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Time / Survival - Life is a time game against other organisms and the ever changing environment. Some individuals of a group must survive long enough to produce. There are no natural processes or systems that remain absolute for very long periods. All natural processes and systems age and wane. Reproduction gives the system a new start. When the time between the beginning of life and reproduction is short, most individuals reproduce and a very wide or great gene pool is maintained. This is the case with bacteria and other microorganisms that have a reproductive cycle less than an hour. With some trees, the individual must be at least 40 years old before reproduction starts. Many individual trees do not survive the first few years, therefore, the pressures for survival of the group are intense. Once reproduction starts, energy must now be supplied to power the process. Energy for reproduction will be used before other growth processes are supplied, such as wood production. This is shown clearly in orchard trees. After they begin to bear fruit, wood growth decreases rapidly. Many fruit trees, such as apples, are alternate year bearers normally, but through genetics, trees that bear every year have been developed. This may be fine for the orchard person, but it may be difficult for the tree to maintain a high-bearing rate every year. As given above, in time all systems will fail. What we must do is to give the advantage to the tree so that a long high quality life is assured. There are no absolutes.