North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

Is NAFEX going to turn into a site about the politics of pesticides- I
hope not.  As far as neonicinoids being the root of colony collapse, how
come banning them in Europe didn't alleviate the problem?  How come bees in
areas where they are not exposed to agricultural pesticides in general are
equally suffering?  At any rate, not all neonicionoids have even been
implicated in this complex problem so let's at least be information
oriented in this discussion.  I hate faith based politics whether they come
from the left or the right- ends up creating wars based on emotion instead
of logic, in my opinion.

Farmers and fruit growers need healthy hives to stay in business, so once
the science is clear they won't use pesticides that kill bees- it would be
suicidal to their business.  It amazes me how farmers are so seldom part of
these types of discussions in the mass media.

As far as grafting crabs, how will it works depends almost entirely on the
vigor of the tree being grafted over and, more specifically, the vigor of
whatever branch or shoot grafted to.  Vigorously growing trees can be
transformed in about 4 years either by cleft or bark grafts to large
diameter wood or, as I like to do, grafts to well positioned and vigorous
annual shoots using the simplest of grafts- the splice.

When they grow well some apples will form the second year and can be
allowed to mature as long as vigor remains.  Upright shoots grow with the
most vigor and I wait until they are almost too. big to bend before I
spread them to a more horizontal position- usually after the first or
second year.  Sometimes I wait too long and have to cut a hinge into the
wood to get it to bend using saw cuts a third of the way through on the
side where the branch is being bent, placing cuts about an inch apart where
I want the branch to bend.  3-6 cuts is usually sufficient.