Hello Dr. Parmar, Just a suggestion, but production of ABA, which regulates dormancy, is encouraged by shortening days and lengthening nights. At 6 degrees south, daylength will not change, so I suspect that there might not be so much ABA in the buds (especially if defoliation is practised), and so they might not become dormant in the first place, and so the chilling is not required to break dormancy.
That place sounds so amazing that I would love to go there some time to see for myself. Con Traas ________________________________ From: apple-crop@virtualorchard.net [mailto:apple-c...@virtualorchard.net] On Behalf Of Dr. Chiranjit Parmar Sent: 16 February 2009 14:10 To: NAFEX Cc: Apple Crop; Rarefruit list Subject: Apple-Crop: Apples at a place where there is no chilling. Dear all, I was in Indonesia for two weeks and also visited some places in Java island of that country. I had a VERY BIG SURPRISE of my life there. In Batu area of Java I saw apples being cultivated. This are is around 3000 ft above the seaas level, at 6 degrees south of equator. The minimum temperature of this area is above 45 F meaning that the trees do not receive any chilling. Most farmers even take two crops a year by regulating the flowering with pruning or hand defoliation. The fruit quality is good and these fruits are bought by consumers at supermarkets at a price higher than that for Fuji apples. I would not have believed it had I not seen these orchards personally. Could any of you explain how these apple trees are able to grow and bear fruits even without meeting their chilling requirements? Dr. Chiranjit Parmar www.fruitipedia.com
