From Aggie
Horticulture, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas A&M
University
System
by
George Ray McEachern, Extension Horticulturist
Collecting and Storing
Graftwood
Successful in-lay and four-flap grafting of pecans is dependent on
the availability of suitable graftwood of the desired variety. The wood
must be collected in late winter during the dormant season and properly
stored until spring grafting time.
Collection
Collect
the graftwood in late February to early March while the tree is still
dormant. If the buds have begun to swell and grow, the wood is inferior
and cannot be used successfully.
Select parent trees of the
desired variety that are free of obscure scale, rosette, and disease.
Young vigorous trees produce abundant, smooth and large-sized,
current-season wood. Moderate-sized trees making normal growth usually
have good graftwood in their uppermost limbs. Older trees can be cut
back to force vigorous new growth satisfactory for graft wood.
Stick
preparation
Select
straight, smooth graftwood from 1-year-old wood 1/4- to 1/2-inch
diameter. Cut shoots for grafts into 6-, 12-, or 18-inch lengths to
give one, two, or three graft sticks.
Fig. 1
Graftwood 3/8 inch diameter collected in February for storage as 6, 12,
or 18 inch sticks.
Each
graft stick should contain at least three buds or nodes. Seal the end
of the graft sticks with melted wax, grafting paint, or orange shellac.
Only 1/4-inch of the end of each stick needs to be treated. When the
seal is dry, tie the graft sticks in bundles no more than six each.
Label each bundle with permanent ink on a wood or metal write-on label.
The variety and year should be recorded on the label.
Fig. 2
Graftwood bundle labeled and ready for packing material and storage.
Packing
material
Paper
towels, sphagnum moss, or wood shavings can be used as packing material
to prevent the graft sticks form drying out. Moist paper towels that
have had all of the water squeezed out can be wrapped around each
bundle. A second method involves placing the graft stick bundles in
slightly moist sphagnum or wood shavings. The wrapped bundles are then
placed in polyethylene bags. Plastic bags do not breathe and should not
be used.
Storage
Refrigerate
the bags of graft stick bundles at a temperature of 30 to 45 degrees F.
Do not allow graftwood to dry out during storage. Take the desired wood
out of refrigeration only as needed. Wood should not be heated and
recooled during the grafting season.
Grafting
Trees
will be ready for in-lay or four-flap grafting in the spring as the
trees begin to grow. The bark should slip during this period. Keep the
graftwood in a cool, moist place while grafting.
Publication from Aggie
Horticulture®
The information, as it is presented on this Website, does not represent
an endorsement
by the State of Texas or any State agency.
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