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["Robert Bruns" <r.fred.bruns@gmail.com>]

The sweet-kerneled varieties probably have a defective version of the enzyme that makes cyanide.  If that's true, the F1 cross would contain cyanide, because you would only need one copy of the cyanide-making enzyme.  One-fourth of the F2 generation would have two defective copies of the cyanide enzyme and therefore would be edible.

 

As an aside, squirrels love to eat the kernels of my Hungarian Rose apricots.  They gnaw through the flesh, spitting it on the ground, then open the pit and eat the kernel.  I can have 200 apricots on my tree and I'll be lucky to get 50 that haven't been vandalized by the squirrels.  I'm not sure if the kernels are edible or if the squirrels are resistant to cyanide.

 

Fred

 

On 4/11/08, Lon J. Rombough <lonrom@hevanet.com> wrote:

Long time NAFEX member Garfield Shults could give you personal experience on that.  He bred several of the sweet kernaled apricots that Stark Bros. has sold over the years.  He doesn't use the internet though.  At 86 he's starting to slow down a bit.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
For even more grape lessons, go to  http://www.grapeschool.com
For all other things grape,   http://www.vitisearch.com

On Apr 10, 2008, at 4:34 PM, Martha L. Davis wrote:

Hi Folks,

Does anyone know anything about the genetics of sweet pit or kernel apricots?  I sort of remember reading something about it quite a while ago when I wasn't living in an area that had lots of apricots, but i can't place where I read it.  It seemed like it was a fairly simple genetic trait that determined whether they were sweet and edible like almonds or whether they were bitter containing cyanide.

Martha

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