An interesting Conversation with Pacific Fresh

sternus1 starts with ...
So I spoke to somebody from pacific fresh today, who told me that Dekopon will 'Absolutely no doubt' be licensed out as tree sales in the future.

However, they also 'Don't know when' and they have 'no immediate plans' to do this.

so There you go people. It's coming, someday.

s

sternus1 says...
I reckon closer to 4 than 7 John, judging by the size and condition of your plants. Citrus grows to fruiting stage faster than a lot of things from seed, and it's down the nature of the beast after all. You make me wish I'd planted some seed!

I was pretty sure that pacific fresh would license out the dekopon, just way too lucrative not to. Had some free time today, found the company phone number and thought why not. I got the feeling from the person I spoke to that I wasn't the first to call and ask.

BJ says...
I'd imagine they are looking for a decent financial return on their investment by cornering the market for a few years, then when the cat is out of the bag (seedlings nearing fruiting stage and the sharing of material becoming inevitable) move to distributing grafted plants.

Boris Spasky says...
I'm more interested in tasting the first commercial crop of Gold Nugget mandarins later this season.
A late variety, developed in California and seedless.
From UCR,
"The taste is extremely sweet when mature (brix 15.0% in March, 17.5% in May) with a very rich flavor, considered by professional taste panels to be one of the very best flavored citrus in the world."
Hope it lives up to the hype.

sean says...
Hi John, You have done a fantastic job getting those seedlings to that size so quickly. Have you considered grafting them onto an established Citrus tree? You should have fruit in no time doing that.
Also I noticed that one of your seedlings is a bit thorny, do you think that one is possibly not a clone?

sean says...
Really, I can't get enough of them, very sweet with a really zingy taste, you must have got a bad batch.

JohnMc1 says...
QUOTE
"sean says...
Hi John, You have done a fantastic job getting those seedlings to that size so quickly. Have you considered grafting them onto an established Citrus tree? You should have fruit in no time doing that. "

sean, I have six trifoliata rootstocks ready to go. I'll be bud grafting Sumo onto them this December.
From what I've read, I don't think it's going to speed up the process, there is a time/cycle regime the buds must endure before they will fruit.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

jakfruit etiquette says...
In general it is not thought that grafting(etc) Citrus seedlings onto rootstock alone promotes flowering. Grafting onto large rootstocks or reworking onto an established tree will cause rapid growth and size increase, so that the seedling scion reaches fruiting size quickly. That said, if grafting onto rootstock promotes growth rate, it will shorten time to flowering. In my experience grafting onto rootstock has caused flowering before the original seedling flowered, but as Citrus are complex hybrids of ancestral species, it may not work for all varieties.
If you are working with unique seedlings i would graft them onto rootstocks, as multiple copies are handy in case the original dies.

Boris Spasky says...
If acid levels are persistently high even after cool storing, then trifoliata may not be the best rootstock to bud on.
How many could you cool store in your fridge--not many!

Boris Spasky says...
P. trifoliata can induce higher acid levels especially in cooler areas or clay.
I'd bud on both rootstocks, those grown commercially are on citrange.
Seems that curing is very much an important part of getting good tasting fruit.
Good luck!

ivepeters says...
Got 4.25kg start of last week at woolies, only got two seeds.
Sure are seedless.

Brain says...
I am not sure if my lot will last weeks, as the skin is starting to show signs of decay, though i like to entertain the thoughts of sweeter sumo.

I think the mandarins this year, incl all other vars, has been more misses than hits, with many of them have been particularly sour, even oranges are not faring better. Maybe its a seasons thing, as i recall a few years back, with a very hot spring/summer, the mandarins were sweet and the oranges were oversized.

sternus1 says...
Seedling you sent is vigorous and is growing well. Has the longest spines I've ever seen on a citrus and seems to grow in a strange clockwise circular pattern.