Thank you for the offer. I think it would be best then if I keep it simple and contact you later if I go that route instead of submitting a request. Since I have a farm orchard I figured that was who they were trying to help with the program. Sounds like they primarily provide material for college research.
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Well, mainly I agree – especially about decisions regarding the distribution of genetic material. The USDA has multiple plant repositories, some of which are managed under a grant with the U. of California ANR program. The mulberries are housed at Wolfskill Orchards in Winters CA, about a dozen miles west of UC Davis. The USDA horticulturists and researchers who are assigned to Wolfskill have offices at UC Davis. Further, there is a lot of grant-funded research (from a variety of agencies) involving UC Davis faculty, graduate students, and the repository at Wolfskill. Everytime I go up there (e.g. last month) I come across folks taking leaf samples etc. in the collection. They trust me walking around the property and know I don’t try to sneak out samples. In fact, I live in a quarantine area so I need their certification just to bring genetic material to my property. Well – some of you might think I could sneak some down with little risk. Hah! I have open house tours to gardening clubs and the inspector is here at least once a year keeping track of new plants.
My advice to those who wish to obtain material from Wolfskill that is not publicly available: go there on one of the public days they have on their online calendar – even if you don’t care about the fruit they are featuring that day. Meet the personnel. Help them understand how you will propagate and disseminate genetic material from their collection. Go back again when the plants you’re interested in are featured. Talk with the staff again. Then, in the Fall submit your request before the deadline. And if you’ve done all these things and your request is denied, call up on of the folks you met and find out why. At that point, you’ll get an honest answer.
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I’m going to tbud graft some male with buds off my best females that have had consistently good yields. I’m going to see what I can do by mid July and that may be the best choice. Thanks everyone for the input.
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