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nafex - [nafex] Morus macroura???

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  • From: Devin Smith <dvidedevo@yahoo.com>
  • To: Mailing List at Ibiblio - Northamerican Allied Fruit Experimenters <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [nafex] Morus macroura???
  • Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2016 14:22:18 +0000 (UTC)

Hi all-I received a surprise delivery a couple of days ago-- mulberry
cuttings that I had ordered from the GRIN germplasm database over a year ago!
Several of the accessions I requested are listed as Morus macroura, which is
what GRIN lists as the species of 'Pakistan' mulberry (others list as M.
alba). I know that 'Pakistan' is very low chill and not terribly hardy (I'm
in Vermont), but my interest was piqued by some of the other M. macroura
offerings. Accession 'DMOR 9' for example, resembles 'Pakistan' in fruit form
and size, and the description suggests it may be fully hardy in zone 5.

https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?id=1564196
Check out the narrative provided for this accession:
"Information from Seed Savers, page 375: Large, 1 inch [2.54cm], juicy, red
to purplish black fruit similar to blackberries; can be quite delicious.
Small, wide spreading, deciduous tree grows 20-30 feet [6.1-9.14m] tall. Very
long-lived, becoming gnarled and picturesque. Similar to Russian Mulberry in
that it can be used to make a fine hedge; very attractive to birds. Ripens in
late spring. Hardy to at least -10 degrees Farenheit. Grows well in Zones
5-6. Native to western Asia"

The only wrinkle I can see offhand is that it says the fruit is 1" (long I
assume) while the pictures clearly show the fruit to be about 2.25" long.
Maybe this is a simple mixup and the narrative is not relevant to this
accession. Does anyone know more about Morus macroura-- its geographic
distribution, hardiness, or any other relevant properties?

My thought was to grow a couple of these macroura accessions with protection
in the hopes of performing some crosses with hardy M. alba varieties to
possibly produce some hardy large fruiting 'pakistan' types.

My only known pollen producer is 'contorted', which is also listed as both M.
alba and another species, M. bombycis. Do superior fruiting types--
'Geraldi', 'Ill. Everbearing', 'Collier', etc. produce male flowers in
anyone's experience? I see that GRIN lists "Geraldi Dwarf' as an M. alba x M.
nigra, and I wondered immediately how they knew that and what the logistics
might be of performing such a cross. I guess the M. nigra would likely have
to be container grown and its flowering would have to be manipulated to occur
at the same time as the M. alba growing outside. I recall reading about
mechanical pollination of kiwis in New Zealand, and how they mix the pollen
in a dilute liquid solution and spray that onto the flowers. I thought that
was very odd and that it would spoil the pollen until I read more about types
of pollen. Apparently wind pollinated plants, which are properly called
anemophilous, have pollen with very different pollen which endures this type
of treatment. Has anyone on the list played around with this? I thought
something similar might work for paw paw's -- maybe using an atomizer and
something inert like corn starch to dilute the pollen.



  • [nafex] Morus macroura???, Devin Smith, 02/16/2016

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