What is

The Farmers' Handbook - "Near The House 2", Chapter 12 - Grafting

Grafting ?

Grafted peach trees ready for planting, Surkhet, Nepal

It can be difficult for farmers to earn their livelihoods
from growing only grain crops. Thats why its good to learn
new methods which increase production to farm our own
land. One method is by making a nursery to grow improved
fruit tree seedlings. This means you can grow tasty and nutritious fruit on your own land, and at the same time sell or trade
extra production to earn cash. There are many methods of
joining local wild fruit tree rootstock to high producing improved varieties. One of those methods, which is detailed in
this chapter, is called grafting.
Grafting is a method of joining the cutting (scion) of an
improved variety of fruit tree onto the root (rootstock) of a
local compatible variety.

Why

do Grafting ?

to do
Grafting ?

How

Benefits of Grafting
Grafted trees produce fruit quicker. A tree grown from seed
may take 8-10 years to fruit, but a
grafted tree will only take 2-4 years.
Cutting the root A tree grown from seed may produce
stock in preparapoor tasting fruit. Grafting is done to
tion for grafting
improve the taste and size of the fruit.
A tree grown from seed may not
produce fruit the same as the tree
the seed came from (mother tree).
But a grafted tree will be just as
good as the tree the cutting (scion)
came from.
A grafted tree will continue to give
the same quality fruit for many years.
Grafted fruit trees can be sold to
give an income to the household.
By producing your own seedlings
and fruit, you save money.
Seedlings can be produced locally,
saving time in searching for the
right fruit trees to plant.
This Chapter's Author:
Mr Bhuvan Khadka
Himalayan Permaculture Group,
Surkhet, Nepal

The Farmers' Handbook, "Near The House - 2"

Materials Needed to do Grafting

plastic

cutting (scion)
from a good
fruit tree

secateurs

grafting
knife or
sharp tool

local, wild
rootstock

How does grafting work ?

All plants have tiny channels which take water and nutrients up to the leaves and down again. These channels are
inside the bark but outside the woody part of the stem. They
form a greenish band around the stem called the cambium.
Chapter 12 - Grafting

Cross section of the

wood to be grafted

1
To succeed
at grafting,
the
cambium of
the scion
and the
rootstock
must be exactly aligned

Scion
Rootstock

In a successful graft, the channels

in the cambium carrying nutrients
and water from the rootstock to the
scion and back are continuous, not
broken.

Grafting Method
1 Preparing the rootstock for grafting

wood

Close up
of
rootstock
cambium
to be
joined

bark
4

A local, wild fruit tree seedling grown

cambium
(green)

wood

bark

The Farmers' Handbook, "Near The House - 2"

in the nursery or naturally in the forest

is called the rootstock.
For grafting, the rootstock is ideally the
thickness of a pencil, but it can be a
little thinner or thicker than this (510mm).
Leaves and branches should be prevented from growing from the rootstock
on the first 4-6 inches from the ground.
These can be carefully pinched off from
time to time.

Chapter 12 - Grafting

2 Selecting the scion for grafting

To graft onto a local, wild rootstock, the branch cutting
from a good fruiting tree is needed.
This branch cutting is called a scion.
The scion sould be from a healthy, disease-free tree that
gives good fruit.
A one year old branch should be used as scion wood.
If the scion is to be brought from far away, a whole branch
should be cut. The cut end should be covered with moss
and packed in sacking. Any buds should be unbroken, and
the cutting should not be exposed to the sun.
3 Cutting the scion

The scion should be the same diameter as the rootstock if

possible. It can be thinner than the rootstock, but not thicker.
There should be 3-5 live buds on the
Prepared
scion, which should be cut at a slant,
rootstock
just above the top bud.
4 Cutting the rootstock and

grafting the scion

The way to prepare rootstock is described in
the Fruit Nursery chapter.
On the day before grafting, water the rootstock well and mulch thickly.
Using a sharp knife or similar tool, make a 1
inch long slanting cut through the rootstock
1-3 inches from the ground. The face of the
cut should be completely flat.
The Farmers' Handbook, "Near The House - 2"
6

Trim the scion so it has 3-5 buds. The scion should not be
thicker than the rootstock.
1
2
3

Make a 1 inch long slanting cut at

length of
scion

slanting cut
the base of the scion, the same
length as the cut on the rootThe scion should
stock. The face of the cut
be cut just above
should be completely flat.
the top bud to
Half way up the slanting
prevent too much
cuts of both rootsock and
wood drying out
scion cut a small nick into
the face of the cut edge (see also p.10, photo
5 to 8).
Join rootstock and scion together by inserting
the nicks on opposing faces of the rootstock
and scion into each other.
Push rootstock and scion together so that the
cambium layers are in close contact at least
on one side of the join (if rootstock is larger
than scion), if not both sides (if rootstock and
scion are the same size).
The scion and rootstock should be held together by the opposing nicks being
interlinked with each other.
Chapter 12 - Grafting
7

Binding the Graft

Bind the joined rootstock and scion together so no air or

water can enter the wound.
1
2
Bind the
Start binding
plastic
from below
tightly
the wound
around the
stem

Let's See
1

how to do
Grafting
Measuring a local
rootstock 3-4 inches
from the base

3 Then wind the

plastic tightly
upwards
See an alternative to using plastic on p.18
Wind
the plas- 4
tic to
above
the join,
then
wind it
down
again
Bind down
to where the
plastic
started
8

3
5

Cut at the
measured place
Measure the scion
from the good
fruiting tree to fit
the rootstock

Tuck the end of

the plastic so it
points downwards
The Farmers' Handbook, "Near The House - 2"

Chapter 12 - Grafting

Make a slanting cut 1 inch

long on the base of the scion.

Make a small nick

about half way
down the face.

9
Push the scion
and rootstock
together so that
the nicks on each
face insert into
each other.
Binding the graft with
plastic is shown on p.8
Carefully bind the
graft tightly so no air
or water can get in to
the wound.

6
Hold the scion in the
mouth to prevent
drying out.

10

Make the
same 1
inch
slanting
cut on
the rootstock
Make a nick in
the same place
on the rootstock

11

10

This scion
shown
sprouting
2 weeks
after being
grafted.

Rootstock
with nick
close up

The Farmers' Handbook, "Near The House - 2"

Chapter 12 - Grafting

11

12

A stone mulch has been

placed around a
seedling grafted directly
in the fields. ( )

A grafted
seedling shown
growing well in
its permanent
place.

Grafted seedlings
shown in the nursery.
An arrow marks the
bound graft. ( )

13

14

A shoot sprouting from the

rootstock of the graft. This
should be pinched off.
The graft scar can be seen after plastic is removed
12

The Farmers' Handbook, "Near The House - 2"

Its OK to graft a
small scion onto a
larger rootstock.
Chapter 12 - Grafting

If the rootstock is
bigger than
the scion.

One side of the cambium

of root stock and scion
must match exactly.
13

How to
Maintenance maintain
a grafted seedling
Care needed after grafting
The grafted seedlings need fencing
against livestock, and should not be
touched.
They should be protected from
strong sun, wind, hail, and heavy
rain. Make a 50cm high thatch
to place over them, and the
nursery should be in a sheltered
site.
The seedlings need regular
watering to keep the soil moist.
After 4 months, when the scion
has sprouted well, the plastic
can be carefully removed.

Without
protection,
work is
wasted

Pinching
Any leaves or branches sprouting below the graft (from
the rootstock) should be pinched off with the fingers, otherwise they take valuable water and nutrients meant for above
the graft. This is called pinching.
If the graft is unsuccessful, a single sprout from the
rootstock can be allowed to grow. This can be used to graft
another scion again next year.

Citrus rootstock is
grafted in the
Autumn and
kept under
plastic until
Spring.

Compatible species and timing of grafting

1. Improved
peach, plum,
apricot, almond

The Farmers' Handbook, "Near The House - 2"

all can be grafted

onto wild peach, Jan./Feb., Sept.
plum or apricot

2. Soft shelled walnut local walnut

March, April

3. Pear

wild pear

Jan./Feb., Sept.

4. Orange

trifoliate

Oct./Nov.

5. Persimon

local persimon

Jan./Feb.

6. Apple

wild apple,
crabapple
wild cherry

Jan./Feb., Sept.

7. Cherry
14

Type of rootstock

Type of scion

Month
(Northern
Hemisphere)

Chapter 12 - Grafting

Jan./Feb.
15

Grafted seedlings
should be
protected from
livestock

Grafted seedlings
should be given
water and compost

2
Lucaena
lemon
grass

lemon
grass
marigold

Around the
fruit seedling,
comfrey
plant companion plants
16

coriander

Any leaves or
branches sprouting from below
the graft should
be removed

Lucaena

onion
comfrey

The Farmers' Handbook, "Near The House - 2"

These branches
are removed
Chapter 12 - Grafting

17

The method for grafting walnut is slightly

different to that given above. Lets see :

How the scion is joined

onto the rootstock

Make a point
on the scion,
with one edge
slightly
longer than
the other

short
edge
on the
lower
side

3
When the
rootstock and
scion fit perfectly, cut off the
rootstock above
the graft. Then
bind it as in the
normal method.

long
edge
on the
upper
side

scion

rootstock

This is done in the spring

The skin of the sisal (Agave) can be
used to bind the graft. The skin is removed as shown here. More details
about this are given in chapter 10 Fruit Introduction
18

Farmers'
Experience

The Farmers' Handbook, "Near The House - 2"

Mr Shanta
Bahadur Pun

From Jajarkot district, Dhime 7, Dharnasi village in Nepal, Mr

Shanta Bahadur Pun has done
plenty of grafting. Now let's
read about his experiences.
After I learned grafting I
practiced at home with a small
local, wild peach nursery. Onto
Shanta Bahadur Pun
them I grafted improved peach,
plum, apricot and almond. On such a small piece of land this
gave such a high production, and you can literally eat the
fruits of this success within 3 years! In the spring, shades over
the beds are very important - this stops the hot sun from drying out the newly grafted seedlings. Water needs to be given
carefully, at ground level. If you water from above, water can
get inside and ruin the graft, and it can also shake the seedlings and so break the graft. The cutting tools need to be sharp
and clean - like in any operation. Ive succeeded using just
the local ashi (hook), I dont need a posh grafting knife. At
first the other farmers didnt believe that it would work. I
grafted plants on my own farm, and sold them. Then they
believed me. Nowadays all the farmers have small or large
nurseries on their land.

Chapter 12 - Grafting

19

Subjects Related to Grafting

This book provides enough information for you to be
able to do your own grafting on fruit trees. However, this
information is also linked to other methods. For extra benefits
let's read, learn and practice from other related chapters.

Fruit Nursery chapter

How to grow root stock from local wild fruit
seed for grafting and budding on your own land.

Stone Grafting, Budding, Top Grafting

and Air Layering chapters
Information about various simple methods
of growing improved fruit varieties at home for
planting on the farm are given in these chapters.

Fruit Tree Planting chapter

After raising good seedlings in the fruit nursery,
if they're not planted well all the work can go to
waste. Information is given in this chapter.

Integrated Fruit Orchard chapter

Information on how to plant fruit trees with various
other multi-purpose trees to give more and quicker
benefits for less work is given in this chapter.

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