Quote:
Originally Posted by PR-Giants
This is the second time today I've heard of these Mini-Manzanos.
Puerto Rico is littered with feral manzanos, most though are in the 12' - 15' range.
Are these Minis some type of sport?
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PR-Giants,
Yes... the Silk/Manzano/Rastali/ Apple group of AABs is likely to be derived from one fertilisation event; with subsequent farmer selection of favoured somaclonal variants over time. This is what seems to be going on with bananas.
Even very recent 'new' bananas - e.g. FHIA bananas - are showing this. In this case even active means of promoting variation, e.g., tissue culture, are employed. In general, it stands to reason that the longer a lineage is in cultivation, and the wider it is spread; the more variants will exist in cultivation.
This farmer-based selection, BTW, is natural for other clonal crops like Sugar Cane & Cassava (Yuca, Manioc).
In bananas, short stature is often pounced upon by horticulturalists; as it is very desirable in monoclonal cropping... though possibly less so in polyclonal/polyspecies gardens.
So, yes, there are many 'Manzano' variants over the world; and some are evolving as we speak.
shannon
shannon.di.corse@gmail.com