Hello all...

Well, I guess I should explain why I am sectioning cherry wood.  A long 
story, so I will try to make it short.  I am looking at xylem and sieve tube 
diameters and lengths as well as functionality in a graft union of sweet 
cherry on dwarfing rootstocks.  No one really knows why some rootstocks 
dwarf the top part of the tree when they are grafted together....an age old 
question.  In addition, there is often a swelling above the graft union.  
So, I am looking at one aspect of that.  A scientist in England has found 
that hydraulic conductivity is reduced with increasingly dwarfing 
rootstocks, but hasn't the xylem data behind it.  I am also interested in 
seeing if the swelling is due to carbohydrate accumulation, so I am also 
doing some enzymatic and carbohydrate profiling, in addition to the phloem 
sieve tube characterization at, above, and below the graft union.  In case 
everyone is like...wow, that's a lot of work....it's my ph.d. dissertation, 
so in my advisor's mind, no it's not.  Thanks again for all the help, I am 
definitely going to try and get a vacuum inside my oven to work, and try to 
infiltrate my carbowax better.  The straight pins sound like a good idea as 
well....I'll get my husband on it.  ;)  

Thanks again!  

Mercy Olmstead
Michigan State University