The grafting of citrus fruits helps gardeners get homemade lemons, tangerines and oranges from plants that previously developed well, but did not bear fruit, and also makes it possible to propagate indoor culture.
Citrus Inoculation Methods
Why Citrus Inoculation
Vaccination is a combination of several plant parts. So, in the process of inoculation, the stem from one citrus and the stem or foliage of another plant are combined. As a result, these interconnected parts grow together and become one, positively influencing each other.
Often, plant parts grow so tightly together that even a specialist cannot determine the place where the plant was planted.
The plant part that is attached is called a scion, and the plant to which it is attached is a stock. When grafted with citrus, some sort of 1-2-year-old healthy strong lemon, tangerine or orange acts as a scion, from which a kidney or a stalk is taken. A wild plant with a well-developed root system is taken as a stock; at home, seedlings grown from seeds are more often used.
Positive aspects of vaccination
In the process of grafting citrus, plants of one varietal variety or closely related are acceptable for use, while:
- the grafted plant becomes resistant to the negative effects of the environment, its appearance improves,
- it becomes possible to reproduce the plant in a short time and cross different citruses with each other,
- significantly reduces the time of onset of flowering and fruiting,
- fruits with improved quality characteristics are obtained and their number is increasing.
Features of the procedure
Vaccination methods are easy to carry out at home, due to their simplicity and affordability. The technology of the procedure suggests that:
- manipulations will be carried out in a short period of time in order to avoid the beginning of the process of oxidation of plant tissues under the influence of air,
- disinfected equipment will be used in the process to prevent bacterial and fungal infections from entering the plant tissues,
- the cuts on the scion and rootstock will be smooth,
- the grafting sites on the stock will be pre-washed with soap and water and treated with a fungicidal agent.
The optimal time for vaccination at home is May; during the procedure in an unheated greenhouse, this period shifts to June. It is recommended to carry out the vaccination procedure in a humid room, and when growing citrus fruits in a greenhouse - in rainy weather, because increased humidity contributes to the effectiveness of its result, preventing the vaccination site from drying out.
For grafted citrus, a mini-greenhouse is created with subsequent care after the procedure. For him, shelter with polyethylene or covering with a glass jar are suitable.
Vaccination methods
It’s not very difficult to plant plants
Citrus fruits at home are inoculated with one of the methods available for self-administration.
Budding
This is the least traumatic way of grafting citrus and the easiest to do. It consists in the formation of an incision on the rootstock in the form of a “T”, the insertion of a kidney-eye into it, a protruding scion. Wherein:
- citrus bark is initially wiped with a damp cloth,
- a blade forms an incision on the trunk at a distance of about 5-6 cm from the soil surface, 1 cm wide, 2.5-3 cm long,
- the edges of the notch are bent to form a pocket and a scion is inserted tightly into it,
- grafting place is wrapped with garden tape.
To increase the effectiveness, 2 vaccinations are simultaneously given. The fact that the stalk has taken root is indicated by the absence of blackness and a healthy appearance on it. After 1 month, the apical process up to 10 cm long is removed from the stock.
Different types of citruses are inoculated with oculi. In the case of kidney survival, the plant will be able to produce 2 species of fruit.
Copulation
When copulating, the citrus scion and stock are selected the same in diameter and make even oblique slices on them. The centers of the slices are cut vertically to a depth of 1 cm. The slices are joined by entering each other. The place of vaccination is tightly wrapped with vaccine material.
When copulating, the accuracy of the hit and the tight connection of the cuts of the stock and scion are important.
Splitting inoculation
Inoculation into the cleavage is carried out in stages:
- with a damp cloth they wipe the site of the future vaccination,
- the stock is cut horizontally at a distance of 5-10 cm from the soil surface,
- in the middle of the rootstock left after the trimmed trunk, a cut is made to a depth of 2-3 cm,
- on the scion form 2 slices 2.5-3.0 cm long, forming a wedge,
- the wedge-shaped end of the scion is inserted into the section of the stem-stock;
- the vaccination site is wrapped with vaccine material.
To increase the effectiveness of the vaccination procedure, 2 scions are simultaneously inserted into the split stock from both ends.
If a stalk grown from a bone, which has several buds, acts as a scion, it is inserted under the bark of the rootstock of the tree, making a cleavage on it to a depth of 3 cm.
Conclusion
Inoculating citrus fruits at home can be done in one of three simple ways. This procedure helps to multiply a houseplant, ensure its abundant flowering and increase fruiting.
