Application of grafting techniques

Fruit trees have been bringing high economic efficiency to people in many places, however, there are many areas planted with old varieties, low productivity, low quality, and complex pest and disease situations... Therefore, to "rejuvenate" the area of ​​degraded fruit trees, cutting and grafting techniques are one of the solutions widely applied by people in localities.

Applying grafting method at the fruit tree farm of Mr. Khuong Huu Nien, Dong Tan ward (Thanh Hoa city).

In 2018, the Gardening and Farming Association of Nhu Thanh district conducted a review and survey of fruit trees in the communes in the area and found that the number of longan trees aged from 6 to 30 years and sour grapefruit, American grapefruit... was relatively large. However, the economic efficiency was not high, even for many years there was no harvest. Faced with that situation, the district association sought to change people's thinking, mobilized people to improve the two types of longan and grapefruit trees, and applied grafting technology with higher quality varieties. Mr. Le Van Lieu, Chairman of the Gardening and Farming Association of Nhu Thanh district, said: “To expand this method, the association has organized technical training courses for members and people and organized tours to farms that have successfully applied it and brought about clear results. This method helps people not to destroy old trees that are not economically efficient, but to take advantage of the roots and trunks of the trees to graft with new varieties of plants that not only bear fruit and have good quality, but also have a quick harvest time and bring high economic efficiency. In addition, the mother tree is lowered in height, has a beautiful canopy, is rejuvenated, and the product ensures the characteristics of the mother tree. Currently, the whole district has grafted 20,000 buds on 600 longan and grapefruit trees, all of which have high productivity, output, and fruit quality. In the coming time, the Gardening and Farming Association of the district will continue to guide people to apply the grafting method for bare longan and sour grapefruit trees that are 5 years old or older."

However, grafting is a new technique, requiring growers to spend a lot of time researching and applying to master knowledge of cutting and grafting suitable trees, paying attention to nutrition, pest control... Mr. Khuong Huu Nien, owner of a fruit tree farm in Dong Tan ward (Thanh Hoa city), said: "Most of the longan growing area on the farm is applied by me to shorten the time for the trees to bear fruit, the trees are healthy, with few pests and diseases due to the large root system and branch frame of the original tree... However, this method also brings many risks because if the mother tree is sick, it can be transmitted to the young tree through many generations, the stages of processing the rootstock, grafting, grafting, and fixing the graft require the grafter to be technically proficient and meticulous. The most suitable time for grafting longan is around March to April of the lunar calendar, the survival rate of the grafted eye is very high, from 80 to 90%. In addition, choose rootstocks that are at least 2 months old, which are trees healthy, growing and developing well”. According to Mr. Nien, when grafting, the operation must be quick, not letting the grafted eye sap dry. The grafted eye must be wrapped tightly with plastic paper to prevent insects from biting. The side branches of the original tree must be regularly cut so that the grafted buds have enough nutrients to develop well. After a period of application, the longan branches grafted at the farm grew and developed well, with very few pests and diseases, and the tree produced fruit with good yield and quality.

It is known that the cutting and grafting method began to be piloted in the province since 2012 in Bim Son town and Trieu Son district. Due to its outstanding effectiveness in improving, increasing productivity and economic efficiency for degraded crop areas, this technique was quickly replicated by the Gardening and Farm Associations of the districts in many localities such as Thieu Hoa, Tho Xuan, Nga Son, Nhu Thanh, Nhu Xuan... with nearly 5,000 fruit trees cut and grafted, mainly on longan and grapefruit trees.

Surveys from grafted tree gardens show that, because they are grafted with varieties suitable for climate conditions, with high productivity, quality and resistance to pests and diseases, most of the grafted branches have a high survival rate, good growth and development; productivity and output are 40 to 50% higher than old crops. Good quality, capable of competing with new, high-quality varieties currently on the market. In addition, the nursery business of producing grafted trees also brings high income to people, most of the gardens follow the correct technical procedures such as grafting, pruning, and processing for flowering and fruiting... after one year, they produce good quality fruit, with higher yields than old crops.

Article and photos: Le Ngoc

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/cong-nghe-moi/ung-dung-ky-thuat-ghep-canh-giai-phap-tre-hoa-cay-an-qua/188082.htm