Copulation of fruit trees. Improved photo copying

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Branches for cuttings are cut from healthy mother trees. It is undesirable to take branches with signs of disease, damage, from shaded areas, with excessively long internodes, as well as fatty shoots.

The type of tree from which cuttings are taken for grafting must be accurately determined. Cuttings should not be taken from a young tree that has not yet bear fruit. The best “mother” trees from which to take cuttings for grafting and budding are those that bear fruit abundantly for several years.

All of last year's growth is suitable for grafting, except for the very bottom of the branch, where the buds are located very crowded.

The survival rate of cuttings depends on the quality of the cut and its length. The longer the cut and the smoother the surface, the greater the contact area of ​​the grafted components (cuttings and rootstock) and the greater the likelihood of successful grafting. However, with a very long cut it is not always possible to obtain smooth surface. The recommended cutting length is 30-35 mm.

The length of the cutting depends on the breed, variety and location of the cut on the branch. It is usually customary to prepare cuttings with three buds, with one (the upper one) located at a distance of 5 - 10 mm from the end of the cutting, and the lower one should be located in the middle of the cut on the opposite side.

To obtain even cuts, before starting work, you need to practice in order to learn how to make a cut in one step and very good quality. Such a cut, made with one energetic movement, even with a long length, does not have any bulges or irregularities.

When using the method of repeatedly planing a cut cutting, which is used by many novice gardeners, it is not possible to obtain well-aligned cuts, and the likelihood of the cuttings taking root decreases.

Ordinary and improved copulation

Ordinary and improved copulation are grafting methods that can be used in early spring for most fruit and ornamental plants. Early and late frosts, if the buds on the scion have not yet begun to grow, do not have an adverse effect on the results of grafting using the copulation method. In spring, there are often sharp changes in temperature during the day and at night, as well as strong drying winds, and very often there is low air humidity, so it is recommended that after grafting, place a transparent polyethylene cap on the grafted cuttings and part of the rootstock.

Copulation is used when the thickness of the rootstock and scion is the same. In ordinary (simple) copulation, oblique cuts of the same size (2.5-4 cm in length) are made on the rootstock and scion, placed one on top of the other and tied tightly.

With improved copulation, in order to make the connection between the scion and the rootstock stronger, splits are made on the sections - tongues. When connecting the scion to the rootstock, the tongues are inserted one after the other and tied. The diameter of the rootstock can be 1-1.5 mm thicker than the scion, but not vice versa. In this case, the cutting planes must be connected so that the cambium lines of the rootstock and scion exactly coincide on at least one side. The proposed technique for improved copulation has been tested in practice, it is simple and easy to perform.

Vaccination technique

Grafting begins with inspection of the branches and trunk of the rootstock to preliminarily select the grafting site. The branch or trunk at the site of the planned grafting should be even and smooth, without closely spaced side branches. Then a cutting of the appropriate diameter is selected.

Wide variety of varieties fruit trees- the dream of any gardener, which can be realized by mastering the grafting technique. In the article prepared by the editors of the site, we will talk in detail about optimal timing, basic methods and how to graft trees.

Basic Concepts

First, you should familiarize yourself with the basic concepts that will be used when we talk about vaccination technology:

  • Rootstock. This is the name of the plant on which we will graft new variety. As a rule, the grafting is done in the lower part of the plant. This can be a trunk (bole) or a root.
  • Scion- this is the part of the varietal plant that will be grafted onto the rootstock. The scion will form the upper part of the plant, which is responsible for its varietal characteristics.

The rootstock and scion must match each other. Otherwise, engraftment may not occur. Plants that are botanically related are usually selected. You cannot graft a pear onto a birch tree. A forest pear or quince is suitable for it, if you plan to create dwarf variety. However, pears with apples growing on separate branches are very common.

Why do you need to vaccinate?

In gardening, grafting is the transfer of part of one plant to another plant with the goal of their mutual fusion. Subsequently, a new integral organism is obtained, where a strong root system one “parent” begins to ensure the growth, as well as the formation of the ground part of the second. Moreover, this second one is invariably a specially selected species with the necessary qualities, as well as characteristics.


You may wonder: what is this for? In fact, grafting fruit trees can solve a lot of different difficulties in the garden:

  • The most important thing is to reduce the waiting period for the first harvest. Trees bred from seeds/seeds will bear fruit no earlier than after five to six years, and in most cases even after ten to fifteen years. And grafted onto an adult tree or onto a 2–3-year-old seedling of the species, they can please you with a harvest in the second or third year.
  • Vaccination will allow you to quickly get the look that you liked (for example, you saw it with a neighbor, with family members in another area and “fell in love”). And you don’t need to buy a seedling, looking for such a variety in all nurseries - it’s enough to just get a cutting from a tree you’ve chosen,
  • Through grafting different types on one tree you will greatly increase diversity fruit crops in your personal garden, and at the same time you will save the territory. On one apple or pear tree, for example, you can have three or four different varieties, and on wild plum you can grow cherry plums, plums, and even apricots at the same time!
  • Vaccination allows you to quickly replace an unsuccessful (unattractive) species with a new one with better parameters.
  • With the help of grafting, it is possible to preserve your favorite variety if the trunk is injured (by mice, sunburn, mistakes during care) and the tree is in danger of death.
  • Grafting will help you obtain valuable, but hardly applicable to your conditions, fruit species. Even in mid-latitude conditions, you can harvest harvests from tender southern crops if you graft them onto local frost-resistant varieties.

In addition to all the necessary changes in your garden, grafting is also most interesting activity. You will see: as a result of the very first results, you will be indomitably “drawn” into this world of grafting man-made miracles.

When to vaccinate

The best time to graft trees in the spring is early March - mid-April. In early spring, grafting is usually carried out using cuttings. For successful fusion of tree parts, active movement of juices into the rootstock is necessary. The scion must be in a calm state; for this, the cuttings are kept in a cool place for as long as possible. Budding is carried out later, at the end of April - May. Stone fruit crops are grafted earlier, time spring vaccination pome fruits later, since the movement of juices in them is activated later.


Important! The time for summer vaccination comes when it ends active growth branches. The grafting is carried out with fresh scions, a maximum of 2 - 2.5 hours after cutting.

For some types of fruit trees, autumn grafting is carried out. It can be successful if the warm weather lasts for a long time.

Winter grafting is a risky endeavor. The exception when trees can be grafted in winter is plants overwintering in a nursery or indoors in tubs.

Types of fruit tree grafting

The type of grafting technique depends on the period of the year, the condition of the rootstock, as well as the scion, variety and some other factors. The most common methods of grafting fruit trees include:


  • Budding fruit trees. Fast and economical way, up to five buds are taken from one young shoot during the growth period. To prepare the scion, cut out the eyes with a growth bud from the shoot. Make a T-shaped cut in the bark on the rootstock. Place the graft into the cut and bandage the wound. After two weeks, check the success of the procedure.
  • Vaccination for bark. The method is suitable for joining rootstocks and scions that differ quite greatly in thickness. For the operation, cut the base to a smooth stump and make a cut in the bark. A young shoot with two or three awakening buds is suitable as a scion. Make an angle cut on the cutting and insert it into the cut base bark. Tie, then treat with garden varnish. Plant two or three scions on one rootstock.
  • Copulation fruit trees. Used on young thin shoots that cannot be caught on the bark. Make oblique cuts on the rootstock and scion, combine them with each other, tie them, then treat them with garden varnish. If the rootstock is thicker than the scion, place the cut of the cutting to be planted on the side of the base.
  • Lateral incision grafting. Make a cut on the side of the rootstock with a narrowing towards the bottom, cut the cutting-scion on both sides and insert it into the cut at the base. Tie it up.
  • Grafting into cleft. Cut the base at a height of twelve centimeters from the ground, make a split in it, temporarily securing the split. Cut the rootstock from both sides, forming a wedge, stick it into the crevice. This method does not require tying, but carefully treat all open wounds of the plant with garden varnish.
  • Ablactation fruit trees. The method helps to renew or replace damaged parts of the plant. Cut sections up to five centimeters long on the scion and rootstock, connect them, and tie them together.

Budding

This is one of the most common grafting methods. The scion for budding is a single bud (or, as gardeners often call it, a peephole). It is taken from the shoot cultural species and is grafted onto the trunk or branch of a wildflower, or another varietal plant.

In the spring, they bud (graft) the bud that formed the previous summer. It is taken from cuttings prepared in the fall or at the end of winter. Such a bud will grow and provide the beginning of a new shoot in the current season - that is why spring budding received the name budding with a sprouting eye.

However, during summer budding, the grafting is performed with a bud that has ripened during the current season (cutting it straight from the tree before the operation). It will take root, spend the winter in a new place and begin to grow only next spring. That is why summer budding is called sleeping eye budding.


Pros of budding:

  • Due to the small grafting area, the rootstock is almost not injured.
  • If budding does not work, the grafting can be done again on the same rootstock.
  • A minimum of grafting material is required. This is extremely important if you happen to purchase only one cutting of a valuable variety: three or four eyes will allow you to bud three or four rootstocks!
  • The budding procedure takes very little time, which is also important for a gardener.

Suitable conditions for budding occur twice a year. Both periods are associated with intense sap flow in the rootstock:

  • early spring, when the buds begin to grow
  • part of the second half of summer - from the end of July to mid-August.

During these periods, the bark of the rootstock peels off freely, and the cambium cells rapidly divide, which simplifies the procedure, and the buds ultimately take root as successfully as possible.

Vaccination for bark

Sometimes empty spaces form in the tree’s crown (for example, some branches were injured from the cold). In this case, bark grafting is used in a similar manner. For this purpose, an oblique cut is made on a branch or shoot, and an incision is made in the shape of the letter T on the bark. Then the end of the shoot is either inserted into this cut, tied tightly with a bandage and smeared with garden varnish. Cuttings for such grafting are taken thin, so that it is easier to press the cut areas.

With oblique side budding, two oblique cuts are made at the ends of the cutting at angles of approximately 40°, and an oblique cut is made on the branch, the depth of which is slightly greater than the length of the side of the wedge at the base of the cutting. A cutting is inserted into the resulting gap. Then the grafting site is tied with bandaging material and garden varnish is applied.

At a time when the bark easily falls off the wood, you can use the bark grafting method, which has an L-shaped cut. In this case, one oblique cut measuring three to four centimeters is made on one side, and a small cut on the other side. The cut is in an inverted L shape and should be inclined to the axis of the branch.


The upper cut is made at an angle of more than 90° and obliquely, so that the cutting is well strengthened in the cut of the bark. You need to make sure that the cambium layers meet each other. For strength, they need to be secured with nails, tied with a bandage, and also coated with garden varnish.

Grafting into the gap is also carried out during the period when the bark of apple or pear trees easily falls off the wood. The cuttings chosen for such grafting are extremely thin. A wedge of two to three centimeters is cut at its base, and a cut five centimeters long is made on the branch. The cutting is placed in the gap so that six to eight buds remain on it to form a fruiting branch. With this method, the gap needs to be treated with garden varnish, and tying and auxiliary fastening with nails are not necessary.

It is advisable to harvest cuttings that are planned to be used for grafting at the end of autumn (the final days of October - the beginning of November). They are cut off from mature shoots one year old growing on the south side of trees and shrubs.

Copulation

Copulation is a garden grafting of trees where the cutting is similar in diameter to the rootstock. It should not exceed 1.6 cm. The best time for copying is spring period, a couple of days before the buds bloom in the garden. If you want the grafting to be successful, the rootstock should just begin to wake up, and the scion should still be at rest. For this purpose, it is prepared in late spring and left deep in the snow. There are two methods of copulation: ordinary and improved.


Ordinary copulation is when oblique sections of the rootstock and scion of the same size are fused together. The length of the cut should be made at an angle of 15–25°. The contact area must exceed the area cross section rootstock five times.

How to do:

  • An oblique sharp cut on the scion is made below the bud, 1–1.6 centimeters down. The total number of eyes should not exceed five pieces. And above the very top bud the cut is made blunt. If the cuts are made according to the rules, then the rootstock and scion completely coincide, forming a solid branch. All that remains is to carefully fix it with electrical tape, trying not to move it in the cut areas. It is not recommended to cover the kidneys.
  • Improved copulation is distinguished by the fact that oblique cuts of the rootstock, as well as the scion, are in addition cut with a knife, creating peculiar tongues, which in the future adhere more firmly and grow together.

Recommendations for summer residents: making garden grafting fruit trees, it is not advisable to touch the exposed wood of the rootstock and scion with your hands or other objects. Because this can infect or injure tree tissue, which in the future will negatively affect the survival of the scion.

Side cut

This method involves grafting a cutting from the side of a branch or seedling. Re-grafting of trees in this way can be done both in spring and summer, and on overgrown seedlings it is also suitable for winter grafting. With this method, it is possible not to prune the branches in the year of grafting until the cutting has completely taken root and regrown, and the grafting itself can be performed on any branch.

When grafting young trees, it is very important to total number Select branches for regrafting that have a normal retreat angle and are convenient for future skeletal branches.


On these branches, at a distance of twenty centimeters from their base, oblique cuts are made. To perform them, only copulating knives are used. One side of the cut should be one centimeter longer than the other.

A cutting with three buds is prepared with two diagonal wedge-shaped cuts on both sides; in addition, one side of the wedge-shaped rib should be longer than the other, just like the cut on a rootstock knot. At the end of preparation, the cutting is wedged into the cut and tightly tied with plastic wrap.

Grafting into cleft

When grafting trees with your own hands, the most important thing is to combine the cambial layers of the scion and the rootstock. For this they use various methods cutting cuttings. In summer they graft not with a cutting, but with a bud.


Before grafting trees into clefts, learn correct sequence operations:

  • Select a scion and rootstock of approximately the same thickness.
  • Make two equal-sized cuts from below on the scion handle, creating a wedge.
  • To graft trees into clefts, cut off the top of the rootstock with pruning shears.
  • Using a knife, cut the rootstock from top to bottom, creating a split.
  • Push the scion with a wedge into the split of the rootstock. If the diameters do not match, move the cutting to one side, connecting the cambial layers.
  • Wrap the grafting site tightly with elastic tape.
  • Cut off the excess scion with pruning shears, leaving two or three buds. Cover the cut with garden varnish.

If you grafted the tree correctly, as shown above, with successful fusion, growth of the scion will soon be observed. If the grafting is bad, the cutting dries out after two to four weeks. By the end of the season, growth may be slightly smaller than usual, and fusion is complete. Special care in the future there will be no need for a vaccination site. Although it is recommended to tie the seedling to a support, because the area of ​​fusion may be fragile for a year or two.

For most breeds there are aspects of vaccinations that you need to know. The percentage of successful grafting directly depends not only on skill, but also on the breed of plant. In all cases, a dormant (not growing, at rest) cutting is taken for the scion.

Ablactation

Ablation is a simple but rarely used method of plant grafting, in which shoots located next to each other grow together. In other words, the scion is not cut, but applied to the rootstock. This method is also called proximity grafting.

You can unite the shoots by butt, by approaching the tongue or saddle, etc. In other words, the mechanism of grafting is almost in every way similar to simple or improved copulation.


Once the branches have completely grown together, the scion is detached from the original plant, and then it grows and also feeds only from the rootstock.

  1. On the scion and rootstock at the same level, having removed the bark in advance, make cuts equal in length and width. If the plants are already very old, also cut off the top layer of wood from the shoots.

You should not make overly long cuts. Their length should be up to five centimeters.

  1. Apply the rootstock and scion to each other with cuts so that their cambial layers meet.
  2. After this, tie the grafting site tightly with twine or special tape, then cover it with garden varnish or plasticine.
  3. Near the grafting area, tie a branch of the original plant with wire (not very tightly!), so that later it is easier to detach the scion from it.
  4. In order for the rootstock and scion to grow together better, many gardeners graft plants by bringing them closer to the tongue. This method of ablation differs only in that splits are made on the sections of both shoots: on one from top to bottom, and on the other from bottom to top. As with copulation with a tongue, it is thanks to the splits that the rootstock and scion are held together most tightly.

Do the apple trees not bear fruit or do the taste and size of the apples leave much to be desired? Such situations occur quite often, and you can correct them yourself by grafting one apple tree with branches from another of the variety that you like best. This way you won’t have to plant new trees and wait several more years for fruits. Also, grafting apple trees will allow you to expand the range of varieties on your site and save money that would have to be spent on purchasing seedlings.

Grafting new branches can be compared to surgery- it requires no less caution and accuracy. Beginning gardeners cannot do without detailed recommendations, otherwise the error is unlikely to be avoided.

Typically, grafting of apple trees is carried out in the spring using the copulation method (grafting with cuttings), and the budding method (bud) is used in the summer. In modern fruit growing, copulation is used much more often and serves for different purposes: when growing dwarf apple trees, when repairing damaged trees, in order to replace a low-value variety with a more productive one, or to create a multi-varietal apple tree.

To graft an apple tree by copulation you will need:
✔ The cutting itself (scion), which will be grafted onto the apple tree.
✔ Sharp thin garden file.
✔ Maximum sharpened grafting knife.
✔ Polyethylene film for strapping.
✔ Garden var or Oil paint based on drying oil.

The scion should be prepared from the very beginning of winter, after the first frost, when the branches are dormant, but it can also be prepared at the beginning of spring, before the buds swell. Select upward-growing annual branches from healthy, productive apple trees. The length of the branch should be about 30-35cm. Cut the lower edge of the cutting obliquely at an acute angle (the length of the cut is three times the diameter of the branch), and the upper edge - “on the bud”. The branches can be stored in the basement during the winter by placing the lower part of the scion in damp sawdust or sand. Several small cuttings can also be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in a wet cloth.

Methods of grafting apple tree cuttings

Before you start grafting, wash your hands well with laundry soap, and the tools should also be clean. Directly during the process, try not to touch the scion and rootstock unnecessarily, so as not to stain the cuts.

Simple copulation

This method is suitable when the diameter of the rootstock and scion is the same. Usually, with the help of copulation, 1-2 year old branches are grafted, making identical cuts along the oblique so that they completely coincide. You need to adjust the sections within a minute so that the surface does not have time to oxidize and dry out, then the fusion will be worse. Then tightly wrap the workpieces (preferably with construction tape). Try not to damage the cuttings with careless actions. Treat the scion and rootstock in the upper part with garden varnish to prevent contamination from getting inside the cuttings. The probability of fusion also depends on this.

Improved copulation

Allows you to more firmly bond the rootstock and scion thanks to the additional longitudinal section on the cut (“tongue”). An oblique cut on both parts along the axis is cut by one third and the scion is carefully inserted into the rootstock, but not too deep, otherwise the graft will rot or break off. For different branch diameters, try to tightly align the cambium on one side so that there is no gap left.

How to make improved copulation correctly

1. Wipe the rootstock with a clean damp cloth and make an even, oblique cut at an acute angle. Make a cut on the cutting the same length as on the rootstock.

2. Mentally divide the cut of the rootstock into 3 equal parts and, stepping back one third from the top part, make a longitudinal cut with a knife along the axis of the shoot to a depth of approximately 10-12 mm. Do the same on the scion cut.

3. Bring the scion to the rootstock with the tongue behind the tongue so that they hold each other tightly with a tongue lock. If the diameters of the rootstock and cuttings do not coincide slightly, the tongues make it possible to move the scion so that at least one side of the cambial layer coincides with the rootstock.

4. Just as with simple copulation, you need to tightly wrap the grafting site with polyethylene or a special elastic tape, tightly pressing the sections of the rootstock and scion against each other. Each turn of the tape is also overlapped.

The upper cut of the cutting is covered with garden varnish or plasticine. Place a clean plastic bag over the fixed area, tying it below the graft.

Comparing the methods of simple and improved copulation, you inevitably come to the conclusion that two simple incisions significantly facilitate the procedure. In addition, these flat tongues greatly increase the contact area between the scion and the rootstock. This means there are more chances for success.

Improved copulation
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Grafting by copulation is one of the most common methods of improving varieties and productivity of shrubs and trees. The method is simple and does not require any expensive tools; every gardener will find everything he needs in his home or on his property. Its features and secrets will be discussed in the article.

What is copulation?

Copulation- this is the connection of the cutting and the scion at the place of their identical, oblique cuts. The result of the work should look like a tied whole branch. The advantages of the method include its simplicity. Even an inexperienced gardener is able to graft by copulation and turn any wild game into a varietal tree or shrub that will regularly produce big harvest. At the same time, an important advantage is high percent survival rate of vaccinations, unlike other methods.

There are two types of copulation – simple and improved. Their specifics and features will be described below.

What is needed for copulation?

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Copying is very effective method, but for its implementation it is necessary certain conditions and tools. Not in every case it is possible to carry out copulation. To implement this, it is necessary to find a cutting and a rootstock with the same diameter. In addition you will need:

  • damp cloth;
  • a sharp knife, because if the knife is dull, an even cut will not come out and the scion will not take root;
  • electrical tape or any other similar material is sometimes used simple rope or food grade plastic film.
  • garden pitch or plasticine;
  • plastic bag.

How is regular copulation performed?

A simple grafting by copulation involves connecting the cuttings and the rootstock at the place where they are cut. The method is carried out in early spring– when you can already work outside, but the buds have not yet blossomed. In order for the grafting to be successful, it is necessary to take care and ensure that the scion has already begun to “wake up” after winter, and the cutting is still in the dormant stage.

First of all, prepare a young cutting (diameter no more than 1.6 cm). It makes an even, oblique cut without notches 1-1.5 cm below the bud at an angle of 15-25°. There should be from 3 to 5 eyes on it - this is very important, because the more there are, the more difficult it will be for the cutting to take root. A blunt cut is made above the top bud of the scion at an angle of 45°. Another oblique cut of 15-25° is made on the rootstock. The length of this cut should exceed the diameter of the rootstock branch by 3-4 times.

Now comes the most crucial moment. The scion and rootstock must be connected so that a smooth, solid branch is obtained. Ideally, the cambium of the cutting and the cambium of the rootstock should be united. In this case, fusion will occur much faster. After all, the cambium plays a key role in grafting. This layer heals the “wounds” of the plant or fuses the cut site with another cut, as in this case.

Having pressed the scion tightly to the rootstock, it is necessary to tightly, overlap them with electrical tape, a strip polyethylene film, rope or other similar material. During rewinding, it is necessary to ensure that the junction of the branches does not move. Some gardeners also recommend leaving the buds open during rewinding, rather than covering them with tape. But in fact this is not necessary.

After bandaging, the top of the cutting, which has been cut, is covered with garden varnish. The top of the cutting can be covered plastic bag to reduce evaporation. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the garden varnish does not slide off the branch under the influence of moisture, otherwise this will lead to drying out of the upper buds.

If everything is done correctly, after 2 weeks you can see how the buds on the cuttings have begun to grow.

What is the feature of improved copulation?


Simple copulation is very effective and easy to carry out, but it has one significant drawback - during ligation, the junction of the cambium often moves. It is very difficult to keep the cutting and rootstock in one position. This requires either two people (one holds, the other knits), or very long training. That is why the improved copulation method was invented.

Carrying out improved copulation is practically no different, with the exception of one point. Oblique cuts on the cuttings and rootstock are made in a zigzag or, as they say, “with tongues.” Thanks to the presence of a “tongue,” the branches are held together more reliably and grow together faster. Hence the name - improved copulation.

  • Experienced gardeners recommend not only preparing cuttings for copulation in the fall, but leaving them in the snow for the whole winter. Thanks to this harvesting method, the cutting will remain dormant until copulation.
  • The cutting and rootstock should be cut in one sharp movement. To “get into the swing of things,” it is recommended to practice a little before grafting on simple twigs that can be found on the street. This will allow you to understand the principle and improve your skills.
  • During grafting by copulation, it is important not to touch the cutting area of ​​the tree, shrub or cutting with your hands or any objects. This can lead to infection of the plant and negatively affect it.

  • The first to be vaccinated stone fruits, and then seed. So, cherries and cherries need to be copulated before the beginning of April, and apple and pear trees - from April to mid-June.
  • Before making cuttings for grafting, the scion and rootstock are wiped with a damp cloth to clear the area of ​​dirt that could infect the plant.
  • Improved copulation gives a more effective and faster result, but it should be carried out only if it is already possible to make a cut with a simple copulation without any problems. This method is convenient in terms of dressing, and healing is fast. But it is necessary to do the “reeds” correctly, otherwise there will be little use.

Copulation- This is a method of joining a scion and a rootstock of the same or almost the same diameter. Copulation is considered the most difficult grafting method not only for apple trees, but also for any other fruit tree. Therefore, for beginners, this grafting method works very poorly and very few scions take root. For high-quality execution this type of grafting, you first need to practice well and “get your hand in” so that the sections come out maximum area and as even (smooth) as possible. These two conditions are the key to successful vaccination. In this case, even for professionals it is important to remember the skills by practicing on the branches of other (non-fruit) trees. Copulation is usually done in the spring, when the sap is actively moving and the cambium is in the active phase of its life.

A simple copulation is, that two shoots of an apple tree are cut obliquely and applied to each other. The procedure (procedure) for copulating apple trees is as follows:

1. We make an oblique cut on the rootstock, so that the cutting plane is maximum. To make a correct oblique cut: you need to take the cutting in left hand, move it 3-5 cm forward while holding it index finger and hold it with all your other fingers so that it is firmly fixed. Next you need to make a cut from yourself to the end of the cutting, its top. The cut should be made as much as possible sharp knife, because only in this case will it be smooth and even. The cut must be as smooth as possible; this can be checked by applying the knife to the cut and seeing whether it fits tightly or not. If the cut is as smooth as possible and cut at the desired angle, then you need to wash it off warm water and put it in a glass of water, to which you must first add a drop of honey or sugar. This is necessary to the cambium layer has not dried or has oxidized in air. It can stay in sweet water for quite a long time, maintaining its properties. If the cut on the cutting is made incorrectly or it has been exposed to air for a long time, there is a high probability that the graft will not take root, since the layer of dead tissue between the rootstock and the scion will not allow the living tissues of the apple tree to grow together. It is important that with reverse side cut, there was a bud right in the middle, it will stimulate the rapid fusion of the scion and rootstock. A properly prepared cutting is only a third of the hard work you need to do when performing lightweight copulation. The other two stages are even more complex and require great skill from the gardener.

2. On the scion you need to make an oblique cut at the same angle as on the rootstock. so that the cuts are as even as possible without gaps. This operation must be done as correctly as possible (slowly) so as not to damage the scion. Preferably make an oblique cut 5-10 cm from the ground, the lower, the better the graft will take root. If the graft is placed high up, it may not take root, and even if it does take root, it can easily break at the slightest movement of the wind.

Copulation is complex and not very reliable, so professional gardeners use improved copulation. This method, although difficult to implement, is much more reliable and scion survival rate is 25% better. The sequence of the improved copulation operation consists of the following steps:

1. The first stage is similar to the first stage of improved copulation, with only one difference. The difference is that you need make another cut. In order to make such a cut, you need to conditionally divide the cut into three equal parts. Between the middle part and the top (the one located at the end of the cut), you need to make an incision from the cut towards the base of the cutting along the growth of the tissue. This cut must be made in the direction of tissue growth and must be at least 0.5 cm deep and no more than 1 cm deep.. After the cut is made, you need to place the cutting in a container, preferably with sweet water, so that the cut is completely immersed in water.

2. During the second stage, which is similar to the second stage of simple copulation, the same cut is made as on the cutting. It is performed using the same method, but it must be done as quickly as possible so that the oblique cut does not oxidize in the air. When oblique cuts and cuts inward are made, you need to make a scion and rootstock with a “valet” cut to cut and connect them into a lock. This connection must be strong and most importantly there should be no free space between the scion and the rootstock.

3. If the lock is dense and durable, wrap it with a special polyethylene tape, starting from the bottom, so that a quarter of the tape overlaps the previous turn.. Then you need to secure this tape so that it fits tightly and motionlessly to the bark of the wood chips. On top layer the tapes need to be anointed with garden varnish or paraffin to prevent water from flowing in, air from entering, and bacteria or light from entering. If the grafting site is not large, it can be placed on top of the tape. apply paraffin, which will additionally isolate the vaccination site.

In order for the grafting of the apple tree to be reliable and not break due to strong winds, it is advisable to hammer three fixing sticks nearby, in which the cuttings could be tied in three places. Worn for vaccination paper bag with holes, put another plastic one on top of it, preferably dark and with holes. Such a shelter must be checked after some time to remove drops of condensed moisture. Also, it is advisable to regularly, at least once a week, inspect vaccinations for 63 days, although exact date No. Since this depends on the quality of the grafting, on climatic conditions and the biological proximity of the scion and rootstock. When the buds swell, you need to remove such cover, since there is no longer any need to protect the cuttings on the wood chips from excessive evaporation of moisture. Since the shoot will rapidly grow in thickness, it is necessary to periodically change the insulating tape so that the old one does not bite into the wood, since such a graft will be very fragile and can quickly break. The thickening that occurs at the grafting site consists of very soft and loose tissue, so it must be protected for a year to prevent the chips from breaking. The protective bandage and supports can only be removed when bark grows over the thickening and it becomes hard. If you want to replant the wood chips, you need to plant it so that the graft is underground at a depth of 8-10 cm. This is done so that the wood chips have additional protection from the wind and if the shoot dies, the cultural part of the shoot could germinate again.

If you want to learn graft apple trees using improved copulation method, you need to study the grafting technique and get good at it so that all operations turn out almost perfectly and are done quickly. Only then will you be able to have almost one hundred percent successful results in your activities.

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