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Soncoya is a very nice flavour, huge fruit, can be mistaken for Durian even from close by, lots of seeds in a very juicy orange mango/melon tasting pulp.  Ref:  Luc – Mexico   

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• Does your soil have good drainage? Here’s a simple test:

             Dig a hole about 30cm deep and fill it with water. When it has emptied, fill it again and time how long it takes to empty again.

             Less than 1 hour indicates very good drainage

             1-2 hours indicates good drainage

             2-3 hours indicates fair drainage

             3-4.5 hours indicates poor drainage

             If it takes more than 6 hours it is probably not suitable for planting trees.  Ref:  RFC Brisbane Branch newsletter Dec 2001 N/L

• Jude Lai showed us a technique that his father in China had used in the preparation of earth for planting. A fire was made using large logs and other wood, then soil mixed with grass was added on top of the still burning wood. This heap continued to slow combust for weeks, depending on the amount and size of the logs. The resulting “Burnt soil” had a really good structure and contained a lot of charcoal and carbon, with the addition of some manures/compost this makes exceptionally fertile soil.  Ref:  RFC Brisbane Branch newsletter June 2001
   
• Don Ellison says that by using weedmat he bought from Bunnings (not the commercial type you get elsewhere) that his passionfruit vines grew three times as fast as those without. The mat is about a metre wide so cut off a square and slash it in a cross in the centre. It stops water evaporating and heats up in winter.  The reason he prefers the Bunnings type is that it is more open.
   
• In a recent edition of The Weekly Times there was an article on huge variations in soil test results for phosphorous from three different laboratories which has prompted Australia’s industry watchdog to act. Apparently one of the Landcare Offices found Olsen P results from three soil testing labs in Victoria and South Australia delivered results which varied by 250% yet all three labs are listed as being proficient at testing for Olsen P with the Australian Soil and Plant Analysis Council. They believe it was the methodology used as results should not vary by more than + or – 20%. ASPAC certifies labs as proficient by sending each of them three batches of four soil samples over 12 months. However, the tests are not blind with each lab knowing the sample is part of the ASPAC proficiency test. Consequently some industry commentators say there is a real risk of labs putting their best lab technicians on to test the ASPAC samples and repeat them if they think the results are not right.  Ref: STFC newsletter Oct Nov 2009 – Sheryl Backhouse
   
• Have you got that hardpan soil that sets as hard as concrete so that if you threw a crowbar at it, it would bounce back? Bill & Judy Winters decided to plant mangoes at Kununurra WA a few years ago. After digging the hole he added mulch, earthworms and a few seeds of the fast growing tropical leguminous tree called Verano stylo. Bill also placed a hard flat rock beside the tree to provide a cool moist microclimate. The Verano fixed nitrogen, gave shade and dropped fibrous nutrient rich leaves to add a layer of mulch. The Mangoes did exceptionally well and irrigated from gravity fed pipe but this was turned off after six years. Mulch is put on once a year and animal manure sourced locally. Kununurra has a reliable wet season followed by a long dry season so is perfect for Mangoes.
• Growing in Swampy Conditions compiled by Sheryl   One of our members has this type of soil and is having trouble growing fruit trees. I asked Peter Young from Birdwood Nursery about it and he said:  “Mango roots have the ability to grow in anaerobic conditions. The most amazing thing I saw in the Everglades in Florida were mango orchards growing on flood plains and for four months of the year, the water comes up the stem and the trees are happy and they actually pick the fruit in boats. Around the water line, the mangoes have developed little pores through which the tree breathes and one of the researchers was trying to work this out so he took some Vaseline and put them over all the little holes and within 24 hours the tree died because it couldn’t breathe.” I put it to the rarefruit group and Zig from the Northern Territory said: “Some mangoes here are flooded during the wet season and seem to do well. My place has a swamp running through it coming from my neighbour’s property on the other side of the road (east). He’s planted mangoes into the swamp and they spend a few months in flowing water. The swamp completely dries during the dry season. During mango fruiting there hasn’t usually been enough rain to even make the swamp waterlogged. Fruit picking is done from a dry ground surface. I’ve never noticed any significant difference between his seasonally flooded trees and the others on higher ground. I’ve a few mangoes in waterlogged ground on the edge of the swamp as well as a couple of cashews. It doesn’t seem to have disadvantaged them in any way.There are other areas of inundated mangoes here as well and there’s a belief among some that this stressing of the trees causes early flowering. There’s a few months gap between end of flooding and start of flowering. A lot of tropical trees in monsoonal climates are adapted to dealing with water logging for part of the year. Apparently high oxygen levels in rain water are sufficient for them during the flooding, and oxygen is drawn into the ground as water recedes during the dry season.”
• Sheryl   The interesting thing about this is that I have planted a whole hill of different Mangos with no irrigation at all. They get an initial bucket of water when planted and that has been all I have had to do so it looks as though they can withstand both wet and dry conditions.
   
• Soil Testing by David Stewart DPI Samll Land Information   email: david.stewart@dpi.vic.gov.au   Ph: 0419 116 759
  A soil test is only as good as the sample and the recent rain has created ideal conditions for soil tests. The soil is moist and the sampling can be done to the correct depth. Samples should be taken to a depth of 10cm which will give you a good representation of your topsoil. A shallower sample may give you an optimistic result because it will contain more nutrients and organic matter, whereas a deeper core may include a greater proportion of less fertile subsoil. A poorly sampled paddock can lead to misleading results for soil nutrients and incorrect expensive decisions on fertilisers. Take at least 30 samples if it is a large area you want tested to get an indicative sample of the paddock. Sampling diagonally at fixed intervals across a paddock will allow you to repeat and compare samples in future years. Avoid samples from areas around troughs and cow pats as these can also give a misleading result

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• The best place to store seed is in a sealed container in your fridge. Seed stored in a hot garden shed or garage that can reach temperatures greater than 40° in summer will simply die. Seed stored open to the air where it can take up moisture will lose viability.
   
• Pectinase is useful if you have seed with the pulp still sticking on and no amount of sucking, scrubbing or soaking in plain water will remove it. Put in a teaspoonful mixed in water and leave it overnight and the adhering pulp will slip off the seed with gentle scrubbing the next morning.   Ref: Samar – India
   
• Hot Water Treatment of Vegetable Seeds        ref:  Cornell University
  A hot water soak for vegetable seeds, including tomato, has long been recommended. Soak seeds at 122° F (50° C) for 25 minutes in a water bath with agitation to maintain uniform heat. A dairy or laboratory thermometer is recommended for accurate readings. Following treatment, plunge the hot seeds into cold water, thoroughly dry on newspaper, and then dust with a protective fungicide. Freshly harvested seeds withstand the heat treatment better than do one or two year-old seed and treatment should be made as soon after harvest as possible. Hot water treatment will control seed borne bacteria, but will not eradicate TMV. Similarly, it will have no effect on bacteria borne in the embryo (bacterial canker) or TMV contained within the endosperm.

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• Each sea grape plant has both male and female flowers on an inflorescence.  If you look close enough at the flowers, the male flowers will produce powdery pollen from the protruding stamens, while the female flowers will not.  Also, the female flowers are less numerous and appear less showy.   Ref:  Naomi Hoffman, Botanist, Honolulu Botanical Gardens
• Gordon Tait says that if it has a red growing tip it’s a female and if it’s a green growing tip, it’s a male.

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• Sapodillas are ripe when you scratch the skin and it appears brown – this technique avoids the grainy/gritty texture and won’t harm the fruit. It’s nice blended with crushed ice as a juice.  Ref:  Research Station, Vietnam
• Very slow growing and needs a lot of nitrogenous fertiliser and they will bear heavily  when they get old – it’s is one of the highest sugar content fruits and belongs to the  family Sapotecea.  Ref:  Bob Brinsmead – Tropical Fruit World.
• Easy to graft when it starts to warm up in spring. Choose budsticks with slight budswell visible. Trim off leaves. Cleft graft with deep cleft, long wedge. Wrap tightly with stretch tie. Then wrap with budding tape. Keep in shade until they start to push. 1 year old seedlings make the best rootstocks.  Ref: Stephen Brady
• Trees that are a little more difficult to graft we use scions with their leaves left on, like a cutting. And put  them in under intermittent mist and fog until the grafts have taken. We have found this works well during summer with Sapodilla, Black Saptoe, Jakfruits, Soursops.  Ref: Daleys

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• Best to put the airlayer on at time of most active growth: spring/summer. Make sure you choose branches that get plenty of sunlight and you might want to do several in case some don’t root up.     Ref: Oscar – Hawaii
   
• I’ve never tried it but the local Filipinos tell me they cook the whole Santol fruit, peel and all and add it to stews. Ref:  Oscar, Hawaii
   
• Santols are ripe when they turn from green to totally yellow or, in some varieties, red. They never really get soft on the exterior, so that is not a good sign of ripeness. Size also is not a good indicator of ripeness as the size can vary in different varieties. Have seen them vary from baseball size to bigger than softball size. In Thailand saw some santols that were almost as big as pummelos!   Ref: Oscar
   
• If the seed are a few months old then they are probably dead. If they are sprouted, keep them warm and moist. Santol is super easy to grow and very vigorous. Ref: Oscar 
   
• Santol fruit can be eaten by peeling off a little layer of the skin and then you eat the peeled skin (a bit sour so you have to eat it with salt or the Mexican pico de gallo seasoning or Japanese lihing salt or the Philippines salted shrimp fry) and then suck on the seeds covered by the white stuff which can be either sweet or sweet/sour sweet/sour until all the white stuff covering the seed is eaten. When we were kids, we used to suck the white stuff that covers the seed until it is down to the seed cover. Sometimes we swallow the small seeds but our mom usually scares us telling the seed will grow in our stomach. BTW, the layer of peeled skin (not the peelings) is also treated as a vegetable in some regional provinces of the Philippines. It is cut into small chunks, saute in garlic, onions, with small shrimps or diced pork, season with salt/pepper, chile pepper and cream of coconut milk. It is best eaten with steamed rice. The Bangkok variety of Santol is usually sweet and eaten as is without adding salt. The kids usually dont peel the fruits. They open the ripe santol by pressing the fruit between their two hands and then they scoot out with their teeth the seeds. If the fruit is sweet, they eat the inside flesh, otherwise, they just suck on the seeds. So, enjoy the santol. I should have some ripening in May or June when I return back to the Philippines…Unfortunately, what was once the big Bangkok santol fruits of our Bangkok santol tree turned into smaller fruits now. The fruit is still sweet but the size is about half of what it used to be.   Ref: Sally – rarefruit.

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Trouble with Sandflies/Midges when you’re having a BBQ? Fog with Pyrethrum several hours before your guests arrive!

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• Don’t think Ross is a hybrid of Canistel. Photos of this plant were sent by someone in the rarefruit yahoo group to a specialist in Pouterias –  Pennington and he said it is a different species from P. campechiana. There was a thread about this some time ago. Ross is different from campechiana in that it fruits in clusters;  P. campechiana fruits singly. Also the Ross fruits have longitudinal ridges which P. campechiana does not. Probably Ross is native to Costa Rica area as that is where Bill Whitman first got it.  Ref:  Oscar – Hawaii
• Ross is distinctive among the others selections. The fruit are flattened like a hole-less doughnut and often is slightly fluted. The flesh is juicy and there are from 3 to 5 seeds in the fruit. The tree is slow growing and easy to control.  Ref: Noris Ledesma – Florida

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• Seedlings of Rollinia deliciosa can start producing in 2 years.  Ref:  Oscar – Hawaii
   
• Rollinia  Best growth on well drained sandy loam. Root rot and collar rot appears easily contracted when roots are exposed or damaged by soil movement or excessive tree vibration. Strictly tropical. Intolerant of cool temperatures. Temperatures as low as 3°C will kill young trees. High humidity is also necessary for effective pollination. Water stress causes premature ripening of fruit so irrigation may be necessary during flowering, fruit set and early maturation. Trees are shallow rooted and are prone to wind damage. If you Google hand pollinating rollinia, click on the link from books.google which goes to a book called Tropical Fruits Volume 2 and it gives quite a bit of information on Rollinia in Chapter 1.    This gives photographic information on pollinating the Cherimoya – very similar.   http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropical/msg0701052322783.html
   
• One of our members had a problem with his Rollinia not setting fruit so here are a few articles that I’ve collated. The following is from one of our members, Bruce McLean in Brisbane.  I have small sachets of PVC that can be added to the pollen which enhances your chance of successful pollination as it adheres better. I’ve been asked about Rollinia hand pollination a few times so thought I’d put up a few pictures to illustrate it a bit. I was hoping to do a quick video but haven’t had the time and a second person to shoot. Anyhow, I’ll try to guide you through the pictures. First step is being able to identify your flowers. Here is a picture of a male and female next to each other. This happens very rarely on my tree but later in the season I get male and female crossing over a little. Earlier in the season I get females one day and males the next or even the day after as it’s a 2-3 day cycle. Female is on the left and is slightly greener and has a very small opening to the flower. The male on the right is a stronger yellow and is open a bit wider. If you are used to other Annona (Atemoya, Cherimoya and Sugar Apple) then the difference between small and large opening on Rollinia will seem fairly subtle, but if you observe them for a while you’ll easily work it out. If you want to check you have worked out your males from females, then just remove one of the ‘Mickey Mouse ears’ petals to check on the internal organs. Female first then male. So, once you can identify your males from females you can go about transferring pollen from the males to the females. Often you will need to collect pollen one night, then store it in the fridge for 24-36 hours, then come back to pollinate the females as they flower on different days. There will be some crossover during the later season, but the majority of flowers are in different stages on different days. I collect the pollen from the males by removing the entire outer flower structure and letting it fall into a small chinese style container made of stainless steel. I then store in the fridge overnight and come out the next evening with my trusty small tipped natural fibre paint brush and find my female flowers. The opening is too small to get the paint brush tip in, so you should remove one of the ‘Mickey mouse ears’ which gives access to the inner flower. Then get a bit of pollen on your brush (usually mixed with the stamen) and get it onto the sticky part inside the flower (ovary? these guys don’t have stigma, do they?). Then move to the next one. Removing one of the petals allows you to mark the ones you’ve pollinated to check how effective you’ve been. I don’t pollinate the next day, so I don’t remove the petals of the ones I’ve pollinated, so I can check how it’s gone. Hopefully in a few days you’ll get the fruit. Tree overall has a few less than 30 fruit out of about 100 originally set. Hand pollination certainly increases fruit set but the tree will only ever hold what it wants to hold. My tree gets heaps of water – the ground under it has been jelly for many weeks, but it is well drained. Mine also has a huge tap root and very little near surface roots so deep watering helps feed it and keep it healthy. Mine would have had probably 2000 flowers as a conservative estimate this season for the 100 fruit set and sub-30 fruit held… I use half a bag of Organic Xtra in late winter and spread it all around under the canopy as well as going further out. If the foliage looks as though it needs perking up, I’ll spray it with Seasol. I also use a boron spray on the flowers just before they open.  Ref:  Bruce Morgan