Nieft / Secola wrote:

> The following url claims to describe research which doesn't support the
> high brix--fewer pests theory, at least in grape vines...kinda preliminary
> though.
>
> http://www.atinet.org/cati/upda/97/fall/study_results.html

Having grown enough crops to know---at a gut level---that high Brix plants are
immune to pests and diseases, I found this report of sufficient interest to
send for a paper copy several months ago.

Without in any way casting doubt on Mark, I do question the whole thing.  I
also wish he had brought in one of the top-notch Brix-conscious consultants to
review his data before he made his conclusions.  Those consultants are not out
there saying---to a man---there is a true relationship between Brix levels and
insect pressures for naught.  Their jobs depend on providing the advice that
puts abundant low-pesticide grapes in the hands of vintners producing premium
wines.

My personal crossing of the Rubicon came some years ago when I walked out to
one of my gardens and realized the potato bugs were attacking one end of a
long row of potatoes.  A little refractometer checking showed *no* bugs at the
end with 12 Brix juice in the leaves; *some* bugs toward the middle where
there was 9-10 Brix leaf juice; and *many* bugs at the end with 7 Brix leaf
juice.

Deep thought caused me to remember the fact that I had run short in that 7
Brix area when I had been spreading wood ashes the previous fall.  Obviously,
at least in my mind, a failure to properly remineralize had entered the
picture.

Fresno State, bless 'em, is a good and honorable school.  However I, for one,
will hold back a full trust until they start refusing grants from the giant
chemical companies.

Regards,
Rex Harrill