BUDDING

Budding is a grafting technique in which a single bud from the desired scion is used rather than an
entire scion containing many buds
Budding is a grafting technique in which a single bud from the desired scion is used rather than an
entire scion containing many buds

When to do Budding?

Budding should be done in the early summer when new shoots are sprouting and sap is rising
the most.

It is best to graft in the spring, from the time the buds of understock trees are beginning to
open, until blossom time. The usual time is April or early May.

Tools for Budding

Knives

budding knives are designed specifically for these purposes and should not be used for carving
and whittling wood. They are available in either left- or right-handed models. The blade is beveled
on only one side, unlike conventional knives, which have blades that bevel on both sides down to
the cutting edge. Budding knives must be kept razor sharp so they will cut smoothly.
Pruning and Lopping Shears

Pruning and lopping shears should be the scissors or sliding blade type rather than the blade and
anvil type. If used to harvest scion wood or bud sticks, blade and anvil pruner will crush plant
tissue. As with knives, pruning and lopping shears should be kept razor sharp to give clean, close
cuts.
Wax Melter

Wax melters are used to heat the wax for sealing graft and bud junctions. They are usually made
by modifying kerosene lanterns. The chimney is replaced by a small tin pot that serves as a
receptacle for the wax. When the flame is kept low, the wax is melted without burning and can be
kept at a suitable temperature.
Dormant rootstock

Dormant rootstock is necessary for budding

Grafting tape

Slightly elastic, rot proof, clear PVC tape

REASONS FOR BUDDING

Change varieties or cultivars.

An older established orchard of fruiting trees may become obsolete as newer varieties or
cultivars are developed. The newer varieties may offer improved insect or disease resistance,
better drought tolerance, or higher yields. As long as the scion is compatible with the rootstock,
the older orchard may be top worked using the improved variety or cultivar.

Optimize cross-pollination and pollination.

Certain fruit trees are not self-pollinating; they require pollination by a second fruit tree, usually
of another variety. This process is known as cross-pollination. Portions of a tree or entire trees
may be pollinated with the second variety to ensure fruit set. For example, some hollies are
dioecious, meaning that a given plant has either male or female flowers but not both. To ensure
good fruit set on the female (pistillate) plant, a male (staminate) plant must be growing nearby.
Where this is not possible, the chances that cross-pollination will occur can be increased by
grafting a scion from a male plant onto the female plant.

Take advantage of particular rootstocks.

Compared to the selected scion, certain rootstocks have superior growth habits, disease and
insect resistance, and drought tolerance. For example, when used as rootstock for commercial
apple varieties, the French crabapple (Malus sylvestris, Mill.) can increase resistance to crown
gall and hairy root. Malling VIII and Malling IX are used as dwarfing rootstocks for apple trees
when full-sized trees are not desired, such as in the home garden.

Benefit from interstocks.

An interstock can be particularly valuable when the scion and rootstock are incompatible. In
such cases, an interstock that is compatible with both rootstock and scion is used. An
interstock could increase the disease resistance or cold hardiness of the scion. Plants also
may be double worked to impart dwarfness or influence flowering and fruiting of a scion.

Repair damaged plants.

Large trees or specimen plants can be damaged easily at or slightly above the soil line. The
damage may be caused by maintenance equipment (such as lawn mowers, trenchers, or
construction equipment), or by disease, rodents, or winter storms. The damage can often be
repaired by planting several seedlings of the same species around the injured tree and grafting
them above the injury. This procedure is referred to as inarching, approach grafting, or bridge
grafting.

Increase the growth rate of seedlings.

The seedling progeny of many fruit and nut breeding programs, if left to develop naturally, may
require 8 to 12 years to become fruitful. However, if these progeny are grafted onto established
plants, the time required for them to flower and fruit is reduced dramatically. Another way to
increase the growth rate of seedlings is to graft more than one seedling onto a mature plant.
Using this procedure as a breeding tool saves time, space, and money.

PROCESS OF BUDDING
1. Selecting bud wood for budding

The first thing to do in budding is to select good buds from the tree we want to propagate.
Good buds can come from the current year's growth, or from last year's wood .

2. Cutting the selected bud

Make a cut through the bark to the wood about half an inch above the selected bud

Make a smooth, slicing cut upward that extends 1/2 to 3/4 inch above the bud

Cutting should be done in the days while the temperature is cool

3. Preparation of the rootstock

Cut straight downward from middle of cut about 1 inch to form T.

Use grafting knife to open flaps created by cutting T stems

Leaves and side branches must be removed.

Remove any soil from the rootstock.

The rootstock should be clean.

4. Joining the bud to the rootstock

To graft the bud from the improved tree, use knife to prise open the T-shaped wound, and
slowly insert the bud wood downwards into the opening.

The bud wood should fit exactly into the inside of the T.

If there is a small piece of the bud wood left sticking out above the horizontal cut in the rootstock,
this should be cut off.

Types of budding
1.T- or Shield Budding - a budding method in which incisions are made in the bark of the
rootstock to form the shape of a letter T with one horizontal cut and another downward cut that
originates from the centre of the first cut.

.2. Inverted T-Budding - similar to T-budding in that both methods of budding follows the same
incisions on the rootstock and bud stick except that in inverted T the horizontal cut is made at the
bottom of the vertical cut. This method of budding is used to prevent the possible entry of water
from the top of the T-cut which may cause rotting of the shield piece.

3. Patch Budding probably the simplest to perform among the various methods of budding
due to ease in removing or preparing rectangular patches of bark. It is widely used in plants with
thick bark that can be easily separated from the wood. The method involves the complete removal
of a rectangle-shaped patch of bark with the longer sides parallel to the axis of the stem of the
rootstock. It is then replaced with a bud patch of the same size from a bud stick. The patch of bud
is cut from both the rootstock and the bud stick by two parallel horizontal cuts either with one
stroke of a double-bladed knife or two strokes when using a single-bladed knife. With vertical
stroke of a knife, both horizontal cuts are connected at each side. The bud patch is carefully
removed intact and inserted into the rootstock.

4. Chip Budding a budding method which can be used to plants or stems with barks that do
not readily separate from the wood as in Citrus spp. It involves the removal of a chip of bark (~1.52.5 cm) with a small piece of wood attached from a portion between nodes of a young stem of the
rootstock. This is done through a downward and inward stroke of a knife such that the base
thereof is up to about one-fourth of the thickness of the stem (the cut does not penetrate the pith).
The bottom cut is then connected by a second inward cut at an angle of about 45 degrees. This
chip is replaced by another of the same size and shape which contains a bud from a bud stick.
Alternatively, the sequencing of the first and second cuts may be swapped.

5. I-Budding a method of budding in which incisions in the shape of an I (capital of letter i) is

made in the bark of the rootstock by a single vertical cut and a horizontal crosscut at both ends. A
rectangular bud patch similar to that in patch budding is then inserted.

Factors affecting the success of grafting or budding

Time of year: In general, spring to late summer is desirable for grafting or budding outdoors.
During spring, the environmental conditions are conducive for active growth of plants. Spring is
also associated with restoration of cambial activity and flow of sap which result in easy removal of
bark (slippery bark) to facilitate grafting and/ or budding operations (Fig. 5). Budding done in early
summer in areas with long growing seasons (i.e., parts of California) is called June budding.
Budding done in August or early September is called fall budding.

Compatibility of stock and scion: For grafted plants to unite and grow successfully, the
combined plant parts (stock and scion) should be compatible with each other. Closely related
plants have a good chance of forming a union, while those remotely related have little or no
chance.

Temperature: Grafting is usually completed during the dormant season when temperatures are
cool. Graft union formation is slow at 40F (4C) or lower. If temperatures become too warm soon
after grafting, shoot buds may grow and produce a leaf surface that depletes moisture reserves in
the scion before a graft union is formed. For this reason, temperatures should not exceed 60F
(15C) for 23 weeks following grafting unless scion buds are still in their rest period. The rest
period is a physiological condition preventing growth of deciduous woody plants, completed by
exposure to cool temperatures (42F [5C] or less) that stimulate further growth.

Age of plant parts: Budsticks should be 1 year or less; scions 1 to 2 years old, and rootstocks 2
years or less.

Soil moisture: For maximum cambial activity, the soil moisture supply must be ample. Adequate
soil moisture is particularly important during and shortly after summer budding.

Contact of stock and scion: Graft and bud unions are promoted by a good, snug fit between
the new stock and scion. In some cases, such as cleft grafting, the fit is natural. In other methods
of grafting, tying materials promote proper contact between the stock and scion. Clean and
smooth cuts on the stock and scion are required to promote maximum contact.