North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lhdavis8@cs.com]

Most kadi are females because that's what any grower would propagate.  Many 
kaki seedlings have both blooms, male and female but would be rogued out altho
a few that have exceptional fruit are kept.  Hanafuyu has both blooms, usually the
males bloom first and over a longer period of time.  This will cause most of the 
fruit in the orchard to have seeds, including Fuyu, Ichikikie Jiro, Jiro, and Saijo,
personal experience.  Some years the male bloom will be heavier than others.  
Since Hanafuyu is not very well excepted in the Asian community or to anyone else
that has any of the Fuyus, or Jiros I then have tried to topwork the few Hanafuyus
that I have.  Seeded fruit is an undesirable characteristic for marketing.  It causes
the fruit to ripen a little earlier and makes it a little softer, especially the Hanafuyus.

     I have several kaki to die each year from KSD.  There is no perticular variety
anymore than another.  There is no pattern, it might be two next to each other and
then another 100 yards away.  Out of 90 chipped budded in a row, 3 or 4 may get
KSD when 12 to 18 inches high, and these may be far apart.  There is no pattern
to KSD.  It always starts with the striations in the top most leaves begin to turn 
black, then the pediole turns black within a day or two and before a week, the leaves
are falling, starting at the top progressing downward.  If you look at thexylem and pholem
both will have small black specks, this will progress down the trunk until it reaches
the rootstock, then the cambrium is clear again but the kaki will die and the native
rs will survive and be heathy.  One year later you can graft onto the rootstock and
the KSD will be evident by the time the scion reaches 12 to 18 inches and again
sudden death.  My personal beleif is KSD is a virus of which our native trees are
immune.  I know of no one in the southeast, except Floridians, who have not had
trees to die of KSD.