When is the best time to bud graft fruit trees (best bud grafting time, method and precautions)

What is the best time for budding?

The best time for bud grafting is generally during the growing season from June to September. Take buds without wood or with a little wood and graft them onto the rootstock.

The budding rootstock is a 1-2 year old plant, and the grafting is best done during the growing season from June to September. There are many methods of budding, generally including inverted "I" budding, "cross" budding, "T" budding and other methods.

In practice, the "T" budding method is mostly used. The "T" budding rootstock is cut into a "T" shape, and the bud piece is shield-shaped. The specific steps are as follows:

Steps for "T" budding

1) Treatment of rootstock

Cut at a smooth spot on the stem 5 to 6 cm from the root zone, make a horizontal cut, and the depth should be enough to cut through the bark of the rootstock.

Then make a vertical cut from the middle of the cross-cut, about 1.3 to 1.5 cm long, to form a "T"-shaped incision. Then use a grafting knife to open the rootstock skin for insertion of the grafted bud.

2) Cutting of buds

You should choose full and strong branches of the current year as scion, cut off the leaves on the branches, and keep the petioles.

Hold the scion in your left hand and the bud grafting knife in your right hand; use the bud grafting knife to make a horizontal cut 0.3 to 0.5 cm above the bud, about 2 to 3 mm deep into the wood; then make a slanting cut upwards 1 cm below the bud, until it intersects with the upper cut.

Then use your right hand to gently remove the shield-shaped bud, which has a slight woody layer inside.

3) Grafting method

First, pick out the woody part of the bud, retaining the bud and its phloem part to facilitate the transport of nutrients and water; then use your left hand to immediately insert the bud into the rootstock, making sure that the upper cortex of the bud is close to the rootstock, and then cover the grafted bud with the previously picked rootstock cortex.

4) Bud grafting

When budding, you need to use plastic strips to tie it, wrap it from top to bottom, expose the buds and petioles, leave no gaps in other places, and then tie a knot. Note that the binding should be moderately tight, and remember not to crush the buds.

5) Survival rate check

After a period of time after bud grafting, we gently touch the petiole with our hands. If it falls off at the touch, there is a possibility of survival. As long as the bud tip remains green, there is hope of survival.

If the petiole cannot be knocked off and the buds are dry, it means that the grafting has failed and needs to be regrafted in time.

6) Method of cutting the anvil

When the leaf buds begin to grow, the plastic strips used for bud grafting should be removed in time. Pruning is usually done in the spring of the second year, when a part of the branches and leaves are cut off. The cut should be 2 cm above the interface, and the cross section should be inclined toward the bud.