CHAPTER XXXII 



THE ROOT SYSTEMS OF FRUIT PLANTS 



The choice of stocks for the various fruits, where any considerable 

 latitude is possible, is frequently rather complex. First, two economic 

 interests are concerned, the grower's and the nurseryman's; second, 

 several natural factors, the congeniality of the union involved, the 

 relation of the stock to the soil, to the climate and to the variety. Rarely 

 is it possible to secure a stock that meets all requirements in all situations; 

 the result is generally a compromise. 



CONFLICTING INTERESTS OF NURSERYMAN AND FRUIT GROWER 



The nursery business, like most businesses, is competitive. The 

 individual nurseryman is, therefore, sometimes compelled to adopt 

 certain alternative choices which may not be to the best interest of the 

 grower or, ultimately, of the nursery business itself. The responsibility 

 for this situation rests not with the nurseryman alone, for as long as 

 growers will buy cheap trees, ignoring their real value for the conditions 

 under which they are to be grown, all nurseries are more or less forced 

 to offer cheap trees and often find difficulty in selling better. The 

 nurseryman's immediate interest, then, rests in securing stock that 

 is cheap, that makes a good union, with a high percentage of successful 

 grafts, and that makes a marketable tree quickly. 



The plums, with the multiplicity of species cultivated for fruit and of 

 species available for stocks, serve as an excellent illustration of con- 

 flicting interests and factors. Some years ago it became evident that for 

 successful plum culture in the north central states a very hardy stock 

 was necessary. The Americana stocks met the growers' requirements 

 very well in nearly all respects. However, seed for growing the stocks 

 in large quantities was not readily available. The Marianna stock, 

 rooting readily from cuttings in the south, was much cheaper. Trees 

 on Marianna roots could be produced at little expense and were sold at a 

 price which virtually precluded competition from the better suited, but 

 higher priced, trees on Americana roots. Want of discrimination on the 

 part of buyers of nursery stock made this situation possible. Waugh 

 furnishes another illustration. The St. Julien plum, he states, is the 

 best stock for Domestica plums, making ''a better, stronger, longer-lived 

 tree than Myrobolan." He proceeds to quote a nurseryman's letter, 

 in part, as follows: "St. Julien stocks are much preferred by the orchard- 



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