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Originally Posted by Gardeneer
Can I get a grade "D" on this lesson ? 
So where does the boost in scion size come from, other that the root system ? Does root stock's genetics play a role ?
In effect ( as I see it ) the root stock is just a disease resistance/tolerance root , maybe a stronger root system to go with that. . |
I get a grade F for typing out the RST-04-106-T wrong the first time then repeating that error by copy and pasting it over and over and over again in the last post I made.
I am sure the root system has an affect in overall plant size to some degree but I get very large root systems with RST-04-106-T but not overly large plants. I think the DNA of the root system must affect the growth rate of the grafted plant in some way. Some varieties when grafted to some root stock takeoff like they are on steroids while others grow normally or even slower than normal. I think that may have something to do with the compatibility of the two different plants; but I am no scientist. Maybe someone with more knowledge in this field will step in and confuse me more.
Just joking but I really don't have any idea scientifically what is happening with grafted plants but I am delighted that whatever it is it helps with my fusarium wilt problem. It gives me plants that last a long time in a usually healthy state leaving me time to devote myself to fighting foliage diseases and pests. Three years ago and 2 years ago I really maintained my first two plantings just to see how long I could keep them alive. I kept them sprayed and never let up on the pruning and supporting. I was surprised that I could still make fruit at the ends of plants with stems exceeding 25 feet. I believe that over half of the original plants set out the first day were still producing when they froze both years. Last year I decided that maintaining a bunch of plants with stems that long was just too much work for what you got. As any of you know eventually a plant starts putting out smaller and smaller fruit the longer the stem gets even though you still get an occasional large fruit. I decided to just stop caring for them and pull them up once my later plantings were putting out at a nice pace. I did six separate plantings last year staggered from early March through late July. At the end of the season I still had my last three plantings producing fruit but most were coming off the last two plantings near the end.
I did grow out a Multifort one year just to see what would happen. The thing grew like it had a fertilizer IV pumping nitrogen into it. After watching it grow for a few weeks I could see what they meant by vegetative growth. I have never seen anything put on more suckers that fast while each growth tip seemed to jump by six inches daily. I let it develop 6 main stems and tried to keep it supported on a 7 ft tall fence. I found it too much work trying to pinch all the suckers after a week or two and started removing whole main stems and finally pulled the monster to stop it.
Bill