Lately, I’ve been thinking about how susceptible modern crop varieties have become to pests and diseases. Breeders focus so heavily on yield, convenience, and appearance.
This weekend, during a trip, I noticed a wild walnut tree growing along a mountain road. Having spent eight months living in a walnut orchard, I instinctively started examining its leaves. To my surprise, there were very few aphids, and I even spotted some ladybug eggs nearby. This wild tree is massive and unreachable, and its nuts have incredibly hard shells - a stark contrast to the "Chandler" variety, which stays relatively short and produces easy-to-crack nuts.
Yet, I vividly remember that two years ago at this time of year, despite having natural predators like ladybugs around, we were desperately applying pesticides to beat back an aphid infestation in the orchard.
We have gained a lot of convenience, but our trees now require high maintenance.
It makes me wonder: should we continue focusing strictly on the fruit, or is it time to prioritize the resilience of the plants themselves?
In this picture, you can see four small aphids along the leaf veins:
