The North American Fruit Explorers
(Page 2 of 2)
August/September 2002
By Doreen G. Howard
HOW IT TOOK ROOT
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A group of fruit hobbyists who communicated by round-robin letter networks published the first NAFEX newsletter in August 1967. They wanted to archive the discoveries they had made and share information with members. In 1968, the first NAFEX meeting was held at fruit-grower John Moore's farm in Crawfordville, Indiana. About 20 members exchanged scion wood for grafting and seeds. One attendee, Paul Thompson, moved to California three years later and founded the California Rare Fruit Growers Association while promoting NAFEX on the West Coast. Many of the group's founders are now deceased, but they left a large legacy, which includes short-season peaches bred for cold climates, improved warm climate grape varieties, the Warren pear and the promotion of mayhaws (edile hawthorn).
STILL GROWING
Today, thousands of members exchange information and scion wood through the quarterly newsletter and at annual meetings. Among its members, NAFEX counts more than 60 fruit enthusiasts and experts in other countries, including India, Belgium and New Zealand.
NAFEX's newest method of communication, an electronic discussion group, is a place where insects and diseases can be identified within mere minutes, and requests for rootstocks and scion wood from hard-to-find cultivars are met in a matter of hours. Fascinating fruit facts are discussed in this online community forum. Within a recent two-day period, the merits of loquats, mayhaws and figs were deliberated, as was the best way to graft an interstern on plum trees and methods to slow flowering in cold climates.
The discussion group is open to NAFEX members only and subscription information is printed in every issue of Pomona.
The next NAFEX annual meeting will be held September 11-14 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Workshops will include growing fruit in cold climates, fruit growing for beginners and soil management. Tours of local orchards and the University of Minnesota Horticulture Research Center are also scheduled to take place at the meeting.
To join NAFEX, write to:
NAFEX
1716 Apples Road
Chapin, IL 62628
www.nafex.org
Dues are $10 a year or $19 for two years. Membership includes a free subscription to the NAFEX quarterly newsletter Pomona
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