Are you in Thailand? You would have to find a close lab that breeds the beneficial nematodes if that even exists there. They often die in transport so the closer and fresher the better. The shells feed a chitin eating bacteria that either consume or repel nematodes. They are also good fertilizer. I normally add crab shell to all my potting mix and top dress the yard with it.

Quote from: shot on December 21, 2017, 09:28:57 AM

Shrimp shells are good for growing pathogenic microbes, after they digest the shells then huge population turns on the chtin http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LEVu6kwjtaXT0A43YnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByOHZyb21tBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1513894693/RO=10/RU=http%3a%2f%2fipm.ucanr.edu%2fPMG%2fr280200111.html/RK=2/RS=Rmzx70Q7fmYn8Tj7sDAoXLaOpjI-

If you have a neem tree you can make teas and drench soil with it as a insect growth regulant.
Also if their are healthy wild guavas might make good rootstock

What do i need from neemtree? I know one not far away. But is neemoil also good? Is easy to buy for me.

I did soildrench with woodvinegar some weeks ago, the worms came out...can that also kill nematodes? Now worms are back, many of them.

Crab and shrimp is easy for me, put all shells in blender with water and throw on soil.
But will that sure help? I want to put new tree in that soil, is very good soil, expensive.

Beneficial nematodes i don't know where to buy, is there online shop?

I just soaked some squamosa seeds last night that I have been way behind on planting. I guess I will leave them inside with a humidity dome and see if they come up.


Here is a video link to the tree that I pruned back to scaffolding before Irma.
IMG_6680


Here is a video of the trellised tree with a bunch of fruit.
IMG_6681

I had two nurseries Sapodillas, one Silas Wood and another Alano, from different sources, but both had/have very ugly grafts, with cracking bark and bulging of the trunk in the graft area.  The Alano fruited and then died (in a container -- I shouldn't have let it); the Silas Wood is doing fine but still has a really ugly graft.  Is that normal?  I've been wondering whether air layering would be a better option.

My graft unions look good.

Carambola is an excellent candidate for multigrafting as well.

I am still looking for Bell and Kajang if anyone wants to trade budwood.

Can I keep pushing Annona growth all winter with the proper microclimate/protection in Florida or are they daylight sensitive? What about indoor with lights?

I like to eat them nice and ripe. I find it easiest to just bite around the spiky seed. You can even bite the flesh from the spikes. They don't hurt. That being said I ripped mine out when I changed my yard and the one I have in the pot I will probably try to sell at next years tree sale. You can keep them pruned back and I used to break off half on the flower stalks to thin.

I don't know the fastest but Silas Woods and Makok are slower so you can eliminate those.

I harvested about 15 Alano sapodilla about a month ago. Most of them were well rooted. They might have been on for two months or so. I used long fiber sphagnum and I think I put a little rooting hormone on but that probably isn't necessary.

I don't know if this works for all cultivars but I have seen other people air layering Alano.

No problems. I prefer grafting most things though because I believe if you have a healthy air pruned seedling for a rootstock you will have a much stronger tree.

Atemoya rootstock has been working well.

I think the problem is you have year old jackfruits living in solo cups. Jackfruit aren't really happy in normal containers and get rootbound very fast.

With the Coochie Island Atemoya I could be wrong & maybe is a seedling of Island Gem & could be renamed & the nursery picked a name where the Island Gem came from....... Can someone ring the nursery & find out & let us know ?? Mike

I think they are different because JF mentions Island Gem and Coochie Island.  Maybe he will see this and chime in.

Quote from: mike rule on December 11, 2017, 08:40:44 AM

It would appear that the Coochie Island Atemoya is the variety named Island Gem that originated on the island of Coochie mudlo island in Brisbane moreton bay...... Why do nurseries need to give plants new names ?              Mike

Because "coochie" sounds like "hoochie."

Coochie has always meant  ({})  to me. 

Starfruit hate wind more than anything. That would be the culprit. Windbreaks are always part of commercial groves in Florida. You can fruit them in pots but I would get it in a root pruning pot if you are going that route. If not, stick it in the most sheltered area you have with full (best) to part sun. They like acid soil as well. Kari is a great cultivar.

Quote from: Annonaceae on December 11, 2017, 07:55:09 AM

Quick question.   Annona cherimola, atemoya and some ornamental Annonas are more cold hardier.

My question is this, if I graft a Annona diversifolia, reticulata or others onto a cold hardy species will it then make the tropical species grafts cold hardy also?

The sap and or brix would be being delivered to the graft from the cold hardy root stock correct?

Could this work or be done?

One of the Annona gurus will probably answer your question more thoroughly, but grafting A. diversifolia and A. reticulata onto Cherimoya root stock will not technically make the grafted portions more hardy to cold. Here in California, some A. diversifolia and A. reticulata can suffer from the cold and cool weather for several months and then die.  If grafted onto Cherimoya root stock, they tend to tolerate the cool conditions and cold wet soil better. The grafted portions are still subject to typical exposure to frost and freezes, so you can't grow A. diversifolia and A. reticulata grafted onto Cherimoya root stock in all regions that grow Cherimoya.

That all sounds right to me but. I am no guru or have the experience to back it up but here is my take on it. There can be very minute genetic drift from rootstock scion but that wouldn't make much of a difference. I think of rootstock being important for cold hardiness due to the fact that the coldest air will be settled 18" to 24" above the soil line so you could plant on a mound and graft a little higher. Pick a rootstock that is hardier than the scion if freeze will be an issue. Alternately, you could use a less hardy rootstock better acclimated to your soil and then bury it or easily put some heat source like lights around it during the cold snaps but that wont help with sustained cold that drop the overall soil temperature for whole seasons like California vs Florida.

You could multigraft the less hardy species mid canopy in your tree and wrap some C9 xmas lights around them for the cold season and put them on a timer. It shouldn't be too expensive to give you a microclimate to scrape by if you aren't zone pushing too hard.