Plant Grafting Techniques, Types, Examples, and Process

In grafting, two plants are vegetatively joined to form a single plant. Instead of cross-pollinating two plants to produce hybrid seeds, grafted plants use the roots and bottom portion of one plant (rootstock) to attach a tender shoot (scion) from another plant. Plants like trees and shrubs are often combined in this way to achieve their maximum potential.

The majority of fruit trees today are grafted onto rootstocks. Besides imparting specific characteristics to the resulting plant, it is a quick and reliable method of reproducing plants that aren’t true to type. It is often done with trees and shrubs to combine their best qualities.

Plant Grafting Techniques

Types of Grafting Techniques

Today, most fruit trees are grafted onto rootstocks. Aside from imparting specific characteristics to the resulting plant, it is a fast and reliable method of reproducing plants that don’t grow naturally from seed. Cutting, clefting, crowning, splicing, tongue, and approach grafting are a few methods and types of grafting. Following is a detailed discussion of some popular grafting methods.

Whip and Tongue Grafting

A long, slanting cut made with the grafting knife with one pass should be made on the trunk or branch of the rootstock.
The tongue is made by cutting into the rootstock cut section. It is recommended to make this cut approximately 1/3 the length of the cutoff branch or tree. In order to make the first rootstock cut, the grafting knife must be pressed into the wood until it has made a 2/3 cut into the wood.
Cut the scion similarly on the bottom end, holding the wood in one hand and pushing the knife into the other.
Follow the rootstock’s tongue cut pattern on the scion.
Ensure that the tongues of the two tree parts match up so they fit snugly together.
Grafting tape should be applied to the graft area. It should be pulled tightly to restrict the air passage and keep the pieces securely in place. It should be extended above and below the union to keep the pieces secure. You can keep moisture in by coating it with orange shellac.

Cleft Grafting

The first step is to select your scion and prepare it. Choose scions with fat buds that have not yet sprouted from the ends of branches of an excellent mother tree.
You will need to cut them about 15 cm long. Leaves should be carefully removed. Ideally, the cut scion should be the same thickness as the rootstock stem.
Use a sharp knife to cut two sloping cuts 3 12.5 cm long on the bottom of the scion.
You need to cut off the top of the rootstock about 30 cm just above the soil. Make a three-cm deep cut in the rootstock’s top using a straight blade.
The scion should be pushed firmly into the rootstock cut. You should leave 1/2 cm of the cut scion outside the rootstock.
Wrap the graft firmly with clear plastic tape (or cut-up plastic bags). It is not advisable to remove the tape until the scion has grown. Any buds growing below the graft should be removed.
Plant the young trees in areas with plenty of compost or manure.

Bark Grafting

Cut the rootstock branch top as if you were making a bark graft, but don’t split it.
Each side of the stock should be cut about 2 inches long through the bark. After that, the bark can be safely peeled off.
Slice the scion only halfway through, making a 2- to 3-inch-long cut.
Slide the scion’s sharpened part between the bark and the wood after pulling the bark from the tree.
The bark and scion wood should be nailed to the rootstock with one or two small nails. By doing so, the scion will not be dislodged.
Grafting tape should be applied to all exposed wood and cracks. Using aluminum foil and a plastic bag to reflect sunlight and increase moisture is a good idea.

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Examples of Plants that are Suitable for Grafting

Fruit trees: Grafting fruit trees can be done in several ways, including Cleft grafting, T Grafting, L-shaped grafting under the shell and Grafting under the bark
Roses: Grafting is best done after the summer bloom cycle, and a T cut between two stem nodes is preferred.
Tomatoes: Tube grafting is the most popular method for grafting tomatoes commercially. This technique is highly effective, with 85-90% success rates. The approach graft and the cleft graft are two other tomato grafting techniques.
Cucumber: Cucumbers are another garden plant that can be grafted. Splicing, hole insertion, and tongue approaches are the most popular techniques for cucumber grafting.
Avacado: Like other tropical fruit trees, Avocados are propagated through grafting. It is popular to use whip grafting or bark grafting to graft avocados.
Pepper: A pepper plant can also be successfully grafted. V-shaped cuts are probably the most common pepper grafting technique.
Watermelons: By grafting watermelons, you can increase production, improve cold tolerance, and resist soil-borne diseases. Grafting watermelons involves three techniques: one cotyledon splice, tongue approach, and hole insertion.
Eggplants: Cleft, tube, and side grafting are the most common approaches for grafting eggplants.
Grape vines: Grapevines are typically grafted using the following methods:
Grafting into the underground stem
Split grafting of the aerial stem

Advantages Of Grafting

It is the fastest method of growing popular, desirable varieties of fruit trees & flowering shrubs at a large scale.
Grafting is a good method of propagating many commercially valuable plants that are hard to grow using other propagation methods such as layering and cutting.
Using grafting, it is possible to maintain the characteristics of a scion variety, such as size, color, and flavor.
Aiming to increase the production of fruits, flowers, and leaves and creating pathogen-resistant plants.
Developing varieties that can grow in colder climates and withstand drought will result in more adaptable plants requiring less fertilizer and amendments to the soil.
A variety’s ability to adapt to soils with different pH levels.
The root system of some delicate plants can be strengthened.
Production of fruit begins earlier.
Enhancing the taste or nutritional value of certain types of fruits.

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Conclusion

The practice of grafting has become popular in recent years, not only among fruit trees with better yields but also among herbaceous plants. Although grafting results are not always desired, and sometimes the chances of success rate are pretty low. It still offers several advantages, such as quickly obtaining plants with more desirable features or testing multiple varieties via existing roots. And also the plants that are more resistant to disease, severe climatic conditions, and diverse soil types.

Plant Grafting Techniques, Types, Examples, and Process