Difficulty in growing apples from seed in tropics

General Fruit Growing
#1

Hello peeps. Have been following apple post on this site for a year now, but i decided to register today.
Have been trying to grow apple from hundred of seeds but all keep dieing within one month.
I stratify the seeds in paper towel for 4 months and grow them in loamy soil and dirt, but some die within first one week of growing and others die subsequently, every pips later died.
I don’t knw what am doing wrong, my drainage is good, and I do add fungicide to the dirt to kill and ward of fungies…
I have some batch of apple seeds already in the freezer for stratification.
Please lead me through, I want to grow hundreds of its just to study the tree till it fruits, i know Kelvin houser is here and have been following his page and YouTube videos for long since apples can now be grown in the tropics.

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#2

@applenut has experience in growing apples in the tropics. What is their growing temperature? Is the PH ok? I’d try not using the fungicide. What size containers are they in.

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#3

They are grown in the southwest window and they had room temperature, which is around 22 degrees Celcius, the PH is 6…
I would be happy if applenut could help here

#4

Sounds like they damp off. Use plain dirt with nothing added, you may want to just plant them in the ground. It has nothing to do with heat, I’ve sprouted and grown them in 45C just fine. Sandy is better than loamy, holding moisture too long will kill them.

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#5

Ohh, thanks @applenut, I will do as you say.
Fow how long could they stay in pure dirty or sandy soil before transferring them into a good soil media.

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#6

They really don’t need good soil, they’re happy outside in the ground where they would be planted.

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#7

I would plant them immediately they start showing root. Or plant everything weather their is root or not. Since they would be already 4 months in the freezer for stratification.
And find a shade cloth to shade them off from the over 95 degrees celcius sunlight… Thanks @applenut

#8

I’d plant them even if not showing root, a client in Namibia uses shade cloth with success.

#9

I tried planting some outside in the ground then, but when their first few true leaves are not fresh and green as the ones indoor, that’s why I transplant them in a disposable plastic cup… But eventually all died due to damping off…
With my second batch, i will try and grow half directly in a sandy soil with shade cloth on it and the other half in pure Dirt and see the outcome