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nafex - Re: [nafex] Seedling trees

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  • From: Douglas Hinds <cedecor@gmx.net>
  • To: Idell Weydemeyer <iwgarden@earthlink.net>, nafex mailing list at ibiblio <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] Seedling trees
  • Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:00:36 -0600

On 11/12/2012 3:24 PM, Idell Weydemeyer wrote:
If someone can tell me what year or issue, we have members who are giving
awy their magazines so can probably get one for you.

Idell Weydemeyer

*California Rare Fruit Growers Yearbook* for 1973

The original name of the article was "*Indications of Metabolic Imbalance in Grafted Trees and their Fruit*" (although it might have been "*Indications of Metabolic Imbalance in Budded/Grafted Trees*" but the CRFG lost their archives due to a fire or a flood and the last time I noticed the article had been renamed to "*The Need to Develop Good, True Seedling Fruit Tree**Strains*" or something similar). However: I noticed today that the crfg.org website has been reorganized to link to articles about a particular variety, which is obviously not the case, and my friend Paul Thomson (the CRFG's founder) died a few years ago.

In any case, my article presented biological principles and concrete evidence to the effect that, while spliced together tree parts may continue to stay alive, bear fruit and resolve a particular issue (such as the relative inability of sweet citrus roots to extract sufficient iron from desert soils, or the susceptibility of Key Lime Roots to Gummosis as compared to Macrophilia rootstock), alternative solutions exist for these problems that do not create irresolvable metabolic conflicts (which the head scientist at the USDA's main Experimental Station at Beltsville, Maryland confirmed in a letter to me at the time).

But the principle point of my article was to call for:

1.- Research directed at determining what (if any) significant differences exist between natural and composite fruit trees (which requires understanding which parameters should be measured and how);

2.- How significant are whatever differences are discovered (which would require collecting health and performance data for comparable sets of living organisms fed the fruit from comparable varieties of both types of trees), and

3.- The development of relatively stable strains of high quality, productive, disease resistant, seedling fruit tree crops, adapted to a variety of climate and soil types.

At the time, I was told "we don't have the genetic competence for it and it would take to long. That was in 1973. My answer at the time was THEN START NOW!

But it wasn't done. Is that negligent? A LOT, IMO.

Now, the fact that ALL new fruit varieties are the result of chance seedlings or intentional crosses using conventional and evolutionarily tested natural biological processes (I am not going to discuss transgenic crops at this time). All anyone has to do is plant the best ones, over and over. That's what your mothers and father did, BTW. That's where each and every one of came from (unless we've got a few clones subscribed to nafex).

Douglas Hinds

-----Original Message-----

From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Charles Rhora
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 12:46 PM
To: 'John McCuan'; 'nafex mailing list at ibiblio'
Subject: Re: [nafex] Seedling trees

I agree with Mr. Hinds, in prospective and quotes, not only to apple trees,
but to any kind of tree, whether it be for food production or ornamental in
type. My experience with growing trees from seeds spans over more than 40
plus years. I also had belonged to the California Rare Fruit Growers
Association for many years, but due to water damage, loss most of my
articles, including years books. I only have the book they put out on paw
paw's in my collection. I would be interested in someone who is presently a
member of this organization to try and obtain a copy of the same article
that Mr. Hinds mentioned.
I am in the nursery business, and have orchards of edible nut pine trees,
deciduous edible nut trees, minor fruits, and rare and unusual trees, as
well as accessories.
My climatic zone is 4 (temperatures down to -35 degrees F.) in the winter.

Charles Rhora,
Rhora's Nut Farm & Nursery.

www.nuttrees.com


-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of John McCuan
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 1:38 PM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [nafex] Seedling trees


I find this topic very interesting. How would I find more information on
the benefits of seedling trees?

Intuitively, it makes sense to me -

Melinda McCuan



Today's Topics:

1. Re: Fwd: Johny A. (Douglas Hinds)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2012 14:46:48 -0600
From: Douglas Hinds <cedecor@gmx.net>
Subject: Re: [nafex] Fwd: Johny A.
To: nafex mailing list at ibiblio <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Cc: Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <50A00EB8.809@gmx.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

On 11/11/2012 10:29 AM, Alan Haigh wrote:
From: Alan Haigh<alandhaigh@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 11, 2012 at 9:59 AM
Subject: Johny A.
To:nafex-request@lists.ibiblio.org

That isn't to take away from Johnny. He was an apple authority and
went
around the country helping folks and propagated popular varieties by
grafting.
Actually, according to Pollan's book, Johny thought grafting was
devil's work and that God wanted trees to grow just as they were from
seed.
God and Johnny aren't the only ones. Count me in on that two.

How important is it to me? I left the USA due to the relative dearth of
fruit from seedling trees there in 1974 and I still don't eat fruit from
trees that _aren't_ on their own roots. In fact, fruit from seedling trees
is the principle staple food of my diet and at 70, I have not yet begun to
go downhill.

An article explaining the reasons why was published in the *1973 California
Rare Fruit Growers Yearbook* (the year before I left). Steve Diver asked
for for a copy and I e-mailed it to him about 12 years ago. (If Steve is on
nafex I'd appreciate being sent a copy, since I don't have it on hand at
this time. And if not, Lawrence - I assume you have his current contact
data, and I hope you can do me the favor of sending this on to him).

Grafting is unnecessary and creates more problems than it solves.
Logically, those subscribing to organic, biological, alternative,
sustainable and ecological (as well as permaculture and biodynamic)
agriculture would recognize the importance of respecting and maintaining the
integrity of the individual organism as a fundamental and unalterable
principle, yet no movement (that I'm aware of) has taken up the cause and I
think I (along with other sympathetic individuals and
groups) need to do something about that. (It's on the agenda we've
established with CUCBA, our local Agricultural, Biological, Environmental
and Animal Sciences Faculty) <www.cucba.udg.mx> and as time and funding
permit, we will be moving ahead with it.

That's all for now, but I can elaborate further if this post generates any
interest to that effect.

Douglas Hinds,

Director General
Centro para el Desarrollo Comunitario y Rural, A.C.

Coordinator
Alianza para la Responsibilidad Ecologica y Social en el Desarrollo (CUCBA,
FEPRJ, CNC Jalisco, CeDeCoR A.C.)

Chair
Organic Pineapple Working Group
International Society for Horticultural Science

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico



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