Citrus Growers Forum

dauben · Posted: Wed 21 Mar, 2007 1:23 am

Skeeter wrote:

Thanks Millet-- I ordered 3 grams of 90% GA3 -- that was the smallest amount I could find in soild form. That is enough for 14 acres! I will be glad to split that if anyone is interested.

After reading this thread, I decided to go ahead and purchase GA3. I found a guy on Ebay selling increments between 1 gram and 50 grams of 90% Pure Gibberellic Acid between $10 and $99; respectively. Has anyone had any experience with SuperGibb (http://www.supergib.com/index.html)?

Thanks,
Phillip

Skeeter · Posted: Mon 02 Apr, 2007 5:25 pm

I sprayed my Minneola with the GA3 yesterday. I weighed out 200 mg and dissolved it in 4 cc of methyl alcohol and then added 0.2 cc to 1 liter of water-- that should be 10 ppm.

I will need to repeat the application again as more blossoms open.

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Skeet

Ned · Posted: Tue 03 Apr, 2007 10:30 pm

I have never tried it, but I have read the Orlando would come true from seed, and bloom in 3-4 years.

I too, believe Flying Dragon is the best rootstock to use for potted citrus. I do have an old potted Meiwa that is doing fine on regular tri. I have put kumquats on calamondin, and they seem to do fine around here, where the soil is mostly very sandy. I often graft calamondin to calamondin in order to get a standard tree, and that seems to work fine too.

Ned

dauben · Posted: Mon 23 Apr, 2007 2:39 am

Millet wrote:

My two Minneolas are "pollinated" with GA. I use GA so that I get a good crop of fruit that are seedless fruit. If I do nothing, either by chemical or by using a pollinator, the Minneola trees still get a few fruit, but the crop is very minimal. At least that is my experience with my greenhouse grown trees. If one uses a pollinator tree to cross pollinate then it has to be a variety that blooms at the same time that Minneola blooms. Also it should be a variety that produces blooms every year, so varieties that are alternate bearing varieties should not be used. Two very good varieties to pollinate Minneola are Sunburst and Temple. BTW, I get to eat the entire Minneola crop myself, as my wife does not like the taste of the fruit. Minneolas are among my favorite citrus. Last Friday, was the first time that I seen Minneolas for sale in the supermarkets round here this season. - Millet

Well, I've been using the GA3 trick on my Minneola and it seems to be doing the trick (I think). The early blooms I sprayed it on all have set fruit. The reason I say "I think" is because I have a Gold Nugget mandarin about 5 feet away (both are in containers). Can Gold Nugget be a pollinator? The bees seem to be hopping between them pretty frequently. I even got stung a couple of weeks ago when my daughter and I were picking strawberries. Daddy hurt, daddy hurt. She stayed up that night because she was afraid of bees in her room. (This is off topic, but if anyone wants to know how to treat a bee sting and you don't have meat tenderizer on hand, I found out that antiperspirant deodorant works almost as well. It has to be antiperspirant though because it needs the aluminum product found in antiperspirant. The pain was gone almost instantly).

Anyway, if anyone can answer my question about the Gold Nugget being a pollinator, I would appreciate it.

Phillip

Patty_in_wisc · Posted: Mon 23 Apr, 2007 3:56 am

Phillip, not to be off topic,...can't answer your quest about 'Golden Nugget', but I;m very alergic to bee stings. I never heard of the deodorant thing, but have my Epi Pen nearby if I get stung. I will try the deodorant thing if I get stung....thanks.

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Patty
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dauben · Posted: Mon 23 Apr, 2007 11:12 am

Patty_in_wisc wrote:

Phillip, not to be off topic,...can't answer your quest about 'Golden Nugget', but I;m very alergic to bee stings. I never heard of the deodorant thing, but have my Epi Pen nearby if I get stung. I will try the deodorant thing if I get stung....thanks.

If you punch in deodorant and bee sting on a search engine, you will be able to see more information. I don't know if it detoxifies the poison to help with your allergic reaction, but it definitely lessened the pain. In fact, it hurt a couple days later when it was healing more than it did after I put the antiperspirant on the sting. I would still keep your Epi-Pen handy. They say that meat tenderizer is still a better option, but if it isn't around, the antiperspirant is a good second choice.

Phillip

Skeeter · Posted: Mon 23 Apr, 2007 12:50 pm

I have used the antiperspirant on red bug bites (chiggers) and it definitely helps me.

I think I have gotten a good response to the GA on my minneola as well, but I do not know the answer about Shasta Gold-- I remember that satsumas are not good pollinators.

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Skeet

dauben · Posted: Mon 23 Apr, 2007 5:08 pm

Skeeter wrote:

I have used the antiperspirant on red bug bites (chiggers) and it definitely helps me.

I think I have gotten a good response to the GA on my minneola as well, but I do not know the answer about Shasta Gold-- I remember that satsumas are not good pollinators.

I wish I had known about using it on chiggers. I spent 2 years in Kansas City without ever getting chiggers. I went back for a 1 week visit and had them all over. Next time (if there is a next time), I'll give it a try.

Phillip

harveyc · Posted: Mon 16 Apr, 2012 9:57 pm

I thought I'd just bring this thread back up instead of start the topic over.

In the past couple of weeks I purchased a Page and also a Centennial kumquat. I don't want a bunch of seeds in my Page and was wondering if planting the two of these trees close together was okay (hoping to avoid cross-pollination). Most of my other citrus will be 50'-100' away.

For those with mixed outdoor plantings and spraying GA3, can you please share experiences on how it's worked out for you?

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Harvey

Laaz · Posted: Mon 16 Apr, 2012 10:09 pm

I doubt you will have a issue with the kumquat, they flower much later than the regular citrus.

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harveyc · Posted: Mon 16 Apr, 2012 10:19 pm

Thanks, Todd. I wasn't sure what to expect for flowering here. I saw at UCR it produces ripe fruit year-round.

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Harvey

Laaz · Posted: Mon 16 Apr, 2012 11:45 pm

Harvey I have two Centennials, they flower early - mid May & only flower once a year. The only quat I have that flushes almost all year is my Eustis limequat.

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harveyc · Posted: Tue 17 Apr, 2012 12:40 am

Okay, thanks again.

Have you used GA3? Once sprayed is a bloom no longer receptive to pollen from other trees within a short period of time?

A friend (Kern) said he didn't bother to eat his Page this year because they were so full of seeds so I'm hoping to avoid that. I don't mind some seeds but it sounds like his were really bad.

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Harvey

Laaz · Posted: Tue 17 Apr, 2012 12:57 am

That you would have to ask millet. I have only used GA once on one of my finger limes.

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Millet · Posted: Tue 17 Apr, 2012 1:04 am

Harvey, I have used GA3 for years, and it works wonders. GA3 is normally sprayed when the tree is at 3/4 to full bloom. Therefore, some of the flowers could have been pollinated prior to spray if there are near by trees, or the blooms could be again pollinated for a day or two after the spraying. My trees are inside a greenhouse, with all the fans and shutters screened. Therefore, no bees, or other pollinators can enter to pollinate the flowers. - Millet (279 BO-)