa Barbara. I have a small Brewster Lychee (3 feet). It seems happy, but is growing very slow. What is the probability that it will reach production? Anthony Granatelli ------------------------------- Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:19:27 +0000 From: David Harles Subject: New Subscriber, Oroville CA, Wants Pecan Tree I would like a sample of your newsletter, I would like passion flower caerulea. I have one Australian bush called nitre bush that is supposed to be so good that you wont stop until every fruit is gone. Also I have 3 guavas and a few assorted seeds local and exotic. I would like a pecan that gives huge nuts. I live in Oroville, Calif. also have three guavas will cataloge and send if you want like to have all your back letters, also wish to say hello. Dave ------------------------------ From: "Marcio Enrique Valenzuela Pastor" To: "Leo Manuel" Subject: New Subscriber, Honduras, Wants Mangosteen Advice/Help I am Marcio Valenzuela, from San Pedro Sula, Cortes, HONDURAS I'm looking for information on mangosteen. Cultivation, harvest, maintenance and so forth. Does anyone out there work with garcinia mangostana? we currently have 6 trees but ive germinated something like 25-35 seeds from our last harvest we have some problems with the yellow resin stuff and we would like to have some sort of mangosteen farm management (from planting and caring to harvesting and exporting) if at all possible can you help? sincerely, marcio valenzuela ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 10:23:07 -0500 From: Jody Haynes Subject: New Subscriber, Miami; Look Where She Works! Please add my name to the Rare Fruit News Online e-mail list. My name is Jody Haynes. I live in Miami, FL and work at the Tropical Research & Education Center in Homestead, FL, which currently houses germplasm collections of mangos and mamey sapote. We must have several dozen species/varieties of rare fruits--I learn something new about them every day. Although I only have a Keitt mango in my yard now, I am interested in a lot of rare/tropical fruits. Thank you for your time and consideration. Jody ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 11:50:52 +0000 From: Alberto Hauffen Subject: New Subscriber, Highland CA, Seeks Your Help Hi Leo, I saw your page in the links section of California Rare Fruit Growers Association webpage and I want to receive your newsletter. I want to grow the following trees: Avocado (any kind), mango, papaya and tamarind. Thanks for your help. Alberto Hauffen ----------------------- Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 06:39:16 +0000 From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: New Subscriber - FL I would be interested in receiving your newsletter I am Margaret J. Basile, of Southwest Ranches, unincorporated Broward County, Florida (zone 10) I have about 60 trees, inc several cvs lychee, macadamia, avocado and mango, also jaboticaba, black sapote, white sapote, mamey sapote, mamaey americana, bunchosia, surinam cherry, grumichama, guiana chestnut, malabar chestnut, etc. Also collect artocarpus and spondius, various. My neighbor collects eugenias. Margaret Basile ------------------------------ Subject: New Subscriber, Puerto Rico Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 19:55:45 AST From: "Brett Portman" I am Brett Portman, living in San German, Puerto Rico I am interested in growing Durians, Mangosteens, Jaboticaba, araca-boi Brett Portman ------------------------------------Readers Write---------------- Subject: http://www.gate.net/~santol/index.html Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 23:49:59 -0500 From: Bruce Livingston Leo Manuel wrote: > Bruce, will you write a letter for publication in the next newsletter > describing the contents of your webpage(s)? I believe it will be of interest > and utility to the readers. > > Sincerely, > > Leo Sure.... Dear Readers, I'd like to introduce my new web page, called Tropical Fruit Home Page, obviously devoted to tropical fruit. I believe that this website is quite comprehensive, and takes a somewhat unique approach. Many websites devote much space to descriptions of fruits. My pages will link you to those sites, but I decided not to simply put a web site online that repeats what is already available. My web pages concentrate more on the practical side of growing tropical fruit trees, and I hope all of you will take a few minutes to have a look. This page is new, and I am open to suggestions as to what else to include, links that you feel ought to be included, articles you would like to see, etc. The website can be found at the following URL: http://www.gate.net/~santol/index.html I hope to see you there. Bruce Livingston ---------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 08:13:28 -0800 From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Rare Fruit News Online is on its way, Why? For some reason, the message that the Rare Fruit News is on the way always arrives AFTER the News has already arrived. I have no problem with that, but it seems redundant. Just thought you'd want to know. Lon Rombough (Newly updated web site at http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom) [Leo's note: Most of you receive your newsletter with no problems, but almost every issue will miss someone, and the best way to catch that someone is to tell them that it has been sent. If you get the notice that it's been sent but don't receive it, you will probably want to tell me so I can send it again.] -------------------------- From: Dan Hemenway Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 17:58:46 EST Subject: Any Good Florida Mulberries? I'm looking for someone in the Florida area who has a good selection of mulberry cultivars. We are in North Central Florida, but any mulberry that makes it in any part of Florida is probably good here. I guess we can expand that to the Gulf region in general, from Eastern Texas on over as the climate is fairly similar. I'm also interested to hear if anyone has any experience with mulberries and flooding. We have most of our open land flooded this year and with global warming continuing to increase, and the rate of increase itself increasing, I see little liklihood that this will be a rare occurance. The present degree of flooding is at least a 50 year maximum. In general, as a matter of fact, I'd like to hear about fruit (and nuts, I suppose, if any) that tolerate flooding. We are marginal for tropical stuff, but of course with all the water around we don't get frosts when others nearby do. No frost on any banana variety, for example this year. (It is our first year here.) To put the increase in water table in perspective, our taro got drowned out. We are looking for a reliable source of mayhaw seed, also. Dan Hemenway P.S. A list by topic of all Yankee Permaculture titles may be found at http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/ypc_catalog.html ------------------------------- From: "Helga and Bert Dunn" Subject: asimina triloba Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 07:50:11 -0500 hi john i obtained seeds from frank henny, 229 reaville rd, flemington., NJ., usa regards bert dunn, ontario canada zone 4b ------------------------------- From: Harry Hausman Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 22:02:03 EST Subject: A lychee mystery Dear Leo: Thanks for your efforts in putting together another great news letter (3/98). Two years ago, I took a course in Sub-Tropical Fruit Culture at Broward Community College here in South Florida. The class took several field trips to private nurseries and gardens. Bill Whitman, a gentlemen in his 80's, who has devoted his life to fuiting rare fruits here is Florida, hosted a visit from our class. We were treated to a lychee he called Bosworth III. It was an average sized fruit with a marvelous flavor, firm juicy flesh, a small seed (not a chicken tongue) and the outside skin was kind of a rusty yellowish/greenish red (nothing like the flaming red of Brewster). We were told that this cultivar came from Australia. Since tasting this lychee, one of my friends and fellow classmates have been on a quest for this tree. We found it to be in the possession of only two other nurseries locally. The two were Zill's High Performance Plants in Boynton Beach, FL and Tree Tops Nursery on Pine Island, off the coast of Ft. Meyers, FL. Neither had it for sale. This week my friends and I went on a mini fruit tree safari and we visited Don and Katy Chafin at Going Bananas Nursery in Homestead, FL. They are developing quite an impressive lychee cultivar collection aside from an exqisite banana collection. When we asked about the Bosworth III we were told (after he consulted a reference book or set of notes) that the Bosworth III was the Australian name for the Hawaiian Kaimana lychee. Frankly, we were dumbfounded.....you see I greatly respect Don Chafin's knowledge on the subject but...........two things have left me wondering. The first is that I had visited another nursery in Homestead called Pine Island Nursery. The owner of that establishment had recently returned from Austrailia with many lychee cultivars, among which, she said were the Kaimana and the Bosworth III. In addition, I took the same class last year and when we visited Bill Whitman's house he had just added a new lychee tree to his collection. Previously he had the Bosworth III (which we had tasted) and a tree called The Emperor (which was his pride and joy). Guess what the new tree was????? Yes, the Kaimana. I guess if a retake the class again this year and we go to visit Bill Whitman and both trees fruit we may be able to solve this mystery. The only problem is, with the El Nino affected winter weather pattern very few Florida growers have any lychees. It has been too warm and too wet. So......perhaps there is a reader of this newsletter who has tasted these lychees side by side and who can put this mystery to rest. Is Kaimana and Bosworth III one and the same.....or not???? Best regards.......Harry Hausman ------------------------------- Date: Tue Mar 3 07:02:07 1998 From: Harry Hausman Subject: A lychee mystery continues. Can you help? Dear Leo: I wrote a few days ago about a my dismay and confusion about the relationship of the Kaimana lychee with the Bosworth III lychee. Tonight I attended the Broward County (Florida) Rare Fruit and Vegetable Council meeting and had the opportunity to discuss this confusion with Crafton Cliff. Crafton is a well known local fruit and plant expert who works at Four Fillies Farm, the home of Frank Smathers, Jr (this is ground zero for mango madness in the known universe). According to Crafton, the Kaimana and Bosworth III are different and distinct but......the Bosworth lll is also known elsewhere as the Kwai Mai Pink!! Is this another piece of the puzzle or more confusion?? I still don't know which. Hopefully, there is a reader who has tasted and observed these cultivars and can help me resolve this apparent conflict.. Awaiting help patiently.........Harry Hausman ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:19:24 -1000 From: coskona@aloha.net (Roger Coggburn) Subject: kaimana means diamond in Hawaiian Only comment I can add is that kaimana means diamond in Hawaiian. The tree is the best here in Kona, Hawaii. Roger Coggburn ------------------------------- From: Bill Lady Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 22:49:50 EST Subject: Assembly Site Inactivity Hi, Leo: I am very surprised there is no activity on the Assembly site. Perhaps not enough people know about it yet?? I think it's a great idea, and hope it picks up soon. Regards. Bill Lady ------------------------------- From: Kym Cubero Subject: rare fruit assembly Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 15:25:44 GMT I started to post on the assembly but it won't let me without an email address. There's no way I'm posting my email address anywhere on the internet---I get spammed enough. So, if that can't be fixed, I'll just be reading it not posting there. Sorry. Kym (Florida) ------------------------------- From: Harry Hausman Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 22:56:33 EST Subject: Lychee mystery solved!! Dear Leo: My confusion about the lychee cultivars Kaimana, Bosworth 3, and Kwai Mai Pink has been overcome. Several of your readers wrote me to advise that the Kaimana and the Bosworth 3 were indeed separate and distinct. However, it does appear that the Kwai Mai Pink is the same as the Bosworth 3 I received a totally unsolicited call today from Don Chafin from Going Bananas. It was his comments that started this whole lychee mystery. He apparently went back and rechecked his notes or other sources and advised that his original statement to me had been erroneous and that the Bosworth 3 was, in fact, the same as the Kwai Mai Pink. This was further verification of what your readers had written to me. This was just a common mistake, an apparent mis-read of his notes. The folks at Going Bananas are generally very reliable on the issue of correct ID of fruiting plants. They have a great and respected reputation in this regard. Of course.....they are still only human! Anyway, mystery solved......thanks!! Regards, Harry ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 16:21:06 -0800 From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: New Publication Doreen Howard and I are assembling a web site as a means of gauging interest in a new publication we want to start. It will incorporate, among other things, use of unusual or underused plants, emphasis on soil flora, as well as elements of sustained agriculture, and more, but for home gardeners. We need feedback and are looking for financial support as well. For a view of the web site (which is still under construction) go to http://www.tgn.net/~doreen/ Lon J. Rombough http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom ------------------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 05:53:53 +0000 From: Leo Manuel Subject: Mycorrhizal Fungi: http://www.tgn.net/~doreen/fungi.htm Mycorrhizal Fungi: http://www.tgn.net/~doreen/fungi.htm The quoted material has been removed, at the request of Doreen. ------------------------------- Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Cherimoya varieties Does anyone have information on the following cherimoya varieties (fruit quality, cultural peculiarities, synonyms etc): Fino de Jete; Spain; Balwin; Deliciosa; Anderson; Andrews; Bronceada; Burtons Favourite; Campa; Contra; Loma; Mossman; Reretai. I can't find them listed at CRFG. Thanks Nick Schaefer, Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 10:18:15 -0800 From: George F. Emerich Emerich Gardens Subject: Re: Cherimoya varieties Nick: This is an interesting list of 14 cultivars of which I have some knowledge of only 5. I don't believe that any of the other nine have ever been registered with any US entity (CRFG, Avocado Society, or several Horticultural Societies). The five with which I any familiarity are: Fino de Jete, Deliciosa, Spain, Bronceada and Loma. I grow the first two. Fino de Jete is the principal cultivar of the Spanish Cherimoya industry (probably the world's largest) and in my opinion is very nearly the best of all cultivars. It is a very smooth fruit, larger than average, Conically shaped, with a high high sugar content. The Deliciosa is rough fruit and generally modest in every way. Our interest in it is as a possible source of a cold tolerant gene. It is said that many years ago, out of large collection at UCLA, it was the only survivor after a severe freeze. Spain is a cultvar which is said to have come from Majorca and is thought to have been lost in the transfer of the collection from Westwood to South Coast in the 1950's. There are a number of trees around with that name which are probably erroniously labeled. The only thing I know of Bronceada is that it is one of the principal cultivars grown in Chile. Loma is in the South Coast collection and beyond that I am totally ignorant. The South Coast Annona collection (Univ. of Cal. South Coast Research and Extension Center, Irvine, CA) contains 80 trees representing 33 cultivars including 5 Atemoyas which we believe is largest collection in the continental US. It contains most of the cultivars which have been registered as well as some unregistered ones. The following is a listing of the cultivars which are presently included in the collection: CULTIVAR UNITS 1 AFRICAN PRIDE*-----1 2 BAYS---------------3 3 BIG SISTER---------1 4 BOOTH--------------5 5 BRADLEY*-----------1 6 CARTER-------------2 7 CHAFFEY------------6 8 CONCHA LISA--------3 9 COOCHIE ISLAND*----1 10 DELICIOSA---------1 11 ECUADOR-----------1 12 EL BUMPO----------2 13 FINO DE JETE------2 14 FLORIDA*----------1 15 KNIGHT------------1 16 LINDSTROM*--------1 17 LISA--------------2 18 LOMA--------------2 19 LUCIDA------------3 20 McPHERSON---------5 21 MIRA VISTA--------1 22 NATA--------------2 23 ORTON-------------4 24 OTT---------------3 25 OXHART------------3 26 PIERCE------------7 27 SABOR-------------2 28 SALLMON-----------2 29 SANTA ROSA--------2 30 THOMSON-----------2 31 VILLA PARK--------2 32 WHALEY------------2 33 WHITE-------------4 TOTAL---------------80 * ATEMOYA I hope this is of some help to you. George [Leo's comment: George Emerich supervised a cherimoa-taste contest among various cultivars a few weeks ago. I'm hoping he makes available the findings for the edification of cherimoa lovers all.] -------------------------- Discussion list for New Crops From: Gail Newcomb Subject: Re: Cherimoya varieties In our NZTCA Fact Sheets we have listed several of your named varieties as part of the over forty being trialed by NZ DSIR which is I think now part of HortResearch. In April we are attending the ACOTANC conference in Nelson so should be able to get more up to date information for you then if you wish. HortPages are on the Internet but users have to be registered. Gail NZTCA Branch Secretary ------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Mar 1998 16:47:05 -0800 From: Naly Nguyen Subject: Rose Apples; Possible In San Jose, CA? Hi, My name is Naly. I'd love to plant a rare fruit tree in my backyard in San Jose, CA. I saw the list of trees that you had in your backyard. The one which surprised me was the rose apple. Is it easy to grow ? There are so many kinds in Asia. What kind do you have it ? And where do you get the tree ? Do you have the picture of it ? Thank-you for your response, Naly. --- Leo Manuel responded: It's easy to grow Rose Apple trees in Southern California, but I don't know whether it's possible in San Jose. Leo --------------------------- Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 19:41:28 +0800 From: Clement Subject: Rare Fruit News Assembly Message Board Hi Leo, Your News Assembly Board is a great way of getting information into one web page. I don't see any problem with advertisement. Anyway keep it up. You're doing great. Clement Teng ---------------------------- Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 05:21:25 -0500 From: Norm Rohrabaugh Subject: Assembly Rare fruit news - Unused? I thought that the question and answer board at assembly was a great idea, but for some reason it seems to have lasted only 2 days. Is no one is interested or there is some other problem with the system. I enjoy your bi-monthly newsletter, but also think there is a need for this daily communication. Norm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 09:37:32 +0700 From: sainarong Subject: Price of fruits in thailand Here are the current prices of some fresh fruits in Thailand: Name Market Price Remarks (US$LB)(US$@38Baht) Tangerine 0.35-0.53 Out of season Guava 0.29-0.35 All season Rose Apple 0.47-0.53 end of season Banana 0.47-0.56/a comb All season Watermelon 0.47-0.56/fruits All season Longans 2.15-2.39 Out of season Grape 1.20-1.79 Beginning of season Coconut 0.12-0.18 All season Mango 0.48-0.59 Beginning-middle of season If you have time, take a look at the website below for details of Thai fruits. http://www.ku.ac.th/AgrInfo/fruit/ Sainarong ----------------------------Readers Write To Each Other--------- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 11:12:25 PST From: Doron Kletter To: Harry Hausman Subject: Re: A lychee mystery Harry, Yes, I believe your second message is accurate: 'Bosworth 3' is from Australia and is also known as 'Kwai Mai Pink'. Based on a bit of research I've done (not so long ago), it is also true that it is *not the same* as Kaimana/Emperor. I have a young 'Bosworth 3' myself, and it is in flower at this time. You should know that while the 'Kwai Mai Pink' is considered to be of excellent flavor, it is a rather shy bearer. The tree is moderately vigorous and adaptable, with fruit best described as bright red on a yellow background (hence 'pink'). Leo has distributed a supplement about the Lychee in Australia that has some relevant information. Let me know if you need more info on it. Doron -- (Sunset zone 16, San Mateo, CA) ------------------------ From: MBASF To: lfenter@om.com.au Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 16:07:22 EST Subject: Climate data source for the USA Dear Nick, I just got the recent RFNO and saw your request for climatic data for sites in the USA. The best source I've found so far is the National Climatic Data Center at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ From this home page you can connect to info on both California and Florida. Good luck! Richard Wanberg San Anselmo, CA ------------------------------- From: Harry Hausman To: Doron Kletter Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 20:13:55 EST Subject: Lychee cultivar answers Doron: Thanks for your E-mail confirming that the Bosworth 3 and the Kwai Mai Pink are one and the same. You noted, however, that they are distinctly different than the "Kaimana/Emperor." Are you saying that the Kaimana and Emperor are one and the same?? They are being sold here in Florida as two different cultivars. Thanks......Harry Hausman ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 18:36:33 PST From: Doron Kletter To: HMHausman@aol.com Subject: Re: Lychee cultivar answers Harry, I agree with the local Florida folks; According to my notes, the Kaimana and Emperor are two different cultivars. I was merely trying to say that they are both different than the 'Kwai Mai Pink' which I thought you're interested in. Doron ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 09:07:01 +0700 From: Harry Hausman To: Doron Kletter Subject: Getting lychees and longans to flower Discussing this topic makes me recall a very pertinent comment by Malcom Frick of Croptech, Australia. My experience, observations and study have led me to concur wholeheartedly with his comment which is reproduced below: Quote: Biennial bearing is a huge problem everywhere in that type of cop. Australia grows a lot of lychees (a very close relative) and some longans. The problem of biennial bearinng is evident here also. At a rrecent lychee conference held near here, the discussion on fertiliser programs and, irrigation timing and tree management was discussed and it was evident hat there were a lot of different ways of manageing lychee trees with different areas and growers recording very good results, somtimes using totally opposite managment strategies. Biennial bearing stems from a combination of irrigation, nutrition, climatic factors and tree canopy management. To obtain a consistent yield, it is important to get a balance between the level of flowering and fruiting, and vegetative growth. If you have aa year with a very large fruit load, then the tree tends not to store as much carbohydrate in its limbs (reduced vegetative growth) and there may be a problem with reduced fruit size also. The lack of fruit size is a factor of not enough stored nutrients and insufficient uptake of required nutrients (eg potassium). This will also tend to lead to a reduced flowering in the following year due to the reduced storage of carbohydrates. Unquote: If anyone has any comments whatsoever, I (and many others) would love to hear them. Sainarong ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 09:58:21 PST From: kletter@IMPACT.xerox.com (Doron Kletter) To: Sainarong Rassanda Subject: Experimental Thai Longan in CA Dear Mr. Sainarong Rassanda, In an article published in the Jan/Feb issue of the Fruit Gardener (the CRFG bi-monthly magazine), Mr. David Silber of the Papaya Tree Nursery reported that an experimenter in Whittier, CA, has planted a few longan cultivars including 'Biew Kiew', 'Sri Compoo' (Chompoo?), and 'Bai Dum' to see how well they perform under local conditions. In this article, Mr. Silber reports that in the past season he was invited to test a few fruit from the three years old 'Bai Dum' tree. The fruit was described as slightly smaller in size than the frequently planted 'Kohala', but with a much richer taste. Mr. Silber concludes that more experimentation is needed to try out the new Thai varieties and learn how consistently they perform in southern CA. Thought I should let you know about this promising report, as well as to confirm that at least the few Americans who had the opportunity to taste both Thai and local cultivars agree the Thai are much better tasting. Perhaps the poor longan image can be much improved with the introduction of these better cultivars. Best Regards, Doron ------------------------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: Duryan Subject: Cherimoyas Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 15:49:02 -0800 Hello Duryan, I read your note in the Rare Fruit News Online and called the largest shipper of cherimoyas here in California, namely Cal Tropics. They do not take mail orders, but do ship twice a week to Hunts Point Produce Market in New York City. Possibly you could work out a deal with this market if you bought a couple of boxes at a time and shared them with friends. I have found that cherimoyas will keep in the refrigerator a couple of days when they have just turned soft. By the way, you didn't say how much the "high price" was that you had to pay in your local market. In California where the fruit is grown it's not uncommon to see the fruit sell for $4-5/lb in the supermarkets. Of course, I buy my fruit much cheaper in the local farmers' market, where the usual price is $1.50-2.00/lb. But as George Emerich said, I would be hesitant to send fruit in the mail, since they are so fragile. Good luck, Bob Holzinger ------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Mar 1998 09:18:35 PST From: kletter@IMPACT.xerox.com (Doron Kletter) To: Sainarong Subject: Re2: Experimental Thai Longan in CA Dear Mr. Sainarong, I should thank you first, for my Lychee tree is blooming for the first time after I followed your advice to put under water stress and withold fertilization. I have looked into the issue of importing plant material, and it appears the US regulations require import permit and quarantine for two growing seasons (which would be two years for the Longan). However, seed import, while subject to inspection, is permitted at any time. This is why seed is easier to deal with, but may take a long time to fruit. Given this encouraging report, I think the introduction of successful Thai cultivars may well change the public opinion about the longan, which in turn will lead to more research, which will eventually benefit all of us. One success story has already happend in the case of the Kiwi introduction from New Zealand not so long ago. BTW, Why is Bai Dum no longer grown in Thailand? The report seems to indicate it has superior taste over the local Kohala. Doron ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 17:33:35 PST From: Sainarong To: Doron Kletter Subject: Re: Experimental Thai Longan in CA Thank you for the info. I very much appreciate it. You have given me an idea. Maybe I should try to introduce Thai longan trees to the US. BTW, Bai Dum, which means Black Leaves, is no longer grown here. Sainarong ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 14:07:54 -0800 (PST) From: DAVID W VADER To: NickSchaefer Subject: Re: bananas Nick, Hey it is me David from Las Vegas, NV. My bananas are unrolling new leaves VERY rapidly now and I am excited. It has been in the 80's the last few days so the trees are loving it. All my trees are in bloom, all my citrus. The guavas are getting new buds, I was upset because a late winter wind storm's wind completely defoliated them. The trees are blooming and showing signs of new growth, very happy. Spring is here and the weather is great, mid 80's and low 50's for lows. How is the weather there? Warming up? Well I am ready for those addresses of the banana suppliers in North County, San Diego. You said you had them, right? I am going down there on the 6th-8th of April and plan to check out any tropical nurseries or spots in North County, Escondido, Vista etc, and would like the addresses. I am really interested in banana spots. I already have a friend in Vista who runs a guava farm on Osborne called Sri Siam, very informative guy. I have been to Exotica, nice place to look around, but VERY pricey!!! I plan to check out those 2 places too, maybe get a papaya tree from there. I would really appreciate it if you could send me the addresses for any interesting places in North County. I would appreciate it if you could CC the e-mail to my other address at PEPSICOY@aol.com., as well as send it to the current address. Thanks a lot, tell me how your trees are doing! David -------------------------- From: "Ben Poirier" To: Bill Burson Subject: waterlogged potted plants Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 15:26:49 -0800 Hi Bill This is a late response to the Feb. newsletter, but I just got around to checking it all out! I also use a varied mix of potting soils, incorporating compost and horse manure compost,particularly on the larger plants in 5,7&15 gal pots. I find that all potting soils (including Supersoil) are seriously lacking in perlite which gives it water and air penetration and drainage. I seldom have the" water retention" problems you mentioned with the addition of generous amount of perlite. I can't say exactly how much I add, but just till it looks right...but here is an example: I also find Supersoil lacking in peatmoss, so when I am plant seedlings or rare plants I start them off in a mix of three parts Supersoil, one part peatmoss and two #3 coffee cans of perlite mixed in a 15 gal pot. Large bags of perlite can be purchased from Aztec perlite in Escondido. Hope this helps. Ben Poirier -------- Discussion list for New Crops -- From: NickSchaefer Subject: Re: Living Mulch for Crops and Trees Leo Manuel wrote: > I've heard that various plants are useful as a living mulch, and some, as > clover or other legumes, feed the tree or crop nitrogen. In theory it sounds > great. Has anyone been doing it for long enough to pronounce it a success? Leo, the effect of mulches, living, non-living and synthetic has been studied for many years now. I don't think there is any one simple answer as it is a truly multi-dimensional issue. A few years ago a trial was performed in our area on the effect of a leguminous ground cover crop on bananas. Banana productivity was actually less where a 'living mulch' was used. The cause for this was not ascertained but this kind of finding is not unusual. Competition for either water or nutrients or change in soil temperature can be factors. Similar findings are often found in intercropping situations where one species is grown with another (usually a legume). These kind of results are sometimes overlooked by permaculturalists - but again it all depends on the other boundary conditions - will additional water be supplied thru irrigation, fertilizers added, in what season/climate will the crop be grown, what planting density etc. Sometimes peripheral effects need to be considered. For example one suggested cover crop was pintos peanut, but some Macadamia growers believed this would encourage rats. On steep slopes ground covers can be more slippery and this was seen as a negative by some banana workers. Also what is the primary aim of growing the cover crop - in our case it was to reduce erosion and if effective could outweigh losses in harvest over the long term. Legumes are often believed to bring benefits to nearby crops thru Nitrogen fixation. Usually however this only comes when the legumious plants are turned in and used as a manure. The contribution to nitrogen uptake by a tree crop from nearby growing legumes is more problematic. It's a long time since I've looked at this but my recollection is that it's pretty small. If anyone has a different view I'd like to hear about it, particularly if you're a professional working on this topic. The problem is that complex issues like this can only really (start to) be answered by scientifically trained people with the help of a good statistician. Also, we mustn't expect just a single answer. An old book that covers some of the issues is Soil Conditions and Plant Growth" by E.W.Russel, published by Longman. Nick Schaefer, Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ---------------------------------- From: Eligio Bruzzese Subject: Weeds used as a replacement, or mistaken for vegetables Hello to all, I am a weed scientist working for the State of Victoria, Australia. An emerging issue is the introduction into Australia of weedy species which are mistaken by some migrant communities for closely related vegetable species which they traditionally use in their native country. Current issues are: 1. Alligator weed (Alternanthera phylloxeroides) being used by the Sri Lankan community as a replacement for Alternanthera sessilis (Mukunuwenna) 2. The recent introduction of Amaranthus dubius probably mistaken for Chinese Spinach (Amaranthus tricolor) which is used by several Asian communities. Does anyone have information on similar introductions/substitutions. Any information will assist us to predict the potential introduction of new weeds. Thank You El Bruzzese ------------------------------- From: NickSchaefer Subject: Cashews - Figure of Merit? Does anyone know what the latitude extreme is for open plantings of cashew. I've always assumed that cashew (Anacardium occidentale) was strictly tropical although I read (Popenoe) that they can be grown in southern Florida. I realise that topography, aspect etc are important, but just how far from the equator can they be grown and fruited. regards Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------ From: "George \"The Grower\" Mannoe" Subject: Re: Cashews - Figure of Merit? Cashew is extremely sensitive to frost, even more than avocado and mango. In its original "center of diversity" it is a lowland Tropical plant ranging from southern mexico to the Amazone basin, Peru and Carribean. George Mannoe. ------------------------------- From: NickSchaefer Subject: Pitaya/Hylocereus/DragonFruit from seed? Greetings I recently bought some red pitaya fruit and am interested in trying to grow these crawling cactus plants from seed. Does anyone know what is the most suitable medium and conditions for doing this? On moistened paper tissue at 25C the tiny black seeds seem to germinate within a few days. I've transferred some of these seedlings onto potting mix, but am not sure what would be the best substrate, nutrient light conditions. Does anyone know what the situation is in nature? Thanks Nick Schaefer, Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ----------------------------- From: "Robert H. Faust" Subject: Re: Pitaya/Hylocereus/DragonFruit from seed? In Hawaii pitaya grows fine in our lava rock with a small amount of organic matter, just lava rock will work, drainage is important, they always grow in lava rock in Kona, never from seed ,always from stem cuttings. Robert H. Faust Ph.D. Agroecologist Faust Bio-Agricultural Services, Inc. Honaunau, Hawaii 96726 U.S.A. -------------------------------- From: NickSchaefer Subject: Chocolate Pudding Plant Chocolate Pudding Plant is in fact Diospyros digyna (Black Sapote) (Ebenaceae), a relative of the persimmon (D.Kaki). When ripe the flesh of the fruit is dark black and can be used as a colouring for other processed foods like ice cream. The fruit on its own does not taste of chocolate. The tree has rather large, pendulous glossy leaves and is extremely attractive. Young trees are killed by temperatures below 0C, older ones can tolerate temps down to -2C. Nick Schaefer, Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- From: NickSchaefer Subject: Tree Tomatoes Seems we have a different perspective from Down Under. Tree tomatoes (Cyphomandra betaceae) AKA Tamarillo is a perfectly respectable fruit. Pretty well all decent fruit shops should stock them, particularly in late summer thru winter. As a matter of fact they are just ripening here now. Red and yellow varieties are available. To me the taste is across between tomato and passionfruit. Whilst I'm not a great fan of them myself as fresh fruit, I've known some people who scoff them down very willingly. They make a wonderful chutney also. Whilst they are probably wet subtropical we had one growing in Griffith (inland NSW) in partial shade where the temps ranged from 0-45C. The leaves do smell somewhat putrid when crushed, but the flowers are very fragrant. Apparently the first name for them was Solanum fragrans. In cold climates where the leaves drop the remaining hanging fruit make for a decorative display. We now live in a more subtropical climate and have had an unusually dry summer, which apparently has been the cause of many of the fruit dropping before reaching full colour. Karen don't you think the best thing would be to take the roof off your sowing room and turn it into a conservatory? Nick Schaefer, Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Re: Tree Tomatoes Nick: Good point - in the right climate tree tomatoes can do well. BUT very few people in the U.S., except perhaps in Southern California and Florida can usually manage the right conditions on a regular basis, so for the average grower in the U.S., tree tomatoes are a disaster. Lon Rombough ----------------------------- From: Gail Newcomb Subject: Re: Living Mulch for Crops and Trees At 11:00 27/03/98 +0000, Leo wrote: I've heard that various plants are useful as a living mulch, and some, as clover or other legumes, feed the tree or crop nitrogen. In theory it sounds great. Has anyone been doing it for long enough to pronounce it a success? What plants make the best smother crop? I'd guess they should grow densely but not tall, and not have deep roots. Leo Leo, comfrey is used quite often in New Zealand as living mulch where it is just cut and left to revitalise the soil. Around fruit trees the deep roots bring up other nutrients. Gail ------------------------------- From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Re: Living Mulch for Crops and Trees I knew a lady who had a field of comfrey she grew just to cut for mulch. She used it on nectarine trees and had the healthiest trees around - much less prone to peach curl and brown rot, which usually devistate nectarines in this area. Just be sure you WANT the stuff when you plant it - it's extremely hard to eradicate once established. And if you have gophers, they will spread it all over. Lon Rombough P.S. A lot more of the website for the new publication I mentioned recently is now up and going. Also, you can now access it from my site, http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom ------------------------------- From: Gail Newcomb Subject: Re: Tree tomatoes, C. betacea, 'Tamarillo' At 10:54 27/03/98 +0000, Leo wrote: I have heard that of the two major strains of tree tomatoes, the yellow has a better taste than the red one. Any one verify that? Leo Leo, as a native of Peru this tree was introduced into New Zealand around 1891 and was previously called the Tree Tomato. I think more because of colour and NOT because it any other ways resembles them. They are sub tropical small trees 2-3 meters high. They will not stand frost. They live about 8-10 years. Fruit ripens here April to November though it can be controlled by pruning. The Golden varieties of fruit are milder and less acid than those of the more popular Red or Amber types. Many strains have been selected in NZ and named. Young plants are raised from carefully selected seed as they come true to type. Many people have found that Tamarillo is a crop that responds to organic culture and there are many blocks in our area (Bay of Plenty) I have used it in fresh fruit salad where it imparts an amazing red colour throughout the rest of the fruit but it is mainly used to make delicious sauces and chutneys. The golden variety is a bit more palatable raw. As with all fruits, etc,, quality is of the utmost importance. Gail ------------------------------- From: Barry Densa Subject: Macadamia nuts grow well in S. Florida?? Margaret, I've noted your comment that Macadamia nuts grow well in S. Florida. For some time I have been trying to find out just such information, with no success. Ag. ext. service agents both in Dade and Palm Bech County say no one is growing it, at least not commercially because its not adaptable here. Homeowners may have one or two as ornamentals but that's it. For my part I would love to devote 2-3 acres to it. But I have received scant encouragement or reason to do so...so I'm investigating lychee nuts instead. Do you have proof of Macadamia production here that I may tap into? Barry ------------------------------ Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Margaret Basile Subject: Re: Chocolate Pudding Plant - What Is It? This is the black sapote, which is a persimmon relative (Diospyros). It grows here in South Florida very well, also I believe california. You pick the fruit when teh calyx curls back, at shich point it is still green. Then you let it sit until it turns black, collapses, looks rotten, and flies and ants start to gather. Ususally the fruit is peeling slightly and it oozes some juice. At this point it tastes just like chocolate p[udding, if your spouse hasn't thrownb it out already. Grows easily from seed, prcocious bearer, I am in zone 10 at which point it is hardy but I doubt you can grow it much farther north. Margaret ----------------------------- From: Margaret Basile Subject: Re: Cashews - Figure of Merit? I live in South Florida, USDA zone 10. The climate here is similar to Queensland. Macadamia nuts grow well. Cashews grow and fruit here in my neighborhood as well as the next county north. Will try to give you some more info after consulting my books and FAIRS Margaret ---------------------------- From: NickSchaefer Subject: Ilamas hello all I've just opened two Ilama (Annona diversifolia) fruits that I believe were grown locally. What a disappointment. The skin was incredibly hard and woody which I finally managed to cut thru with a serrated knife. Externally there was a light grey down/bloom. I had obviously waited too long for them to ripen (soften) as the flesh was already decayed. There were however many plump seeds that probably occupied about half the volume of the interior. Is this the way they are normally or just the result of growing them outside their normal climatic range?? Nick Schaefer, Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. --------------------------- From: "Robert H. Faust" Subject: Re: Ilamas Aloha I grow cheyimoya in Hawaii and, people wait to long to use them, they get hard and decay inside, they are used green when just starting to soften, some of the other annonas are not good, and they are seedlings so who knows, but my experience is that they probably sat to long. (I have several annonas and 6 cherimoya cultivars) Robert H. Faust Ph.D. Agroecologist Faust Bio-Agricultural Services, Inc. ----------------------------- Subject: Re: Ilamas From: Margaret Basile Sounds more like whoever picked the fruit did so before they were ripe. I wait for the scales to pop or the fruit to start to dehisce before harvesting Margaret ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 09:37:32 +0700 From: sainarong Subject: Price of fruits in thailand Here are the current prices of some fresh fruits in Thailand: Name Market Price Remarks (US$LB)(US$@38Baht) Tangerine 0.35-0.53 Out of season Guava 0.29-0.35 All season Rose Apple 0.47-0.53 end of season Banana 0.47-0.56/a comb All season Watermelon 0.47-0.56/fruits All season Longans 2.15-2.39 Out of season Grape 1.20-1.79 Beginning of season Coconut 0.12-0.18 All season Mango 0.48-0.59 Beginning-middle of season If you have time, take a look at the website below for details of Thai fruits. http://www.ku.ac.th/AgrInfo/fruit/ Sainarong ------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 05:21:25 -0500 From: Norm Rohrabaugh Subject: Assembly Rare fruit news - Unused? Leo I thought that the question and answer board at assembly was a great idea, but for some reason it seems to have lasted only 2 days. Is no one is interested or there is some other problem with the system. I enjoy your bi-monthly newsletter, but also think there is a need for this daily communication. Norm >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - April 1, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online April 15, 1998 AKA RFN199804B.txt ---------- Plant Tissue Culture at Home? Either visit website for information, or request TissueCultHome as a supplement from me, for the same information. See at the following website: http://www.une.edu.au/agronomy/AgSSrHortTCinfo.html Plant Tissue Culture for Home Gardeners By Dr. Acram Taji Email: ataji@metz.une.edu.au ------What's in this issue?------- New Subscribers Readers Have Questions or Comments Readers Write To Each Other From Discussion list for New Crops From The Zingiber List: zingiber@coollist.com --New Subscribers-- From: Richard Moyer Subject: New Subscriber in Tennessee From: "RONALD D STEINBACH" Subject: New Subscriber from Lake Forest, CA; Grows Lots of Fruit From: Dawn Martin (Moody) Subject: New Subscriber in Lemon Grove, CA From: "Gary D. Meltzer" Subject: New Subscriber from Redwood City, CA From: paullgj Subject: New Subscriber from Brownsville. See his webpage! From: Bob McGuffin Subject: New Subscriber (grows everything) in Australia From: Adam Rubinstein Subject: New Subscriber from Palm Springs, California From: Stephen Boboricken Subject: New Subscriber from Los Altos Hills, CA From: David Carver Subject: New Subscriber from San Jose, CA --Readers Have Questions or Comments-- From: jcubero@magicnet.net Subject: pomegranate From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: How do readers get letters posted in RFNO? From Leo To: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: Re: How do readers get letters posted in RFNO? From: doreen@tgn.net (Doreen Howard) Subject: Rare Fruit News Online - Discovered From: doreen@tgn.net (Doreen Howard) Subject: Re: Rare Fruit News Online - Discovered From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: "Fletcher's Red" Loquat; I'm Looking For It. From: Pilar Cox Subject: Cherimoya in San Jose From: Leo Manuel To: Pilar_Cox@el.nec.com Subject: Re: Cherimoa in San Jose Subject: Cashews Producing in Florida From: Ed Griffin --Readers Write To Each Other-- From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: David Subject: P. caerulea From: To: Dan Subject: Grapefruit and passionfruit From: Holzinger, Bob To: Jody Subject: Mamey sapote From: NickSchaefer To: Bob Holzinger, California Subject: Ilama Seed/Cashews From: Holzinger, Bob To: Nick Subject: Cashew, Hylocereus, C. betacea From: Mario Lozano To: BarryADensa@Worldnet.ATT.NET Subject: Growing fruits in South Florida --From Discussion list for New Crops -- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Record weather and crops Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Margaret Basile Subject: Re: Record weather and crops Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Barry Densa Subject:Re: Record weather and crops Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Re: Living Mulch and Smother Crops. Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Robert H. Faust Subject:Re: Living Mulch and Smother Crops. Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Michael Miller & Ute Bohnsack Subject: Re : Living Mulch and Smother Crops. Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Leo Manuel Subject Re Living Mulch and Smother Crops. Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Re : Living Mulch and Smother Crops. Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject:Cherimoyas / Cornucopia Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Doreen Howard Subject:Re: Black/Purple Potatoes Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Weather/FruitTrees/Bunchosia Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject:Hylocereus questions Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Flooding/MalabarChestnut/Mullberries Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Barry Densa Subject: Re: Growing fruits in South Florida Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Margaret Basile Subject: colchecine --From The Zingiber List: zingiber@coollist.com-- From: paullgj Subject: Banana cultivation and Winter 1997/98 Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com From: Jim Rooke Subject: Musa Basjoo Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com From: Ricky Maseda Subject: Re: Corms Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com ----------New Subscribers------------ Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 18:00:00 -0400 From: Richard Moyer Subject: New Subscriber in Tennessee Richard Moyer in Bristol, TN (Zone 6) 1900' Growing Chinese Che, Jujube, Akebia, Yellowhorn, and many others; have about 40 genera overall on less than 2 acres. Would be interested in learning more about infopages done on fruits earlier. Thanks. Richard ------------------------------- From: "RONALD D STEINBACH" Subject: New Subscriber from Lake Forest, CA; Grows Lots of Fruit Date: Thu, 2 Apr 1998 20:38:11 -0800 Greetings! 1. Real name: Ronald Steinbach & Yvonne Steinbach 2. Residence: Lake Forest, California 3. Fruit trees we have: approximately 50 fruit trees, including kumquat, loquat, navel orange, lemon, lime, apricot, plumcot (just planted two of them), fig, grapefruit, tamarillo, sapote, tangerine, tangelo, prune, plum, avocado, kiwi, tangelo, nectarine, peach, apple, mango, persimmon, pomegranate, guava, and I'm sure I missed several. Of the foregoing, we have different varieties of a number of them. We also grow our own tomatoes, peppers, and tomatillos, etc. We have traveled throughout New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Alaska and Europe, and we really enjoy new fruits and vegetables. Ron Steinbach ---------------------------- Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 12:30:55 -0700 From: Dawn Martin (Moody) Subject: New Subscriber in Lemon Grove, CA Hi Leo! 1) Dawn Martin 2) Lemon Grove, CA (San Diego County) 3) Interested in Tropical Fruits...would like to grow: Mango, Papaya, Kiwi, Banana...etc. I am also interested in CRFG...can you send me info on when/where the next meeting in San Diego will be taking place? Thanks! Dawn (Moody) Martin ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 22:09:59 -0700 From: "Gary D. Meltzer" Subject: New Subscriber from Redwood City, CA Hi Leo, I am Gary Meltzer, also a life member of the CRFG. I'm interested in all fruits, and still don't know what a "rare" fruit is. That is what makes it fun. I am located in Redwood City, CA, the S. F. Bay area. I would like to see a sample issue of your newsletter. Thank you, Gary ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 17:07:08 -0500 From: paullgj Subject: New Subscriber from Brownsville. See his webpage! Hi! My name is gene J. Paull. I live in Brownsville, Texas - way down south, about as far south as you can get in Texas. My rare fruits are different varieties of Cavendish bananas, mangos, and have even had coconuts fruit (don't have any now, though, we had a freeze two years ago). I'd like to be on the rarefruit online newsletter mailing list. I have a tropical agriculture (banana) homepage in South Texas at http://www.utb.edu/~paullgj/tropicalagriculture/tropag.html. Gene ------------------------------- Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 14:31:28 +1000 From: Bob McGuffin Subject: New Subscriber (grows everything) in Australia Hi My name is Bob McGuffin email me at poncirus@mailexite.com I am interested in all types of fruit trees esp. subtropicals.I live in Brisbane Australia and operste a small nursery called planet fruit trees. At home I grow avocados longans guava wampi jabotisaba grumichama pomello limes oranges ice cream bean macadamia mulberry tangello lychee etc etc. I would be intrerested in any back issues of your newsletter and corresponding on any pomolgy related subjects. Bob ------------------------------- From: Adam Rubinstein Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 13:15:42 EDT Subject: New Subscriber from Palm Springs, California I am Adam Rubinstein, from Palm Springs, California (Hot dry and "zone 13") and trying to grow, and growing: lychee, Longan, Macadamia, Cheramoya, loquat, pistachio, Almond, pecan, jujube, sapote, grapes, apricot, plums, apple, grapefruit, lemon, mandarin, banana, figs, orange , fingered citron, persimmon, passion fruit, guava, pomegranite, and anything else I can squeeze in to my small lot. Dream of finding a variety of lychee that will handle the hot dry climate and grow really fast. Experimentally yours, Adam -------------------------------- Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 11:28:54 -0700 From: Stephen Boboricken Subject: New Subscriber from Los Altos Hills, CA Stephen Boboricken; 11870 Francemont Drive; Los Altos Hills, Ca Pawpaws; cherimoyas; stone fruit; volunteer at Prusch Park's rare fruit orchard in San Jose, Ca. Thanks Stephen ---------------------------------- Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 16:12:30 -0700 From: David Carver Subject: New Subscriber from San Jose, CA While I don't think that I grow anything particularly rare ( I have tried to grow cherimoya, and some red bananas several years ago which were wiped out by the severe cold in 1990-1991 after about 7 years), I am growing apples (2 trees), 1 pear tree, 1 navel orange, 1 lemon seedling with 6 different grafted citrus varieties, 1 avocado, 2 figs- brown and yellow, 1 eugenia arragata (cherry of the Rio Grand), 2 dwarf cherry trees, and 2 dwarf nectarines. All these in a typical Californian back yard (small), with some space for tomatoes, lettuces, swisschard, beans, etc. I am a retired ( at times just tired ) chemical engineer, volunteer Santa Clara County Master Gardener, and in addition teach conversational English at our local senior center. But I so love plants and gardening, and would dearly love to receive your newsletter. Also I am very interested in seed exchange as well as learning how to grow things better - even mushrooms. So I hope that I may receive your newsletter and will be happy to do as I may be required. Yours truly, David Carver PS I live in San Jose, California ---------------Readers Have Questions or Comments---------------- From: jcubero@magicnet.net Subject: pomegranate Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 18:11:29 GMT I planted my pomegranate 3 years ago and it will not bloom. It's in full sun. I trim the bush every fall or winter because I know that blooms occur on the new growth tips. There has to be something I'm doing wrong. It's in acidic soil, it's about 15 feet from a pine tree and the area is totally mulched with pine needles. Could it be that the pine tree is sucking all of the nutrients away from the pomegranate? I'm getting good growth, just no blooms. I fertilize, I trim suckers from the base, I water, and still, nothing. Kym (Florida) -------------------------------- Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 15:01:24 +0000 From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: How do readers get letters posted in RFNO? I'm a little unclear how I post something to this newsletter discussion? I am getting it OK and also I am seeing responses I sent to Perdue. So far I have just been sending people individual email. Margaret ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 12:13:17 +0000 To: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: Re: How do readers get letters posted in RFNO? Margaret, the letters all go out from me. I collate, edit, and mail them to the group. Everyone mails whatever they want published to me. Leo ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 14:43:34 -0600 (CST) From: doreen@tgn.net (Doreen Howard) Subject: Rare Fruit News Online - Discovered Leo, Looks like your newsletter would be of great value to many. I'd like to link to your site so that people could get a better idea about what you have. Is that OK? Also, I noticed in the supplement list that my study with mycorrhizae and heirloom tomatoes was listed!! It's not copyrighted!!! It's amazing how small the Internet has made the world!! Doreen Howard doreen@tgn.net ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 14:19:48 -0600 (CST) From: doreen@tgn.net (Doreen Howard) Subject: Re: Rare Fruit News Online - Discovered Leo, Thanks for the free copy. It's very interesting. Do you cruise all the listservs and newsgroups to gather this material? What a wonderful service you are providing. After reading it, I think I need to subscribe to NEWCROPS. Will ask Lon how to subscribe. How does one subscribe to your newsletter? And would you like for me to add a link to you and the newsletter on my site? Doreen Howard doreen@tgn.net ------------------------------- Date: Thu, 02 Apr 1998 11:43:56 +0000 From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: "Fletcher's Red" Loquat; I'm Looking For It. Has anyone out ther heard of a loquat variety called "Fletcher's Red"? I'm looking for it. Margaret ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 19:59:40 -0400 From: Pilar Cox Subject: Cherimoya in San Jose My name is Pilar Cox I live in San Jose CA and I'm originally from Southamerica, Chile. I bought a Cherimoya tree Sunday and is already about 7 feet high. I want to know if there is someone around here that is growing Cherimoyas and what problems they have encounter. I want to know about hand pollinating. Do I need to do it with this fruit or should I let it do is own thing. I would appreciate any help that I can get. Thank you very much. Pilar Cox ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 14:36:20 +0000 To: Pilar_Cox@el.nec.com Subject: Cherimoa in San Jose You said: Leo I call the nursery and they told me the tree is about 5 years old. Do you think I need to worry this year (about the cold)? Pilar PS: Yes I want to join your newsletter. Pilar, you won't need to worry until it gets winter. If you plant the tree on the south or west side of a house or stone wall, the plant might survive outside. You might want to have some protection for it in the winter, for a few years. Leo -------------------------------- Subject: Cashews Producing in Florida Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 14:26:43 -0400 From: Ed Griffin Before (hurricane) Andrew, a local house had a cashew at least 40' tall. I enjoyed watching for the moons 'n' apples each year.There are a number of tropicals that do well here IF they can get past the first 5 or 10 years...:^) Ed Griffin -------USDA Zone 10b (FL) --------------Readers Write To Each Other----------------- From: "Holzinger, Bob" To: David Subject: P. caerulea Date: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 15:25:01 -0800 Hello David I saw in your intro note to Leo that you want to find P. caerulea, the Blue Passionflower. That should be fairly easy to do, most nurseries that carry passionflowers will have this species. If you can't find it near you, contact Wild Ridge Nursery at and they can send it to you through the mail. In case you aren't aware of it, there is an all white form of P. caerulea called P. 'Constance Eliott' that is just as vigorous and cold hardy as the true species. This can also be found at Wild Ridge Nursery. Happy hunting. Best wishes, Bob Holzinger ------------------------------- Date: Wed Apr 1 21:06:24 1998 From: To: Dan Subject: Grapefruit and passionfruit Hello Dan, I saw your introductory note on RFNO and would like to make some suggestions to you. Since you live in Pacific Beach and I know that you don't get that much heat compared to a more inland location, I would recommend trying 'Oro Blanco' grapefruit, since it appears not to need much heat to sweeten up, unlike traditional grapefruit. As for the yellow passionfruit, P. edulis f. flavocarpa, you should be aware that this species is not self fruitful. P. edulis will cross pollinate it, but you may have to do it yourself, since the bee population is down in San Diego. This species also does better in a warmer climate, so it may not flower that well depending on your exposure. I would recommend trying P. 'Frederick'. It's a cross between P. edulis f. flavocarpa and P. edulis, is self fruitful and very tasty, in my opinion. And welcome to the Online group! Best wishes, Bob Holzinger ------------------------------- From: Holzinger, Bob To: Jody Subject: Mamey sapote Date: Thu, 2 Apr 1998 12:26:56 -0800 Hello Jody, I saw in RFNO that you work at a germplasm repository for mamey sapote, P. sapota. How variable is the mamey from seed. I have very limited access to grafted trees here in California and I can get seeds from fruit in Mexico, but is it worth the effort? If seeds from superior cultivars produce descent fruit on average, would it be possible to get a seed or two from you from say 'Pantin', which is supposed to be one of the best. I could send a suitable box and some peat moss to keep it viable. I have also read that grafting the mamey onto a P. viride rootstock would make it more cold hardy. Is this something you have heard reported or seen demonstrated? I look forward to hearing your comments. Best wishes, Bob Holzinger ------------------------------- Date: Sat, 04 Apr 1998 21:05:27 +1000 From: NickSchaefer To: Bob Holzinger, California Subject: Ilama Seed/Cashews Hi Bob I still have some of the Ilama seeds (Annona diversifolia). I've had them under moist tissue whilst I decided what to do. I've planted some today and can send you over say 10. Apparently other Annonas and maybe Ilama don't produce good quality fruit out of their normal climatic range - so I won't be covering the farm with them. Lately I've put in Rollinia, Soncoya, Poshte, Soursop and Cherimoya. This morning have just found a nursery that supplies seedling cashews in south-east QLD, sounds promising. I also happened to buy 2 native cashews (AKA Tar tree, Marking Nut: Semecarpus australiensis, Anacardiaceae) endemic to the Top End. I shall be planting them up the back as the sap is just as corrosive as the true cashew. all the best Nick Schaefer; Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ---------------------------------- From: Holzinger, Bob To: Nick Subject: Cashew, Hylocereus, C. betacea Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 12:05:12 -0800 Hi Nick, I have a few comments on your recent comments in RFNO. I have seen a cashew tree bearing fruit in Baja California at 23 degrees latitude, if that helps you. Also the tree tomato, C. betacea fruits quite well in Watsonville, California, which is between Monterrey and Santa Cruz on the coast of California just below the San Francisco bay area. As for Hylocereus sp. I think they need to be grown in at least partial shade, since mine turn yellow-green when they emerge from the bush they are growing under. Lastly, what did you do with the seeds from the A. diversifolia fruit you opened up. I have been looking for a source of seeds and would like to get some from you if you still have them. Let me know and I'll give you my mailing address. The reports from Central America indicate that this should be a good tasting annona fruit, so I'd like to try it in California. Thanks, Bob Holzinger ------------------------------- Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 00:30:19 EDT From: Mario Lozano To: BarryADensa@Worldnet.ATT.NET Subject: Growing fruits in South Florida Hello Barry: My name is Mario Lozano and I live a bit south of you in Davie, Florida. My lot is only one acre, but I've managed to grow quite a few trees on it, about 60. After recently reading your posts on Leo's newsletter, I think my experience growing both lychees and macadamias can be of help to you. Lychees grow well in South Florida. The trees are very delicate when they are small, they may suffer from chlorosis, but this may be corrected with nutritional sprays and/or chelated iron supplements, and above all use fertilizer very sparingly or not at all until the trees are well established, I'm convinced that people kill more lychee trees by overfertilizing than by any other means. There are significant differences in growing the different lychee cultivars. While some seem to tolerate the highly alkaline soils of Dade County quite well, such as the Brewster, others such as the Sweetcliff simply will not grow unless the soil has an neutral or acid reaction. Where I live the soil is mostly muck, which i suspect has an acid reaction. I have ten different varieties of lychees and they all seem to grow well here. I don't know what your soil is like, but I suspect from your description that it may be acid sandy soil. If that the case you should not have any problems growing lychees provided that you irrigate during dry spells. Macadamias are even easier to grow here than lychees, they are less delicate and grow faster, besides they bear regularly year after year. But they are even more susceptible to soil conditions than lychees. I've tried growing them in alkaline soils in Dade county, and found that a very difficult task. On mucky soil however, they truly thrive. I have four different varieties, two Integrifolias (pink flowers, bumpy skin) and two ternifolias (white flowers, smooth skin). They all grow and fruit well here. As with lychees they grow better in the acid soils. Anything else that I can help you with just let me know, be glad to help. Mario Lozano BTW, there is a 2 acre macadamia grove near me, I believe that the only variety there is the ternifolia, last time I saw the trees they looked very good. -----From Discussion list for New Crops------ Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Record weather and crops A few nights ago it was reported that Sydney has had the hottest February, March and first quarter on record. 800 km to the north where we live the seasons have been completely reversed. What normally is a dry spring followed by wet summer was the exact opposite. Even cyclone Yali that brought strong winds, a 12m surf, and plenty of clouds produced only a few mm of rain. Nevertheless the wet spring did deliver the largest lychee crop ever, whilst the mangoes were a complete failure - about a dozen fruit off 45 large trees. Its started to rain now and I see the record drought in New Guinea seems to be almost over. What's the weather like elsewhere, has El Nino finally dissipated? Nick Schaefer; Lat S 28deg 34min; Long W 153deg 31min, Elev 20m New South Wales, Australia. ----------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Barry Densa Subject:Re: Record weather and crops Margaret, I'm curious to know how much acreage in S. Florida is devoted to Lychees and what the production numbers have been and where it's heading. I'm under the impression there are a lot of young groves out there that are not yet able to produce. Since Macadamias are out of the question lychees are my second choice for my back 2 acres. I was considering Carambola but an ag ext. agent told me there is way too much grown here; growers are just letting it rot on the trees. Barry ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Margaret Basile Subject: Re: Record weather and crops El Nino brought South Florida a record wet winter with incredibly warm temperatures. W actually have fewer lychees this year but I think we'll set a record for mangos and avocados. My col weather brassicas were none too happy with 90 degrees farenheit in December. I expect the aftereffects to carry over for the next few months, we've never had a hurricane hit the peninsula the year after an El Nino event. Re your previous message, I believe if you go to the Amazon.com book search and put in that book, they list the publication date of the new edition. They do for Glowinshi's ne edition. Margaret ------------------------------ Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Re: Living Mulch and Smother Crops. A mulch plant that is used in our area that definitely qualifies as a 'smother crop' is Molasses Grass (Melinis minutiflora). Its origin I think is South America/South Africa. It is a summer growing annual that produces a very dense mat of tangled stalks maybe 1.5m deep in a good season. Our rainfall pattern is summer dominant. The leaves are sticky and have a sweet smell not unlike molasses but the exudate is not sugary. It grows well on poor soil and steep embankments and is used here for erosion control. Really it is a preplant mulch grown before the main crop, as its growth is extremely rampant. Molasses grass succumbs readily to herbicides like glyphosate or to slashing or knocking down with any other impliment. Its main drawback is fire risk during dry spells. On the north coast of NSW molasses grass has become naturalised although seed can be obtained commercially. Nick Schaefer; Mullumbimby, Lat S 28deg 34min; Long W 153deg 31min, Elev 20m New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Robert H. Faust Subject:Re: Living Mulch and Smother Crops. I have quite a bit of molasses grass growing, it will take over a field and totally dominate and choke out everything. It is a fairly good forage for the St. Croix sheep, it can really spread, it takeover on low fertility land ,maybe with a acidic situation too acidic for better grass like paspalum notatum, my main grass , I beleive it's a good smother crop, but not as managable as Paspalum ,here in Hawaii, I use these grasses to manage weeds in coffee and avocado grove. Aloha Robert ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Michael Miller & Ute Bohnsack Subject: Re : Living Mulch and Smother Crops. I am presently experimenting with a mixture of Phacelia (attracts bees) and vetches (N-fixing) under young apple trees. Have also planted comfrey and horseradish about 2ft from the stem. Can't comment on the usefulness of this yet as the sowings were only made a couple weeks ago. I'm a bit concerned that the seedlings will get devoured by slugs. Will post results later. UteB ---------------------------- To Multiple recipients of list NEWCROPS Subject Re Living Mulch and Smother Crops. Date 03 April 1998 0646 The cure (Molasses Grass) might be worse than the disease, for me. Nick, I was prompted to ask the question about living mulch and smother crops by the large amount of time I spend removing weeds. Nature abhors a vacuum, someone said, thinking of weeds, no doubt. I realize that a dry mulch is a possibility-probably a superior idea-but I thought that something dense-growing, short, and shallow rooted could be chosen to keep the weeds down, without causing the main crop (fruit trees, in my case) to suffer. And, a legume might at least keep itself suppled in nitrogen? Leo ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Re: Living Mulch and Smother Crops. Leo Manuel wrote: > > The cure (Molasses Grass)might be worse than the disease, > for me. Umm, yes - you might be right. Here it's used really pre-crop or fallow. It's also recommended as a smother crop to prevent other woody weeds such as lantana or Groundsel Bush from comming up. > > Nick, I was prompted to ask the question about living mulch > and smother crops by the large amount of time I spend > removing weeds. Nature abhors a vacuum, someone said, > thinking of weeds, no doubt. I realize that a dry mulch is > a possibility-probably a superior idea-but I thought that > something dense-growing, short, and shallow rooted could be > chosen to keep the weeds down, without causing the main crop > (fruit trees, in my case) to suffer. Yes I know the problem well, Leo. It depends on your own situation. If you have nice flat or gently undulating land you can plant grass and keep it mown. This is what happens in Macadamia plantations where erosion control is a prime motivation. Whist young weeds are sprayed in the tree line and cut grass heaped up. Later on the shade of the trees themselves keeps the ground cover from invading too closely. In bananas we have a low growing Pygmy Panic that does a very good job as a cover in partal shade. However if taller species such as Paspalum are present they can outcompete the lower grass. Mowing can overcome this or at least keep the taller cover crop/weeds to an acceptable length. ie you trade weeding for mowing. However in the inland of australia there are plenty of weeds that are a problem even at 3" tall eg Caltrop that has 3/4" spined burrs. Ideally one removes weeds before they seed - 1 years seeding, 7 years weeding as the saying goes, but it's easier said than done as lots of weeds bear seeds very early. Still mowing/slashing has its problems - plenty of people in our district have either been killed or had close misses when the tractor has rolled over - similarly ride-on mowers can be a hazard especially for older or child drivers. > And, a legume might at least keep itself suppled in nitrogen? Yes but even legumes also compete with the crop for water and other nutrients. If the roots are too short then the ground cover could become drought stressed, allowing deeper rooted weeds to take over. In inland orange orchards a cover crop is sometimes grown thru winter followed by bare soil in summer. A good starting point is to find out what others in your district are doing. Nick Schaefer; Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject:Cherimoyas / Cornucopia Thanks George and Laurie for the info re cherimoyas. I came across Stephen Facciola's Cornucopia (1990) in a bookshop today. It's the first time I've seen it but only had enough time for a quick glimpse. Quite a number of varieties are mentioned including Reretai which is supposed to be one of New Zealand's premier lines. I'll be contacting the nursery in QLD where these and other varities are stocked, sometime after easter. Has anyone got a better idea of the publication date for the new Cornucopia - someone suggested maybe Aug/Sept?? Nick Schaefer; Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Doreen Howard Subject:Re: Black/Purple Potatoes Kate, Go to my website and click on Heirloom Gardens and then take the hyperlink to seed sources. Wood Prairie Farms is listed and it carries everything you seek. I just harvested All-Blues, Russian Banana Fingerlings and Cranberry Reds. I planted them in Nov. See at http://www.tgn.net/~doreen/ Doreen ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Weather/FruitTrees/Bunchosia Thanks Margaret for your info on weather etc. Our spring was wet, RELATIVE to a normal season. It was in fact mild and humid and therefore favoured good pollination in the lychees In very wet conditions (perhaps like Fla) I have read that rain can wash pollen out of the flowers. Maybe thats the difference. I'm surprised your mangos did well, maybe its a varietal difference. Our major type is Kensington Pride (Bowen Special). I have a small Bunchosia (4ft tall) At the time I puchased it the flowers did not appear to be setting fruit. By bringing two flowers on different branches together I think I managed to effect pollination and now there are about 6 orange coloured fruit an inch or so long. Is this as good as it gets? The potential for quite a crop seems to be there but Ive been a bit disappointed in the number of fruit set. Nick Schaefer; Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject:Hylocereus questions I have just germinated several hundred seed of a red pitaya. This has red skin with deep red flesh, and so I take it to be Hylocereus ocaponis (a species not mentioned by Mizrahi or a hybrid?) The fruit was produced locally and apparently was pollinated without any human intervention or involvement of any other species of cactus. Does anyone know whether the seedlings are likely to come true to type with fruit characteristics similar to the parent. The fruit was slightly sweet with a faint flavour reminiscent of raspberry. Is this the experience of other people with red fleshed pitaya? Perhaps they were picked too early and hadn't developed full flavour, if so is there some external guide as to fruit maturity. I've heard that cross pollination can produce larger fruit, have others found this too? Has anyone attempted to cross the various species of Hylocereus (including Selenicereus) outside of Israel, if so what are the charcteristics of the progeny, especially the fruit? Finally does anyone know of a definitive taxonomic key for these genera + chromosome information? Thanks Nick Schaefer; Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: NickSchaefer Subject: Flooding/MalabarChestnut/Mullberries Dan Hemenway in RFNO asked whether there were any nut trees that tolerate flooding. I have just planted two Malabar Chestnuts near a spring. In CRFG Fruit Facts on Line it is stated that the natural habitat of these plants is estuaries, and the name Pachira aquatica also suggests a watery affinity. However when looking at soil requirements CRFG states :- "Soils: Malabar chestnuts are not overly fussy about soil as long as it is well drained." Can someone clear up this apparent contradiction? Also is Malabar Chestnut the same as Guiana Chestnut? I have heard that Pecan nut trees are also waterlogging tolerant. Can anyone verify this please? Dan's original question related to flooding tolerance of Mullberries. Well in our area mullberries grow wild in and along creek beds. However their roots are probably not permanently submerged, although the water table must be quite high. During heavy rain the water level can come half way up the trunk. I think too there may be a distinction between flowing and stagnant water as far as survival of the roots goes. Nick Schaefer; Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Barry Densa Subject: Re: Growing fruits in South Florida Thanks Mario for your post, You sound like just the person I need to talk to. You seem to be doing exactly what I want to do, though I have 2-3 acres in which to do it. I've been staring at those back 3 acres of mine for almost three years now wondering what I should do with it. The first thing I need to do though is raise the land back there, clear trees, dig a pond and spread the fill. It holds quite a bit of water in the summer, it's low with poor drainage. I'll need a pond for irrigation anyway. And this I need to do no matter what I decide on, even to put horses back there as I has originally planned. After I get the land prepared, I can then do a soil test. I think it will tend towards the acidic, lots of pine and cypress back there. Since we lived in Hawaii for nearly 8 years we're sentimentally predisposed towards exotic tropicals. It seems that lychee and macadamia fit the bill for a number of reasons. One, they bring in good dollars per pound and would seem ideally suited for S. Florida as per climate and soil, and from what I've read they don't have as many enemies, pests & diseases, as other tropicals. But before we invest money, time and effort, we need to get educated. Which is what I'm doing right now. As far as Lychees go, I can't seem to get a definitive answer as to which varieties to grow, Brewster and Mauritius are the ones that everyone bandies about, then comes Sweetcliff and a few others. So am I supposed to use them all? Better still if I can find out what each variety requires, in explicit detail, I can narrow down the search, and concentrate on those varietes best suited for my location, Loxahatchee, West Palm Beach. A good place to start I presume would be nurseries and growers. Which begs the question who are the most reputable and knowledgable growers and nurseries in S. Florida, who wouldn't mind me picking there brains. And then of course I can purchase from them in quantity. Since summer is no time to dig a pond, it being to wet back there, I was thinking of buying a number of trees in pots, just to get my feet wet so to speak, and then air layer them myself and get a head start. But how long can the trees stay in containers, without sacrificing their quality and productive capabilities once I put them in the ground? Macadamias present a whole 'nother problem. The ag. ext. services say I can't grow macadamias commercially, that no one is doing it, citing climatic reasons. But I keep hearing of isolated pockets of small time growers, like yourself, who are. I also ran into a gentleman in Labelle, who has devoted nearly the last 20 years to developing varieties suited for S. Florida. I'll be visiting him when time permits. So I have the same questions for macadaima that I have for Lychee. I've got plenty more questions from type of fertilizer to irrigation technique, planting, spacing, pest control, suppliers, etc., etc., but I don't want to overburden you in one fell swoop. Thanks in advance for you time and help. Barry ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Margaret Basile Subject: colchecine for lychee and longan seeds I am planning to try some colchecine on lychee and longan seeds. Anyone out there have an idea of the dilution range and treatment time for a seed that large? My only references are for bryophytes and daylillies. Margaret ---------------From the Zingiber List---------------- From: paullgj Subject: Banana cultivation and Winter 1997/98 Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com Hi Fellow Zingibers. A few months ago I posted a page on Growing Bananas in South Texas. Now I've added some photographs. Link on to it at http://www.utb.edu/~paullgj/tropical agirculture/tropag.html You can see how the various cultivars have fared during the past winter. I'm always up for comments, particularly when it comes to fertilizing. In our hot and dry climate I'm loathe to put on muriate of potash for the potassium fertilizer. That drives up the salt content of the soil. Any suggestions? Gene J. Paull Brownsville, Texas, z. 9b ----------------------------------- From: Jim Rooke Subject: Musa Basjoo Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com Is anyone familiar with the Musa Basjoo or "Japanese fiber Banana"? I purchased one from Stokes a while back because it is rated for zone 5, or to -20 degrees with protective mulching. I live in zone 6 where we occasionally get -20 degrees. I'm going to keep it inside a glass enclosed patio the 1st. year and possibly plant it outside the 2nd. Spring. The instructions says it only grows to about 8' in a container. How tall would it get growing outside? How tall does it grow in one season if it's grown outside and dies back each winter? If grown inside, does it die back each year? Or is it evergreen under those circumstances? Any information would be appreciated. Jim Rooke http://kpt1.tricon.net/Personal/jrooke ------------------------------ From: Ricky Maseda Subject: Re: Corms Reply-To: zingiber@coollist.com paullgj wrote: Zingibers: I looked at my corms this morning, one has a tiny green shoot poking out, the other shows some new roots coming out at the bottom of the pot. This is exactly one month after I received them. Our weather has been in the eighties daytime during that period. I think corms, minus the roots, are okay if you start them in mid-summer heat and follow the instructions to a t. With rooted corms that I dig up myself, in July or August- new leaves emerge within a week. As I've indicated in earlier postings I've received tissue culture plantlets in Nov. and Dec., put them in small containers, and have them continue growing during the winter months. I've also received bare rooted plants and plants with roots and soil in November. The recovery time for these, starting the cooler months of the year, is very quick. These are just my observations, not endorsing or criticizing any particular business establishment. I do think corms need lots of heat to get started - under those conditions they are the most economical/convenient way to go. Gene Paull Brownsville, Tx., zone 9b Gene, we have had excellent results starting banana plants from corms. Most of our 65 variety were started from corms. On over 100 new corms we only lost 1 or 2. As you know - they must be kept dry or they easily rot. I have a list of the bananas we have growing on my web page. It's at http://home.att.net/~r.maseda/home.html We have 4 or 5 new varieties I haven't listed yet including the Ae-Ae. I'll be updating the pictures and banana list in the next week or so. Best regards, Ricky Maseda Birds & Bananas Tampa, Florida >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - April 15, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online May 1, 1998 AKA RFN199805A.txt ------What's in this issue?------- Notes from Leo New Subscribers Readers Have Questions or Comments Readers Write To Each Other New Crops: Subscribe at --Notes from Leo-- BbyGaInfo: Blueberry Cultivars for Georgia; Webpage http://www (next line) ces.uga.edu/Agriculture/plantpath/docs/FruitsNuts/Newsletter/bbcultiv.html Visit the site there, OR ask me to send the supplement by the name: BbyGaInfo It has cultivars and cultivation tips for the Southeast US. For a list of supplements, request 'Listsupp' by name. -- I didn't expect many temperate fruit to set, with so much rain happening at blossom time, but the crop is about normal. Mango set is light, with mildew on the blossoms, which I have been neglectful in controlling. What's the most 'organic' way to control mildew on mango blossoms? I've seen potassium bicarbonate products and have heard that sodium bicarbonate (ordinary baking soda) will work. Any experience? My mango trees are all in bloom-some several months along, but the set is light. Some trees will undoubtedly bloom again and set then, weather permitting. NEWCROPS is the name of a listserv that can help you find information about almost any crop, about which you'd like to learn more. Subscribe at You can't ask questions of them unless you are on the mailing list. Visit their website at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop They have an Index to Crops - Listed alphabetically, genus and common name begins at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/indices/index_ab#A -------------------------New Subscribers--------------------------- From: Sven Merten Subject: New Subscriber, Fountain Valley, CA; Impressive Plant List! From: Barry Densa Subject: New Subscriber Wants Macadamia and Lychee Information From: John Fontenot Subject: New Subscriber, Near Baton Rouge, LA, Asks: >>Anredera basselloides "Patate Fleur"; Anyone Know of It? From: Beth Elliott Subject: New Subscriber, CA, Wants Selak Seeds or Plants From: Ed & Marilyn Biel Subject: New Subscriber, Australia, Seeks Capulin, Cape Gooseberry Info From: "Dr. Amir Hagiladi" Subject: New Subscriber, Israel, Grows Mango, etc. From: Andrew Hattel Subject: New Subscriber, Andrew Hattel, Colorado, Age 15 From: Adam Rubinstein Subject: New Subscriber asks: Lychee in the Desert - Possible? From: Von Sexton Subject: New Subscriber, AU, Raising Fruit in Containers; Has Questions Subject: New Subscriber "When should I fertilize my young mango?" From: Karen Marchetti From: Helga & John Kocurek Subject: New Subscribers, Texas, Wants Ideas For Planting In Their Zone ----------Readers Have Questions, Suggestions, or Comments---------- Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 07:40:37 -0400 From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: Cherimoya - When to Pollinate Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 11:03:06 -0400 From: "Ed Griffin" Subject: Cherimoya in Zone 10b, Florida; Will They Grow Here? Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 17:06:05 +1000 (EST) From: Ian Staples To:sci.agriculture.fruit Subject: Monsteras lost :-( Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 23:32:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Mark Dodgson Subject: My Tahitian Lime and Change of email address Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 06:30:28 -0700 From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Updated Website: http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom Date: Sun, 05 Apr 1998 09:11:29 -0500 From: moshe Subject: Re: Happy Travels! But, We'll Miss You!! Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 11:43:11 -0400 From: "Ed Griffin" Subject: The Exhalted Neem Tree From: Adam Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 23:20:12 EDT Subject: Lychee in the Desert - Possible? What Cultivar(s)? --Readers Write To Each Other-- Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 21:26:52 +1000 From: NickSchaefer To: Ricardo Barbosa Subject: Tree List/Bunchosia/Imbu From: DGholston To: Rasmus Thomsen Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 12:44:24 EDT Subject: Citrus in containers From: Kym Javier Cubero Subject: "Marimba" - a highbush blueberry or a rabbiteye? Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 01:19:55 GMT Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 21:38:25 -0700 From: Leo Manuel To: Kym Javier Cubero Subject: Re: "Marimba" - a highbush blueberry or a rabbiteye? From: DGholston To: Leo Manuel Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 12:36:53 EDT Subject: Re: Wampi on citrus? (Yes!) From: Janelle Kessler Subject: Fruit with horns - Where can I find a picture? From: Don Gholston To: Drew K. Subject: Re: Fruit with horns --From New Crops; Subscribe at -- From: Ben Alkire Subject: NewCROP's Phytosanitation Resource From: Michel Van Mellaerts Subject: Re: What is Mako? (Is "Aristotelia serrata") --Another Leo Note-- Date: April 25, 1998 Subject: Peaceful Valley Farm Supply in Grass Valley, CA ---------------------New Subscribers------------------------ -- Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 22:38:22 -0700 From: Sven Merten Subject: New Subscriber, Fountain Valley, CA; Impressive Plant List! My name is Sven Merten and I live in Fountain Valley CA. Here is a list of what we have so far. We are always looking for new plants. In the ground: Blackberry; Cherimoya; grape, muscat; Grapefruit, Oro Blanco; Guava, from seed 12; Guava, Philippine; Guava, Vietnamese; Guava, white asian; Lemon, Eureka; Lime; Mandarin, Dancy; Mandarin, Page; Mandarin, Satsuma; Mango, Manila; Navel orange, Robertson; papaya, Mexican; Passion fruit, edulis; Passion fruit, fredrick; Passion fruit, unknown; Passion fruit, vitifolia; Persimmon, Fuyu; Plumeria; potato vine; Raspberry; Sapote, Canistel (egg fruit); Sapote, Mammey; Star Fruit, Akrin; Strawberry guava, red; Valencia Orange, Dwarf; Valencia Orange, Standard; In Pots: Avocado; Cherimoya; cimbidium; Desert Ironwood; Fig; Grapefruit, ruby red; Guava, red Grady; Guava, red Guatemalan; Guava, yellow colombian; Joboticoba; Jujube, Kima; Kumquat, nagami; Lowquat; Mandarin, Algerian; Mandarin, leon; Mandarin, mineola; Mangosteen, false; Monisteria/Mexican breadfruit; Mullberry, S. American; Natal Plum; Orange, dwarf valencia; Orange, moro blood; Orange, standard valencia; Papaya; Papino dulce; passion fruit, ligularis; Passion fruit, quadrangularis; Passion fruit, vitifolia; Pawpaw; Persimmon, fuju; Pineapple; Pineapple guava; Plum; Protea; Quince; Sapote, Black; Sapote, canistel; Sapote, Chico; Sapote, Green; Sapote, White; Silk Floss Tree; Star Fruit; Tamarind; Tree Tomato So far only the citrus, guavas, and passion fruit have fruited, but our mango is blooming. We hope for more soon. We've only been in our house for 3 years, and we had nothing when we moved in, so hopefully we'll get more soon. I am very interested in joining you list. Thank you. Thank you. Sven ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 05:48:00 -0700 From: Barry Densa Subject: New Subscriber Wants Macadamia and Lychee Information I am Barry A. Densa, at Loxahatchee, Florida 33470...near West Palm Beach. I want to grow macadamia and lychee on my back three acres. The question I have now is: Is it possible to subscribe and receive here in Florida the Australian Macadamia Society AMS Newsletter, and is there such a thing as a Australian Lychee Society with similar newsletter. I'm looking for all the information I can find on growing Mac's and Lychees. Barry Densa ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 01:14:25 -0700 From: John Fontenot Subject: New Subscriber, Near Baton Rouge, LA Dear Leo Manuel, My name is John S. Fontenot and I live near Lafayette, La., which is in latitude near Baton Rouge. I am growing (but not yet fruiting) pitanga, tamarillo, papaya, lemon and strawberry guava,and a variety of citrus, esp. cold hardy ones. Also have small farm, berries and early tomatoes. I'm a novice at much of this, but I have made profit on farm. By the way, you wouldn't happen to from Ville Platte area, would you. If so, you're descendent of Jean Manuel, who in 1700s married a woman related to all the first families of Quebec. Later, john ------------------------------- Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 08:19:29 -0800 From: Beth Elliott Subject: New Subscriber, CA, Wants Selak Seeds or Plants Hi! My name is Beth Elliott. I live in San Pedro (Los Angeles - near the ocean), Ca. I grow several varieties of bananas, have just planted kiwi and am most interested in growing other tropical & sub tropical fruit. On a trip to Indonesia I collected some seeds from my favorite fruit - Selak. The seeds were growing well until I took another trip. Does anyone know of a source of seedlings or seeds for Selak? It is a small fruit - large plum size - with brown snake skin and white, segmented, sweet, apple/nut textured meat.. Thanks much - glad to find you! Beth ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 09:15:55 +1000 From: Ed & Marilyn Biel Subject: New Subscriber, Australia, Seeks Capulin, Cape Gooseberry Info Dear Leo, I would be pleased if you would include me on you mailing list for your newsletter. Name and other details appear below. Briefly, we grow plums and Nashi (Asian Pear) commercially, in a small (25acre) orchard at Oakdale NSW, Australia. We are in a cool temperate climate located some 80 kilometers from the coast at an altitude of 430meters. Oakdale is located about 100 road kilometers from Sydney, the largest city in Australia. Our orchard is a family run business and has been operating about 12 years. I am looking to diversify into "new" fruit varieties and would be interested in any information as to the commercial potential of fruit such as Capulin Cherries. I have been told that the fruit is not very palatable. Is this so? Size also is a problem as fruit is reputed to be small with large stone. Is this correct? Any info will be welcome. Another fruit I looked at is the Cape Gooseberry. I would be pleased to hear from anyone with information on this fruit. An interesting group of edible fruit is native to Australia and a small but growing industry is developing here. An index of back issues would be appreciated also. many thanks... Ed & Marilyn Biel. Oakdale. N.S.W. Australia. GROWERS OF QUALITY POME AND STONE FRUIT ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 18:02:35 +0000 From: "Dr. Amir Hagiladi" Subject: New Subscriber, Israel, Grows Mango, etc. Dear Leo and Betty Manuel, My name is Dr. Amir Hagiladi I am researcher at Floriculture Dept. in The Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani center, Bet Dagan Israel. I am living in a farm community and I have an Mango plantation of 0.8 Hectare. Rare fruit it is always fascinating, and as a mango grower I can understand your love to this fruit. I am interesting to hear about your association and to have the two issues. I am interested mainly in subtropical fruits such as Cherimoya, lychi longan and others. Will be please to provide you any information that you are interested. Sincerely Yours Amir Hagiladi ------------------------------ From: Andrew Hattel Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 19:31:51 EDT Subject: New Subscriber, Andrew Hattel, Colorado, Age 15 Hello, My name is Andrew Hattel and I live near Grand Junction, Colorado, Zone 5-6. I love to grow fruit and am excited to have found your website. Being so cold here, I am constantly searching for exotic fruits that can survive the cold. Right now we are growing the normal- apples, peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines, asian pears-(one of my favorites)strawberries black, red, and yellow raspberries, gooseberries, and are unsuccessfully trying to grow jostaberries. It takes a lot of work to take care of these, for I am only 15. I would like to find some more literature on fruit- I have the books Uncommon fruits Worthy of Attention, and The Complete book of Fruit- a Practical Guide to Growing and Using Fruits and Nuts. I have also found the book- Fruit Berry and Nut Inventory to be very interesting for it describes all the fruits and varieties obtainable in the U.S. I also have a catalog named Oregon Exotics which has many exotic fruits. Sincerely, Andrew Hattel ------------------------------------ From: Adam Rubinstein Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 23:20:12 EDT Subject: New Subscriber asks: Lychee in the Desert - Possible? Also would any of the newsletter receivers know of- where to obtain a variety of lychee for the less than humid hot drier climate. Thanks for your help, (Zone 13 and in the irrigation capital of the universe, ) Adam Rubinstein ----------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 20:13:16 -0700 From: Von Sexton Subject: New Subscriber, AU, Raising Fruit in Containers; Has Questions My name is Von Sexton & I live outside Townsville a far northern city in Queensland Australia. On our 1 acre lot we have a house, horse & stable, various pets, a chook yard with silky bantams/laying hens/ducks, 3 children & a lemonade, mandarin, orange, lemon, a citris I am trying to have identified, cherry guava,an avocado seedling that is supposed to produce fruit in 8 months that is big red & delious,a small macadamia nut 3 different mangos, lychee, cashew nut & passionfruit vines. I have been given a white sapote, yellow sapote ( cannistel) 3 different longans, a cherry guava, 5 corner fruit & a Imomincillo. They are in containers at present & are 3 feet ( 1 metre) to about 8 feet ( 2.6 metres) high. Question is if I keep them in large containers will they fruit ? How long can I keep them in the containers ? Will they need special care in the containers ? Where can I find out when to pick the fruit how to eat/ present it ? Help ?? Hope you can give me some advice. Von ------------------------------ Subject: New Subscriber "When should I fertilize my young mango?" Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 10:51:31 -0800 From: Karen Marchetti Dear Leo, I spoke with you briefly about mangos (how and whether to fertilize them) at the last rare fruit grower's meeting, and you suggested I get in touch via email. Concerning the mango tree-there's nothing obviously unhealthy about it, I just wondered about decreased in soil nutrients given the amount of rain we've had this year (we live in the Vista area, with fairly good, but clayey, soil). I'm happy not to fertilize, but just wanted some advice from someone who knows a lot more than I do! Also, can I sign up for Rare Fruit News Online via email, or do I have to do it via the internet? Thanks much for any advice, Karen Marchetti ------------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 16:37:15 -0500 From: Helga & John Kocurek Subject: New Subscribers, Texas, Wants Ideas For Planting In Their Zone We recently cleared 10,000 square feet for vegetable garden fruit and nut trees. We want to have a wide variety. we have several pecans, walnut, several apples (braeburn, anna, golden dorsett, gala), peach, apricot, bush cherry. Of course we just planted, so we don't know how everything will go. We hope to get some good ideas from you. Send us some earlier issues, please. Thanks, Helga & John Kocurek Magnolia (north of Houston, TX) ----------Readers Have Questions, Suggestions, or Comments------------- Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 07:40:37 -0400 From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: Cherimoya For the correspondant with the Annona (Cherimoya) pollination question; When the flower opens just a crack it's in the female stage and receptive to pollen. When it opens all the way it's in the male stage and shedding pollen. Collect up pollen in a film cannister. Using a paintbrush, put it inside flowers in the female stage. We have a beetle that does the work here in Florida, We attract it by putting a bucket of rotting citrus under the trees. Don't know if that would work in CA. Cherimoya don't do well here but we grow most other annonas. Margaret ------------------------------- Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 11:03:06 -0400 From: "Ed Griffin" Subject: Cherimoya in Zone 10b, Florida; Will They Grow Here? Can anyone from Miami south, not including the Keys, verify that Cherimoya WILL grow here (NOT atemoyas...:^( )? If so, variety and source? Thank you! Ed Griffin --- egriffin@shadow.net --- USDA Zone 10b (FL) --- ------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 17:06:05 +1000 (EST) From: Ian Staples To:sci.agriculture.fruit Subject: Monsteras lost :-( G'day Leo, Here's a copy of my recent note to sci.agriculture.fruit in case you want to include it in one of your newsletters. (Though I suppose a lot of folk may have already seen it in s.a.f.) I've also included the response I got from Don Ghoslton of the California Rare Fruit Growers. Cheers, Ian S. ------ To: sci.agriculture.fruit Damn! I checked my _Monstera deliciosa_ last Friday, having been away for 10 days or so, and my *entire* first crop of three fruit had fallen and rotted. (The last to fall was almost still edible, I didn't miss it by much.) The plant was established several years ago as a cutting from a friend who was cleaning out his garden to get into the house. :) It had three inflorescences about 12 months ago and they all set fruit. Earlier this year it had its second flowering. This time three leaders flowered: 6 on the strongest, and a 4 and a 2 on the others. The bloke I got the cutting from originally said last year's crop would be about ripe when the plant flowered again, so I had been watching it -- but missed the finale! Damn! I wonder if I could have picked the things a bit earlier? Maybe if I'd cut one and stuck it in the fridge while I was away I could have been enjoying it bit by bit now? Does anyone know how well they store and rippen once cut off the plant? Incidentally, I've also got a seedling established (found in a fruit from the same source as my earlier cutting :) and am wondering if it's likely to set fruit once its "seven years" are up. [My grandmother long ago convinced me that all fruit trees take seven years to bare fruit from seedlings. But she was wrong of course -- none of my seedling litchis have ever even looked like flowering, let alone setting fruit. 8-) ] Cheers, Ian S. ************* Reply From dgholston@aol.com Thu Apr 16 06:29:24 1998 Sorry about your Monstera fruit. Once ripened, the fruits can be kept in the refrigerator in good condition for a week or a little more, but they must be ripened at room temperature. To do this, the fruit with at least an inch (2.5. cm) of stem should be cut from the plant when the tile-like sections of rind separate slightly at the base. At room temperature the fruit will ripen progressively toward the apex over a period of 5 or 6 days. To ripen the whole fruit at one time, it should be wrapped in paper or plastic as soon as cut from the plant and kept at room temperature until the rind has loosened the entire length of the fruit. Better luck next time, I guess. Don Ghoslton California Rare Fruit Growers http://www.crfg.org/ ------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 23:32:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Mark Dodgson Subject: My Tahitian Lime and Change of email address Hi Leo Just a quick note to say I've changed my everyday email address to: mjdodgson@yahoo.com On a fruit note, I used my first home grown Tahitian lime yesterday in a red and green curry paste. The Winters and Leo's #5 mango seeds you sent me are between 6 and 12 inches tall at the moment and are still showing signs of new growth. Winter is coming up soon and it's starting to get cooler at nights, which means bad for the sub-tropical fruit, and bad for me too. At least in the middle of Winter on a mildly sunny day I can walk into the unheated glass house and it's 10 deg C or warmer than outside. Bye for now, and I hope it's getting warmer up your way Mark Dodgson http://members.xoom.com/mjdodgson/ icq:11248266 -------------------------------- Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 06:30:28 -0700 From: "Lon J. Rombough" Subject: Updated Website: http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom Dear Leo: my web site has been updated, if I hadn't mentioned it - Lon Rombough ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 05 Apr 1998 09:11:29 -0500 From: moshe Subject: Re: Happy Travels! But, We'll Miss You!! Leo Manuel wrote: > > Hi, Moshe! > > Are both you and Yair leaving? Should I stop the mailings? > > If you are near San Diego in Mexico, feel free to stop by. > > Do you plan to remain in Israel? I must try to visit Israel sometime. One of > the readers picked up a 'Gitit' there recently, along with some other trees > and graftwood. > > I'll miss you and look forward to hearing from you soon when you are established. > > Sincerely, > > Leo hi leo! Yair is staying here. I am going with my family to Israel and going to start a Ph.D on........ yes, mangoes. Also I will travel every month or two to Mexico and maybe to Ecuador. If you are ever in israel please let me know. I will contact you from Israel as soon as I have a new address. Thanks again Moshe ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 11:43:11 -0400 From: "Ed Griffin" Subject: The Exhalted Neem Tree Seems to me that a few months back, there was a big hoodoo about the Neem tree. Looked around, neighbors haddem, I didn't. Got one from local nursery ($3). Haven't planted it yet, cuz I need to know.... what is it good for? What useful thing(s) can I DO with it (after planting, of course....).? Thank you! Ed Griffin --- egriffin@shadow.net --- USDA Zone 10b (FL) ------------------------------- Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 21:03:10 -0700 From: John Fontenot Subject: Anredera basselloides "Patate Fleur"; Anyone Know of It? I have a locally rare vine identified as Anredera basselloides referred to as "Patate Fleur" and considered a medicinal. An elder distant cousin informs me that it would heal sores that otherwise would not heal. I've just started searching for info on A. basselloides. It resembles Malabar spinach but is light green and makes a rather large convoluted tuber. Know anything about its value? John ------------------Readers Write To Each Other---------------------- Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 21:26:52 +1000 From: NickSchaefer To: Ricardo Barbosa Subject: Tree List/Bunchosia/Imbu Hi Ricardo Thanks for your list of fruit trees - you have a lot of things planted. I shall go through it carefully, I have been away for a few days in Sydney over Easter. Do you know anything about Chico Mamey (Bunchosia armeniaca)? I have one planted and just picked two fruits that eventually turned from orange to red colour with a taste like sweet (not astringent) cooked carrots and peas? I was told that it comes from Uruguay, maybe it is also native to your area around Porto Alegre? If so are different varieties available? I found the following on the internet (Newcrops?) : Bunchosia armeniaca Rich. The bunchosia is native to South America, and is uncommon in most other locations. The trees are found from low to middle elevations, producing a small, attractive tree up to 10 m. The trees are precocious, fruiting within 3 years from seed. The trees flower and fruit throughout most of the year. Fruit are ellipsoid and borne in clusters. The red or yellow fruit are from 3 to 4 cm in length with a cream-colored flesh. The flavor is sweet, but often astringent. Even in areas where the tree is common, the fruit are not highly esteemed for fresh consumption. They are more commonly used as a flavoring. Bunchosia is a common addition to the home garden, but only rarely used as a commercial crop. The trees are tolerant of freezes, being slightly damaged by temperatures of -2°C in Florida (Campbell et al. 1977). Martin et al. (1977) finds the bunchosia to have little potential for further commercialization. However, it could have potential, given its precocity and adaptive nature if superior cultivars could be identified. New cultivars not withstanding, the tree has good potential as an ornamental in the low to middle elevations throughout the tropics (Donadio 1983), where it would be a pleasant addition to the home garden landscape. With the commercial importance of ornamental horticulture throughout the world, this aspect of the tree should not be ignored. Have you come across the Imbu (Spondias tuberosa)? It is supposed to be the best of the Spondias fruit species according to Popenoe. I believe it grows in northern Brazil. How has the weather been over your way? We've just had 90mm of rain over the last week and expecting more - At Last! The weather bureau is tipping that El Nino may finally be finishing. Apparently sea temperatures have started to drop off Peru. All the Best Nick Schaefer Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. ---------------------------- From: DGholston To: Rasmus Thomsen Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 12:44:24 EDT Subject: Citrus in containers Dear Rasmus and Trine: Your question on citrus was forwarded to me to answer. I assume you are growing your orange and lemon trees in containers. Growing any plant in a container is a challenge and a committment, and citrus is no exception. There is some good advice on growing fruit trees in containers in the California Rare Fruit Growers web site. Go to the Information Tidbits page: http://www.crfg.org/tidbits/tidbits.html. If you are unable to access the site, I can send you a copy by e-mail. Don Gholston California Rare Fruit Growers ------------------------------- From: jcubero@magicnet.net Subject: "Marimba" - a highbush blueberry or a rabbiteye? Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 01:19:55 GMT Does anyone know if "Marimba" is a highbush blueberry or a rabbiteye? I know it's not exactly tropical, but... Kym (Florida) -------------------------------- Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 21:38:25 -0700 From: Leo Manuel To: jcubero@magicnet.net Subject: Re: "Marimba" - a highbush blueberry or a rabbiteye? Kym, Marimba is listed as Southern Highbush on webpage: http://www.ces.uga.edu (continued on next line) /Agriculture/plantpath/docs/FruitsNuts/Newsletter/bbcultiv.html Following is an excerpt: SOUTHERN HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY CULTIVARS One of the most exciting developments in Southern blueberry culture is underway. In the five years, a group of early ripening Southern highbush blueberries have been released. These bushes have a lower winter chilling requirement and more heat tolerance than Northern highbush blueberries. Southern highbush cultivars with a chilling requirement of 400 hours or less may need overhead irrigation for frost protection for reliable cropping in South Georgia. It is not recommended that cultivars with a chilling requirement of 400 hours or less be planted in middle or north Georgia. Southern highbush ripen at different times during the months of April and May in the deep South. Rabbiteye blueberries are still the best choice for June and July berries in the deep South, but currently there are no April and only a few May ripening Rabbiteye cultivars. To grow the new southern highbush blueberries rabbiteye growers will need to modify their cultural practices or disaster may occur. Southern highbush blueberries need well drained soil and permanent irrigation. They need more attention to pest control (deer, alder flea beetles, and leaf diseases, etc.) and pruning than rabbiteyes. Three production systems for southern highbush are being used in Georgia: * Bedded Spodic soils with an organic hardpan such as Leon, Sapelo, Olustee, etc. are ideal for southern highbush. Soil organic matter content of at least 2% is recommended. Marginally wet fields, like those where some rabbiteye blueberries cultivars grow well, are not satisfactory for southern highbush blueberries without water control (beds, drainage system, etc.). Growth will be poor in wet fields and plant losses high from root rots. Plants are spaced 2 to 4 feet in the row and 10 to 12 feet between rows in most cases. I have detailed information on spodic soils available via your county agent. These soils are confined to flatwoods areas of South Georgia. * High density Pine Bark Bed Production involves growing the blueberries directly in 6 inches of milled pine bark. This can be done in large beds with the plants spaced 2 by 5 feet or in a field setting with the plants space 4 by 10. * Amended Soil with Pine Bark Mulch Production involves growing the berries in a well drained acid soil (usually a sand) heavily amended with milled pine bark (about 4 inches deep 4 feet wide tilled in the soil) plus a 4 inch mulch layer of pine bark nuggets applied after planting. Spacing of Southern highbush blueberries should be closer than rabbiteyes since they are generally not as vigorous and the investment per acre is higher. For most cultivars of southern highbush a spacing of 2 to 4 in the row and 10 to 12 feet between rows works well. Most Southern highbush blueberries are partially self-fertile, but production is improved by cross pollination. Therefore plant a minimum of two cultivars with a similar bloom time per field. Currently, we can only make an educated guess about which of the Southern highbush varieties will be ideal for your region. However, the most promising cultivars for commercial blueberry belt in South Georgia are marked with an asterisk (*). The following is a list of Southern highbush blueberries with some of what is currently known about them. One note on chilling requirement: In peaches, chilling requirement is defined as the number of hours of winter chilling 45 degrees F and below, followed by two weeks of very warm weather (heat unit requirement) required for good bud break and normal growth. In blueberries the situation is much fuzzier. In peaches there is relatively little difference between cultivars in the heat unit requirement once winter chilling has been received. In blueberries, the heat unit requirement after chilling is much higher than in peach (to reach 90% bloom) and probably varies with the cultivar. In addition some "high chill" cultivars may bloom relatively late (i.e. Powderblue), but never fail to set a crop from lack of chilling even in Gainesville, Fla. Chilling requirement is listed to inform you about relative bloom dates. In general 200-300 hour cultivars will be blooming heavily in mid to late February in South Georgia, 500-600 hour cultivars in early to mid March. --- *??(Pat.) Marimba has a chilling requirement of about 400 hours, so it blooms early. Approximate ripening date in south Georgia is early to mid-May or 0-5 days after Sharp blue in Gainesville, Fla. Fruit are firm, have a very good scar, and should ship well. Marimba may be suitable for mechanical harvest. Plants are fairly vigorous and bushy. Spring leaf development may be poor. High flower bud density and bushy plant habit should make this cultivar very productive, but may require extensive shoot tipping to reduce the number of flower buds in a year with little freeze damage. Highly recommended for limited trial in South Georgia. My guess this cultivar is a "sleeper" that will become popular in South Georgia in future years. It is patented and a license is necessary to propagate it. Released in 1991 by Florida. ---------------------------- From: DGholston To: Leo Manuel Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 12:36:53 EDT Subject: Re: Wampi on citrus? Leo said: Don, I have the opportunity to acquire a piece of wampi, but I don't have any wampi on which to graft it. Is it sufficiently closely related to citrus to graft on one of them, or on the trifoliate? Leo, According to Citrus Industry, vol. 1, "Although the wampee is only remotely related to Citrus, it can be grafted on a Citrus rootstock and thereby forced into early flowering and fruiting." I assume any citrus would do. Regards. Don Gholston ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 16:11:00 -0500 From: Janelle Kessler Subject: Fruit with horns - Where can I find a picture? I am tring to prove something to my freinds about fruit I am trying to prove that there is a horny fruit if there is such thing would you please send me a picture son i can prove them wrong. Thanks a bunch, Drew K. ------------------------------- From: Don Gholston To: Drew K. Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 20:22:34 EDT Subject: Re: Fruit with horns (but no picture) Dear Drew: Are you referring to the African Horned Melon (Cucumis metuliferus) perhaps? I don't have a picture, but the distinctive fruit is yellowish-orange when ripe and studded with numerous spiny "horns". They are so weird looking that they are used for props on Star Trek. The are sometimes sold in specialty markets, so you might be able to find one. Don Gholston California Rare Fruit Growers ------From New Crops; Subscribe at --------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Ben Alkire Subject: NewCROP's Phytosanitation Resource Dear New Crop ListGroup, I am now able to announce that New Crop has completed its Import-Export information pages: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ImportExport/ie_index.html The list names phytosanitation agencies for all countries except for a few minor places (Andorra, Liechtenstein, etc.). But to make this site more useful, I would like to ask for some personal contributions: If you have any current practical information, specific tips, preferred ports of entry, or names of commercial brokers etc. for moving botanicals through various countries; I would be interested in adding your experiences and comments to each country's page. And, I will keep all personal commentaries anonymous! (or as wished) I am also looking for handbooks, book chapters & reference manuals on meeting phytosanitation requirements. In particular, I'm seeking resources for practical information on fumigation choices, presentation of paperwork, packaging live materials, and all matters related to plant importation-exportation and introduction. Any information would be appreciated, and thanks to you all, Ben Alkire ------------------------------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Michel Van Mellaerts Subject: Re: What is Mako? (Is "Aristotelia serrata") Robert P. Nederpelt wrote: The following came the other day. ******************************************************************** Fruit-of-the-Day for Sun, Apr 12, 1998: mako ma.ko \'may-ko\ n small New Zealand tree with clusters of dark-red berries and large racemes of pink flowers (also called "wineberry") ******************************************************************** Have done a fruitless search, excuse the pun, on a couple of search engines. Any one have any ideas on the plant involved, name, habitat, cultivation requirements? Regards from Western Australia Robert P. Nederpelt ---- Hi there, Robert I think the tree you are looking for is "Aristotelia serrata". This is known in New Zealand as Wineberry/Makomako. Reference: The Native Trees of New Zealand by J.T. Salmon. Published by A.H. & A.W. Reed Ltd, 1980. Pages 172-173. Lots of photgraphs. One of the graceful small trees of our forests, forest margins and roadsides, occuring throughout New Zealand from sea level to 1,050m. Wineberry is usually the first tree to appear in clearings after slips or tree felling, where it forms dense thickets. In cold districts it is deciduous but in warmer areas it often retains some foliage during winter. The tree reaches 10m high with a trunk 30 cm through. The bark of young branchlets is red; that of old wood is black. The deeply serrated leaves are membranous and translucent and often reddish in colour below. They are up to 12 cm long and 8 cm wide on slender pubescent petioles up to 5 cm long. Wineberry's male and female flowers occur on seperate trees and are borne on panicles up to 10 cm long. The berries are deep red to almost black and about 5 mm in diameter. Regards Michel Warkworth New Zealand -----------------Another Leo Note------------------ From: Leo Manuel Date: April 25, 1998 Subject: Peaceful Valley Farm Supply in Grass Valley, CA I have been impressed with the prices and range of items sold by Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, in Grass Valley, CA. They have a website at http://www.groworganic.com, but sell through their catalog. I believe you can order the catalog from their web page. I'd say prices are as good or better than the local dealers, even including shipping costs. Has anyone had a negative experience? Some of the items listed in the table of contents: Vegetable Seeds, Organic Open-Pollenated Growing & Propagating Supplies Watering Supplies Irrigation Supplies Season Extenders (Includes Floating Rowcovers, Greenhouse supplies,... Natural Weed Controls, including Beneficial Insects Erosion Control Materials, Seeds of cover crops Inoculants for Seeds Inoculants for Soil Pond Management Composting Aids & Composting Inoculants Organic Fertilizers Natural Pest Management Animal Health Products Orchard Ladders & Supplies Sprayers, Dustes & Accessories Pruning Tools etc., etc. Their toll-free phone number is 1 888 784 1722 Leo >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - May 1, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online May 15, 1998 AKA RFN199805B.txt ----------------What's in this issue?----------------- Notes from Leo New Subscribers - (Number of subscribers now exceeds 200) Readers Write New Crops: Subscribe at -------------------Note from Leo------------------- FYI: Rare Fruit News Assembly, address below, hasn't been used since March. I'm telling you, in case you don't know that it exists. Leo http://assembly.nerdworld.com/assembly.asp?assemblyid=2289 --New Subscribers-- From: Rasmus Thomsen Subject: New Subscribers: Danish Boy and Girl From: John Bastien Subject: New Subscriber - Florida Subject: New Subscriber, Trouble Growing Rare Fruit In Greenhouse From: Shirley Cunningham From: Carole V. Robinson Subject: New Subscriber, CA, Wants To Grow Cherimoya and Mango From: Jeff Carmello Subject: New Subscriber, Zone 18, To Grow Rare Fruit --Readers Write-- From: Matthew Shugart Subject: Mangos - In Bloom, No Set (Yet), Try Antitranspirants? From: Matthew Shugart Subject: Recommendation for Peaceful Valley Farm Supply From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: Neem Prevents Anthracnose on Mango Bloom? From: Dan Hemenway Subject: Re: Need to know: Will longans grow in north Florida? From: Sainarong To: lorraine brunner Subject: Re: longans From: Bob Holzinger To: Andrew Subject: Fruit books to recommend From: "Geoff Buckner" Subject: Compact Mango Varieties for a Coastal Climate From: Leo Manuel To: Geoff Buckner Subject: Re: Compact Mango Varieties for a Coastal Climate From: "Geoff Buckner" To: Leo Manuel Subject: Re: Compact Mango Varieties for a Coastal Climate From: "Bruce Ross-Adams" Subject: Re: Fellow Aussies; From: "Raymond N. Gerlach" Subject: Cheap Bananas at http://home1.gte.net/tflora/ From: Adam Rubinstein Subject: Needed: lychee that's drought tolerant for poor soil From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: June 7: Bill Whitman Day at Fruit & Spice Park (& Webpage) From: Steve & Missy Kennedy To: Leo Subject: Re: Some Bananas more tolerant of poor drainage? From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: Thanks for sending information to Florida members From: Lorraine Nelson Brunner Subject: How to care for Frangipany/Plumeria? From: DGholston To: Lorraine Subject: Re: Advice for growing Plumeria? Subject: Forwarded Mail From: DGholston Subject: Eugenia Uniflora Fruit Wanted; Can You Help? From: Paul_Bubrick@NPI-LV.CCMAIL.compuserve.com Subject: Searching for Planting Pots From: "Holzinger, Bob" From: Leo Manuel To: Holzinger, Bob Subject: Re: Searching for Planting Pots Subject: Pots-Searching No More! & Too Few Mangos Setting From: Holzinger, Bob Subject: Too Few Mangos Setting From: Leo Manuel From: "Raymond N. Gerlach" Subject: Gypsum, Copper Hydroxide, and mulches --New Crops: Subscribe at -- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Dirk Enneking Subject: Argania -------------------New Subscribers----------------- Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 09:13:27 +0200 From: Rasmus Thomsen Subject: New Subscribers: Danish Boy and Girl Hello Leo and Betty My name is Rasmus Thomsen (24) and my girlfriend's name is Trine Palludan (19). We are living in Gentofte, a part of Copenhagen (Denmark). We are very interested in citrus trees (lemon and orange). We have already an orange - and a lemon tree and want to know some tricks - if there are some? Rasmus and Trine ------------------------------- Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 17:22:07 -0400 From: John Bastien Subject: New Subscriber - Florida I am John Bastien living in Loxahatchee, FL I am a homeowner with a big yard. I am interested in growing rare fruit. I have about 20 different types of bananas and would like to try more. I am a member of the Rare Fruit Council- Palm Beach Chapter. I also grow mango, avocado, carambola, Barbados cherry and citrus. Could I please get copies of earlier issues? I think this is a great way to share information. Thanks, John Bastien ------------------------ Subject: New Subscriber, Trouble Growing Rare Fruit In Greenhouse Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 16:33:07 -0500 From: "Shirley Cunningham" Would like to receive your newsletter. I live in and near the Ark. Ozarks, have a small greenhouse for my private use, and a daughter in Florida. So I am trying to raise mangoes, guavas, cherimoyas, banana, citrus and passionfruit. I am having a devil of a time figuring out how to sprout some of the seeds. I have to try to hit and miss method. Maybe some of your newsletters will help me. Right now I am trying to sprout cherimoyas, and need help. Shirley Cunningham Cabot, Arkansas ------------------------------- From: Carole V. Robinson Date: Sun, 3 May 1998 10:19:03 EDT Subject: New Subscriber, CA, Wants To Grow Cherimoya and Mango Carole V. Robinson, Monrovia, CA 91016 I am interested in growing Cherimoya and Mangoes. Carole ------------------------------- Date: Tue May 12 20:19:57 1998 From: Jeff Carmello Subject: New Subscriber, Zone 18, To Grow Rare Fruit Leo, I am in zone 18. No we don't get much frost here-some years not at all. Its not ideal for tropical fruit but I think it will be okey. This used to be A major citrus growing area. Also there's a lot of wineries. Avocado's also do well here. I'm more concerned about wind and soil. The lot my house was built on was raised up about 5 or 6 feet over the sand that existed.The backfill they used has a lot of clay in it. Anyway I have to try it. Jeff Carmello ----------------Readers Write--------------- Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 13:54:31 -0800 From: Matthew Shugart Subject: Mangos - In Bloom, No Set (Yet), Try Antitranspirants? Leo, My one mango, a Valencia Pride, is in bloom now, and has been blooming since early March, at least. I've never seen any mildew on it, and I'm a lot closer to that big body of moisture (a.k.a. the Pacific Ocean) than you are! So far, though, I also have not seen any fruit set this year. Last year, though, it started blooming earlier (late January, when we had a warm spell), then the weather turned chilly again in February, but by May I had a good fruit set. This year, of course, chilly weather returned as late as early April. I wonder how much that will affect fruit set? I have heard of antitranspirants, like Wiltpruf and Cloud Cover, being effective against mildew on roses. Might it work on mango blooms? Matthew Shugart ------------------------------- Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 13:48:09 -0800 From: Matthew Shugart Subject: Recommendation for Peaceful Valley Farm Supply I recently received an order from Peaceful Valley in Grass Valley, CA. Indeed, their prices are good! For example, cottonseed meal was still cheaper than I can buy at a local store even if I were to buy only one 15 lb. bag and nothing else in the order. The more other things you order, of course, the more the shipping cost drops, especially if you can use the UPS hundredweight charges, which are much more economical. I like the fact that their cottonseed meal is from cotton grown without pesticides, that their chicken manure is highly composted and blended with gypsum, and that they have a great line of products for foliar feeding. They also have an excellent supply of cover crop seeds, again at unbeatable prices. The order was delivered within two weeks of my faxing it to them. The only "negative" thing about the order was enduring the grief from my UPS driver about her having to smell chicken sh** all day on the truck! (Actually, it smelled good to me. I guess that's how you tell a farmer from the rest!) Matthew Shugart ------------------------------- Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 13:43:54 -0400 From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: Neem Prevents Anthracnose on Mango Bloom? Re your notes... I have sprayed Neem oil on my mango blooms this year only once, and had no anthracnose. Websites from Australia document the uptake of Neem oil into new growth in plants, this might be what's doing it. Margaret ------------------------------- From: Dan Hemenway Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 11:36:18 EDT Subject: Re: Need to know: Will longans grow in north Florida? Gainesville area does not have one climate. For example, we live midway between Gainesville and Ocala and had no frost damage on bananas this past winter, though there was a bit of frost out on our "prairie" (presently a lake). Most of the bananas between here and Gainesville were hit hard. I don't know how much frost longans will take, if any, but you can expect to get down 15 degrees F or less at least two years in ten, if my research is correct. (I've only been here one year, but my father has been a bit south of us in Citrus county nearly 20 and that is his experience.) Citrus was once grown widely around here but now it is confined to microclimates such as ours. If longans are hardier than citrus, they may make it. Dan Hemenway http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/ypc_catalog.html ------------------------------- Date: Sat, 02 May 1998 08:50:29 +0700 From: Sainarong To: lorraine brunner Subject: Re: longans lorraine brunner wrote: Dear Sainarong, I am in south Florida growing leechees and longans. I have 75-100 longan seedling 8-12 inches potted and growing well. I would like to sell them when they reach 16 inches. I have a friend in Williston, Fla. who is starting a nursery. She is near Gainsville. The climate is much like Miami but the winters are colder than here. sometimes it freezes up there. Almost never it freezes here. Can these longans produce in this weather? I assume that you have the 'Kohala' cultivar which is one of the best cultivars for a colder climate. Kohala should be able to produce in Florida. However, the major problem is whether the trees will be able to survive the frost. Kohala should be able to survive one or two mild and short frost spells per winter, provided that you take good care of them. If the frost is more frequent, more severe and last longer, then you have a problem. Maybe Patty can give us her valuable on-hand experience on this subject? I don't know if you have the answer, but thanks to you, I have for the second year in a row, a tree full of lychees, a successful air layering, and all these little longans growing in my yard. Your knowledge is greatly appreciated. No one has the answer, we learn new things everyday through experience and discussions. That is why it is so interesting! Sainarong ------------------------------- From: Bob Holzinger To: Andrew Subject: Fruit books to recommend Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 08:59:38 -0700 Hi Andrew, I saw your note on the RFNO and thought I'd throw temptation in your direction. It's not usual that someone your age gets interested in fruits, so if you really want to get immersed in the best of the best, here's two books to look for that will really get you hooked on fruits of the tropics and sub-tropics. Neither is cheap, and if you can't find them at the local bookstore, then get back to me and I'll get you the publisher's address. Fruits of Warm Climates by Julia F. Morton; Media Inc. 1987 Fruit-A Connoisseur's Guide and Cookbook by Alan Davidson & Charlotte Knox Simon & Schuster 1991 The first book will keep you awake at night reading all the information Julia Morton has amassed. It's very impressive, and so is the price (~$85). The second book has the best color drawings of all types of fruits I have ever seen. They are good enough to frame and hang on a gallery wall. Take care, Bob Holzinger ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 4 May 98 12:09:11 PDT From: "Geoff Buckner" Subject: Compact Mango Varieties for a Coastal Climate Leo, I am interested in adding a couple of mangos to my garden. I live in the Point Loma area of San Diego and so I would like to add cultivars that you or others have found to do well near the coast. Another criteria I have is I would prefer them to be compact (shrublike) rather than upright or spreading trees. I have looked into acquiring several older varieties that reportedly do well near the coast (such as Earlygold and Villasenor), but nobody appears to be propagating these anymore. So, my last criteria is that they are available at a local nursery or growing ground. I would appreciate any advice you could give me. Thank you in advance for your help. Geoff ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 06 May 1998 14:02:47 -0700 From: Leo Manuel To: Geoff Buckner Subject: Re: Compact Mango Varieties for a Coastal Climate Geoff, I hope other readers respond to your questions, but I think that it's worth looking for the two recommended coastal varieties of EarlyGold and VillaSenor. You might find someone with the trees willing to share graftwood or even to graft one (or both) for you. The time to graft begins at the end of this month (June through July?). I don't have them anymore, and don't live near the coast, so it's not so important, but I'd like to get them, "for completeness sake." EarlyGold may do better for you, but it's not as tasty, possibly, as VillaSenor. It's not hard to keep most grafted mango trees down to whatever size you need for it to be. Grafted ones just seem to stay a lot smaller than seedling trees. Again, I hope you get other responses than mine to your questions. Horticordially, Leo ------------------------------- Date: Wed, 6 May 98 14:18:03 PDT From: "Geoff Buckner" To: Leo Manuel Subject: Re: Compact Mango Varieties for a Coastal Climate Leo, Thank you for your suggestion. If somebody can share some graftwood, which rootstock do you recommend? Which is the best dwarf or semi-dwarf mango rootstock? Does anybody out there in San Diego or SoCal have or know of somebody who would be willing to share graftwood of Earlygold and/or VillaSenor mangos for a coastal gardener? Geoff -------------------------------- From: "Bruce Ross-Adams" To: "Leo Manuel" Subject: Re: Fellow Aussies; Thanks Leo, Hello other 'diggers'. It must be useful (getting names and email addresses of other Aussies who subscribe to RFNO), because I have spoken to and met a couple on the list, who I would not have done otherwise. Maybe we will get organised down this end and get some exchange going. By the way, I am not in Perth anymore (have kept my old e-mail and dial in long distance). I have moved to a small town (Leinster, Western Australia, 900km North of Perth) in the back of beyond which gets to 45-50 degrees C in the summer and down to -2 in winter. It's a mining town, and I am already planting various things like oranges, mandarins etc to see how they will do. By the looks of the newsletter, things are coming along fine. If anyone has ideas on what will do well in hot, and I mean hot, dry climates (about 6-8 inches rain pa) I will be interested to findout. Regards Bruce ----------------------------------- From: "Raymond N. Gerlach" Subject: Cheap Bananas at http://home1.gte.net/tflora/ Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 10:57:06 -0400 Thought you might be interested; The new online catalog for Tropicaflora just came out this morning. They have 10 varieties of banana meristems for sale. They are $6.95 each,any 5 for $29.95, or all 10 for $55.00 with free shipping. I ordered some last year and was well pleased with them. They are cloned plants, 6 to 12" tall, and grow vigorously. The varieties are; Roho, Dwarf Red Cuban, Kru, Rajapuri, William's Hybrid, 1000 Fingers, Cardaba, Grand Nain, Dwarf Cavendish, Green Macaboo. The web address is http://home1.gte.net/tflora/ email: tflora@gte.net Happy growing, Ray G. in Ky. ------------------------------- From: Adam Rubinstein Date: Sun, 10 May 1998 14:46:26 EDT Subject: Needed: lychee that's drought tolerant for poor soil In reading some of the files you sent me, I discovered there is a variety of Lychee called Tim Naan which is drought tolerant and can grow in poor soil, would you or any of your readers know where I can purchase some air layers of this variety? Adam Rubinstein ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 07:55:51 -0400 From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: Bill Whitman Day at the Fruit & Spice Park. Forwarded from Chris Rollins: In case the Floridian recipients are interested June 7th is Bill Whitman Day at the Fruit & Spice Park. We will be dedicating a Kohola Longan tree to Bill in the Park. Later we will have a slide show titled "This is Your Life With Tropical Fruit Bill Whitman". This will feature Bill's slides of forty years. Everyone is invited. A very limited # of Bill Whitman shirts are available. FRUIT & SPICE PARK - 24801 S.W. 187 Avenue Homestead, Florida 33031. 305-247-5727 See their webpage at: http://www.floridaplants.com/fruit&spice/index.html -------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 13:43:57 -0400 From: "Margaret J. Basile" Subject: Thanks for sending Walt Whitman info to Florida members Thanks for sending the info to your list. I don't know if you are familiar with Mr. Whitman? Sorry you're not in town to meet him. He's really a great person, and extremely generous with his plant materials. Glad to hear you get so much support here. (Leo said "There are over 40 Florida reader/growers receiving RFNO.) Haven't read the last newslettr because of work, must get to it shortly. Margaret ------------------------------- To: Leo Manuel From: Steve & Missy Kennedy Subject: Re: Some Bananas more tolerant of poor drainage? Leo, Try using a lot of pine bark with the other organics, It will improve the drainage if you add a lot. Bananas like lots of water, they just can't be standing in it. Steve ----------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 11:45:21 -0400 From: Lorraine Nelson Brunner Subject: How to care for Frangipany/Plumeria? hi Leo, I have received a Frangipany/Plumeria? for mothers' day and I want it to do well. Could you ask for advise on what to do with the cutting please? It has a root ball and I put it in a biggert pot, but I don't know what soil it likes what area of the yard to plant it and with what other plants does it like to be with. What fertilizer if any does it need? It is very small, about 30 inches and has flowers and leaves. The ones I've seen in the neighborhood look sad. No leaves no flowers no growth. Are they native to South Florida? I am in Miami, will it do well here? I also got 3 gardenias. I know they acidic soil, but do they like sun or shade or both? Any help would be much appreciated. Many thanks, Lory ------ From: DGholston Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 19:10:55 EDT To: Lorraine Subject: Re: Advice for growing Plumeria? Dear Lorraine: Leo Manuel sent me your question on plumeria. I have not grown them where I am in California, but they do rather well in parts of Southern California. I should think they would grow satisfactorily in the Miami area. In general the plants are tender to frost and won't take cold, wet soil. They like adequate water and do best in partial shade. Feed with a fertilizer formulated for citrus and avocado. Avoid feeding late in the year which may result in soft growth more sensitive to cold weather. Good luck. Don Gholston ----------------------------------- Subject: Forwarded Mail From: DGholston Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 12:23:26 EDT Leo, I gave Paul your e-mail address. Is there anything you can do for him in your Rare Fruit News Online? (How about it readers? Can YOU help?) Thanks. Don ---------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 17:00:49 -0400 Subject: Eugenia Uniflora Fruit Wanted; Can You Help? From: Paul_Bubrick@NPI-LV.CCMAIL.compuserve.com I have a need to obtain up to 1 pound of cherries of various named cultivars of Eugenia uniflora, especially cv Christina. We will gladly pay all costs and a fee for the service. Can you recommend a way to get this info out over an electronic medium? Is it best just to call the chapter heads? Thanks for your advice, Paul Bubrick ------------------------------------- Subject: Searching for Planting Pots Date: Thu, 7 May 1998 15:17:38 -0700 From: "Holzinger, Bob" Hi Leo, I have a need for the tall 5 gallon pots and so I called the manufacturer for a current price. They are $0.98 a piece plus tax, so $1.06 each. Of course you have to get 500 as a minumum, so do you or other people you know in San Diego have a need for some tall 5's because I don't need 500 of them! I figure I could use 100, so I need to get rid of at least 400. There aren't many growers in my area who really need this type of pot, they don't grow anything "rare" that needs the extra root room. Ask around and let me know if there's interest down there, I could bring them down the next time I head in that direction. Take care, Bob (in Southern California) ------------ From: Leo Manuel To: Holzinger, Bob Sent: Thursday, May 7, 1998 18:47 Subject: Re: Searching for Planting Pots Bob, what is a "tall 5-gallon" container? Is it similar to or the same as the citrus pots, about 8" diameter at bottom and 16" or so high? Leo ------------ Leo, Yes, those are the pots. They're really hard to find and when you need some, as I do, then you are stuck without many options. Oh well, I'll just keep looking I guess. Bob ---------- Subject: Pots-Searching No More! & Too Few Mangos Setting Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 12:24:26 -0700 From: Holzinger, Bob Hi Leo, I struck paydirt--I found a source of the tall 5's that I asked you about last week. It turns out that Brokaw's Nursery has a couple thousand used ones that growers have returned to them. They only want $0.25 each for them, so I have found my source! If you or anyone else down there want some, let me know. I don't know when I can bring them down, but certainly by early July. How's the fruit set on your mangos? I don't think my Kent will set much at all, the other two are a couple weeks behind and may set some now that it's stopped raining every other day. Later, Bob ------------- Subject: Too Few Mangos Setting Date: Friday, 15 May 1998 From: Leo Manuel The number of mangos setting on my dozen or so trees is also pretty small, but most trees seem to be setting at least a few. The most advanced in size is the Thomson polyembryonic tree. There is mildew (fungus) on most blooms that I need to deal with. Leo ----------New Crops: Subscribe at ---------- Sender: Discussion list for New Crops From: Dirk Enneking Subject: Argania Dear All, The is also some infromation about Argania at http://www.bgu.ac.il/life/mizrahi/Indianapolis.html Argan Argan (Argania spinosa, also known as A. sideroxylon, Sapotaceae) is a medium, thorny, evergreen tree native to south western Morocco. The tree bears plum-sized fruits, which are eaten by goats which often climb the trees. The fruits have a bitter pericarp around a stone-like structure, containing one to three kernels with a high oil content (over 50%). The oil has high dietetic value, total unsaturated fatty acids/total saturated fatty acids being around 4.5, a ratio similar to that of olive oil (Morton and Voss 1987; Prendergast and Walker 1992). The oil has a unique aroma and is considered as the best culinary oil by Moroccans, who are the only people familiar with the oil. In Israel, where 600,000 immigrants from Morocco reside, imported argan oil is sold for U.S. $43/liter in comparison with $4/liter for olive oil. Attempts to domesticate this wild tree in Israel started about 10 years ago. The species demonstrated adaptability to the hot hostile environment of the Arava valley when irrigated with brackish water; yields of oil per tree at Qetura were double those at Ramat Negev, which has much milder environmental conditions (Nerd et al. 1994). The oil yield of best specimens was around 1 kg/tree per year. Some seedlings died as a result of infection with Fusarium oxysporum. Until tolerant rootstocks can be found, we decided to plant grafted trees from the best yielding ones and to plant additional seedlings from various habitats in Morocco. Even though this species is not in as advanced stage of introduction as the marula, we consider it to be a high-priority species because of its rarity and the high demand in Israel for its oil Source: Mizrahi, Y. and Nerd, A. (1996). New crops as a possible solution to the troubled Israeli export market. p. 56-64. In: J. Janick and J.E. Simon (eds). Progress in New Crops: Proceedings of the Third National New Crops Symposium. American Society of Horticultural Sciences. Best wishes Dirk Enneking, Ph. D. Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) University of Western Australia, Nedlands WA 6907 http://www.general.uwa.edu.au/u/enneking/home.html >>>>>>>>End: Rare Fruit News Online - May 15, 1998<<<<<<<<< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< Rare Fruit News Online June 1, 1998 AKA RFN199806A.txt ------- I'll be making my annual visit to Tulsa, OK soon, from 6/11 through 6/21, so the next newsletter will either be on 6/11 or 6/22. This time I'll visit Oklahoma City; Grove, OK; Pittsburg, KS; a