The Tropical Fruit Forum

Citrus => Cold Hardy Citrus => Topic started by: lavender87 on October 09, 2019, 09:50:57 AM

Title: Trees adjust itself to respond to the environment in early growth stages
Post by: lavender87 on October 09, 2019, 09:50:57 AM
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5130066/ (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5130066/)

  According to the article, some adjustments might occur during early stages of growth, either reversible or irreversible. I believe it applied to all or most types of trees.

 Trees respond to climate changes in 3 ways, evolutionary adaptation (through seeds), modification (during development), acclimation (internal chemical changes).

1)  At least some of the off-springs of a certain hybrid citrus variety might adapt better to the cold climate than their hybrid parents. I did not mean the original ancestor like pure poncrius, but the immediate hybrid parents like citrange. For example, some of the citrange off-spring might adapt better than their parents in cold climate. Even Thomasville citangequat which mostly come true from seed might have experienced some adjustment to adapt better to colder climate than the original Thomasville citrangequat 100 years ago.

2) Some the adjustments were not reversible in its lifespan. Those adjustment we have been arguing about previously was the reversible adjustments which also calls acclimation (internal changes of chemicals to respond to climate change). I personally thought of leaving hybrid citrus seedlings in my plastic covered patio with no heat equipped to force those survivals to adjust themselves in their structure to respond to colder climate. Previously, most of us tried to over protected our seedlings in greenhouses with heaters which I believe might limit the seedling modification to adapt better to colder climate in its early growth stages.


  It sounds pretty much similar to living beings. If someone grew up in a tropical climate region like the southern part of Florida, they might not tolerate to freezing weather as good as someone grew up in the north like Russia or Alaska. As the result, over many centuries, off-springs of the northern people inheriting the "evolutionary adaptation" from their ancestors and therefore tend to tolerate to freezing much better than someone from the south.
Title: Re: Trees adjust itself to respond to the environment in early growth stages
Post by: lebmung on October 09, 2019, 06:53:08 PM
evolutionary adaptation for plants would probably take several thousands of years. Unfortunately I must tell you, we these people growing citrus today we won't make it.
We might live with a chance that a genetic tool will make the adaptation faster.
Title: Re: Trees adjust itself to respond to the environment in early growth stages
Post by: Bomand on October 09, 2019, 07:19:36 PM
We just run out of time. Same with plants.....thousands of years and an orange is still an orange.
Title: Re: Trees adjust itself to respond to the environment in early growth stages
Post by: lavender87 on October 09, 2019, 10:45:07 PM
We just run out of time. Same with plants.....thousands of years and an orange is still an orange.

  Of course an orange cultivar is still pretty much an orange with minimal changes if it stays within its range forever and without the interference of human or climate changes. It is also true to human that a race of people who live in tropical region will never develop an ability to adjust to the northern weather, but they did go through evolutionary adaptation to their own hot climate.

  If we look back at the history of fruit trees we would see that strawberries, a tomatoes, mangoes... now aday are 99% different than they used to be thousand years ago. Those changes might occur through natural selections or by man's selections.

  This world has always been changing in every fraction of a second. Changes occur in every aspect (biology, chemistry, mathematics politics, technology...)
Title: Re: Trees adjust itself to respond to the environment in early growth stages
Post by: Ilya11 on October 10, 2019, 03:50:15 AM
It is also true to human that a race of people who live in tropical region will never develop an ability to adjust to the northern weather, but they did go through evolutionary adaptation to their own hot climate.
Lavender87, humans are very different from plants, we create our own environment and do not need to adapt much to external conditions. That is why H. sapiens,  a  species from Africa was able to conquer a world.
Title: Re: Trees adjust itself to respond to the environment in early growth stages
Post by: mikkel on October 10, 2019, 02:29:23 PM

It is also true to human that a race of people who live in tropical region will never develop an ability to adjust to the northern weather, but they did go through evolutionary adaptation to their own hot climate.
This is exactly what humans and it relatives did. Not only once. Even twice or more depends the way you count. Dmanisi man, H.erectus, H.heidelbergensis, H.sapiens. The even more important point is what Ilya already pointed out especially for us H.sapiens.
Native americans did the vice versa within a couple of 1000 years, from arctic to tropics only by cultural adaptation.