Everything you need to know about fruit grafts

Grafts are very useful in gardening, agriculture and others. It is about joining or inserting one part of a plant into another so that it continues to grow. In this way they are united and the two develop on the same plant.

In this case, I am here to talk about fruit grafts, both the types that exist and what they are used for. Do you want to know more about fruit grafts?

Index

  • 1 What are fruit grafts for?
  • 2 The purpose of fruit grafting
  • 3 Graft conditions
  • 4 Types of fruit grafts

What are fruit grafts for?

fruit grafts allow the growth of plants that do not have viable seeds

As I mentioned before, grafts allow us to join plants into one. Fruit grafts are made up of two parts that are different. The first part is the root and is called the rootstock. The other part is variety. This part is about the area which provides the fruit. Those two parts will be joined by what is the graft itself.

The practice of grafting plants on others has been carried out since ancient times, so this is nothing new. It is true that with technological development and research in botany and in this field, grafting techniques have improved their effectiveness enormously. Thanks to the fact that the tradition of grafting has been passed from generation to generation, today we can preserve fruit varieties of great interest.

What is the graft technique used for? It is important to know that on many occasions, the mere propagation of the seeds does not produce the variety that we want. That is why grafting offers many other benefits. We use the grafts to:

  • Propagate a variety or species that could not be achieved otherwise or at least would be very difficult to achieve.
  • Benefit from the characteristics of certain rootstocks that are capable of vegetating on certain surfaces where the crop has no opportunity to subsist on its own.
  • Grafting allows one variety of fruit to be exchanged for another that is more commercial.
  • It allows us to grow varieties of fruit trees that are more sensitive to root or collar diseases. To do this, they use more resistant patterns.

The goal of fruit grafting

there are grafted trees

The main objective of fruit grafting is to allow the multiplication of a variety or a mutation of the bud or seed. In this way, when we carry out the graft, we can maintain the characteristics because in the grafts there is no disintegration of the same.

We also use grafting to be able to reproduce and propagate some species that do not have the capacity to produce seeds that are viable under certain environmental conditions. In addition, they are used in species that produce very few seeds or in species that do not have partial or total tolerance to propagation by cuttings.

Graft conditions

grafts in critical

The grafts have a series of conditions that must be met in order for them to work correctly and to offer us the results we expect. We have to take into account that both the variety and the root of the graft have to be compatible. Obviously, we cannot unite two plants that are totally different. Both must come from the same plant material and must be healthy. If you present a virus or the rest of any payment, the graft will not be carried out correctly.

The graft cannot be carried out when we want, but we must respect the appropriate environmental conditions so that the variety and rootstock can develop correctly without being prevented by the environment. Just when making the graft we must protect the grafted part to prevent it from drying out. For this we can use a plastic tape or something protective. We have to take into account that newly grafted are weaker.

Types of fruit grafts

steps to graft

There are different types of fruit grafts. The problem is that many of them do not offer us benefits. Usually the most efficient and famous are these two:

  • The spike or piece of branch of a year with 2 or 3 buds
  • The bud with or without attached wood, depending on the type of graft

These are the most practical grafts and the most recommended to do. Also, if we take into account the season in which we do the grafting, we can classify them into spring grafts and late summer grafts.

Everything you need to know about fruit grafts

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