NAFEX

The North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX) is a network of individuals throughout the United States and Canada devoted to the discovery, cultivation and appreciation of superior varieties of fruits and nuts. Founded in 1967 by a small group of pomological hobbyists, NAFEX has grown to an organization of more than 3,000 members, and is chartered as a nonprofit organization in the state of Illinois. Although the ranks of our membership include professional pomologists, nurserymen, and commercial orchardists, NAFEX members are all AMATEURS in the truest sense of the word; they are motivated by their LOVE of fine fruit.

NAFEX members typically work together to help each other by sharing ideas, information, experiences, and propagating material. We communicate with each other through the pages of POMONA, a quarterly journal assembled largely from articles submitted by the membership. A diverse assortment of interests and approaches are represented. While many of us are involved in collecting and growing well-known fruit like apples and pears, others are specialists in so-called "minor" fruit such as mayhaws, kiwis, persimmons, and pawpaws. A number of members are primarily variety collectors, and some experiment to breed new cultivars. Others labor to produce good fruit crops under marginal conditions. Different, often contradictory, methods of horticulture are advocated; organic practitioners share a forum with growers applying chemical management systems. Despite this lively divergence of focus and opinion, NAFEX members are bound together by the spirit of fellowship and cooperation in a common quest for excellence in fruit.