The beauty and productivity of the orchard depends on the condition of the trees. And in order to maintain it, you need to update the plants. Do this with the help of special vaccinations.
Vaccination for fruit trees: feasibility
First you need to understand what vaccination is. This is one way to propagate the plant. With its help, you can bring out your own variety of fruit tree, connecting one species with another. No need to spend a lot of money on the purchase of new seedlings, just find a few cuttings or shoots. Inoculation of a new bud or tree seedling is a kind of engraftment on another plant. You can plant different types and varieties of trees. All the properties and qualities of the crop are preserved, and in many cases they become even better than they were.
The use of vaccinations has proven its worth. So, using this procedure, you can update the old fruit trees, which will begin to yield in 3-4 years. The quality of new fruits will improve several times. Not only professionals in large nurseries plant trees, more and more often gardeners independently master this technique.
They are vaccinated only when the quality of the tree and its fruits begins to deteriorate every year. Only then will the procedure help to quickly update the tree or replace it with another variety. It has been proven by scientists that several varieties and species can be grafted on one tree at the same time. There are several common types of vaccinations for fruit trees.
Types of vaccinations
Types of fruit tree vaccinations are selected individually for the characteristics of the tree and climatic weather conditions. It is worth talking about the main methods of grafting that any gardener can handle. There are many options, but the following deserve attention:
- Okulirovka . This type of vaccination is done with a kidney. This method is used only in the spring. To carry out such a vaccine, an incision is made on the handle and on the tree itself. Then they apply the cuttings to the place of cut and carefully wind them. Basically, this procedure is done with young plants.
- Copulation . This view is done with the help of a handle. In this method, the young cuttings and the tree trunk are connected and tightly connected to each other. Such a connection should be an extension of the trunk. This method of vaccination can be done at any time of the year. It is important to observe one condition - the handle must be at least a year old.
- In the cleavage. In this case, the timing of fruit tree vaccinations has no boundaries. This method has been used for a long time. Even our great-grandmothers used it. The only condition here is that the branch to which the stem needs to be grafted should be 2 times larger in diameter. Inoculation is done as follows: on a branch of a plant make an even and smooth cut and directly in the center a splitting is applied with a depth of not more than 5 cm, but also not less than 4 cm. Then, a stalk is inserted into the gap formed and tightly fastened.
When to plant fruit trees
The timing of grafting fruit trees plays an important role in this matter. The most favorable time for such procedures is spring and summer. But for the operation itself, you need to choose a cloudy day without rains. You can be vaccinated at any time of the day. Many years of experience of many agronomists show that grafting fruit trees in the spring is the highest quality and most successful.
If such a procedure needs to be carried out on cherries or plums, then this can be done immediately with the onset of spring. Such trees are not afraid of frost and cold snap. An apple tree and a pear love heat, so they are inoculated when the temperature stabilizes.
They begin to plant trees with the appearance of the first buds. It is allowed to grow cuttings in the summer, but only where the climate is warm and dry. Many summer residents begin such manipulations on the lunar calendar. In it you can find all the detailed information about favorable days for this.
Trees are planted infrequently in autumn, this is due to the fact that the lowered temperature does not allow the cuttings to take root on the tree well. If you still need to plant a tree only in the fall, then you need to do this in early September. It used to be that winter is also not the right time for vaccination, but recent experiments prove the opposite.
Winter grafting as a new step in the field of tree grafting
The timing of grafting fruit trees was previously strictly limited to spring and summer. Now the situation has changed dramatically. Many gardeners try to plant a tree in the winter. And, strangely enough, they are achieving good results in this matter. Such fruit trees as cherry plum, plum, cherry, apple or pear are able to give high-quality planting material during this period . Winter vaccination gives the same high yield in the future, like many others, and the seedling survival rate is close to 100. Such a vaccination has the main advantage - a new stem grows in a short period of time.
Harvesting cuttings
It is important to properly prepare the cuttings for grafting fruit trees. In order for the transplant to succeed in the future, they must be of good quality. It is better if they are obtained from a uterine plant, on which phytosanitary selection was made many times. The thickness of the handle should be at least a pencil, and its length should be about 40-50 cm. If the trees are where severe frosts occur, then it is favorable to cut the cutting in late autumn or early winter.
Storage of cuttings
If the time of grafting fruit trees is selected, they must be properly stored until this point. Sometimes it happens that it is difficult to do this, the material disappears. The most capricious in storage are cherry and plum. The best temperature for them should be from -2 to -4 degrees.
Storage also depends on the territory and climate. If the area is abundant in snow, then the cuttings are dug up with a thin layer of earth and snow is poured about 70 cm from above. If the area with constant thaws and snow is scarce, then all cuttings are tied into a bundle and covered with raw sawdust. Then they spread it in frost and hold them until an ice crust is formed about 15 cm thick. Then the cuttings are transferred to a place near the house, sprinkled with dry sawdust and stored until spring.
Many gardeners store cuttings in the basement or cellar. This method is suitable for all types of trees, except for cherries and plums. They are very damp, then they will not give a harvest for a long time. Such storage contributes to the early development of kidneys on the cuttings. Leaves are formed ahead of time, because such material will subsequently poorly take root on the tree. After storage, the bark can dry very much, then before vaccination they are soaked for a couple of days in water and cleaned in a cool place.
We examined the types of vaccinations of fruit trees, now we will pay attention to the tools with which they perform such an operation.
Vaccination Tools
To make spring or summer grafting of fruit trees easy, you need to prepare the right tools. They must be well sharpened. So, the following devices are needed:
- Garden knife.
- Secateurs.
- Saw or hacksaw on wood.
- Material for tying.
- Stairs.
- Garden Var.
The entire listed tool for grafting fruit trees can be found in every garden plot. So, for example, a garden knife is needed for a quality cut of a tree. Using a pruner, you can quickly cut the stalk. Saw or hacksaw easily cut thick and excess branches. The binding material and garden var are necessary for fastening the tree and the cuttings to each other. A staircase is required for high plantings. Do not forget that the tool for grafting fruit trees is sharp, so when working with it you must follow the safety rules.
Tree Care After Vaccination
As soon as the time for grafting fruit trees has arrived and the procedure has been successfully completed, you need to wait until the stalk begins to grow. At this time, it is worth watching rodents and aphids and in time to begin to fight them. You should not deprive such trees with plentiful watering and fertilizers. If several cuttings were planted on a branch, then only one will have to be left. It happens that it blows away the cuttings with a strong wind, then they are strengthened with small arcs made of flexible branches. As soon as a year has passed after the vaccination, new shoots are shortened by 1/3 in length and form a branch.
Vaccination tree compatibility
Tree compatibility is important for grafting. Many gardeners do not know what to plant the stalk of a pear, plum or apple tree on. To achieve the best result, you need to combine the like with the like. Only in this case the cuttings will take root 100%. But some come out to plant a pear on an apple tree and get a rather unusual crop. It is also important to choose the right timing for grafting fruit trees, this will also be a guarantee of quality grown fruits.
Having dealt with all types of vaccinations and the tools with which they are made, you can update fruit trees with your own hands. As it turned out, grafting fruit trees in the spring is the most effective. The result will not be long in coming - amazing and delicious fruits will delight you and your loved ones.