posted at the request of Lumicon

#bloomscrolling

posted at the request of Lumicon

fruits featured:

• Inga densiflora
• Pouteria caimito
• Theobroma bicolor

For the first time, “hyper-carnivorous” African wild dogs have been recorded eating fruit, a behavior so far documented only in a small part of Botswana’s wildlife-rich Okavango Delta.

The wild dogs were seen picking up jackalberries, the fruit of the African ebony tree (Diospyros mespiliformis), with their teeth and swallowing them almost whole. Jackalberries are commonly eaten by jackals (Lupulella spp.), hence the name, but this is the first record of wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) consuming them.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/32502659

Rebillion isn't what you think it is

Sadhana Forest is an international ecological and humanitarian project focused on reforestation, water conservation, and community-based learning. Volunteers live together in a simple, vegan, low-impact environment, practicing collective work, ecological restoration, and regenerative living. The project places strong emphasis on growing native and drought-resistant tree species and restoring degraded ecosystems.

The dream is to expand water and soil regeneration efforts to more regions facing desertification, and to inspire local communities to reclaim ecological resilience. The goal is to create long-term, community-led forests that continue to grow and support life for generations.

https://sadhanaforest.org/gallery/

From what I've read and what I've observed, chempedak (Artocarpus integer) has a high mortality rate when grown from seed. I suspect that they die due to the stem growing faster than what the roots can support and the nutrients in the seed running out before the root system can compensate. Some people have had more success when grafting it onto jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) or chempejack (Artocarpus integer × heterophyllus) rootstock, but those grafts often don't take. Has anyone discovered any ways to more reliably keep the seedlings alive?

la abundancia del bosque frutal

https://lumiconlife.wordpress.com/

Been trying to propagate this touchy fuckers for what seems like months unsuccessfully. Well, this is the first top good slice on the last I got too. It was so over ripened that there were dark spots on the top like third of it. I'm giving it's hair some time in a fresh water bath near a window 🤞.

Well ok maybe not all of it, the very center was still to tough to be enjoyable.

Found on the ground in the forest near Sumaco National Park, Ecuador. Probably fell unripe, as it was hard and there were no other fruits like this on the ground in the area. Anyone have any ideas what it could be?

EDIT: I have inquired about the inside of the fruit, and even as the outside was still green and hard, the inside was reportedly brown and mushy with no distinguishing features.

EDIT again: Upon further inquiry, I have found out that the inside looked more like solid segments than the goop of a passionfruit.

It's getting to be winter or summer, so what's ripening where you live? I have serious jackfruit production right now.

• A recent study in Thailand finds that raising native tree seedlings inside repurposed bottle crates improves performance compared to standard methods in community-run nurseries.
• Saplings grown in bottle crates had better root formation and superior growth when planted out in a deforested site, thanks to better air circulation for the roots.
• Crating the saplings also saved on labor costs, which more than offset the cost of purchasing the crates.
• Adoption of the new method could improve the quality of saplings grown in community nurseries, a benefit for reforestation projects where sapling survival is key to success.

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They bloom at night, this was the first one (on the full moon) and hand-pollinated since there aren't many pollinators at night. Looks like it worked since the fruit is developing.

https://amazonrestore.codeberg.page/volunteer/finca-del-soul/

(Selenicereus megalanthus)

https://amazonrestore.codeberg.page/volunteer/finca-del-soul/

(I've never actually seen a passionfruit vine like this, so I find it fascinating.)

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/29115239

• Changing rainfall patterns due to climate change are posing threats to guava farming in South Asia, the global hub of the tropical fruit.
• In recent years, rising temperatures and delayed monsoons have been affecting the flowering and fruiting of even the drought-tolerant guava varieties.
• Experts in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have identified links to climate change with vulnerabilities in guava farming and suggest solutions.

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I posted this as a comment somewhere else, but people here might find it useful, so here it is.

Not only will an avocado seed not grow true, the seedling tree is not guaranteed to produce fruit at all, and the flowering of avocado is temperature-dependent, so if you (e.g.) plant a Hass avocado in the lowland tropical rainforest, the nights probably won't get cold enough to trigger proper flowering.

"The stigma of an avocado flower will normally have ceased to be receptive to pollen when it starts to release its own pollen. However, as a result of the mass flowering ... under ideal temperatures (maximum 25°C, minimum 20°C) there is theoretically some overlap from other flowers providing a small window of opportunity for what is termed close-pollination."

"But under cooler conditions (maximum 20°C, minimum 10°C), flower opening can be both delayed and extended. Type B flowers may be delayed so much that the female stage may not be detected, with the flower appearing to open only as a functional male. Also, the male phase of type A flowers may be so delayed that they remain open over-night and into the next morning."

https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/spring/growing-avocados-flowering-pollination-and-fruit-set?page=0%2C1

Equatorial lowlands would most likely not experience the cold conditions mentioned above, and with multiple flowering avocado trees in close proximity to each other, close-pollination could provide an adequate avocado yield. However, high temperatures can also interfere with flowering, pollination, and fruit set:

"Under a tropical temperature regime of 33°C day and 23°C night the trees of the cultivars Fuerte and Hass had fewer flowers and a shorter flowering period than under temperature conditions of 25°C day and 15°C night."

"In the Fuerte cultivar daytime temperatures above 30°C or below 20°C were found to disrupt flowering ... High temperatures appeared to stimulate vegetative growth at the expense of reproductive development and flowers and developing fruit were shed from the plant."

"The problem was particularly marked amongst Mexican and Guatemalan type cultivars; less so in West Indian types."

https://www.avocadosource.com/WAC1/WAC1_p042.pdf

"West Indian cultivars flower well in tropical climates, but often flower poorly in the subtropical climate of Southern California. On the other hand, Guatemalan and Guatemalan x Mexican hybrids flower poorly in tropical climates, but flower profusely in California."

"Flowering in ‘Hass’ and the other subtropical avocado cultivars is induced by a period of low temperature. ‘Hass’ did not flower when kept at temperatures of 30/25, 25/20 or 20/5 [degrees] C (day/night), but did flower when exposed to 3-4 months of 15/10, 18/15, 20/15 and 23/18 [degrees] C (day night). Under the two last temperature regimes the flowering was delayed and sparse"

https://ucanr.edu/sites/alternativefruits/files/166371.pdf

Here one can see the differences in yield when avocado trees flower within or outside of the optimal temperature range:

https://www.avocadosource.com/WAC1/WAC1_p045.pdf

To eat, I mean. Just curious what people here think.

Text reads: "at some point in your life you will be boiling fruit, water, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot to make a syrup or jam. The instructions will tell you to simmer for a certain period of time. Your timer will go off and you will look at the pot and go "hm this doesn't look thick enough, maybe I'll let it go for another 10 minutes". This is the devil speaking. It's only so liquid right now because it's at boiling point. It will thicken when it cools down. Learn from the follies of my youth and do not let this happen to you."

A decade of organizing has turned trash-strewn lots into edible parks. Now Boston is expanding food forests as part of its climate action plan.

“Edible forests” are popping up in Boston. Scattered across the city, once-empty lots have been overtaken by fruit trees and berry-filled bushes. Open to the public, they are forage-friendly pockets in the urban grid.

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Despite federal roadblocks, an ambitious agroforestry program is feeding people, cleaning the air, and helping offset climate change.

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books, websites, video tutorials, some guy who met Jim West one time, whatever reference you use

I am not OP but this is cool.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36126832

It is an odd fruit and not too widespread but boy is it good. Wiki

A chimeric citrus that should have greatly improved hardiness. Are there other fruits where this could have merit? They will need to be graft compatible and have species with differing hardiness. Also, they would need to have fruit that develop from different parts of the meristem than the rest of the plant. This is true with citrus but I have no idea for other plant groups.

I haven’t checked graft compatibility for all of these but here are some preliminary ideas of species that could have their cold hardiness improved with this technique:

Peaches: apparently only minor hardiness differences for some varieties, so likely not with the effort.

Almonds: early blooming might be problematic. Hardiness difference with other stone fruit is about 10F, so there is some benefit here.

Avocados: apparently quite narrow graft compatibility, only grafts with closely related species from similar environments. I couldn’t find much information on their environmental tolerances but it does not seem promising.

Black sapote or other tropical Diospyros: so many species here and most are not well tested, but apparently black sapote (hardy to 28F) is graft compatible with the very hardy American persimmon (-25F). This is a stunning 50 degree difference although it seems unlikely a chimera would be quite this hardy. What would happen with a chimera between an evergreen and deciduous species? Would dormancy, important for frost protection, be disrupted? American persimmon is also fairly heat and drought tolerant. This is the most promising yet, though having never tried black sapote, I don’t know if it’s worth the effort.

Tropical figs? Are any worth eating?

Mulberries—a few more tropical varieties exist

Any others that come to mind?

Could this technique also improve drought and heat tolerance?

Growing tall trees to provide shade for cocoa plantations in west Africa could sequester millions of tonnes of carbon, according to a new study.

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