Effect of scionwood packing moisture and cut-end sealing on pecan graft success
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abstract
Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) cultivars are commercially propagated by grafting and budding. The whip graft, bark graft and four-flap graft, the most frequently used techniques for pecan grafting, require dormant scions, collected and stored for 60 to 120 days before the spring grafting season. Poor graft success is sometimes attributed to poor handling and storage of the scionwood. Moisture content of packing material, sealing cut ends of the scions with wax, and use of polyethylene bags was evaluated in 1998 and 1999. Scions were collected in early February each year, and stored for 60 to 70 days in a household refrigerator at 2 C (35.6 F) under different treatment regimes. Scion viability was tested by bark grafting on limbs of mature pecan trees. Moisture of the scions was affected each year by the amount of water added to packing material and by sealing the cut ends, but the differences did not impact graft success. In 1998, graft success rate was equally good among scions stored in polyethylene bags with different amounts of added moisture, whether cut ends were sealed or not. Graft success in 1999 was affected by an interaction of sealing the cut ends, packing material and location of grafting.
