The Tropical Fruit Forum

Oops, looks like murahilin posted this earlier & I just missed it somehow -- sorry.

John

I came across a reference for Irvingia gabonensis & wombolu.  It can be found here:
http://www.hcgzerocaps.com/pdfs/african_mango/Irvingia-report-aingebrown2001.pdf

I did a search on Garcinia macrophylla (pungara) and got no returns from the forum.  Anyone familiar with this one?  Any comments on fruit quality? 

Thanks,
John

As if you don't tend to be leery enough of ebay sellers, who wants to be the first to order from this guy?
"15 SEEDS SEMI Annona scamosa sugar-apple sweetsop"

That title made me smile -- hope it does the same for you...

John

Most of the soursop here at market are from seed.  Some are decent but I had one that was horrible.  If you are just planting one, be sure to plant a grafted plant of a good variety.

John

Thanks, guys.  I hadn't seen that article (APO newsletter) before and I have added it to my database.  Jim described it as "beautiful sweet red plum-like fruits" and I thought I had seen other positive reports on it but it now sounds like it might not be a real winner.   I guess I have to give some more thought to how many I want to plant out.

John

When I took grafting classes many years ago at the Arnold Arboretum, they encouraged that technique for general grafting -- "get them on their own roots" -- unless you wanted some specific characteristic that the rootstock would give you. 

John

Wow Mike, looks wonderful.  Thanks for the links too, a nice read.  Interesting about burying the graft line and using nurse grafts 'til roots from the scion donor take over.  I had talked about this technique with a gent that grows avocados.

If you get a "small lots of seed" permit, no phyto is required.  Be aware, however, if anything starts to sprout in transit, it is no longer a seed and they will destroy it.  Pretty difficult with some tropical fruits that actually start to sprout while still in the fruit.  You also need to have an account with Fedex or whoever to cover the expense of shipping from the USDA inspection station to your address. 

By the way, for a small lots of seeds permit, you don't have to specify exactly what type of seeds you are looking for and paint yourself into a corner.  Specify "all permissible taxa" and you should be ok.

I just got my new permit as my old one is expiring.  They now devote a lot of space to telling you about fines & prison terms for violating the conditions.

John

you need to get your  permits from USDA.  bring  a list of species and the contact info of the exporter (different sources = different permit).

when you get it, mail it to the exporter.  The stickers (which have a USDA address on them) are added to the outside of the box as the address.  You are going to most likely also need a phytosanitary certificate which the exporter is responsible for.  CITES can also apply if your species are listed, for example most cactus.

The package is mailed, with import info and phyto certificate inside, using the USDA sticker and is mailed to them for inspection, not to you.  From there you can pick it up (make sure you put a phone # on there somewhere) or they can forward, usually at your expense.

Most people risk it, and if it gets incinerated, thats the way it goes and importer has to take a loss unless specifically arranged otherwise.

In my experience the hardest part is finding a nursery willing to sell smaller quantities and actually be willing to apply for the paperwok (phyto).  more than once i have had to end up flying there and bringing them back myself (not fruit, other plants)

Does anyone here have any experience regarding zabala fruit (Lardizabala biternata)?  It sounds interesting but info I have on it is very sketchy.  I hear it is very highly regarded in Chile but nothing specific regarding flavor.  I have heard things suggesting it will take a fair amount of heat but it evidently also requires cold stratification to germinate so I don't know if it would survive here in my area in HI.  I guess at least with the cold stratification requirement, we wouldn't have to worry about it getting "weedy" if it lives & fruits here.

John

Gorgeous fruit, Adam.  Looking forward to your report on flavor / quality.

John

Quote from: edself65 on April 15, 2013, 02:44:46 PM

Anyone ever tried to graft jackfruit or jackfruit relatives into Osage Orange?

Never heard of this being attempted. But even if they were compatible how would an osage orange or a mulberry tree be able to support a heavy jackfruit, or even a whole bunch of heavy jackfruits?

I would hope that if someone were to try this, they would not use a clone that could bear 100 lb+ fruit but one of jackfruit clones bearing smaller fruit.  It is possible that, if successful, this could be a dwarfing rootstock.  Obviously, the root system determines the vigor of the plant and could also end up reducing the fruit load or possibly even size.

If the goal is to get a more chill tolerant jackfruit, I would doubt the success of that as the exposed part is the tender part and probably would suffer the same damage as a jack on its own roots. 

I think you will find pretty wide compatibility for most species within Rosaceae (apples, pear, quince, mt. ash, etc).  Not to say that anything & everything will go, but probably worth taking a chance.  As those are mostly temperate to subtropical, probably not useful for all members...

John

Good to see some proposed plan to make use of wasted fruit.  It seems rare to go by a yard here with a fruit tree (especially citrus) where you don't see fruit rotting on the ground.  It makes me sick.  We really need a processing plant here so that the fruit can be converted into something shelf stable (and maybe even exported to the mainland???) - I suspect that would bring a better price to the farmer than this.  However, this would be very good indeed if it moves ahead.