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Topics - LEOOEL

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1
I'm considering getting a 'Morena' sapodilla tree.

Question: Do I have this right?

'Morena' sapodilla, when compared to 'Hasya' and 'Tikal' (I have both) is:

Much larger fruit than 'Tikal' and about as productive?

Slightly less-large (smaller) fruit than 'Hasya,' but much more productive?

If the above is true and quality of 'Morena' is good, then it's a must have, IMO.

P.S.   The saying that Sapodilla tastes like Brown-Sugar is a good descriptive approximation of the taste. However, having said that, this description does not do justice to the taste of an excellent quality, perfectly ripened sapodilla, IMO.

2
Thank you Rob for the excellent jackfruit variety recommendations for the jackfruit season; Needless to say, this List is not definitive and there are other excellent jackfruit varieties.

Best, New-School, Jackfruit Season Varieties
(1)   Early-Season jackfruit: 'Mai1'
(2)   Mid-Season jackfruit: 'Bangkok-Lemon' (or 'Krunchy-Lemon;' 'Crunchy-Lemon;' 'Lemon-Crunch') is the champ for productivity ( http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=16025.msg262325#msg262325 )
(3)   Late-Season jackfruit: 'Red-Morning' (aka 'Dang Suria'); this is a red colored jackfruit.

Best New-School Jackfruit Varieties
(4)   'Mai-3' (better flavor than Ma1, but smaller fruit and less productive)
(5)   'J30' (Rob didn’t recommend it in 2013 ( http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=3997.0 ) but does now)
(6)   'Amber'

This is what I'm going with so far, I've decided to get (1) 'Mai1,' (2) 'Bangkok-Lemon' (aka 'Krunchy-Lemon'), (3) 'Dang-Suria' ('Red-Morning'), and (6) 'Amber.' I hope they're all available at Excalibur.

3
I would appreciate any recommendations/opinions on the Best: Early, Mid and Late Season Jackfruit Varieties.

I went to the Homestead, (South) Florida, Fruit & Spice Park Festival about 2 weeks ago and picked up some UF (University of Florida) printed info on recommended Jackfruit Varieties.

From this info I made the following selections to create this Jackfruit Variety List, with the purpose of having fruit during the whole Jackfruit Season:

Early: 'NS1;' Fruit Size & Weight (lbs.): Small to Medium, 9-12; Yield per tree (lbs.): Heavy, 200; Season and months: Early, May-June; Color: Dark Orange; Texture: Firm; Quality: Sweet; Comments: Excellent Texture;

Mid: 'Cheena;' Small, 5-10; Moderately heavy, 110-154; Mid, July-August; Deep Orange; Soft, melting, somewhat fibrous; Excellent, very aromatic; Flesh easily removed.

Late: 'Black Gold;' Medium, 22; Heavy, 120-200; Late, September-October; Deep Orange; Medium-firm to melting, soft; Good, sweet, aromatic; Flesh easily removed.


P.S.   Of this list above, I only have 'Black Gold,' it's in a pot, I'm waiting for it to get some size before planting it.

4
Tropical Fruit Discussion / The Perfect Mango Variety
« on: May 14, 2017, 02:56:24 PM »
I have not found the perfect mango variety, nor do I know if it exist, but I'm still looking.

To me, the perfect mango variety would be somewhere in these categories:

Taste: Great
Fiber: None to unnoticeable
Production: Medium to heavy
Fruit-Size: Medium to large
Seed-thickness: Preferably thin
Disease-Tolerance: Good to very-good
Tree-Size: Medium to large
Fruit-Ripening-Characteristics: No ripening at the same time
Season: No matter (early, mid. or late)

From my experience, the mango varieties that come closest to perfection and that fall within the above categories are:

Young
Carrie
Lemon-Zest: I've never tasted the fruit, but I have the tree. It should bear fruit next year.

5
Sometimes it's really tedious to pick fruit that are high up on a fruit tree, like my large 'Pakistani' mulberry tree, using a ladder and frequently moving it gets to be very tedious.

The most convenient way to pick fruit from a fruit tree may be by using one of the new, real, flying hover-boards, although we might have to wait for safety to be at adequate levels and for the price to come down.

If I had one of these later generation, tested and safe flying hover-boards, I would certainly put it to good use by using it to easily and conveniently pick fruit off of my fruit trees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esUogzafUug

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEDrMriKsFM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shytRkz65R4

http://www.arcaspace.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfa9HrieUyQ



6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Golden Berries
« on: March 02, 2016, 12:12:49 AM »
Golden Berries

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE8WbG0bzeI

“From South America, the berry was propagated in England and South Africa in the Cape of Good Hope, where the name cape gooseberry is thought to have originated. Soon after, Physalis peruviana (Golden Berry) was introduced to England, Australia, New Zealand, and many of the Pacific islands, like Hawaii where it is known as poha. Today it is widely cultivated in tropical, subtropical and even temperate areas, such as India, Thailand, northeastern China and parts of the U.S.”

“High in Antioxidants, Vitamin C and Carotenoids”
 
Tropical Fruit Forum; Topic: “Neglected, overlooked, and discarded as inferior fruit!!!
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=312.25
Hello Friends,
I would have to say "Poha" Berries, or Golden Berries, don't get the kind of attention they deserve. Very Easy to Grow, very prolific, and taste wonderful.  My Mom could eat as many as you could put in front of her, a very unique sweet and tangy taste and very healthy for you as well. A definite must in my book and they take up very little room and can be grown in a pot very easily. Poha Poha Poha !!!!”
Member: Jacob13

According to the above, 'Golden Berries' taste great, are great health wise, are easy to propagate, and grow just about anywhere except in extreme cold - Good enough for me! I can't wait to find it, plant a generous amount of seeds, then eat the fruit and take it from there.

7
Plethora of new, perfect fruit varieties, is coming, thanks to the recently discovered DNA easy editing technique: ‘CRISPR/CAS9.’

On my wish list:

‘Ox’ sapodilla currently has low fruit production of very large fruit. So, make it very productive using the CRISPR/CAS9 DNA editing technology.

‘Young’ mango is a perfect mango fruit, but with less than optimal sugar content. So, increase the sugar content to optimal.

‘Pakistani’ mulberry is the largest mulberry variety, but not large enough. So, double or triple the size!

‘Brewster’ lychee has excellent fruit quality, but produces fruit every 3-4 years. So, make it produce fruit every year.

Jackfruit is a giant awesome tasting fruit, but has that sticky sap that is a hassle to clean. So, remove the sap! And, while at it, remove the rag too.

Citrus is a legendary great fruit, but is susceptible to canker and greening. So, make it canker and greening proof!

Jaboticaba could use an increase in sugar content. So, increase the sugar content and make it the best tasting Jabo in the world!

And last but not least - 'Kampong' avocado fills the South Florida Avocado Void month of April, but only in alternating years. So, make sure it fills the S. FL Avocado Void consistently, year after year.



The Article is a bit 'scientifiqky' but it substantiates the above.

Article-1: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0734975014001931

The coming era is one where “editing DNA is as easy as editing a Microsoft Word document.” (*).

Edible/usable plants currently being improved (as mentioned in Article-1): Tomato, sweet-orange, rice, tobacco, soybean, maize (corn)…

Upcoming edible plants to be improved (...Article-1): wheat, barley…

“…It (CRISPR/CAS9) will allow the growing amount of genomic and systems biology data to be exploited more comprehensively, speeding up both gene discovery and trait development in many plant species…”

“…Given the large number of researchers working with CRISPR/Cas9 technology and the speed at which it has developed since the first reports of genome editing only 2 years ago, further advances in our understanding and control of the system are likely to come rapidly, potentially leading to the design of a new generation of genome editing tools…”


(*)   Article-2: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2015/09/08/why-theres-an-urgent-need-for-a-moratorium-on-gene-editing/



8
UF Article on Hedges:

http://miami-dade.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/urban_hort/Ornamental%20plants%20commonly%20used%20as%20hedges%20in%20south%20florida.pdf

I’m planting a fruit tree hedge. Of the following list (obtained from the above UF Article), which hedge has the best -sweet- tasting/quality fruit?

Key:
Common Name/Scientific Name
Fruit
Comments

(1) Brush cherry/Syzygium
Fruit: 1” purple fleshy oval
Edible fruit; flowers on new growth; nutritional deficiencies in limestone soils; variegated cultivar available. White cluster flowers.

(2) Cocoplum/Chrysobalanus icaco
Fruit: 2” white or pink; fleshy
Fruit: NATIVE; fruit food source for wildlife; edible; Red or green tip foliage forms; inconspicuous flowers.

(3) Firebush/Hamelia patens
Fruit: Soft, black ½” fruit
NATIVE; birds eat fruit; flowers on new growth; hummingbirds attracted to flowers; frequent pruning required to maintain at 4-6’ level. Red flowers

(4) Grumichama/Eugenia brasiliensis
Fruit: Red, purple, fleshy
Flowers on new growth; edible fruit; nutritional defiencies in limestone soil; inconspicuous flowers.

(5)Lingaro/Elaeagnus Philippensis
Fruit: 1”, pink, fleshy
Edible fruit. Foliage has silver undersides; fragrant inconspicuous flowers

(6) Natal Plum/Carissa macrocarpa
Fruit: 2”, red, fleshy oval
Edible fruit; thorny. White flowers

(7) Seagrape/Coccoloba uvifera
Fruit: 3/4” fleshy dark purple drupe
NATIVE; large round leaves; edible purple fruit

(8 ) Spanish/Eugenia foetida
Fruit: small black fruit
NATIVE; edible fruit; fruit attractive to birds. Inconspicuous flowers.

(9) Tallowwood/Ximenia Americana
Fruit: 1” yellow drupe
NATIVE; fragrant ivory axillary flowers; hard, close-grained wood; fruit edible raw or cooked


9
List of Productive Fruit Trees that Are a Must Have. These fruit tree varieties produce fruit in great quantities.

'Keitt' mango (difficult to think of an improvement, this variety is almost perfect).
'Arkin' carambola (same here)
Muscadine Grapes (I have two popular varieties for my area but I've lost the variety names; I wish the size were larger though)
'Pakistany/Tigertail' Mulberry  (although one of the largest sized varieties, a larger one would be very welcomed)
Banana: 'Goldfinger;' 'NamWa'

These are the five, most consistently productive, quality fruit trees in my home yard; surprisingly it's just five. :(

10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Best SourSop Variety for Location
« on: June 15, 2014, 01:39:19 AM »
Right now TT is selling the grafted SourSop (Guanabana) varieties 'Miami' and 'Homestead.' Both varieties are listed as very productive and large sized. I sure wish they had been available back then, at the time when I got my Guanabana seedling from PIN.

With the variety names like 'Miami' (my location) and 'Homestead,' they sure sound like they are the best quality grafted SourSop cultivars for this location.

11
My Ross Sapote is about 3 years old, about 7' tall and is full of small and growing fruit.

This is an unexpected development. I was under the impression that this fruit tree was a slow grower and thus also slow to produce fruit. But, none of that, this tree has grown at a nice clip, and did I say the tree is full of small and growing fruit?

Looks like in this year I'll finally be tasting for the first time a Ross Sapote fruit. This Ross Sapote fruit has been repeatedly reported to taste better than a Canistel fruit. I have an 'Oro' canistel that was planted before the Ross Sapote but the 'Oro' hasn't produced any fruit yet. Both trees are about the same height, perhaps the 'Oro' will produce fruit next year.

12
I've been fortunate to have this longan cultivar brought to my attention. 'Pometia Pinnata' is also known as 'Kasai,' 'Matoa,' 'Fijian,' 'Crystal longan,' etc.

The flesh is sweet like a longan with a big round seed inside. The fruit is attractive to the eye and is planted to beautify the landscape.

The seed is edible after it is boiled. A 'Kasai' tree can reach heights of 10 to 20 m.

A member of the sapindaceae family, the tree bear fruits twice a year around the month of May to July and September till December.

As can be seen in some of the videos/articles, the fruit is true to seed, it can be propagated by seedlings! And, the tree(s) will bear fruit in 4 to 8 years, not bad at all.

This 'Pometia Pinnata' longan seems to rival or surpass the quality of local longan cultivars ('Kohala,' 'Sri Shompoo,' and 'Biew Kiew') at my location of S. Florida, USA. With such wonderful characteristic qualities and ease of propagation, this longan variety merits all worthwhile efforts to import the seeds into the USA, and into my hands  ;)  as quickly as possible.

Borneo Fruits & Food-The Kasai or Matoa Fruit (Pometia Pinnata Forst) (The video's owner prevents external embedding)

http://fruits-of-world.blogspot.com/2013/09/fijian-longan-or-island-lychee-pometia.html
^ This link says that the plant/tree "is easy to adapt to hot or cold conditions". That gives me hope for Michigan!

http://fruitspecies.blogspot.com/2011/11/fijian-longan.html

http://indonesian-fruit.blogspot.com/2011/12/description-of-fruit-matoa-pometia.html

Borneo Fruit-Sarawak new garden fruit-The Crystal Fruit (Pometia Pinnata) (The video's owner prevents external embedding)

13
I didn't get longan fruit this year from my 'Kohala' longan tree, very dissappointing. So, I've made up my mind, it's 'Diamond-River' longan to the rescue, I can't wait to get it.

After doing some research, I've learned that 'Diamond-River' produces fruit every year, on the clock, regardless of whether there was enough winter cold in the previous year or not. But, the longan fruit quality of the 'Diamond-River' is somewhat inferior to 'Sri-Chompoo' and 'Biew-Kiew.' My plan to get around some of this problem is to cull about 25% of the inferior fruitlings and let the rest develop to a large, enjoyable, tasty, size.

If I'm not mistaken, the 'Diamond-River' may also be susceptible to wind. I've already selected a spot on the yard where it'll get some wind protection yet have adequate sun. I sure hope, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, that everything turns out well, and that the tree does not develop into an ugly/hellish looking situation. Perhaps with proper care and maintenance, 'this may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship (Casablanca).'

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Best Way to Consume Carambola
« on: October 29, 2013, 11:01:10 PM »
About one week ago I had my first ever Carambola fruit smoothie and I was blown away by the great taste. Amazingly, the quality of the taste is superior to just eating it out of hand, at least this has been my experience. Before, I got more fruit from my Carambola trees than I knew what to do with, but this is no longer the case, now I've gotta have a frequent Carambola smoothie fix. And, it can't be any simpler, just cut the fruit in sections, remove the seeds, put the fruit pieces in the blender with some water and voila, a great smoothie. I suspect there's some flavor chemical reaction when Carambola is consumed in this method. I say this because I can taste an 'umame' kind of great flavor that I don't get by just eating the fruit out of hand.

15
Today I ate some of the flesh of a gigantic fruit from my Monstera-Deliciosa plant, for the first time ever. It tasted like Sour-Sop, but better, and with no seeds!

The width of the fruit at the base was the size of a large Sugar-Apple, and only decreasing in width about 3-4 inches before reaching the pointed tip of the fruit. The fruit was over one foot long.

I've never seen Monstera-Deliciosa fruit of this size before. I'm pretty sure it has to do with the fruit-tree fertilizer I gave it about 5 months ago. Consequently, this tells me that to get good fruit size, the plant likes/needs to be pushed. Now I'm thinking of propagating this plant to other locations in my yard. I need/want more of this fruit.

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« on: September 29, 2013, 11:11:23 PM »
I used to think that the 'date' palm was the only, quality, edible fruit palm. And, I'd always been jealous that it grew in the Spanish Canary Islands, where my grandma was from, but it doesn't bear fruit here in South Florida, USA.

After spending many years looking for a quality fruit bearing palm tree, Forum Member Nullzero recently reported about the 'Pindo' palm tree, for which I'm quite grateful. Now, I'm in the process of finding someone or a nursery that sells a quality specimen.

Today, I learned that another edible fruit palm, 'Vanuatu carpoxylon', which was  thought to be extinct, has been found alive and well, and is being propagated here in South Florida, USA!

The following is from an Article "by Kenneth Setzer/Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden: Rare Palm is Lost, then Rediscovered"

"These palms are originally from the remote volcanic island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, about 1,000 miles east of Australia...This palm can grow to an impressive 50 feet tall, though some sources say it can grow much taller... Carpoxylons produce a beautiful large elliptical fruit, two incles or so long, maturing to a deep red. Their descriptive binomial name translaes into something like "large, woody seed." The fruits are edible, evidently tasting like coconut."
...
"Fairchild's specimens are flourishing outdoors in our subtropical clime, growing in the bright shade of taller palm species and in our rainsforest. If you have an area that fits the bill, there's no reason you can't grow this rare palm at home."

I wonder which fruit has the best quality fruit, the 'Pindo' palm, or the 'Vanuatu carpoxylon'. From what's known about the 'Pindo' palm fruit, I think it's hard to beat. All in all, some years ago I thought there were no quality fruit palms at my location, and now there are two, now that's what I call progress, thank you 'Fairchild Gardens'. The Article fails to decisively confirm, at least to for me, that this palm bears fruit here. I plan to call Fairchild and see if I can get confirmation.

Link to Article: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/28/3652440/from-extinction-to-your-yard-a.html

17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Propagating Seedless Papaya
« on: September 15, 2013, 02:07:08 PM »
Is it possible? Does anyone know of a way to propagate seedless papaya?

I have/had a tree in my yard that produces seedless fruit. I have no idea if it can be propagated, help!

18
If we were to exclude jackfruit varieties that have a crucial problem with them, like low-production, fruit-split, ugly-tree..., what do you Forum Members think is the 'Jackfruit Variety with the Best Fruit and Tree?' With number one being the jackfruit variety with both the best fruit and tree, number two would be second best, etc.

This is my (humble opinion) list. I have all three varieties, but I've so far only tasted the 'Sweet-Fairchild,' I'm waiting for the others to grow and produce.

1   J-31
2   Black Gold
3   Sweet Fairchild

19
Growing seedlings is like the lottery. Although it's not guaranteed that you're going to win, you could, and someone always does.

There is also good money to be made in growing fruit seedlings, as I've learned from others who've grown avocado fruit seedlings.

'South Florida - Winter Avocado Void' (S.FL-WAV') Update:
Today I spoke with the person who Dr. Balerdi said was able to come up with a new avocado cultivar that produces mature/ripe fruit in the 'S.Florida - Winter Avocado Void' ('S.FL-WAV') months in South Florida (February, March, April, May).
This person (whom I'll call T.P. to respect his privacy) said to have sold the patent to another individual, and because it was a legal matter, couldn't go into details.
When I told T.P. that he probably planted hundred(s) or thousand(s) of seedlings, to accomplish this feat of filling the 'S.FL-WAV' with a cultivar that produced ripe/mature avocados during this time, surprisingly, T.P. replied "None of that," T.P. said that it was "just a luck of the draw." T.P said that he just grew a seedling avocado that produced ripe/mature fruit during the 'S.FL-WAV.'
Planting a seedling(s) is a valid means to develop a new avocado cultivar that 'fills-in' the 'S.FL-WAV.'
The only problem is, that when an individual solves/fills-in the 'S.FL-WAV,' by the 'Seedling Method,' he/she immediatly realizes that a lot of money can be made and patents the cultivar, effectively removing it from the general population.

I have 118 potted avocado fruit tree seedlings (I guess I'm a Capitalist  ;D), about half are Catalina, and the other half are Simmonds. Since I do not have the space to plant all of them, I guess the smart thing to do is to graft their budwood onto my producing/in-the-ground trees. I see the future, I see myself, I'm doing a lot of grafting.  ;D

I suspect that growing other type of seedling fruit trees, such as mango, can be just as rewarding. In South Florida, USA, there are no mangos to be found during the months of most of December, but especially during January and February.

I used to think that it was silly to grow seedlling fruit trees, since they usually take longer to bear fruit. And the fruit quality, well, like Forrest Gump said, 'it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.' But now I've made a 180 degree turn, I just love growing fruit tree seedlings. Even if I don't win the seedling fruit tree lottery, it's OK, I just love watching them grow. Some grow fast and tall, some die... it's exciting because/since they each have a different DNA, there is that potential for a great new fruit tree variety/cultivar.

20
Today I ate the following fruit from my yard:

Everbearing Mulberry
Pakistani Mulberry
Chirimoya annona
Chokanon mango
Haden mango
Tikal sapodilla

I started this because sometimes when I walk out on my yard, there are no fruit to eat. My goal is to always have some ripe fruit available, everyday of the year.
My hope is that when in those days, when there is no ripe fruit to eat in the home yard, I and others can log on and see what fruit variety is ripening at someone elses.
And, after considering some factors, like Zone and tree location, one may then bring it and add it to the home yard.
I hope that many Forum members contribute to this endeavor as much as they can; Whatever your Zone is, I, and I'm sure others also, would really wanna know what ripe fruit are you eating from your yard Today.

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mango and/or Avocado 24/7
« on: March 29, 2013, 03:00:37 AM »
I've been trying for some years now to find mango and avocado cultivars, so that I'll have ripe fruit of either/both species year round. And now, I think I've found a way.

The tricky months in my Zone 10b, when there are no mangos or avocados, are somewhat fuzzy to say for sure. Based on my observations, they are either January to April, or March to April. I guess the weather plays a lot into it.

Ok, here it is.

Mangos:

I've been eating Rosy-Gold mangos sine March 1, 2013. I'm trying to fnd out if I fertilize, say in November, whether I can start eating mangos next February, we'll see.

Avocados:

I went to the Fruit & Spice Park on March 1, 2013, to check out the different varieties of avocado trees.

Only the Lula avocado tree variety had any, and it was just about full of them. Considering, that the tree size looked to me like a medium sized young tree, of about 20 feet tall.
About half the avocado fruit exibited a 70% green color, with the remaining 30% of the fruit exibiting a somewhat brownish/callus coloration. I suspect this had to do with the cold temperatures of the winter season.
The other half of the avocado fruit was about 40% green and 60% brownish/callus coloration.

To the touch, all the fruit felt super hard. As if they had been somehow mummified by the cold temperatures and rendered unedible. Although, on the ground, under the tree, there was half of an avocado that had obviously just been split open. The flesh looked green, even colored, and for a split second I was tempted to taste it, but of course, no way.

I went again to the Park on March 23, to check on the Lula avocado tree. This time, it only had one avocado left on the tree.
There was a Park employee nearby and I was lucky enough that I was allowed to pick this last Lula avocado from the tree. It was very hard to the touch. I took it home to let it ripen and soften.
Yesterday, March 27, 2013, it was soft and I ate it, and also shared it. I couldn't believe I was eating an avocado that I picked from a tree, at this time of year.

Well, I would have preferred the seed to be a little smaller, in relation to the rest of the size of the fruit.
About the  thickness of the flesh, well, I would have preferred it to have been thicker, in relation to the rest of the size of the fruit.
The color, again, I would have preferred it to be greener.
The size, larger than a Hass avocado, I would say medium sized.
And, the taste, although I liked it, I think regular season avocado probably tastes somewhat better.

But I must say, taking into consideration that I was eating an avocado that was just picked off a tree, way out of season, believe me, I was a happy camper and any complaints were the furthest thing from my mind.

Well, there you have it. I've found an avocado cultivar, Lula, that crossess into the mango season, with the Rosy-Gold mango cultivar.
Therefore, the goal of 'Mango OR Avocado, 24/7' is then accomplished.

Nevertheless, I think there has to be a higher quality avocado cultivar that could replace the Lula variety in this effort.
Possibly an avocado cultivar from California. In California they really have avocados year round. I don't see why the same thing cannot be accomplished in South Florida, USA.

22
I'm looking for an avocado cultivar with ripe fruit in this month of February.

There are some trees in South Florida with ripe avocados, right now.
Fruit & Spice Park says on its web site that avocados are in season.
A couple of days ago, Rob said he picked some ripe Lula avocados of a/some tree(s).
Also, some Forum members have said that the Monroe avocado cultivar can hold fruit on the tree well into February. Although I don't doubt this, I'll appreciate it if someone can confirm this, and share some light on the subject.

I just planted a Doni avocado cultivar. And, the cultivar-description-card that came with the tree, says that fruit will ripen early, from May to June.
If this is the case, does this mean that in S. Florida, we can have avocados year round exept in the months of March and April?

23
All of my banana cultivars produce large banana bunches. I have:
Gold-Finger: They're big fat and juicy. You'll be full with 2 or 3; Tall tree.
Fia#3: Good taste. I think it's similar to Gold-Finger. I get'm confused. Tall tree.
My-Sore: Very small fruit, very sweet. Tree is tall and thin, with a tendency of the trunk to snap/bend to the ground; thus its name.
Nam-Wah: Short tree. Sweet and tasty. Easy to get at the fruit. No need for ladders...
Kandrian: Beautiful, tall tree. Hasn't fruited yet. I planted it about 1 year ago. I'm still waiting to taste the fruit for the first time.

I don't have a red-colored banana variety that I tasted this month, January 2013, when I went to the Fruit & Spice Park.
It was reddish, raw, sweet and refreshing. The texture was good, pleasing and different from the banana cultivars that I currently have.

24
Please think twice about destroying a thriving Dragon Fruit cactus, that you started from seed, just because the fruit it produces is not of good quality.

Without knowing it, you may have hit the jackpot! What I mean is, you may have a great Dragon-Fruit root-stock, that is not affected by nasty nematodes.
Specially, if it's just planted straight in the ground.  Without any barriers between the D.F. and the surrounding area. By barriers I mean sand, clay-pot or pot of some kind, spraying pesticides, black-nylon-sheets, etc.

I planted about 6 cuttings of David-Bowie D.F. cultivar around a pressure-treated pole in the ground, about 10 months ago, Without any barriers.
Now, they look to me like they are showing signs of nematode damage. Maybe my Zone-10b/South-Florida, is affected by nematodes and other Zone/areas are not?
One of the cuttings was climbing the pole OK. But now, it kinda stopped & there is some kind of dirt accumulating at the tip, at the top.
The other cuttings around the pole, have thrown some air-roots like a Medusa, or they've done nothing or developed some rotting holes or both!

I'm very interested in knowing whether anyone has a Dragon Fruit, whether a cultivar or a seedling, that they've just planted in the ground and, it is thriving and doing wonderfully. Regardless of whether it is producing good fruit or not. But showing no nematode damage.

It seems to me, that the solution to the nematode problem, may be to graft the desired D.F. cultivar on top of the nematode resistant/proof D.F. Rootstock; I think Nullzero uses this technique with the Opuntia cactus.

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Can someone please comment on which is the best Jackfruit variety when it comes to Sweet-Taste and Productivity?

The very best Jackfruit cultivars that I'm aware of (in the USA) are Mai1, Mai2, Mai3, J30, J31, NS1 and Excalibur-Red.

Has anyone tasted all of these varieties and can you comment on the one that has the best Sweet-flavor and is the Most-Productive?

I only have one location/spot in my yard to plant a grafted Jackfruit tree; I already have Black-Gold and Sweet-Fairchild.

Please exclude any nasty Jackfruit varieties that split/crack wide open when they ripen.

And, please feel free to comment even if you've not tasted all of the above cultivars.

Thanks




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