History
ancient technique
practiced as early as 1,000 BC
employed widely by the Romans centuries later
Grafting
two different plants are united so they grow together as one
Scion - top - vegetative part
Stock - bottom - root part
Reasons for use
give plants stronger more disease resistant rootscause dwarfingtop working - grafting many different varieties to the limbs of one tree
Requirements
compatibility
must be related to each other to enable the stock and scion to grow together
Matching of tissue
cambium of two matched plant parts must come in close contact with each other
cambium cannot be allowed to dry out
Waterproofing
immediately after making graft, cut surfaces must be covered with a waterproof grafting compound
Types of Grafts
Whip Graft
-- used when stock & scion are small and are the same size
Cleft Graft
-- used in topworking trees
-- stock is usually much larger than scion
Budding
Actually a form of grafting
A single bud is used instead of a scion
Budding is quicker
2 main types:
- T-budding & Chip Budding
T-budding
Scion and Rootstock must be compatible
Bark must be slipping
Examples: apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, and roses
Chip Budding
Very similar to T-budding
Advantage: wood can be dormant, bark doesn’t have to slip
Widely used for grapes
Asexual Propagation
the stem or root which is rooted is called a layer
the layer is removed from the plant only after rooting has taken place
Advantages and Disadvantagesrelatively simple
requires more time
requires a lot of work by hand
fewer plants can be started from each parent plant
Simple Layering
a branch from the parent plant is bent to the ground
covered with soil at one point
terminal end remains exposed
Air Layering
Ancient Chinese practiced air layering
process eliminates burying part of the plant in the soil
Air Layering
instead, a part of the stem is girdled
cut all the way around
the cut is surrounded by moist sphagnum or peat moss