Types and Application of

Grafting by Veronika Szabó PhD

Terminology of Grafting

Rootstock: The plant with root (or later rooting) what will be grafted scion.

Cultivar: The plant (in general cultivar) what will be propagated for its

fruits or its ornamental worth.

Grafting: It is a mechanical procedure to connect two (or more) pieces of

living plant tissue together what grow and develop as one

composite plant.

Scionwood: It is one-year-old woody shoot which cut in dormancy (in

early winter) for propagation by grafting.

Scion: It is a short piece of detached scionwood for grafting. Its

cutting surface fits the cutting surface of rootstock.

Budwood: It is an actively growing, vigorous shoot of cultivar with healthy

vegetative buds in leaf axils for budding.

Bud: It is a small organ on stem developing flower or shoot. The

propagation by budding requires vegetative bud.

Bud piece: It is an oval piece of cultivar shoot containing more or less

woody tissue. (It is called bud chip at chip budding or shield

piece at T-budding.)

Budding: It is a one-bud grafting.

Why do we use grafting?

• xenovegetative propagation (no more other

propagation method for multiple plants)

• advantageous combination in one grafted plant

• special crown form (pendula, global etc.)

• shape-trees

• rejuvenate of tree

• virus-test

• regrafting

• repair grafting (an injured bark bridging)

Vegetable grafting

12

Types of Grafts

Pairing: - splice graft or whip graft

- whip-and-tongue graft

- with graft machine (notch or groove graft,

omega)

Cleft grafting: - cleft graft (split graft)

- side-veneer graft

- wedge graft (saw-kerf graft)

Side-graftage: - side-whip graft

- side-tongue graft

- side-veneer graft

- side-veneer graft with one bud (chip-budding)

Bark graftage: - bark graft

- inlay bark graft

- bark graft with one bud (T-budding)

Approach graftage: - spliced approach graft

- tongued approach graft

Ring budding: - ring or annular bud (flute bud).

Possible dates of the graftings:

− Field grafting in the spring:

(from the Day of Annunciation (25th March) to the

blooming)

– Spring budding: (March-June)

– Herbaceous graft: (early June)

– Fall budding: (from late July to early September)

– Bench grafting: (from December to early March)

The relationship between the dates and the methodes of

the grafting

Date Type Method The stage of the

scion

March-

April

field grafting in

spring

bark graftings,

side graftings,

cleft graftings

in winter cutted

scionwood

keeping at low

temperature spring budding chip budding

May-June T-budding budwood

(leafy shoot for

herbaceous

grafting)

herbaceous graft cleft graft

July-

August

fall budding T or chip budding,

patch and ring

budding

September chip-budding

December-

February

bench grafting pairing, side-graftage,

cleft grafting

scionwood

Which grafting methods should we choose?

When the rootstock bark will

NOT lift

When the rootstock bark will lift

In that case when the rootstock and the scion have the same diameter

- pairing

- side-graftage

- buddings (T and chip)

In that case when the roostock are 2-3 times thicker than the scion

- side-graftage (also chip budding)

- side-veneer graft

- buddings (T and chip)

- bark grafts

In that case when roostock are 3-4 (or more) times thicker than the scion

- cleft graft

- wedge graft

- side-veneer graft

- inlay bark graft

Special applications:

- Topgrafting: to change the cultivar of an established plant.

- Repair graftage (inarching, bridge grafting): to rescue the tree when

there is injury to the trunk, such as rabbit.

- Approach graftage: difficult-to-graft or special cultivars for plant breeding

Knives applying for grafting

a, b – grafting knives (long, straight blade)

c, d – budding knives (short, curved blade)

e – pruning knife (for cleaning the cut)

a b

c

d

e

Tools and Accessories for Grafting

a – splice graft (whip graft)

b – whip-and-tongue graft

c – grafting machine:

1. omega graft

2. groove graft

3.

4. saddle graft (French graft)

Requirements:

- the rootstock and scion are of (near by) the same caliber

- the cutting surface are 3-times longer than diameter.

Pairing

Side graftage

a. side-whip graft

b. side-tongue graft

c,d. side-veneer graft

In that case when

the rootstock 2 or 3-

times thicker than

scion.

Cleft grafts

a. cleft graft (split graft)

b. corrected cleft graft

c. graft in terminal bud

d. side-veneer graft

e. wedge graft (saw-kerf

graft)

f. herbaceous graft of

small fruits

e.

f.

Cleft graft (split graft)

Bark graft

a. with one scion

b. with more scions,

c. special bark graft

d. inlay bark graft a.

b.

c.

d.

Requirements:

The rootsock’s bark must

separate readily from the

wood

(It means that rootstock is

actively growing – this

type of grafting is used for

topworking in spring)

1 2

3

4

5

Magyar Lajos

Approach graftage

a. spliced approach graft

b. tongued approach graft

Oltásmódok és használatuk

Repair graftage

Oltásmódok és használatuk

Types of Budding

chip budding (one budded side-

veneer graft)

One-budded grafting = budding

T-budding (one-budded bark grafting)

a) patch budding, b) shield patch budding

Cutting the surface

T-budding chip-budding

the cutting is made from the base to the terminal of knife with one

slice

T-budding - the budwood is upside-down

chip budding - the budwood is in natural position

Oltásmódok és használatuk

Chip budding (right):

more woody tissue, the cutside is

paralel, the vascular cambium of

bud and rootstock fit

T-budding (left):

thin woody tissue in cutting

surface of bud, or the woody

tissue is snapping out (peach,

rose)

Thank you for your attention!