Inoculation of fruit trees

There are many ways of propagation in plants, the most popular is cuttings. However, a problem arises with fruit trees – far from all branches take root. For example, apple and pear trees do not want to give roots to any. Therefore, they are propagated by vaccinations. This is a very reliable method, proven over the years, this is how varietal trees are obtained in nurseries. But ordinary summer residents are afraid to plant trees – it seems to many that this is an incomprehensible science, there are too many terms and nuances. In fact, nothing complicated – anyone, even a novice gardener, will cope with the task!

Timing of grafting fruit trees

There are 3 classic terms of vaccination:

• spring, sap flow period (April);
• summer (August);
• winter.

In August and winter, fruit trees are usually grafted in nurseries and large farms – these are not easy methods, but gardeners are forced to use them to extend the work time – it is unrealistic to re-graft a huge number of seedlings in a few days of April. But ordinary summer residents do not need them – a couple of three trees can be grafted in a day. In addition, during the spring sap flow, vaccinations take root best.

Harvesting cuttings

Anyhow, what kind of branch for vaccination is not suitable – there are standards here. Trees from which cuttings are cut must be mature, fruitful and healthy. For grafting, one-year-old shoots are used well. It is better to take them from the outer part of the crown – there they are the strongest. The length of the branch from which the cuttings will be cut is no more than 40 cm.

The cutting itself should be as thick as a pencil, with short internodes (distance between buds), with 2-3 buds (1).

In general, in a good way, cuttings should be harvested in the fall – in November (2). And then store until spring in the refrigerator or snow (on a tree in harsh winters, they can freeze slightly and then do not take root). But if at the end of the season they weren’t stocked up, it’s not scary – you can cut them in late March – early April. Not later than! Because for successful grafting, it is important to follow the main rule: the stock (the branch on which it is grafted) must be in an active state (with swollen buds), and the graft (the shoot that is grafted) must be at rest. Otherwise, the cutting will not take root. And if you cut the cuttings on the day of vaccination, that is, in mid-April, then they will already wake up.

Cut cuttings should be wrapped in a damp cloth and put in the refrigerator – until mid-April.

Methods for grafting fruit trees

There are many of them, each has its own purpose and many options are quite complex – they are used by professional gardeners. But there are simple options that anyone can master. The terms, however, can be scary, but the process itself is quite simple.

Budding

This grafting option is a little more complicated than the previous ones, but it is the most popular – it is used in nurseries to obtain varietal apple and pear trees. (Fig. 3) And for summer residents, it will be useful when you need to save some old variety of apple trees. The fact is that in old trees, young growths are very short (often no more than 5 cm) and thin. It is very difficult to inoculate them by the methods of copulation and splitting, and such inoculations often do not take root. And budding is a grafting with an eye, that is, with just one kidney.

The point is this. A healthy large bud with bark and part of the wood is cut out from the handle (Fig. 3.1) – the eye, ready for grafting, is similar in shape to a boat (Fig. 3.2). At the scion, in the place where the grafting is planned, a T-shaped incision is made in the bark to the wood for the length of the eye (Fig. 3.3). The upper edges of the incision are pushed back, an eye is inserted there (the kidney should look up) (Fig. 3.4), the edges of the cortex are returned to their previous position, after which the grafting site is tied (Fig. 3.5).

Vrasschep

This is the easiest option, even a beginner can handle it without prior preparation. This method is usually used when the scion is thicker than the rootstock (Fig. 2) (3).

The process is this. At the lower end of the cutting, long oblique cuts are made on both sides so that a wedge is obtained. An even cut is made at the scion, and then, with a sharp knife, it is carefully split exactly in the center of the circle to the depth of the cuts (wedge) of the cutting. Then the cutting is inserted into the split. And now an important point: if the scion is thicker than the stock, in no case should the scion be inserted into the center of the stock – it must be moved to the edge so that the bark of the scion and the bark of the cutting are flush.

This is due to the structural features of the branches. In the center they have wood, dead tissue, which is responsible for the strength of the shoot. Of course, nothing can grow to it. Outside – the bark that protects the tree and is also dead on old shoots. And between them there is a thin ring of living cells that are constantly dividing, growing wood inward and bark outward. This fabric is called bast. It is the bast that is responsible for splicing the shoots. Therefore, it is important that these tissues match at the cutting and rootstock.

After the stalk is inserted into the split of the stock, the grafting site must be tightly tied – with tape from a film or electrical tape. And cover the place where the scion was cut with children’s plasticine (it is better than garden putties) or paint over with oil paint based on natural drying oil, if the cut is large. Plasticine also needs to be covered with the upper cut of the handle.

Behind the bark

This option is used when the scion is very thick – it cannot be split with a knife (Figure 1.3). This method is used to rejuvenate and regraft old trees.

The procedure is this. The stock (trunk) is cut down at the desired height to a stump. Then, on the stump, from the cut down, an incision is made in the bark – to the wood. The edges of the bark are slightly turned away. An oblique cut is made on the handle from the underside (according to the same principle as when copulating) about 3 cm long. And the loan is inserted into the cut of the bark with a cut to the wood of the scion. The edges of the bark are wrapped back, the place of vaccination is tied.

Copulation

This is the most popular vaccination option (Figure 1.1). It is used when the stock and scion are of the same thickness.

The bottom line is this: at the scion (bottom) and rootstock (top), oblique long cuts (2-3 cm) are made with a sharp grafting knife. It is very important that the cuts on the stock and the scion are exactly the same, say both there and 3 cm each. If one is larger, the other is smaller, they will not grow together well and there is a high probability that the graft will subsequently break off.

It is not easy for a beginner to make 2 identical cuts. So the first thing to do is practice. Students of agricultural institutes, for example, are taught on willow shoots – its branches are plump and very pliable. You can also practice on a willow, and when you fill your hand, take on fruit cuttings.

As soon as the cuts are made, it is necessary to immediately (it is important that the living tissue does not wind up and dry out) attach the stock to the scion – you should get a full-fledged even branch without displacements and protrusions, as if it had been growing all its life. The vaccination site should be almost invisible! And then tie the grafting site with a tape cut from dense polyethylene, which is usually covered with seedlings in the beds, or with electrical tape – it is much more convenient to work with it. But! Tape must be wound with a sticky layer on the outside. By no means inside – in this case, when you remove the strapping, the entire bark will move away along with the electrical tape. And then all the work is in vain.

Improved copulation

Everything is done here, as in the previous version, but there is one caveat (Fig. 1.2). After making oblique cuts on the rootstock and scion, on each, stepping back 1/3 from the edge of the sharp end, a split is made with a sharp knife a little deeper than the middle of the cut. After that, the cutting is connected to the rootstock so that the tongue of one of them goes into the split of the other.

What is it for? The fact is that with ordinary (simple) copulation, there is a high probability that the scion will move relative to the rootstock. This often happens at the time of tying. Or later, for example, in strong winds. A displaced cutting, most likely, will not take root. With improved copulation, when the tongue enters the split, the cutting is fixed tightly – this is a guarantee of its survival.

The method is a little more troublesome than the previous one, it also requires skill, so it’s also worth practicing for a start – willow branches to help.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about grafting fruit trees with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Lavrik P.I., Rybitsky N.A., Gavrilov I.S. Gardener’s desk book // L.: Lenizdat, 1972 – 568 p.
2. Kamshilov A. and a group of authors. Gardener’s Handbook // M .: State Publishing House of Agricultural Literature, 1955 – 606 p.
3. Egorov V.I., Nazaryan E.A. Handbook of gardening // M.: Profizdat Publishing House, 1957 – 264 p.