Budding and Grafting - Short Course

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Learn to budding graft plants

• for anyone who has a passion to learn more about plant propagation
• explore the scope and breadth of what can be produced through grafting and budding.
• use grafting to repair significant, damaged plants
• create plants that look different
• create plants at resist disease and pest problems

Grafting techniques may be more time consuming than some other propagation techniques, and can require time and practice to perfect. They do however offer the possibility of producing more useful, hardier, and more productive plants. Grafted plants have greater value.

This course has been developed with input from a team who have not only a background in the science and theory, but have also worked in a commercial nursery, propagating plants by hands on grafting. 

THE CONTENTS OF THE COURSE

LESSON 1 INTRODUCTION TO GRAFTING 
Budding & Grafting Explained
Natural Grafts
Reasons for Budding and Grafting
Possible Drawbacks of Budding & Grafting
How A Graft Forms
How to Make a Grafting Cut
Rootstocks
Scions
Requirements for Successful Grafting
Graft Incompatibility
Seedling rootstocks
Clonal rootstocks
Correlation of scion buds and leaves on xylem and phloem formation
Graft incompatibility
Lesson 1 additional reading 
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 2 TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
Important Tools
Knives
Pruning knife
Secateurs
Tying, wrapping and sealing materials
Other tools - saws, grafting machines
Care and maintenance of tools
Precautions when using tools
Lesson 2 additional reading 
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 3 METHODS OF GRAFTING & BUDDING
SSummary of Different Grafting Methods
Approach grafting
Inarching
Bark and Rind graft
Apical grafting
Whip and tongue graft
Splice graft
Saddle graft
Wedge and cleft graft
Petiole wedge graft
Oblique wedge graft
Side veneer graft
Side tongue graft
Side cleft graft
Side stub graft
Scooped side graft
Epicotyl graft
Bottle grafting
Seed grafting
Whip grafting
Summary of budding methods
T-budding or shield budding
Double shield budding
Chip budding
Patch budding
Flute budding
Ring budding
Forket budding
I-budding
Tailors goose budding
Window budding
Grafting Hints (General)
Craftmanship of Grafting
Techniques for melon grafting
Lesson 3 additional reading
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 4 WHAT CAN BE GRAFTED ONTO WHAT
Ranks of Classification
Families
Genus and species
Matching Scions with Rootstocks
Examples of Compatible Rootstocks and Scions
Grafting within a clone
Lesson 4 additional reading
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 5 BENCH GRAFTING
Use of Bench Grafting
Bench Grafting Apples Using Whip & Tongue Method
Aftercare of Grafted Plants in Bench System
How to plant and grow bench grafts
Improving survivability
Lesson 5 additional reading
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 6 ROOT GRAFTING
Use of Root Grafting
Root Grafting Roses
Nurse Root Grafting
Methods of nurse root grafting
Aftercare
Lilac Grafting
Some Species That May Be Root Grafted
Root cuttings and grafting
Lesson 6 additional reading
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 7 SOFT TISSUE GRAFTING
Use of Soft Tissue Grafting
Green Wood Grafting
Steps in green wood grafting on grapes
Commercial Grafting of Tomatoes
Green wood grafting of custard apple
Lesson 7 additional reading
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 8 GRAFTING WOODY ORNAMENTAL PLANTS
Choosing What to Graft
Grating various ornamentals
Acer, Aesculus, Betula, Camellia, Cedrus, Cercis, Cornus, Corylus, Cotoneaster, Elms, Eucalyptus, Fagus, Fraxinus, Gleditsia, Grevillea, Hamamelis, Hibiscus, Ilex, Juniperus, Liquidambar, Lireodendron, Magnolia, Malus, Picea, Pinius, Prunus, Prostanthera, Quercus, Rhododendron, Rosa, Thuja, Viburnum

Review what you have been learning

LESSON 9 GRAFTING FRUIT 
Why & When to Graft Fruit Trees
Grafting Techniques Used on Fruit Trees Cleft graft
Bark graft
Rind graft
Slit graft
Bracing
Bridging
Reworking
Top working
Frame working
Double working
Four flap graft (Banana graft)
Establishing Fruit Tree Rootstocks
Stock plants
Final Assessment


How does this course work?

You can enrol at any time.
Once you have paid for the course, you will be able to start straight away.
Study when and where you like. Work through at your own pace.
You can download your study-guide to your smart phone, tablet or laptop to read offline.
There are automated self-assessment tests you can complete at the end of each lesson. You can attempt these as many times as you wish and each time, upon completion, you can see your results. You will need internet access to complete the self assessment tests.
At the end of the course, you are presented with a large assessment which can be attempted online, anywhere, anytime. If you achieve a 60% pass in the exam; you immediately receive a downloadable certificate of completion with your name on it. If you do not achieve a 60% pass rate, you can contact us to re-sit your exam. 

WHY DO YOU NEED TO LEARN GRAFTING?

The main reasons why growers might wish to use budding and grafting are as follows:

• To maintain a variety of plant which cannot be easily grown using other propagating techniques. Cuttings from some plants are difficult to root, others are hard to grow from seed.
• Preserve and replicate specific cultivars. For example, some heritage or heirloom species may be saved from extinction.
• Produce plants which are ‘true to type’. Although some species of plants when grown from seed grow true to type, many other species do not. This means there can be tremendous variation in what the adult plants look like. Grafting ensures that the parent looks like the plant it was grafted from.
• Maintain uniformity of cultivars. Characteristics such as uniformity of leaf shape, flower colour, and fruit size or taste can be preserved. This is especially desirable for commercial fruit orchards or the cut flower industry.  
• Produce plants which bear flowers and fruits sooner than those propagated by seed or cuttings. Some plants can take more than 10 years to bear flowers when grown from seed, and several years from cuttings. Grafted plants often flower within a season or two.
• Obtain different “special” growth forms. The rootstock influences the growth shape of the scion. For example, standard roses may be produced by grafting a suitable rose scion onto a hardy rootstock using a technique known as top-working where it is grafted high up the stem. Similarly, weeping plants like cherries can be produced by top-working onto suitable rootstocks to produce weeping trees more quickly.
• Enhance disease resistance. For example, grafting a scion which is susceptible to root rots onto a rootstock that is more tolerant of root rots can produce a plant which has the desired top growth but greater resistance to disease.
• To produce virus-free cultivars. Researchers have been able to screen out some specific viruses from rootstocks to produce virus-free clones.    
• Control the final size of plants. Grafting a tall-growing plant onto a smaller growing rootstock can produce a stunting effect thereby producing a dwarf variety for use in small gardens or to make fruit picking more accessible. Likewise, a dwarf species might be grown as a bush or taller plant.
• Obtain benefits from “intermediate” rootstocks.  Here a scion is grafted to a rootstock, then another scion is grafted to the top of the first scion.  If the ultimate tip scion is not compatible with the very bottom scion, it is sometimes possible to graft a different variety in between the two which both are compatible with.
• To produce plants which are tolerant of different soil conditions. In particular, soil pH levels can affect plant growth. You can get some species of the same plant genus that have better tolerance to soil alkalinity or acidity. This makes it possible to select an appropriate rootstock for the prevailing soil conditions. Likewise, some species may have better tolerance for wetter or drier soils so can be chosen as rootstocks to match local soil conditions.
• To change varieties. An existing plant can be changed to a new more desirable variety. The grafted plant can take advantage of the existing established rootstock and does not have to settle into a new planting site.
• Increase the growth rate of saplings. A young plant grafted onto an older more vigorous rootstock can mature quicker. 
• Enable one root system to support more than a single variety or branch system. It is possible to graft more than one variety of plant onto a single root system. For example, you could produce two or more types of fruit from one tree.
• Reduce the need for separate pollinating plants. For example, a multi-grafted fruit tree can include male and female plants so becomes self-pollinating.  
• Repair damaged trees. If bark is stripped or if ringbarking occurs, it is possible to graft across the damaged section aiding sap flow and hastening healing. Mature and valuable trees may be saved in this way.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS COURSE?

• Gardeners, horticulturists, nurserymen
• Propagators, production nursery workers
• Garden industry managers
• Amateur gardeners, plant collectors, plant enthusiasts, conservationists
• Anyone with a reason to better understand grafting or heighten their grafting knowledge and skill