North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Sam Brungardt <samis@attbi.com>]

On 10/31/02 12:05 PM, "Joe Hecksel" <jhecksel@voyager.net> wrote:

> The following post was on the Cider digest.  Do any of the list members
> care to address Mark's question?  How do researchers measure "drought
> tolerance"?
> 
> Subject: Drought Tolerance Info?
>    From: "Mark Ellis" <mark@artisansrus.com>
>    Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 07:36:11 +1100
> 
>    G'day All,
> 
>    Here in Southern Oz we are experiencing pretty much drought
>    conditions, and have for the last couple of years. Looks like our
>    farm will get only 1, maybe 2 irrigation runs this season so we
>    are not expecting much in the way of fruit this year unless it
>    buckets down a few times over the next month.
> 
>    So I think as orchardists we need to be a bit proactive in
>    seeking to plant drought tolerant orchards in our drier areas. I
>    expect the situation might be similar in some south western US
>    areas as well.
> 
>    The US National Germplasm Repository
>    http://www.ars-grin.gov/gen/apple.html have done some interesting
>    work in sending teams to Kazakhstan (the wild apple birthplace)
>    and collecting seed and scions. Some apples they collected came
>    from rainfall as low as 300ml or 12"!!!
> 
>    Does anyone have info, sources or links to good resources in this
>    regard?
> 
>    Thanks for any pointer in this regard.
> 
>    Cheers
>    Mark E. in OZ

Univ. of Minnesota apple breeder Dave Bedford told us, during this year's
NAFEX national convention, that the progeny from seeds collected in
Kazahkstan by the USDA show no resistance to fireblight.

If you wanted to get some of the Kahzahk germplasm, contact Philip Forsline
at the Clonal Germplasm Repository at Geneva, N.Y.

One consideration that may make a big difference in how drought resistant
the apples in Kazahkstan are is that they may be growing at a much higher
altitude, under less windy conditions, and possibly a cooler average
temperature during the growing season than would be the case in southern
Kansas (if that's what you mean by OZ).  One would expect them to have a
lower evapotranspiration rate.  They may also be fed by underground
streams.--Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn. (Zone 4B)