North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Steven Covacci <filtertitle@aol.com>]

Which rootstock is a better choice for Japanese persimmon (D. kaki) in the 
Northeast: D. lotus or D. virginiana.
A couple points:
*A study in California found that D. lotus, supposedly, forms a larger tree 
then D. kaki on D. virginiana, even though D. virginiana forms a larger tree 
than D. lotus, both in natural form.
*Of course, non-astringents will graft-reject on D. lotus
*D. virginiana is more resistant to soil-born pathogens; D. lotus cannot 
handle highly mesic soils.
*D. lotus transplants better, lacking the deep tap-root of D. virginiana.
*Since, in the Northeast, there is no concern of persimmon-wilt caused by 
Acromonium diospyri, the advantage of D. lotus being resistant to A. diospyri 
is a non-issue.


So, which is a better root-stock for grafting astringent persimmons: D. lotus 
or D. virginiana - in the Northeast.
p.s. a topic which is really complicated, chromosome counts - D. lotus is 30; 
D. virginiana - depending on eco-region - is 60 or 90; AND D. kaki can be any 
where from [a real low number, forgot] to 180 (2n=180; x=15).
So, I have a feeling some cultivars would do best on D. lotus where as others 
best on D. virginiana 60-c and best on D. virginiana 90-c; and some would not 
do well with any of these, but would need a strain-appropriate variety of D. 
kaki.
Steve; NJ