My citrus collection [EU - Antwerp]

[Peep]

Is anyone able tell me what these lumps on this young branch are? Could this be from gall wasp? I'm a bit concerned. Few weeks ago there was also resin coming out of different spots on this branch, the big bits I removed some weeks ago, but you can still see it a bit.

[Peep]

Because I bought plants from Adavo, including Kabosu, and there are some rumours about the possibility of it having Tristeza, I have ordered test kits.

These are home kits, it works similar to how covid has detailed PCR tests and also simple positive / negative tests for home use.

Here is more information for who is interested: https://orders.agdia.com/agdia-immunostrip-for-ctv-isk-78900
To buy it in Europa you have to contact the European side of the company, located in France: https://www.agdia-emea.com/en/product/citrus-tristeza-virus-2

Email reply was quick, shipping as well, will arrive tomorrow. Pricing is €54 for 5 tests and €160 for a set of 25. Shipping to me in Belgium was €28 (FedEx), and with taxes the 5 test kit came to €98,40 including shipping.

Not really sure which plants I will test besides the Kabosu.

This is what I have from Adavo, so can't test them all. Suggestions for which varieties are at the highest risk are welcome.

- Hanayu (Hana Yuzu)
- Hana Yuzu (The "Sudachi" version which isn't Sudachi)
- Trifeola
- Kabosu
- Kishu-mikan           
- Hashimoto Satsuma
- Taiwanica / Nansho Daidai   
- Poncirus x C. unshiu
- C. unshiu x C. junos   
- YUZU N°1
- YUZU N°4
- Citrangeremo
- Glauca x Shekwasha   
- Ichang Papeda IVIA
- Citrus sinensis "GLORY MIČURINA"
- Triploïde Reale
 

[BorisR]

Is anyone able tell me what these lumps on this young branch are?

Copper deficiency is possible.

[Peep]

Copper deficiency is possible.

From a quick google it seems that could be a possibility, big thanks for the tip!

I happen to have some copper sulphate on hand (the blue crystals), I'll try to find some information on the dosage and give it a go.   

[Peep]

Today I have tested my Kabosu from Adavo for the Tristeza virus. Everything done with care. My result is negative. There is always a small chance that it is a false negative. My plant may not have enough virus or the test may not have been accurate. Or that other Kabosu plants from Adavo have it, but mine doesn't. I can't rule anything out completely, but I can share my experience and the result of my plant and test. It would still be interesting to see more people test theirs.

Here are the pictures:

[BorisR]

And where did you get the test? Do you have a photo of the packaging?

[Peep]

And where did you get the test? Do you have a photo of the packaging?

A few posts earlier I wrote about where you can buy it. What do you want to know from the packaging? The test strips are in an air tight tube shaped plastic container, put in a ziplock bag together with the sample extraction bags. This was put into the FedEx packaging.

[Florian]

Unless proven otherwise, I will assume you did everything right and the test worked fine thus your Kabosu is free of Tristeza. I don't have it exactly because I was told by the French that it had Tristeza. Might just get it some time after all..

[Peep]

Unless proven otherwise, I will assume you did everything right and the test worked fine thus your Kabosu is free of Tristeza. I don't have it exactly because I was told by the French that it had Tristeza. Might just get it some time after all..

I believe it is possible for my plant to have it, but not active enough for it to be tested. Some cultivars are more sensitive to it than others.
There seems to be an alternative, but slower, way of testing, where you graft a piece onto a cultivar that is sensitive to CTV. I'm educating myself on it more.

"The objective of biological indexing is to detect the presence of CTV in plant accessions or selections or in samples whose sanitary status is being assessed, and to estimate the aggressiveness of the isolate on Citrus aurantifolia (Mexican, key or Omani lime), C. macrophylla or Citrus paradisi Macfadyen (Duncan grapefruit) seedlings"

https://www.fao.org/3/cb4687en/cb4687en.pdf

Unfortunately I do not have any of these varieties, so I would first have to get seeds and grow them. Some people say Bitter Orange is also sensitive, although not as much as the others. I do have a bitter orange on carrizo rootstock that I do not need anymore, so I'm trying to find out if it's worth it to graft kabosu on it. Someone on Facebook also just told me that I can graft a sensitive plant onto kabosu for the same results. I do have Pomelo Enzo, which is a seedling of Duncan, if I'm not mistaken. So I could try that, but my Kabosu is small and I'm not sure it has a good spot to graft to unless I'm ruining the plant itself.

[Ilya11]

I have Kabosu from the budwood that I got from Roberto. The leaves are less round and have some suspicious wrinkles.

[Peep]

I have Kabosu from the budwood that I got from Roberto. The leaves are less round and have some suspicious wrinkles.

From a quick google I do notice there are quite a few pictures where Kabosu leaves have some wrinkle to them.

I also noticed how round the leaves are. This is also on my Taiwanica from Adavo. They seem to be quite similar actually.

Is Roberto someone from this forum?

[Ilya11]

Zitrusgaertner on this forum.

[BorisR]

A few posts earlier I wrote about where you can buy it.

Thanks, I missed it.

[Peep]

Some updates:

I germinated 80 poncirus seeds. Placing them in wet vermiculite and on a heating pad with temperature sensor set to 26°C worked very well.

(I put a lid on it.)


For the optimum germination temperature of different cultivars you can find interesting information in this scientific paper: https://journals.flvc.org/fshs/article/download/86283/83199 and this next one also has some interesting data regarding germination times: https://journals.flvc.org/.../article/download/85824/82740/0

I placed them in the vermiculate on the 2nd of December, this is what they look like today:



I always keep them covered with a clear box so the air moisture stays high.

I also made a grow light setup for the seedlings:



It's a bit difficult though to regulate a good air mosture level. If it's too moist then the LED lights get wet from condensation after turning them off. I ruined €100 worth of LED's before figuring that out.

Other good news (at least to me) is that I managed to get a Nameiwa kumquat from Vessieres:



It's on C35 rootstock, but I will graft a piece onto poncirus and also use it to send some scions to other people.

On Monday another order from Adavo will ship to me. This time with scions, ten C4475 rootstocks, and another Citrangeremo. Shipping cost from Adavo is always the, even for scions it's the same as up to 16 plants.

The scions will be: Ichangquat, Ichang Lemon CRC 1215, Eremorange and Citradia "Eisenhut 139

I have poncirus rootstock and use this the most, but I thought it could be nice to put a few of my most hardy varieties also on C4475 for the increased growth speed.

I'm not sure how I can best graft the scions and where to place the grafted plants, because it is winter at the moment. I asked the question here, advice is always appreciated: https://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=49846.0

[Zitrusgaertner]

I have Kabosu from the budwood that I got from Roberto. The leaves are less round and have some suspicious wrinkles.

Ilya, can you remember, when did I send you this budwood? I think it came from a plant I have lost in the meantime. Originally from a Citrus-friend from Germany. Most likely it is not from Adavo (but I do nor know his source)

[mikkel]

Ilya, is your Kabosu hardy in your garden?

[Ilya11]

@Zitrusgaertner
You sent me budwood in 2017
@Mikkel
No, it is still in pot and gave the fruits for the first time this year.

[Peep]

So on the 12th of January my order from Adavo arrived.

The C4475 seedlings had been taken out of their pots and grouped together in plastic bags. From some of the soil that was still holding shape I could see that they likely used the same as what I put them back into (7x7x18 I think).




I ordered 10, but I got a few extra it seems, that's nice. Looking neat after putting them all in pots. The size is not too bad for grafting:




I ordered scions from Ichang Lemon CRC1215, Ichangquat, Eremorange and Eisenhut Citradia 139. Placed them in a shady spot outdoors in a bucket with some water. I grafted part of them the day they arrived and part of them the day after:



Some of the scions, and the C4475 seedlings as well, seemed to be infested with bugs. Not sure if they are aphids or mites, or something else? I rinsed everything under running water and hope it doesn't spread. Might spray the C4475 with some soapy water and neem oil in a few days in case any survived.



Another downside was that some of the scions were quite thin. Especially the Eremorange seems a bit too thin and immature. I think I'm good at grafting, but this is seriously annoying to work with, keep in mind my fingers are already quite slender:



Anyway, I still managed to get some reasonable grafts with it, so fingers crossed



Another hurdle is that my rootstock was still dormant. I didn't put them indoors beforehand, because I didn't know what size of scions I would receive and couldn't pick out the right size of rootstock. I also didn't want to wake up all my rootstock and then have to put most of them outside again.

So I put a heating pad inside a cardboard box and put the newly grafted plants in there. Hoping that the heating pad would quickly wake the rootstock up. For the first week I left them in a cold room, between 12 and 15°C. So the rootstock would be warm, but the scions cool. After that week I placed them in a room of maybe 18°C. A few centimeters deep the soil is 23°C. Haven't measured deeper down (warmer).


 
Usually I grafted end of March or later and with freshly cut scions, so I'm curious how this will end up.