'Plant Detective' Wants To Bring Lost Fruit Trees Back To Arizona

By Steve Goldstein
Published: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 - 3:49pm
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We’ve gotten used to farmers in Arizona and the west growing a certain kind of edible crop. There’s a huge variety of fruits and vegetables that we have access to, almost year-round.

But how long have those crops been around? And how many specific kinds of crops have we actually lost over the generations?

The man some refer to as a “plant detective” — Jesus Manuel Garcia at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson — has been doing work for a number of years on the Kino Heritage Fruit Trees Project.

Its aim has been to find and replant some types of fruit trees that were brought to southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico beginning in the 17th century.

He joined The Show to talk about his work.

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