Grafted apple tree Malus sp. , consolidated 'V' graft

Fuchsia x hybrida, grafted specimen. The scion (upper part) has been grafted onto a rootstock stem to raise the plant for aesthetic reasons

A grafted tree showing two different color blossoms

Grafting is a method of plant propagation widely used in horticulture (gardening), where the tissues of one plant are encouraged to fuse with those of another. Plant propagation is the process of artificially or naturally propagating (distributing or spreading Plants Sexual propagation (seed See also Horticulture is the art and science of plant cultivation Horticulturists (or horticuluralists) work and conduct research in the fields of Plant propagation Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. It is most commonly used for the propagation of trees and shrubs grown commercially. A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or A shrub or Bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of Woody plant, distinguished from a Tree (Grafting is limited to dicots and gymnosperms. Dicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of Flowering plants whose Seed typically has two embryonic leaves or Cotyledons There Gymnosperm (Gymnospermae are a group of Spermatophyte seed-bearing Plants with Ovules on the edge or blade of an open Sporophyll, which are Monocots lack the vascular cambium required. Monocotyledons or monocots are one of two major groups of Flowering plants (angiosperms that are traditionally recognised the other being Dicotyledons The vascular cambium is a Lateral meristem in the Vascular tissue of plants )

In most cases, one plant is selected for its roots, and this is called the stock or rootstock. A rootstock is a Plant, and sometimes just the Stump, which already has an established healthy root system, used for Grafting a cutting or The other plant is selected for its stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits and is called the scion. A stem is one of two main structural axes of a Vascular plant. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. The scion contains the desired genes to be duplicated in future production by the stock/scion plant.

In stem grafting, a common grafting method, a shoot of a selected, desired plant cultivar is grafted onto the stock of another type. Shoots are new plant growth they can include stems, flowering stems with flower buds leaves In another common form called budding, a dormant side bud is grafted on the stem of another stock plant, and when it has fused successfully, it is encouraged to grow by cutting out the stem above the new bud. Budding (also called burgeoning) is the formation of a new Organism by the protrusion of part of another organism

For successful grafting to take place, the vascular cambium tissues of the stock and scion plants must be placed in contact with each other. The vascular cambium is a Lateral meristem in the Vascular tissue of plants Both tissues must be kept alive until the graft has taken, usually a period of a few weeks. A week (also called sennight or sevennight) is a unit of Time longer than a Day and shorter than a Month. Successful grafting only requires that a vascular connection takes place between the two tissues. A physical weak point often still occurs at the graft, because the structural tissue of the two distinct plants, such as wood may not fuse. Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs

Reasons for grafting

• Dwarfing: To induce dwarfing or cold tolerance or other characteristics to the scion. Most apple trees in modern orchards are grafted dwarf or semi-dwarf trees planted at high density. The apple is the pomaceous Fruit of the apple tree Species Malus domestica in the Rose family Rosaceae. An orchard is an intentional planting of Trees or Shrubs maintained for Food production. They provide more fruit per unit of land, higher quality fruit, and reduce the danger of accidents by harvest crews working on ladders. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology.
• Ease of propagation: Because the scion is difficult to propagate vegetatively by other means, such as by cuttings. Plant cutting, also known as striking/cloning is a technique for vegetatively (asexually propagating plants in whicha piece of the source plant containing at least one In this case, cuttings of an easily rooted plant are used to provide a rootstock. In some cases, the scion may be easily propagated, but grafting may still be used because it is commercially the most cost-effective way of raising a particular type of plant.
• Hybrid breeding: To speed maturity of hybrids in fruit tree breeding programs. Hybrid seedlings may take ten or more years to flower and fruit on their own roots. Grafting can reduce the time to flowering and shorten the breeding program.
• Hardiness: Because the scion has weak roots or the roots of the stock plants have roots tolerant of difficult conditions. e. g. many showy Western Australian plants are sensitive to dieback on heavy soils, common in urban gardens, and are grafted onto hardier eastern Australian relatives. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Phytophthora cinnamomi is a soil-borne Water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants called "root rot" or "dieback" The Eastern states of Australia refers to the states adjoining the east coast of Australia. Grevilleas and eucalypts are examples. Grevillea is a diverse Genus of about 360 species of Evergreen Flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Eucalyptus (From Greek ευκάλυπτος meaning "well covered" is a diverse Genus of Trees (and a few shrubs the members of which
• Sturdiness In order to provide a strong, tall trunk for certain ornamental shrubs and trees. In these cases, a graft is made at a desired height on a stock plant with a strong stem. This is used to raise 'standard' roses, which are rose bushes on a high stem, and it is also used for some ornamental trees, such as certain weeping cherries. A rose is a perennial flowering Shrub or vine of the Genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae, that contains over 100 species
• Pollen source: To provide pollenizers. A pollenizer or polleniser, sometimes pollinizer or polliniser (see spelling differences) is a Plant that provides Pollen For example, in tightly planted or badly planned apple orchards of a single variety, limbs of crab apple may be grafted at regularly spaced intervals onto trees down rows, say every fourth tree. An orchard is an intentional planting of Trees or Shrubs maintained for Food production. Malus, the apples, is a genus of about 30–35 species of small Deciduous Trees or Shrubs in the family Rosaceae. This takes care of pollen needs at blossom time, yet does not confuse pickers who might otherwise mix varieties while harvesting, as the mature crab apples are so distinct from other apple varieties. Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of microgametophytes ( pollen grains) which produce the male Gametes (sperm cells of Malus, the apples, is a genus of about 30–35 species of small Deciduous Trees or Shrubs in the family Rosaceae.
• Repair: To repair damage to the trunk of a tree which would prohibit nutrient flow, such as the stripping of the bark by rodents which completely girdles the trunk. Rodentia is an order of Mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously-growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must In this case a bridge graft may be used to connect the tissues receiving flow from the roots to the tissues above the damage which have been severed from the flow. A bridge graft is used to supply nutrients to the upper portions of a woody perennial when the bark and therefore the conductive tissues have been removed from part of the trunk Where a watersprout, sucker or sapling of the same species is growing nearby, any of these can be grafted to the area above the damage by a method called inarch grafting. These alternatives to scions must be of the correct length to span the gap of the wound.
• Changing cultivars: To change the cultivar in a fruit orchard to a more profitable cultivar, called topworking. It may be faster to graft a new cultivar onto existing limbs of established trees than to replant an entire orchard.
• Maintain Consistency: Apples are notorious for their genetic variability, even differing in multiple characteristics, such as, size, color, and flavor, of fruits located on the same tree. In the commercial farming industry, consistency is maintained by grafting a scion with desired fruit traits onto a hardy stock.

Example of Arborsculpture

• Curiosities
  • A practice sometimes carried out by gardeners is to graft related potatoes and tomatoes so that both are produced on the same plant, one above ground and one underground. Arborsculpture is the art and technique of growing and shaping trunks of trees and other woody plants A gardener is any person involved in the growing and maintenance of plants notably in a Garden. The potato is a Starchy Tuberous crop Vegetable from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae The tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum, syn Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is a herbaceous usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family
  • Cacti of widely different forms are sometimes grafted on to each other. A cactus (plural cacti) is any member of the Spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas
  • Multiple cultivars of fruits such as apples are sometimes grafted on a single tree. A cultivar is a cultivated Plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics it is usually distinct from similar This so-called "family tree" provides more fruit variety for small spaces such as a suburban backyard, and also takes care of the need for pollenizers. The drawback is that the gardener must be sufficiently trained to prune them correctly, or one strong variety will usually "take over". For other uses of the term "Pruning" see Pruning (disambiguation. Occasionally, a so-called "graft hybrid" or "chimaera" can occur where the tissues of the stock continue to grow within the scion. In Horticulture, a graft-chimaera may arise in Grafting at the point of contact between Rootstock and scion and will have properties intermediate to those Such a plant can produce flowers and foliage typical of both plants as well as shoots intermediate between the two. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. The best-known example is probably +Laburnocytisus 'Adamii', a graft hybrid between laburnum and broom, which originated in a nursery near Paris, France in 1825. "Indian laburnum" is the Golden Shower Tree, a distant relative of the genus Laburnum Brooms are a group of Evergreen, semi-evergreen and Deciduous Shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the Legume family Fabaceae A nursery is a place where Plants are propagated and grown to usable size Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Year 1825 ( MDCCCXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common This small tree bears yellow flowers typical of Laburnum anagyroides, purple flowers typical of Chamaecytisus purpureus and curious coppery-pink flowers which show characteristics of both "parents".
  • Ornamental and functional, arborsculpture uses grafting techniques to join separate trees or parts of the same tree to itself. Arborsculpture is the art and technique of growing and shaping trunks of trees and other woody plants Furniture, hearts, entry archways are examples. Furniture is the Mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds, provide storage or hold objects on horizontal Axel Erlandson was a prolific arborsculptor growing over 75 mature shaped and grafted trees. Axel Erlandson (1884-1964 was an American farmer who opened a horticultural attraction in 1947 featuring his uniquely shaped trees

Methods

Cleft

The easiest and most common form of grafting is cleft grafting. The stock is simply split and the scion is inserted. It is best if the stock is 2-7 cm in diameter and has 3-5 buds, and the cleft is around 7cm deep. The scion is cut in a wedge shape and inserted into the tree with the cambium. The bare stock is covered with grafting compound, otherwise the cambium layer quickly dries and the graft fails.

Stub

Stub grafting is a technique that requires less stock than cleft grafting, and retains the shape of a tree. Also scions are generally of 6-8 buds in this process.

An incision is made into the branch one centimeter above, then the scion is wedged and forced into the branch. The scion should be at an angle of at most 35° to the parent tree so that the crotch remains strong. The graft is covered with grafting compound.

Awl

Awl grafting takes the least resources and the least time, but the most skill. There is a danger of accidentally driving the tool too far into the stock, lessening the scion's chance of survival. Awl grafting can be done by using a screwdriver to make a slit or T-shaped incision in the bark just so far as the cambium layer. Then the shield or wedged-shaped scion is inserted into the incision. Awl grafting is commonly used to graft buds.

Veneer

Veneer grafting, or inlay grafting, is a method used for stocks larger than three centimeters in diameter. The scion is recommended to be about as thick as a pencil. Clefts are made of the same size as the scion on the side of the branch, not on top. The scion end is shaped as a wedge, inserted, and wrapped with tape to the scaffolding branches to give it more strength.

Renewing fusion

"Renewing fusion" is a grafting method in which a small branch (at least a centimeter wide) from one plant to a main branch of another, by carefully shaving a proper amount of bark from the large branch and inserting the scion into a cut hole. The graft is taped with a thin strip of duct tape in diagonal lashings, to hold it up and to prevent insects from entering the hole.

The origin of grafting is uncertain. the peoples of ancient civilizations who grew fruit trees may have observed natural unions made by twigs and branches of compatible trees growing next to one another.

Natural grafting

The tree roots of the same species will sometimes naturally graft where they make physical contact with each other. A group of trees can share water and mineral nutrients via root grafts, which may be advantageous to weaker trees. A problem with root grafts is that they allow transmission of certain pathogens, such as Dutch elm disease. Dutch elm disease (DED is a fungal disease of Elm trees which is spread by the Elm bark beetle. Natural grafting also sometimes occurs where two stems on the same tree, shrub or vine make contact with each other. This is most common in plants such as strawberries and potatoes.

Scientific uses

Grafting has been important in flowering research. Leaves or shoots from plants induced to flower can be grafted onto uninduced plants and transmit a floral stimulus that induces them to flower. ^[1]

The transmission of plant viruses has been studied using grafting. Virus indexing involves grafting a symptom-less plant that is suspected of carrying a virus onto an indicator plant that is very susceptible to the virus.

Herbaceous grafting

Grafting is often done for non-woody plants such as a tomato, cucumber, eggplant and watermelon. The tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum, syn Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is a herbaceous usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family The cucumber ( Cucumis sativus) is a widely cultivated plant in the Gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same The eggplant, aubergine, or brinjal ( Solanum melongena) is a plant of the family Solanaceae (also known as the nightshades Watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ( Thunb) Matsum & Nakai family Cucurbitaceae) refers to both Fruit and Plant of a vine-like (climber ^[2] The main advantage of grafting is for disease-resistant rootstocks. In Japan there is an automated process using grafting robots. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. A robot is a mechanical or Virtual Artificial agent In practice it is usually an electro-mechanical system which by its appearance or movements

References

See also

• Fruit tree propagation for more on grafting and budding. Fruit tree propagation is usually carried out through Asexual reproduction by Grafting or budding the desired variety onto a suitable Rootstock
• The grafting signs on Etrog which are being inspected by a Mashgiach in order to be approved for the Jewish Ritual during The Feast of Tabernacles. The Citron of Diamante which is also known as citrus medica cv This article is about someone who supervises the production of Kosher food PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions Sukkot ( also known as Succoth, Sukkos, Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles) is a Biblical Pilgrimage

Other meanings

• See: graft (disambiguation page)

• Honeybee female larvae are "grafted" from their cells into artificial queen cell cups by honeybee breeders to rear queen bees. This article refers collectively to all true honey bees for the "common" domesticated honey bee see European honey bee Honey bees A larva ( Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of Animal with indirect development, undergoing Metamorphosis (for example This article refers collectively to all true honey bees for the "common" domesticated honey bee see European honey bee Honey bees The term queen bee is typically used to refer to an adult mated female that lives in a Honey bee colony or hive she is usually the mother of all the bees in the hive

External links

• Steps to inarching technique
• Asexual Propagation (with diagrams)
• grafting methods (with diagrams)