North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Claude Jolicoeur <cjoli@gmc.ulaval.ca>]

A 11:17 00.12.14 -0600, vous avez écrit :
>There were several accounts of topgrafting apples to increase
>hardiness. I had one experience that suggested that the tree used
>for its frame may influence whether the grafted varieties bear
>annually or biennially.

I find this is a very interesting subject... I have also noticed different
behavior of a variety depending on where it is grafted - for example,
Yellow Transparent topgrafted on Cortland shows very little biennalism. On
the other hand, grafted on a wild seedling, it is completely biennal (i.e.
0 production one year, full crop the other) whatever I do about it.

This wild sedling tree with Yellow Transparent is an interesting case. Both
varieties have about the same development - there are about 6 branches
grafted to Transparent and about the same number of branches of the
original tree. Both varieties flower and produce together the same year.
One winter, all the flower buds of the wild variety froze, but the
Transparent flowered heavily. I thought that, the following year, the wild
variety would flower and this would bring the tree out of this biannual
habit. But no, the following year, there was not a single flower in the
tree and the biennal habit wasn't broken.

I don't know what controls this, wether the supporting tree has to produce
fruit or not. Can just a frame have an influence? a root?

I would appreciate to read from others on this topic.

Claude

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