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The Best Avocado Grafting Techniques
The Best Avocado Grafting Techniques. Avocado trees grow both erect, reaching up to 60 feet tall, or short and spreading with their branches close to the ground. They thrive in most soil types and provide a pale green or yellow green flower. Originating in southern Mexico, the avocado was introduced to Hawaii in the 1820s, Florida in the 1830s and...
Avocado trees grow both erect, reaching up to 60 feet tall, or short and spreading with their branches close to the ground. They thrive in most soil types and provide a pale green or yellow green flower. Originating in southern Mexico, the avocado was introduced to Hawaii in the 1820s, Florida in the 1830s and California in the 1870s, according to Julia Martin on the Purdue University website. Many varieties of avocado are grown in the United States and around the world.
Benefits
Grafting is a necessary means of propagation of avocados. The seeds lose their vitality within one month, and when planted, they can take 10 to 15 years to grow a fruit-producing tree. Grafting generates new growth that can be used for new plantings or to repair an existing tree. Commercial growers use grafting as a method of production because seeds are not viable.
Types of Grafting
Layering brings two pieces of rootstock together by simply laying them on top of each other and lightly covering the union with soil. This is not a viable means of grafting the avocado because a lack of salinity tolerance. Cleft grafting is possible on mature trees with large branches, but it is not a preferred method for citrus-producing trees. Bud grafting is the most common and practical grafting method for citrus trees and the avocado. Bud grafting is also suitable for beginners.
Process
Make a T cut in the rootstock 12 inches above the ground with a grafting knife. Cut vertically 1 inch and horizontally one-third around of the diameter of the tree. Carefully peel the flaps of bark back, but do not remove them. Cut the bud from a scion about 1? inches long with a budding knife. Place the boat-shaped bud into the T cut, with both pieces of exposed wood touching each other. Wrap the union with grafting tape to secure it in place, leaving the bud exposed.
Aftercare
Remove the grafting tape within six to eight weeks if the grafting was performed in the fall. New growth should be evident. For spring grafting, remove the tape three to four weeks after grafting to expose the new union and growth. Cut off the remaining shoots 12 inches above the bud union.
