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Messages - jcaldeira

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551
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: first attempt pics
« on: November 12, 2012, 04:51:16 PM »
Quote from: happyisland on November 12, 2012, 04:27:43 PM
I'm at peace with the fact that this probably won't take. I didn't wrap the entire scion, I don't think I chose a particularly good scion, I might have cut it too long, etc, etc... My next attempt will be when I find a good budding branch to use as a scion.

If you didn't wrap the entire scion with a thin plastic, it almost certainly will not be successful.  You MUST stop the evaporative moisture loss.

Also, cutting the leaves off closer to the stem will make it easier to wrap with one layer of kitchen wrap; just spirol roll it up the top, over the top, back down one turn and tie-off.  I recommend a 10-12 cm (4"-5") scion.

To force more sap flowing to your scion, you might trim off nearby branches.

John

552
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Questions from a total grafting neophyte.
« on: November 12, 2012, 03:41:58 PM »
A sharp knife is essential. 

For wrapping, the teflon pumbing tape will work well, but even regular plastic bags cut into strips will work fine.  I wrap the wound well (I do use Parafilm but teach others with thick plastic bag strips), then use ordinary kitchen wrap (the very thin plastic used to cover foods; I cut the roll in 3 cm strips) to cover the entire scion. 

The biggest risk is the scion drying out, so covering the entire scion with thin plastic is essential, especially in wind.   The buds will break through on their own - do not unwrap.  Covering loosely with newspaper for the first week or two might help reduce sun exposure.

I found my mango grafts most successful when the rootstock is pushing a lot of sap.  To create this situation artifically, cut off the branches and let some new shoots grow.  When the new shoots are as thick as the scion, approximately 1 cm, do a cleft graft.  Thus, for each thicker branch cut, you'll have several vigorusly growing new shoots to work with.

The scions must have swollen buds.  Scion should be slightly thicker than the rootstock if cleft grafting.  The scion in the photo below is ideal:


John

553
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Should I prune this jackfruit?
« on: November 11, 2012, 11:42:56 PM »
Please allow me to highjack this thread to ask a related a question:

I have a seedling jackfruit that is now approximately 2 meters (6') high. (Photo below)  It has a very vertical growth habit.  Last month I did some light pruning to encourage a broader shape.  My ultimate goal is to control the maximum tree height to 6 meters (20').  I'm torn between letting the tree manage its own natural growth for now, verus creating a broader shape now.  What is your thinking?  How to do it?



An earlier reply (quoted below) was valuable.   I'm trying for 20 foot, not 8 foot, so don't know if I should do much now.
Quote from: bsbullie on August 07, 2012, 11:38:51 PM
. . .
A seedling jackfruit has a very different growth habit from a grafted tree.  The seedling is a faster grower and the habit will be more upright and leggy with much less natural branching.  A grafted tree grows slower and will have more natural branching.  If your tree is at five feet and its a seedling, you should cut it back to force branching at a lower height/  If not, you wont have much luck at keeping it at eight feet.  If it grafted, it SHOULD have significant branching already.  Based on it being a Cristela and at five feet already, I am hedging it is a seedling.  I dont believe I have seen any of the grafted Cristelas near five feet in height yet.
Thanks, John

554
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Two trees, one hole?
« on: November 11, 2012, 11:26:51 PM »
When planting mango seeds directly in their permanent location, I plant two or three seeds at each site.  Later, I pull out all but the most vigorous one.

With papaya, I sometimes leave two plants at each site until I can tell if one is male.  If neither shows the male flowers (they mature before the females), I cull out the weaker one.


As far as leaving two trees permanently in one hole, I am doing that with a jackfruit and a malay apple.  The jackfruit below are only 3 cm (1") apart so I assume they will approach-graft each other naturally within a few years.


John

555
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Black sugarcane
« on: November 08, 2012, 10:57:41 PM »
Quote from: Jackfruitwhisperer69 on November 08, 2012, 06:04:46 AM
Hi John,
Your purple sugarcane looks truly amazing 8) About two months ago, i collected a very thick golden sugarcane. They are already growing in the orchard. The mother plant had an height of about 2.5meters.

How big does your purple sugarcane get?
Not as big as 2.5 meters, that's for sure.  Under 2 meters, and often under 1.5 meters for the useful cane part.  It is variable depending on growing conditions.  Some of mine are shorter with smaller inter-node spacing than the mother plant I took shoots from.  Probably a soil deficiency.  I need to identify and do something to increase the inter-node spacing to get more edible cane.

John

556
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Granadilla
« on: November 06, 2012, 02:03:32 AM »
Thank you, all, for the assessments.  I'll grow a few and see what I have.  I have no desire to keep a fruit species alive for diveristy.   It needs to give me something.

557
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Has anybody tried this grafting method (spotted from Figs4Fun)?
« on: November 04, 2012, 11:44:42 PM »
Quote from: Tropicdude on November 04, 2012, 11:09:10 PM
Quote from: jcaldeira on November 03, 2012, 03:22:31 PM
It seems to me that the shelf graft would be difficult to make.  The shelf cuts on the scion would need to be exactly the same distance apart as the shelf cuts on the rootstock for both horizontal shelves to heal.  If not, the scion rests on one shelf while the other has no contact.  And the angles on all six cuts would need match for a perfect graft. 

It might be a success graft on that one shelf, and it does look strong, so might have it's place when that is needed.  Much simpler are the common cleft and veneer grafts.   Makes no sense to complicate the graft unless needed.

John

I'm just visualizing this in my head and have not tried it yet , but if you get the scion, and place it upside down next to the end of the rootstock, and flush the ends, you can cut or score both the scion and rootstock at the same time, and precisely at the exact distance.

the next step would be to just cut them as close to the middle as possible length wise.

That would be a good way to do it. 

Another way is to lay the rootstock and scion side by side, and make two cuts 2 cm (1") apart halfway through both stocks at the same time, or at least mark the spots on both pieces with the same knife cut.  Then continue all the way through on one of the cuts on each piece of wood.

Cutting cleaning directly across the grain with a knife is difficult without bruising or crushing wood unless the wood is relatively soft.

A 'whip and tongue' graft is strong and easier to cut - only 4 cuts (vs. 6) and they are angled so easier with a knife that that shelf graft.

558
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Soil Analysis Results
« on: November 04, 2012, 11:10:24 PM »
Last week I received the results of soil quality analysis performed by my Department of Agriculture.  I'm a little concerned that the electical conductivity is so low, at 0.05 compared to what the report listed as the good range of 0.40-0.80.  Are there any negative consequences of having such a low electrical conductivity?

My soil a dark volcanic clay-loam.

pH (1:5 water)                 6.5   Good  (Ideal is 5.6-6.6)
Elect. Conductivity (1:5 water; mS/cm)  0.05  Very Low   (0.40-0.80)
Total Carbon (%)                 4.7   Good  (4-10%)
Total Nitrogen (%)                0.4   Good    (0.3-0.6)
Olsen Available Phosphorus (mg/kg) 4.1  Very Low   (20-30)
               
Exchangeable Bases (me/100g)               
Calcium          17.1      High (ideal is 2-10)
Magnesium      4.3      High  (1-3)
Potassium          0.18      Low  (0.3-0.6)
Sodium         0.07      Very Low  (0.3-0.7)
               
Extractable Traces (mg/kg)               
Iron               57.5     Very High  (ideal is >4.5)
Manganese     30.6     Very High   (>1.0)
Copper          0.1     Low    (>0.2)
Zinc         0.8     Low    (>1.2)

I don't know much about soil tests, so any observations and suggestions on improving the soil for citrus, mango and avocado would be appreciated.

John

559
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fruit Hunter Movie update 10/19/12
« on: November 04, 2012, 08:03:58 PM »
Browsing YouTube, I stumbled across this related video made 4 years ago:

Fruit Hunters
The Fruit Hunters

Apologies if this was posted earlier.

John

560
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Granadilla
« on: November 03, 2012, 11:46:58 PM »
Quote from: tabbydan on November 03, 2012, 10:45:22 PM
Quote from: jcaldeira on November 03, 2012, 04:36:34 PM
PS:  Also at the Ag station, I picked up seedlings/cuttings of Nutmeg, Neem, Tavola nut, Strawberry, Black Pepper and Kava.

Kava?  Are you "comfortably numb" now? ;)
Ha!  No, but I drink a lot of kava when delivering business and beekeeping training in the villages, occasionally with neighbors, but not much at home.  I like it; It's a great feel when going to bed if you have the strong stuff.

561
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Granadilla
« on: November 03, 2012, 10:11:58 PM »
Do you think I have Passiflora quadrangularis?   Fiji tends to use Australian terminology.   

562
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Granadilla
« on: November 03, 2012, 04:36:34 PM »
I picked up a few Granadilla rooted cuttings at a Department of Agriculture research station a few days ago.   How does the taste and appeal of granadilla compare to passionfruit?  I've not tasted the fruit, but a little research on the web indicates it is related to passionfruit.
 
Further, I understand there are several types of granadilla, including a 'giant granadilla'.  Does anyone know what kind of granadilla I have? (photo below)



Thanks,
John
PS:  Also at the Ag station, I picked up seedlings/cuttings of Nutmeg, Neem, Tavola nut, Strawberry, Black Pepper and Kava.

563
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Has anybody tried this grafting method (spotted from Figs4Fun)?
« on: November 03, 2012, 03:22:31 PM »
It seems to me that the shelf graft would be difficult to make.  The shelf cuts on the scion would need to be exactly the same distance apart as the shelf cuts on the rootstock for both horizontal shelves to heal.  If not, the scion rests on one shelf while the other has no contact.  And the angles on all six cuts would need match for a perfect graft. 

It might be a success graft on that one shelf, and it does look strong, so might have it's place when that is needed.  Much simpler are the common cleft and veneer grafts.   Makes no sense to complicate the graft unless needed.

John

564
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What's the stupidest mistake you've made?
« on: October 30, 2012, 03:04:26 PM »
I was in the shadehouse pulling weeds out of plant bags as I normally do (I use topsoil from the farm in the bags).  Accidentally pulled out some fruit tree sprouts thinking they were weeds.   :-[   :'(

565
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Rooibos seedling
« on: October 28, 2012, 10:03:59 PM »
Quote from: Berto on October 25, 2012, 09:32:52 PM
Lemongrass makes a very soothing and digestive tea!

Lemon leaves also make a nice tea.   It is a common breakfast drink in Fijian villages.  I like to add a few lemon leaves to regular black tea for added flavor.   Meyer Lemonsn't do it, though.

566
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: grafting Papayas
« on: October 28, 2012, 04:21:17 PM »
Quote from: Jackfruitwhisperer69 on October 28, 2012, 03:33:49 PM
. . . . Here's some info on grafting :) . . .

Thanks for sharing the info on grafting papaya.   I'll try cleft grafting next year (too painful to decapitate a heavy-bearing tree right now!).  I have some unusually low-bearing (for Fiji) papaya and am curious to learn if the rootstock will give this character to other papaya varieites.


567
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Analysis of Failed Grafts
« on: October 25, 2012, 09:03:16 PM »
Quote from: Tim on October 25, 2012, 07:04:34 PM
Har (guanabanus) was the one pointing this out to all of us noobs.
Thanks for the post, John.  Very informative, hope you have better luck next time ... you sure need it with % like that  ;D

Quote from: jcaldeira on October 25, 2012, 06:43:46 PM
Someone on a forum (either this one or the Citrus Growers) suggest it should be thicker....

John

Thanks to guanabanus! 

Oddly, I haven't found this mentioned in my books.   

568
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Analysis of Failed Grafts
« on: October 25, 2012, 06:43:46 PM »
A few weeks ago I cleft grafted 103 sour orange rootstocks with sweet oranges, mandarins and tangelo scions.  I am pleased that 92 of the 103 grafts were successful (my highest success rate so far), but I wanted to learn why 11 grafts failed. 

Today I unwrapped them, and here's what I found:

On the graft below, I think the scion was a little too thin.  I should have watched more carefully and put it on a thinner rootstock.


This rootstock was not straight, and when I cut into it from the top, the cut followed the uneven grain so cambial contact was limited.  I should have cut the rootstock where it was straight.


Here's another one where the scion appeared to be too small:


The bottom of this scion should have been cut thinner.  It was forcing the two sides of the rootstock apart instead of clamping the scion in place.  The rootstock cut was also not centered properly.


This one is interesting, because the bottom of the scion appears to have some life in it.  I can't figure this one out.


One thing I learned from this:  The scion should always be slightly thicker than the rootstock.  This allows better contact between cambiam layers.  If they are the same size, and both scion and rootstock are cut down their middle, the very bottom of the scion is the only place that can make cambial contact.  Someone on a forum (either this one or the Citrus Growers) suggested the scion should be thicker, but I haven't read it in any of my books discussing cleft grafts.  This drawing I made to clarify the concept.  When the scion is slightly thicker, cambial contact should be achieved near the two areas circled.
 

I also had either a compatability problem or a bad scion stick because only one out of 5 Orlando Tangelo was successful (vs. 90+% on the others)

Thank you for allowing me to share this with you, and for reading this far.  I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions relating to cleft or veneer grafting.

John

569
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Grafting in Humid Enviro
« on: October 25, 2012, 01:21:09 AM »
I wrap my cleft and veneer grafts right to the top with kitchen (Glad/Saran) wrap (after parafilm on the surgery), and recommend it.  My environment is very humid too, but my laundry still dries outside so I wrap.  Must stop drying until the wound heals. 

Bagging the whole plant probably produces more mold problem than wrapping.  Alternatively, you could remove the bag earlier.

John (Fiji)

570
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How I do Repotting
« on: October 21, 2012, 02:43:27 PM »
An informative set of photos.  Thank you for sharing.   I have two questions:

1) Why don't you use some well-rotted compost or good topsoil in your mix?  It seems the plants would benefit from more nutrients and the bioactivity in decomposed organic matter and natural soil. 

2) The trunk of your repotted mamey sapote does not seem vertical in the photo.  I always try to keep the trunks vertical on plants such as avocado, jackfruit and mamey sapote that naturally try to keep a vertical trunk.  Do you think this matters as the tree ages?

571
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Windbreakers
« on: October 14, 2012, 03:04:22 PM »
Quote from: davidgarcia899 on October 14, 2012, 01:14:47 PM
If you have the space, I recommend bamboo. It stops the wind dead and will reach full size in one to two seasons. Just make sure you plant it at enough of a distant that it wont shade your  trees

Bamboo is a good idea, but at my location it would create an ideal environment for mosquitoes.

I'm leaning towards jackfruit and sapodilla.

572
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Windbreakers
« on: October 14, 2012, 03:13:02 AM »
I realise now, after one year on my farm, that the prevailing winds from the southest stress some fruit trees.  Rambutan, carambola, and star apple are getting hammered.  The abiu, soursop, and few others show some stress. Citrus, avocado and mango are fine.

What are the best tropical fruiting trees to plant as a windbreak? 

John 

573
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: planting mango seed
« on: October 12, 2012, 09:36:02 PM »
Quote from: Recher on October 12, 2012, 08:31:09 PM
When planting any seed and doubt which way to plant the rule is 'hump up, hilum down'

Why don't you plant mango seeds on their side, the way they plant themselves when they naturally sprout under a tree?

John

574
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 12 steps to setting up a plant nursery (your input desired)
« on: October 12, 2012, 09:19:42 PM »
Quote from: red durian on October 12, 2012, 08:13:50 PM
I had not thought of a hardening off area.  That would be a less shady area for the plants that are ready to sell?

Yes, exactly.  Before moving a shadehouse plant into full sun, I move it from the 50% shade cover to an area that gives it approximately 25% shade.  It doesn't need to be shadecloth; wooden lattice overhead or a shade tree works fine.

575
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 12 steps to setting up a plant nursery (your input desired)
« on: October 12, 2012, 12:56:55 PM »
The earliest steps should include determining the capacity requirements of the nursery.  Also, making a layout that includes a watering plan/system, a place for soil components, a "working area for potting and grafting, and a hardening-off area.  Plant transportation strategy, too, if it's a big nursery.

In projects such as this, proper planning and design can help one avoid the biggest mistakes.  Recommend visiting some nurseries to get ideas.

John

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