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Messages - jcaldeira

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101
Citrus General Discussion / Citrus 'Node Count'
« on: December 24, 2014, 12:56:14 AM »
There was a concept of 'node count' promulgated on the old Gardenweb and Forumup forums that basically stated that a grafted scion/budwood, or a cutting, 'remembers' its maturity and will express sexual maturity depending on this node count.  It's my understanding that a 'node' is essentially equivalent to a growth flush.  Seems reasonable, but I think there's more going on.

It's clear that grafted citrus and branch cuttings flower sooner than their seedling brethren that are focused on vertical growth to capture sunlight and root growth to ensure survival.  However:
 
(1) A farmer near me has an old seedling lime tree that was broken off near the soil line during a cyclone two years ago.  The root suckers are now blooming in abundance.  The root suckers should have a single digit node count, yet mature at 24 months.

(2) There is evidence that flowering can be accelerated by grafting a young seedling scion onto a mature tree, so the mature tree pushes the scion a lot.  Thus it seems flowering is also influenced by the rootstock.

(3) I've had some 10 month old rough lemon seedlings bloom after being stressed to near death with lack of water, while the better-cared for seedlings did not.

Is it really node count, or is flowering a much more complex event?

102
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How to increase the quality of your fruit
« on: December 20, 2014, 08:10:07 PM »
Knowing when to pick and eat fruit is a good way to increase the quality of one's fruit.  Citrus, pineapple and many other fruits achieve their ideal sugar/acid balance relatively late in their maturation process.  Picked too soon, and the fruit will taste sub-par.

Similarly, most of us have been disappointed one time or another with overripe fruit, such as supermarket cherries.  Timing isn't everything, but it's important.

103
I don't know what to believe about orange juice any more.  There's been a lot of bad press about the high sugar content in recent years.

Eat and drink everything in moderation seems good advice.  Plenty of variety in our diets allows our body to absorb a wide variety of the nutrients it needs.

104
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Myer lemon question
« on: December 06, 2014, 10:52:26 PM »
No.  Even in the tropics citrus is a seasonal crop. It varies by variety though.  Calamondins and West Indian limes bear off and on all year, but most others are seasonal. 

I live in a tropical climate with a rainy and dry season.  My Meyer Lemon trees bloom after the first good rains following the dry (winter) season, and bear fruit in the middle and late rainy season, and into the next early dry season.  There are a few off-season fruit, but not many.

My guess is that the trees don't have enough energy to bear a heavy crop all year.

105
Tropical Fruit Online Library / Re: Air-layering
« on: November 28, 2014, 10:40:00 PM »
Great resources, Jackfruitwhisperer69!  Thanks for sharing.

106
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: I found a 100% tropical apple
« on: November 27, 2014, 12:11:36 AM »
Interesting. I'm also interesting in learning about the taste.

I've frequently had avocado scions bloom.  My guess is that the bud had already differentiated between vegetative and reproductive (flowering) growth before the graft.

107
They seem like varieties I'd like to try.  They need to find better names for them, though. 

108
Thanks, Millet. 

In more tropical environments, where chilling hours are not possible for citrus, water stress from dry conditions tends to induce flower buds.

109
The yellow leaf vein problem may be due to low phosphorus.  I had a similar problem on part of my farm and it turned out to be low phosphorus, possibly made unavailable to the plants due to high copper or some other mineral.

I reported my problem in this thread (see reply #30):
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=9236


110
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: World's largest Cashew tree (Natal, Brazil)
« on: November 19, 2014, 03:39:45 PM »
Has that huge cashew tree expanded by dropping branches to the ground that root, or by root suckers?  It seems impossible a tree that expansive could be nourished only from the main trunk.

111
Most of my passionfruit are growing up in the trees, but some on a trellis and fences.  I cut back the entire vine after approximately 2 years, after production has fallen, leaving a meter or two of the old vine above ground level and pulling off all the dead vines that I can.  If the dead vines are not cut out, some of the fruit get caught in it and are prevented from falling.  It's nearly impossible to remove the dead vines without cutting the whole vine back. 

Here's a trellis before and after pruning:
Before


After

112
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mastergrafter video from Australia
« on: November 16, 2014, 10:55:37 PM »
Interesting video.  Thanks for sharing, Bangkok.

113
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Spinach May Save Florida's Citrus Crop
« on: November 15, 2014, 10:13:50 AM »
Sounds great, but how do you combat the public relations problems due to people thinking they will grow a third arm out of their forehead from eating those citrus?

There is something in human nature that tells us to be cautious of change, which overall is probably good.    However, technophobia has been a problem since the dawn of the industrial revolution, with almost every new significant invention having detractors.   Truth becomes more apparent with time, experience and education.

114
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Spinach May Save Florida's Citrus Crop
« on: November 14, 2014, 04:59:30 PM »
That's encouraging news, Millet.  Thanks for sharing.



115
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Visiting Dallas - Where are the fruit?
« on: November 11, 2014, 04:16:12 PM »
Just returned from the Carrollton supermarket. 

Rambutan, longan, cherimoya and persimmon in hand!  I also saw (frozen) durian, various guavas, dragon fruit etc.

Good deal.

Glad you were successful.  That Carrollton market often has good black sapote.

116
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Free Greenhouse Heat
« on: November 11, 2014, 01:08:03 PM »
Millet, how much temperature drop do your barrels actually experience on a typical winter night?  I realize there's a lot of variables, but I'm just looking for a rough range.

By the way, one million BTUs, when generated by electricity, costs  over $25 USD so you have some good daily savings there!

117
Turgut, how are you ventilating the greenhouse?  That's a lot of space to keep from overheating.

118
Nice.  Thanks for sharing.

119
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Citrus - Number of years to bear fruit
« on: November 10, 2014, 02:01:22 PM »
Canopy?  My grafted citrus mostly look like each branch has a mind of its own.  I only prune to keep branches off the ground, and rubbing off rootstock suckers.  Once in a while I cut down a water shoot to encourage branching, but most I leave alone.

We had some rain recently in Fiji and the citrus are blooming.  I now have bloom on Valencia and Mandarin.  The only citrus not blooming are grapefruit and pomelo.

120
Brilliant!   You are NOT going to regret this.  Within two years they'll be fruiting and you can move on to the next phase.  ;)

121
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Visiting Dallas - Where are the fruit?
« on: November 08, 2014, 01:36:43 PM »
Dallas Farmers Market has local and Mexican fruits.  http://dallasfarmersmarket.org/

Most Hispanic and Asian supermarkets have seasonal tropical fruits.  One of my favorites: Asian Super Market at 3040 N Josey Ln, Carrollton.

122
I enjoyed reading the list, but there were so many!  Who were/are the top contributors to citrus?

123
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Help identifying citrus problem
« on: November 07, 2014, 08:12:40 PM »
Ants often suggest mealy bugs, aphids or some other pest that they feed on.

I don't know the answer, but suggest trimming off the dead/dying wood and carefully observe the remaining tree. 

124
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Fruit packaging
« on: November 07, 2014, 03:12:52 PM »
Inspired by this ridiculous sighting: http://imgur.com/gallery/wvnRhIN , a little web search on fruit packaging yielded these creative but mostly-absurd packaging ideas:












125
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Research on Maximizing Crop Yields
« on: November 03, 2014, 08:18:12 AM »
This interesting work was done on tomatoes.
http://phys.org/news/2014-11-nature-genetic-toolkit-maximum-crop.html


Interesting.  Thanks for sharing.

From the article:
"In tomatoes and all other flowering plants, the balance between vegetative growth and flowers is controlled by a pair of opposing hormones, called florigen and anti-florigen. Prior work by Lippman and Israeli colleagues showed that a mutation in florigen can shift the balance between vegetative growth and flowering, modifying plant architecture in a way that increases yield."

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