Budding...Budding differs from grafting in several ways, however. In budding, a single bud is used instead of a scion. Because of this, many more plants can be reproduced from the

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U N I T

X

COMPETENCIES TO DEVELOPAfterstudyingthisunit,youshouldbeableto:

nameatleastthreeplantscommerciallypropagatedby

budding.

listthesevenstepsinthebuddingprocess.

identifyonadiagramapieceofbudwood,rootstock,a

buddingknife,andrubberbudties.

differentiatebetweenafruitbudandaleaforvegetative

budbycuttingeachfromabudstickandlabeling.

propagateaplantbytheT-buddingprocess.

propagateaplantbythechipbuddingprocess.

MATERIALS■ buddingknife

■ rubberbudties

■ plasticbagtocollectbudwood

■ labelandwaterproofpenorpencil

■ rootstock

■ budwood

■ plantforrootstock

■ asharpknife

OBJECTIVETopropagateatleastone

plantbythebudding

process.

KEY TERMSbudding

budshield

budwood

rootstock

vegetativebud

COMPETENCIES TO DEVELOCOMPETENCIES TO DEVELOJECTIVEJECTIVE

Budding

U N I T

11

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Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.

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BUDDING UNIT 11

Methods of BuddingMethods of budding include T-budding, patch budding, inverted T-budding, flute budding, I-budding, and chip budding, among others. The most commonly used methods in the United States are T-budding and chip budding. The T-budding operation is especially popular in the propagation of tree fruits and roses. It is a much quicker process than grafting; some rose bud-ders insert up to several thousand buds a day if there are other people present to do the tying. Chip budding is used on grapes and is being used more on other plants because of the longer time period during which it can be done.

The process of budding is actually a form of grafting; in fact, budding is sometimes called bud grafting. Budding differs from grafting in several ways, however. In budding, a single bud is used instead of a scion. Because of this, many more plants can be reproduced from the same amount of parent wood. Budding is also accom-plished more quickly. Another difference is the time at which the operation takes place—T-budding is accomplished when the rootstock is in active growth rather than in the dormant (resting) stage, either in spring (March or April), in June, or in late summer or fall (July through September).

T-BuddingT-budding is generally done on small, 1- or 2-year-old seedlings. Small branches in the tops of larger trees are also budded. Whichever type of rootstock is chosen, it is important that it be actively growing, disease resistant, and able to give the desired growth. If there is no sign of disease and the bark separates easily from the wood, the operation should be successful. It is also important that mature vegetative or leaf buds of the desired variety are available. As in other forms of grafting, the scion and rootstock must be compatible.

Some plants commonly propagated by bud-ding include apples, pears, peaches, plums, cher-ries, roses, and the citrus group. Late summer is the best time to propagate fruit trees by budding. The rootstock generally grows from seed planted in fall to the size of a lead pencil by July or August

of the following year. Leaf buds on the stock or parent plant are generally mature enough for use at that time.

Collecting BudwoodBud sticks, small shoots of the current season’s growth, are collected on the same day the buds are to be inserted (A in Figure 11–1). The budwood

is kept wrapped in waterproof paper so that it does not dry out. The bundle of bud sticks is then labeled according to variety and date cut. Shoots that have a vigorous growth pattern usually have the best and most usable buds on them.

Remember that vegetative buds are neces-sary for propagation—fruit buds will not grow into new plants. Vegetative and fruit buds can be

G R E E N T I POneappletree,whichcanbeplantedonthe

smallestcitylot,canyieldupto15to20bush-

elsoffruitperyear.Oneappletreenotonly

canprovidefruitforhumans,butalsofoodfor

birdsandotheranimals.Plantanappletree

today!

FIGURE 11–1 Preparing the budwood.

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SECTION 3 PLANT PROPAGATION

easily distinguished. The vegetative or leaf bud is slimmer and more pointed than the fruit bud. Fruit buds generally appear on the base or bot-tom end of the shoot.

Collect budwood of the proper cultivar. Care-fully cut all the leaves from the stick, leaving a short piece of the leaf or petiole to act as a handle to hold the bud after it is cut from the stem (B in Figure 11–1). Wrap in waterproof paper or place in a plastic bag.

RootstockThe rootstock, which at this point has been developing from seed for 1 year or more, should now be about the size of a pencil for proper bud-ding. Remember that the rootstock and bud-wood must be of related species, such as apple with apple and cherry with cherry.

For T-budding, the seedling rootstock must be in active growth, indicated by soft, rapidly growing branch tips. The final test for determin-ing if the seedling is receptive to the bud is to make a T-shaped cut and separate the bark from the wood of the stem. The bark should slip loose easily and the wood underneath appear moist

and smooth, with no tearing or stringing of tis-sue. When this is established, the process may be continued.

MATERIALS■ buddingknife

■ rubberbudties

■ plasticbagtocollectbudwood

■ labelandwaterproofpenorpencil

■ rootstock

■ budwood

■ plantforrootstock

■ asharpknife

Cutting and Inserting the BudThe next step is to prepare the seedlings being used for rootstock. The budding process is easier if a team of two people work together. One per-son makes the cut with a sharp budding knife and inserts the bud while the second person ties the bud securely in place.

C a u t i o nThepersonmakingthecutshouldexercisecare

whenhandlingtheknife.

The person making the cut kneels beside the row of seedlings, bending them toward him or her. At a spot about 1 to 2 inches above ground level and where the stem is smooth, a 1-inch ver-tical cut is made through the bark. The cut should be made on the north side of the stem if possible. This protects the bud from the sun both in sum-mer and winter. A horizontal cut is then made across the tip of the vertical cut to form the T shape for which this process is named. The knife is given a twist so that the bark and wood sepa-rate (A in Figure 11–2). If necessary the two sides of the vertical cut should be lifted at the top with the edge of the knife blade, opening the slit in the bark (B in Figure 11–2). As mentioned, if the bark separates easily, the rootstock is growing rapidly enough to bud.

P r o c e d u r e

Steps in the Budding Process

1. Plant seeds for seedling rootstock (the previous fall).

2. Select the variety of budwood to be propagated.

3. Determine the correct date to bud, as indicated by both the bud maturity of the desired plant and the active growth of the rootstock.

4. Cut the budwood, label it, and protect it in such a way that it does not dry out.

5. Perform the budding process.

6. Check to see if buds have taken.

7. Cut off the rootstock above the bud (the following spring).



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BUDDING UNIT 11

of the bud stick. Whichever is used, the bud in the axil of the leaf stem must be visible and well developed.

The bud is cut with a small shield of bark and a sliver of wood attached (Figure 11–3). The cut is made starting about 1/2 inch below the bud and cutting just deeply enough to include a small sliver of wood. The cut is continued under the bud and past it to about 1/4 inch above the bud. A second cut made at a right angle to the bud stick at the end of the first cut releases the bud from the bud stick. The bud shield should appear as the one in Figure 11–4.

The bud is immediately inserted into the T-shaped cut made in the rootstock and pushed down into the open slit in the bark until the top of the bud shield is even with the top of the T cut in the rootstock. This allows the bud shield to be completely inserted underneath the bark of the rootstock and to fit snugly against the wood (Figures 11–5 and 11–6).

To hold the new bud firmly in place, the cut area is now tied with a rubber bud tie or a one-piece bud tie tape, which fits over the bud. The entire cut area is covered with the bud tie; only the bud itself is exposed. The bud tie is tucked under itself at each end to hold it in place. These ties, made of a special material, are designed to disintegrate or break in about 3 weeks. They do not require removal.

The next step is to cut the leaf bud from the bud stick. Generally, buds in the middle portion of the bud stick are used for budding. Buds on the terminal end may not be mature enough, and buds on the basal end may be flower buds. The buds that are used may vary with the maturity

FIGURE 11–2 Preparing the rootstock.

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FIGURE 11–3 Cutting the bud.

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Chip BuddingChip budding is widely used for grapes and may be used for most other normally budded plants. The biggest advantage is that it can be done when the rootstock is not in active growth. You will recall that in T-budding, the rootstock must be actively growing so that the bark can slip loose without tearing, allowing the bud to be inserted beneath it. This is not necessary for chip budding, because the bark is not lifted from the wood. This means that chip budding can be done in summer or fall.

Selection of rootstock and budwood is the same as for T-budding.

The chip budding procedure is shown in Figure 11–8.

FIGURE 11–5 Insertion and tying of a bud.

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FIGURE 11–7 Continuation of the budding process the following spring.

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FIGURE 11–6 Budder inserting the shield of bark with a peach bud in the T cut. A small tree is being used as the rootstock.

Co

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f S

tark

Bro

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rs N

urs

erie

s a

nd

Orc

ha

rds C

o.

FIGURE 11–4 The leaf bud shield.

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In about 3 weeks, an inspection is made to see if the bud has taken (has attached to the stem and is still alive). If the leaf petiole has dropped off and the bud appears to be plump and of normal color, the bud has probably grown to the rootstock. Nothing else is done to the bud or the rootstock until early the following spring. At that time, the top of the seedling rootstock is cut off directly above the bud as shown in Figure 11–7(A) and (B). This forces the new bud into active growth, which then develops into the new top of the plant as shown in Figure 11–7(C). Any suckers or shoots that sprout out below the bud from the rootstock are pinched off. This pro-cess must be continued until no more new sprouts emerge. The budding process is then completed. After 1 or 2 years’ growth of the new bud, it is ready to be transplanted to a permanent site.



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BUDDING UNIT 11

FIGURE 11–8 Chip budding procedure.

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SummaryBudding is a form of grafting. It is widely used in producing fruit trees, roses, and other trees and shrubs

for sale through nurseries. The budding process is faster and more economical than grafting. Plants that

need a superior rootstock and do not come true from seed are most often budded or started from cut-

tings or tissue culture.

Student Activities

1. Take a field trip to a nursery to watch a budding operation.

2. Plant seeds to grow rootstock.

3. Practice the budding process on plant parts provided.

4. Bud plants in a nursery row.

5. Write a description of the physical condition of a bud that has grown quickly and of one that is dead. Pinpoint the differences in appearance.

6. Search the Internet using the following terms: asexual reproduction; grafting and budding.

Self-Evaluation

Multiple ChoiceSelect the best answer from the choices offered to complete the statement or answer the question.

1. When budding,a) the bud stick must have mature buds. c) only vegetative buds are used.b) a single bud is used instead of a scion. d) all of the above

2. T-budding is done when the rootstocka) is in active growth and about the size of a pencil.b) has matured for the season.c) is available.d) is about the same size as the scion.

3. Vegetative or leaf buds may be differentiated from flower buds because theya) are plumper.b) are more slender or pointed.c) are generally located at the base of the bud stick.d) are not yet mature.

MATERIALS■ plantforrootstock

■ budwood

■ asharpknife

■ rubberbudties

■ labeltoidentifycultivarofinsertedbud

Aftercare for Chip BuddingFor spring budding, cut the rootstock off just above the bud in 10 to 15 days. For fall budding, cut the rootstock off just above the bud the fol-lowing spring, just as growth starts.



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BUDDING UNIT 11

4. Bud sticks are cut froma) actively growing wood. c) the current season’s growth.b) healthy wood. d) all of the above

5. Rootstock for budding isa) grown from seeds planted in previous years. c) of a closely related plant species.b) generally about the size of a pencil. d) all of the above

6. The bud is inserted into the rootstocka) on the south side of the rootstock 2 inches above the ground.b) on the north side of the rootstock 2 inches above the ground.c) on the north side of the rootstock 6 inches above the ground.d) none of the above

7. From which portion of the bud stick are the best quality buds obtained?a) end c) middleb) base d) none of the above

8. Three plants commercially propagated by budding are thea) apple, peach, and rose. c) azalea, rhododendron, and viburnum.b) apple, rhododendron, and cherry. d) rose, peach, and chestnut.

9. The bud is cut with a small shield ofa) bark. c) bark and wood.b) wood. d) none of these

10. The seedling is the proper state of growth for budding if upon opening the T-shaped cut in the seedling, the bark separates from the wooda) with difficulty. c) enough so that the bud can be inserted.b) with a small piece of wood attached. d) easily and cleanly.

11. The leaf stem or petiole is left on the bud becausea) it acts as a handle for holding the bud.b) it helps the bud to heal.c) it simplifies tying the bud in place.d) the bud would be damaged if it were removed.

12. The bud is tied tightly in place with a bud tie so thata) it is held firmly in place against the rootstock.b) animals are prevented from loosening it.c) the flow of sap is stopped at that point.d) the rootstock is gradually girdled.

13. An inspection to see if the bud has grown and is alive should be made in abouta) 6 weeks. c) 1 year.b) 3 weeks. d) 6 months.

14. The spring after the bud is attached, the seedling rootstock top is cut offa) just below the bud. c) directly above the bud.b) even with the bud. d) none of the above

15. In the development of a new bud, what must be pinched off as they appear on the rootstock below the bud?a) roots c) scarsb) suckers d) knots



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16. The new plant may be transplanted to a permanent site ina) 2 or 3 years. c) 1 or 2 years.b) 6 months. d) 3 or 4 years.

17. Which of the following occurs in budding but not in grafting?a) A single bud is used and the rootstock is in active growth.b) A single bud is used and the rootstock is larger than that used in grafting.c) A vegetative leaf bud is used, and it is placed closer to the ground on the rootstock than in grafting.d) A single bud is used, and the rootstock is dormant.

18. Chip budding is widely used to propagate ______ as well as other plants.a) apples c) rosesb) grapes d) azaleas

19. What is the biggest advantage in using chip budding?a) Plants are more compatible.b) Plants grow faster.c) It is cheaper.d) It can be done when the root system is not in active growth.



Documents

Budding...Budding differs from grafting in several ways, however. In budding, a single bud is used instead of a scion. Because of this, many more plants can be reproduced from the