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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Apricots from Afghanistan

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  • From: Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Apricots from Afghanistan
  • Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 12:47:01 -0400

Yesterday I read that someone in the U.S. is growing apricots from Hunza, and that they blossom especially late. Hunza is just east of north Afghanistan. I suspect that apricots of this and neighbouring populations may come fairly true from seed, perhaps even more than other apricots.

From reading, orchards have long been very important in Afghanistan, and dried apricots and mulberries used to be important in the economy of the country, I think especially when the population was smaller as in the 19th century and previously. The memoirs of the late Sir Richard Gale of the British Army extol the delicious grapes of Kandahar which he ate in the 1920s, imported fresh into what is now western Pakistan on camelback, and I have read that grape growing is still important around Kandahar.

But I understand that the orchards have suffered badly in the wars of the last 30 years, and I expect that all the land mines that have been planted have intefered with their restoration.

Trees from your sprouted seeds might suit the dry western parts of the U.S. better than the northeast, but who knows. I suspect that Ken Taylor's "Precious" apricot which he found in Ontario on high ground between Toronto and Georgian Bay, one of an old regional population, originated with Russian seedlings, possibly derived from Central Asia, which were distributed as subscription premiums by the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association around 1900 or a little before.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario




Melissa Kacalanos wrote:
I'm following up on a very old topic I started. I bought some dried apricots imported from Afghanistan a while ago, and wondered if the pits would sprout. It turns out, they do. At least, I cold-stratified 4, and 1 sprouted yesterday. Now I'm wondering what to do with this little seedling. Also, does anyone want some pits to grow themselves? These are of interest mainly as novelties I think, for people who want something straight from Afghanistan, and have room for a tree of unpredictable quality. Let me know if you'd like some seeds.

Otherwise, I'll probably just eat the seeds, since they're really delicious.

Oh, and thanks very much for all the great advice on peaches, particularly regarding rootstocks. I'll look into this further.

Melissa

--- On *Fri, 5/8/09, Melissa Kacalanos /<mijwiz@yahoo.com>/* wrote:


-----Original Message-----
From: Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com>
To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thu, 7 May 2009 1:44 pm
Subject: [NAFEX] Apricots from Afghanistan

I was grocery shopping the other day, and found some interesting
things: organic dried apricots, whole with pits, and organic
apricot kernels, both imported from Afghanistan. Forgive me for
being surprised that at least part of Afghanistan has been
stable for long enough to allow an orchard to exist.

The apricot kernels are really delicious, similar to almonds but
more flavorful. The apricots are a strange color, off-white
rather than orange. They're very small, very sweet, lacking
tartness, and with only a subtle apricot flavor.

I wonder if the kernels inside the dried fruit are edible too.
If they're poisonous, will that be obvious, like they'll taste
bitter?

I'm also wondering what would happen if I tried to plant the
pits from the fruit, or the shelled kernels. They're not
roasted, but I don't know if the drying process killed them,
since I'm sure the importer didn't plan for anyone to plant
these things. However, I've been surprised at the things I've
grown from packaged food, like tamarind from a block of tamarind
pulp, which made a very pretty houseplant, and spices. Just for
kicks, what would be the best way to try to sprout these, if
possible?

Melissa




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