3 ms·

As the linked page stated, though, the point is neither productivity nor commercial agronomics, the point is preservation of heirloom varieties that are precise

As the linked page stated, though, the point is neither productivity nor commercial agronomics, the point is preservation of heirloom varieties that are precisely not interesting to commercial growers. I think this is a very important effort since it preserves genetic lines that may in the future turn out to once again be interesting as climate change makes new and unanticipated demands on food growing. That's not to say that we'll use those old varieties unchanged, rather that they may contribute genetics in the development of new strains.

pvaldes 7y ago
> the point is preservation of heirloom varieties that are precisely not interesting to commercial growers The problem is that is not realist. This is definitely NOT how we will preserve heirloom varieties. Each variety needs their own tree not a stem. Trees discard its stems all the time so in 5 years most ot your varietes will dissapear. Has happened before with old cherries.
- pvaldes 7y ago
  The idea would be like trying to save dog breeds putting a collection of dogs from all breeds (shih tzus, mastiffs, chihuahuas and great danes) in the same room and competing for the same food
Jedd 7y ago
Heirloom preservation is indeed highly laudable. Brogdale [1] in the UK has ~2400 apple, ~500 pear, ~300 cherry, and a huge range of other edibles -- a fascinating place to walk around if you're ever in the area. But none of them are multi-grafted. Each apple variety has two physical specimens -- adjacent to each other, on semi-dwarfing stock, and they re-graft and relocate every ten years or so, IIRC. One of the researchers there told me that in the UK there used to be a known range of close to 10,000 unique apple varieties, but many are now simply lost in time. In Australia we've got a much smaller range available -- in the order of a few hundred I think -- but I don't believe anyone trying to maintain a collection is using (let alone relying on) multiple grafts on the same plant. [1] https://www.brogdalecollections.org/ https://www.brogdalecollections.org/
- mikro2nd 7y ago
  Fascinating -- thank you. I was not aware of this collection. I'd surmise that careful attention also has to be paid to cross-pollination requirements. Many fruit trees require a compatible pollinator, frequently of a different variety than itself, so it can get to be a real challenge. I can't imagine trying to track pollination compatibilities across that many varieties.

pvaldes 7y ago

> the point is preservation of heirloom varieties that are precisely not interesting to commercial growers The problem is that is not realist. This is definitely NOT how we will preserve heirloom varieties. Each variety needs their own tree not a stem. Trees discard its stems all the time so in 5 years most ot your varietes will dissapear. Has happened before with old cherries.

pvaldes 7y ago
The idea would be like trying to save dog breeds putting a collection of dogs from all breeds (shih tzus, mastiffs, chihuahuas and great danes) in the same room and competing for the same food

Jedd 7y ago

Heirloom preservation is indeed highly laudable. Brogdale [1] in the UK has ~2400 apple, ~500 pear, ~300 cherry, and a huge range of other edibles -- a fascinating place to walk around if you're ever in the area. But none of them are multi-grafted. Each apple variety has two physical specimens -- adjacent to each other, on semi-dwarfing stock, and they re-graft and relocate every ten years or so, IIRC. One of the researchers there told me that in the UK there used to be a known range of close to 10,000 unique apple varieties, but many are now simply lost in time. In Australia we've got a much smaller range available -- in the order of a few hundred I think -- but I don't believe anyone trying to maintain a collection is using (let alone relying on) multiple grafts on the same plant. [1] https://www.brogdalecollections.org/ https://www.brogdalecollections.org/

mikro2nd 7y ago
Fascinating -- thank you. I was not aware of this collection. I'd surmise that careful attention also has to be paid to cross-pollination requirements. Many fruit trees require a compatible pollinator, frequently of a different variety than itself, so it can get to be a real challenge. I can't imagine trying to track pollination compatibilities across that many varieties.