The Tropical Fruit Forum

I am having a little trouble establishing what the rules are, with privately mailing seeds to the USA from overseas.I presume there are restricted and a permitted species lists,standards of preparation and a labelling requirements.The restrictions for sending seeds to Australia are pretty strong but seeds are routinely received so long as they are on the permitted list,flesh free and labelled.Some need phytosanitary certificates so it is too hard to privately send those to Australia I imagine it would be a easier for seeds to navigate though US customs and actually get to the recipient.
Any guidance from seasoned seed recipients  would be appreciated.
Mike T

The USA doesn't have a white list, of permitted species, like Australia does. We only have a black list of non permitted species, mostly noxious weeds, and some protected plants (see CITES agreement). So it's way easier to send seeds to the yanks than to the aussies! 
If you are sending a small amount of seed the person just needs to supply you with their small seed lot permit and green and yellow mailing labels. They can apply for this for free through USDA (US dept. of ag).
For plants or for sprouted seeds, or seeds sprouting in route, you will need to get a phytosanitary certificate, and the recipient needs an import permit. This is much more complicated.

Not sure what Cornucopia says, nor what Steve Facciola thinks, but what I know as Genova Red, from Zills is not cherimoya or sugar apple whatsoever.  It doesn't look like either, nevermind a half and half cross of the two.  I have to beg to differ with what Roger is saying.  I can send you budwood.  I have about 30 pending reuests for scions of various trees.  I try not to say no to anyone.  I'm a bit innundated at the moment but will try to get you some as soon as I can.

Harry

Steve Facciola list Genova Red as an Ilama in his book Cornucopia, p. 12:
Genova Red: Large, smooth, pinkish-green fruit with deeply cracked skin; reddish pulp with a very pleasant, subacid flavor. Originated in Genova, Guatemala. introduced into Florida in 1988. MAHDEEM; N53M
Seems like the confusion is on the part of Roger Meyer, unless there is also an atemoya cultivar with the identical name?

A question for Oscar, Adam, or any other Jabotiphile:

I recently purchased seeds of the fast-growing, red-fruited hybrid jaboticaba Oscar sells.  They've just begun sprouting, and it occurred to me that I don't know much about this hybrid.  Oscar's label indicated that they are a hybrid of M. cauliflora x M. aureana, I believe, but does anyone know when the cross was made, and by whom?  I assume that Oscar's tree(s) is/are of the F2 or later generation, and that the seeds he sells are F3 or later.  Is that correct?  Has anyone noted much variablility among these trees, or are the progeny of this cross fairly well stabilized at this point?  Thanks for any light you can shed on the subject.

It's not 100% certain that the parents are cauliflora and aureana, but that is the guess of experts in Brazil. Yes the cross was made by a Japanese gardener living in Japan, but don't know much about it's history apart from that. The hybrid seems stable, but i haven't planted hundreds of plants yet, not enough to notice any variations. Adam, i don't think it's a new species because it came out of someone's garden not found growing wild in natural habitat. OK, let's see how much that statement can generate inside of you? HAHA

Bocah, thanks for the nice photo and translation. Can you say please what the source of this information is? Is it an agricultural website in Java?

ANOTHER 1-2 weeks till they hit NY.
How are my lychee airlayers doing Oscar?

To early to tell, but it's not like i check them daily. 

I have 2 in containers, 1 is tall and lanky, so last week I just prune off the top branch tip. They seem to like a saucer under the pots, keeping the soil wet at all times. I'm nervous about them being under the full, hot sun and dry air here in central valley CA, so they're currently under part shade.

Definitely don't like low humidity. Good way to toast them to death. With high humidity (80%+) they can also take quite a lot of heat, 95-100F no problem

gimme gimme gimme

Will definitely keep both of you in mind. No doubt will take a while, so remind me in 6 months or so.

I wished that I could find the Cherry of Rio Grande, which he calls: supersweet (dulcissima) and giant (gigante). I am wondering if anyone is already growing either of those in the USA?

Thanks,

Ed

Yes, i'm wondering that also? If not i will do my best to try to source it from Brazil.

Check out this bad boy that  I photographed this morning. It lives in a wild patch near my vegetable garden. I think it's a Basilisk lizard from Central America. This is the one that can run on top of water! Not sure if they would bother my fruits, probably eats mostly insects!   
       

That's a really cool looking liz. 
Here's a common visitor going up our stairs:

A lizard dares to try to eat a praying mantis and pays the price:
Preying Mantis Stuns Lizard

I used the search feature and found a nice thread on Jackfruits in the Pacific, which was helpful.  I also read the Jackfruit section of  "Florida's Best Fruiting Plants" by Boning.  I am aware that desireable characteristics include:  high recoverable flesh ratio, low seed count, size of fruit, low latex, heavy production, minimal rag and crisp texture.  However, it is difficult to tell which Florida variety is most desirable for a backyard variety.  My inclination is towards a NS1, but I wonder if it is the Hayden of the jackfruits (good in the day, but not the best of what's available).  Do jackfruit trees have thorns?  Which is the lowest latex content with reasonable production?  I've heard of mature trees producing annually 2000 lbs of fruit for a 40' jackfruit tree.

No, jackfruits don't have thorns. But if one hits you on the head during a hurricane you're in big trouble! Seriously though, i think Rob is right, all of them will give you plenty to eat. Problem might be TOO MUCH to eat. Frankies nursery here is pushing the smaller fruits, the solo jacks, could call them ice box jacks. About texture, the crisp vs. soft texture is a personal preference thing. I don't find the soft textured ones to be any problem at all to eat, but some think they are slimy or gooey. Certainly some soft textured ones taste better to me than some crisp textured ones. Also texture can be controlled to a great extent by how ripe you let them get. I would also look to ones that are proven to do well in your area. Getting the latest  won't necessarily be the greatest if it doesn't grow well where you live. So i would emphasie vigour of tree and cold hardiness in positive qualities list.

A closeup view of krasuey shows the fruit.

I grow Krasuey sapodilla also, but my Makok and Sao Manila are much heavier fruiters.

Cacaoguy, what do you mean by "stripped the seeds"? It looks from your seed photo like you peeled the outer skin off all the seeds. Is this what you mean? It's not necessary and seeds sprout fine without doing that.