A Guide to Practical Breeding Philippine Lemons, 2012 | Page 6

Negros Occidental being their hometown.
Another of these breeders was the late Mayor Nonoy Jalandoni of La Carlota, Negros
Occidental. He created his own lemon strains which he fought, popularized, and later shared
with the other members of the La Carlota group- Mayor Juancho Aguirre, Bob Cuenca and
Tony Trebol. To these days these three remained top lemon breeders.
Mayor Aguirre confided to Pit Games that today, of the three of them Bob Cuenca possessed the purest of the lemons as Cuenca succeeded up to these days, in maintaining his line
with no or just little infusion.
This was a confirmation of a claim by Richard Infante, a long time breeding and conditioning assistant to Bob Cuenca.
During an earlier interview with Pit Games Infante said his boss had, for more than 30
years, succeeded in maintaining the hulsey lemon almost in its original state.
At about the same time that the members of the La Carlota Group of Nonoy Jalandoni
were breeding their own lemon strains, or even earlier as some accounts had it, Paeng Araneta
and Batchoy Alunan also had their lemons.
Then in 1967, Paeng Araneta who already had acquired some of the Alunan lemons, imported a Duke Hulsey lemon hackled pea combed, yellow legged cock. It was rare as most of
Duke’s lemon hackles were straight comb. The cock, which was sporting leg band no. 84 became the founder of the historical lemon 84 line.
The coming of the 84s
In 1972 the 84s stunned the cocking world by winning the international, besting a field
composed of all-imported line-ups. The popularity of the lemons in general, and the lemon 84s
in particular, spread through out the land. Breeders from outside Negros started breeding the
lemons.
One from Manila, Peter Uy, has for more than 30 years now maintained different lines
of lemons infused with different imported bloods.
Renown cocker Francis Afable, considered an authority on bloodlines,
said that Uy has succeeded in maintaining different lemon 84 lines infused with Billy Ruble
blue face, Harry Lee Strouth butcher, Dad Gleezen whitehackle, and some sweaters, yellow
legged hatches, and albanys. According to Afable, these blood lines gave the lemons the much
needed shot in the arm.
Another Luzon breeder Tiny Meneses vouched for the blending prowess of the lemon
and considered it one of the best base lines.
Mene ͕́