Propogation by Grafting
Propogation by Grafting
Propogation by Grafting
varieties of the same kind of plant will graft readily one upon the
other. Distanlly related plants as a ru le cannot be made to grow
one upon the other 01' the p lants ar~ short jived.
2. Between the bark and wood is a layer of special cells call ed
the camb ium . During the growing season these ce ll s divide to form
new cells from which new wood and bark are formed. In grafting
and budding th e parts mu s t be so joined that their cambiums a re
in contact, or at least in clo se proximity, in order for them to knit
together and grow . This is the und erlying principle of a ll graftin g
operations.
3. The parts of the graft mu s t be protected against drying.
4. Th e operation should be done at the proper season of the year
w hen bud and scion wood i s of the right maturity, when man ipu la-
tion s 'an be performed mo s t ski ll fully and when best co ndition s for
propel' heali ng can be provid ed more eas ily.
5. Attention and good care s ub seq u ent to th e actual grafting
operat ions are n ecessary for the best resu lt s .
Selection and Care of Scion Wood
We ll m at ul' I, mod erately vigorou s wood of th e past season's
growth s ho uld be chosen for sc ion wood. Older wood is less sati s-
fa -tory and its use is not adv is abl e unless one-year wood cannot be
See d of some vari et ies grow w e ll whil e oth e r s a r e un sati sfacto ry.
Ben Dav is . Gano, Rom e, W in esap, Wealth y, Deli ciou s and Jon athan
a r e common app le varieti es of thi s section w hi ch produ ce good stock.
Th e two co mm on pear vari ti s , K ie ffer and Garber, wi ll give s uitabl e
standard stock. Most peach stock is grown from "nat ura ls" from th
6 MI~SOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
with the tongue of eac h s lippin g into the cleft or sli t of the other.
It is important that the two partfl be so join ed that the cambium
of sto ck and sc ion al'e in contact on a t leas t one s id e. It is not
nece ssary that the cambium match on both s id es but when stock
and sc ion are not the same size, th e differ ence should not be great
and th e stock should be the larger . Tip end s of either stock or
scion, when they extend beyond the s lope of th e other, should be cut
back to that point.
Fi g. 4. - C olllpi el ed pi ece rool ap pl e gra ft s showi nR !)r( lpr rl y Irl1l1rtJcd slock l1 nd Cur r<'c t
wrappi tl g wi th twin e.
The comp leted graft sho uld be wrapped to make it more rigid and
hold the parts in contact. A No. 18 or 20 knitting twine will serve
the purpose and if untreated wi ll decay rapidly w ith out injury to
the graft after growt h begins. Very littl e twine is needed. The
wrapping is begun at the upper end of the union, catc hing the end
of the twine und er the first lap, seve ral turn s are made, then with
a few wide turns it is carried to the lower end where a few fairly
tight turns are made, and finally the twine is brought und er the
fiap of the scion and broken. No knotting is required. Special ad-
hesive tape for grafting purposes a lso is used for wrapping grafts.
Keeping the scion wood, seed lin gs and completed grafts covered
with wet cloth s or burlap will protect them again st drying while the
grafting work is being done. This is especiall y important in a
warm, dry room.
Storing and Handling Grafts
The comp leted grafts shou ld be gathered into convenient sized
bundles and packed in damp sand, sawd ust, or moss. Store in a coo l
place, preferably where a temperatore of 40 to 45 ° F can be main-
tained. Thi s wi ll permit the soft spongy healin g tissue ca ll ed callu s
to develop from the region of the cambi um and at the same time is
8 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
FI I.!'. =t . (1) .'\ I'pl (" hud <i t l('k w llh h; ht" _11 11 1 " I' 1t'1ll1'\' t' d ,t I lt! til" 11 " , \'(· ... n il lIfT k:t villj.! :.],, )111
I, IlI c ll I f t lw 1{';'If st alks. Col) Hilt! s l i (' k ... h ()W III~ 111 ,· II wi llilll II( S IH' itl ~ fill til t.' h\ld ~: it t Ih t'
rr~ III t he foi l ices h:, \I t' ht:en Ii £1('.1. ;1\ I li l' 1"f t tI ff' , h ll\\' 11 Ill(' ", Ii Vt ' I '" of Wllod id ter t h(" Imd ... ha V('
been sl1:lpped ofT. (3) I' li d" [(, 1110\,('(1 flf)!11 lil t' blld ~tI('k lind . I t·:-tdy 10 JI 1:"1 ('I' fin t he stoc k.
buddin g. Thi s gi ves a shi eld Rh aped piece of bark with the bud in
th e middl e, round ed at th e boLLom and sq uare across the top.
F ig . 6 . S ti\j;{t's in Ih l' bu d ding o f p<'ac hrs . (1 ) T -s h rtpcd c ut o n l ·yea r s<"NlIin g tr c(' , (2)
Ra l k s h g ht l v 1.11sed a t top to rect'ivt' th (> hud, (3) nlld s In serl ("d with ICd r s te m o r pet IOle Sidl
<l ll ached. ( I) /llId prnpCl ly w l ,apped in w ith raffia . (5) Bud af te r it h <l.S "t ake n " and th e
bindllllo{ Ill ilter ia l removed. In Iht' ~p rill ~ as g ro w th start s th e top of seed ling lree is cut
o fT ju st a bove th e in~erle d uud. (Blidd ill ~ is do n e on t rees in lh t' fi elds th ese were dug in
o rd e r to plHJtograph th e m. )
Wh en the bark does not s lip readily on the bud stick the bud is
s li ced off ju st deep enou gh to obtain a small s li ver of wood. Th e bud,
bark a nd wood are all cut 00' wi Lh a cross cut about l/z inch above
the bud s and the ent ire bud s li ce in serted on th e stock without
r emoving the thin sliver of wood. Whether th e section of wood
und er the bark is or is not removed the bark must slip readily on
th e s tock if sa ti sfactory work is to be done.
The round ed end of the bud piece is started into the T-shaped cut
on the stock and pu shed down until the top of the shi eld is below the
cross of the T. The flap s of bark are next tied down to hold the cam-
bium of the bud piece sec urely against the cambium of the stock and
preven t too rapid drying. Small twine may be used, although it
tend s to cut into the bark. Raffia soaked in water to make it soft and
p liabl e is much used. Narrow strips of cloth will serve the purpose.
Special strip s of rubb er are now much us ed by nurserymen .
Wra pping is begun below the bud, catching the end of the material
under the first lap and continuing a spi ral wrap until the top of the
cut i s reached. The end may be drawn under the last lap and pulled
tight or a small diagonal s lit cut back of the stock in which the
binding material may be caught.
CIRCULAR 241 11
Fi g. 7.- M e thorl o f wrappin g in shi e ld bud s w ith rllhher strip s . Al left is show n th e
beginning of th e wrap in deta il nnd :\ 1 ri ghl lh e fin i ~h , (Twig is e nl argeci.)