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lakitu

are there good trees, when it comes to good fruit?

lakitu
10 years ago

are there about an equal number of good apples (or fruit) per tree, or are there good trees & bad trees? anyone ever found out somehow?

Comments (4)

  • treedan
    10 years ago

    yes there is a diffrance. stick with grafted fruit trees, seed started trees can run the risk of bad fruit or no fruit. im in zone 10, lots of mango trees, "sterile mango" means the tree was seed started and will never fruit. also diffrant types of each fruit put out diffrent numbers of fruit, at my local nursry i can get an avacado that will put of 4 large fruits a year or a can get a diffrent verity that will be covered with fruits, best advice talk to you local tree dealer

  • Fascist_Nation
    10 years ago

    If you know the cultivar (and it is correctly identified) then a graft from it is genetically identical. For example, a Parent Washington navel orange is ostensibly identical with its still living and fruiting 1873 planted tree in Riverside, CA. It is possible that there has been some genetic drift over the numerous scion grafting passages since then. But overall, the same orange.

    Grafting onto different rootstock can produce different outcomes in the fruit. To continue my example, Seville sour orange rootstock is considered superior for flavor but greening is putting an end to its reign in all but parts of Arizona.

    Planting in different locations will also effect fruit flavor due to environmental variables: temperatures, sunlight, soil, fertilizer, rains just to name a few.

    How often and how they are watered and the kind of water effects the outcome as well.

    Pruning can effect the outcome as can position of the fruit on the tree.

    The initial cultivation of the tree can effect fruiting and fruit taste. If the root system is poor the tree may fruit in low amounts, late in life.... Poor branch angles can effect fruiting.

    This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Tue, Nov 19, 13 at 16:53

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    I'm not sure I even understand what your question means, lakitu. Could you be a bit more specific about what information you are looking for?

    Do you mean are some trees of a specific cultivar better than others of the same cultivar? If so the answer is 'yes' because a lot depends on soil, care, pruning, etc.

    Or do you mean are some cultivars better than other cultivars? If so the answer depends on what criteria you use to define better.

  • spartan-apple
    10 years ago

    I would agree there are good and bad trees. IF same variety on same rootstock, they should all be the same
    genetically and produce the same (in theory anyway).

    However, when I worked in an orchard commercially, we had 4 rows of Spartan apples all on the same rootstock and
    planted the same time. A few of those trees produced heavily every year but the apples they produced were so small they fell thru the sizer while grading. Worthless except for cider.

    We tried fertilizing and found no size increase. The trees were healthy otherwise. Virus? The few trees like this seemed healthy and showed no visual signs of virus.

    I have the same issue on concord grapes. I bought 3 nice
    healthy looking vines bare-root. The first produces normal
    concord fruit in shape and yield every year. The second vine grows rampantly but never produces much as the
    clusters have 2-3 fruits in them only. The third vine always
    has gigantic clusters of grapes that are breathtaking to
    see as they are so big and heavy.

    All three of these concord vines ripen the same time and taste like Concord. If I ever propagate my own it will be from the vine with the gigantic clusters of fruit.

    Just pointing out that sports, viruses ect can make a difference in a block of fruit all the same variety. Really important for the propagator to pick the best tree/vine when
    grafting/budding or rooting a fruit variety.

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