Hello! So I’ve been reading this book chapter about apples and in it it says that apples grown from seed tend to be very different from the apple from which the seed came, and frequently lack desired characteristics. Later on in the chapter, it says that what growers do is they usually graft together a rootstock and a scion to form an apple tree that has desired characteristics (and that also bears fruit with desired characteristics?). But the rootstock and scion are grown from seed, no? So how do they come together and produce fruit that is similar to apples that have been grown on the orchard in the past and that DOES have desired characteristics? I feel like there is something fundamental that I am not getting. Any help understanding this would be appreciated.
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Fruit is a product of the tree it grows on. It is the same every time. A seed is the product of that tree and whatever tree pollinated it. The trees that grow from those seeds are a mix. And, the fruit they produce will be a mix and not the same, depending on what other trees are around to pollinate it. So, if you want the same fruit you get from a certain tree, the sure way to get it is to splice branches from that tree onto other root stock where they will grow to produce the same fruit.
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