North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Richard J. Ossolinski" <ossoeo@myfairpoint.net>]

Though fruits are mentioned only in passing, a recent NY Times article accurately provides a wonderful overview of the area, much of which (including the wild apple forests of Kazakhstan) we traversed in '07.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/travel/20Pamir.html?emc=eta1

Richard

Gouldsboro, ME  Zone 5

On Dec 23, 2009, at 2:40 PM, dwoodard@becon.org wrote:

From Gary Nabhan's new book

"Where our food comes from: retracing Nikolay Vavilov's quest to end famine"
Island Press/ Shearwater Books, 2009

Around 2006, traveling in the Pamir Mountains of central Asia, Nabhan
noted that traditional cultivars of mulberry and apricot yielded less than
formerly, attributed to more variable weather, the effects of melting
glaciers, and possibly insufficient chilling hours.

He mentions small orchards planted by local people, experimenting with new
fruit cultivars in new locations.

Nabhan provides information on the wild apples of Kazakhstan and the
efforts of Dr. Aimak Dzangaliev and his colleagues to preserve them.