BUDDING TECHNIQUES
METHODS OF VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION
BUDDING
• a form of grafting in which one bud and a small
section of bark with or without wood is used,
• in comparison to grafting, in which the scion
consists of a short detached piece of stem tissue
with several buds.
• Chip budding and T-budding are the most important
types of budding for fruit crops and woody
ornamentals.
• The type of budding method to be adopted depends
upon the bark’s slipping, ability of the stock and scion,
which coincides with the period of active growth in
season and when newly formed tissues are easily torn
as the bark is lifted from the wood.
• Among the different methods, chip budding can only
be done when bark is not slipping.
Advantages
• It is the best propagation method if the propagating material
is scarce and valuable.
• Budding is useful in plants, which release excessive wound
gum (e.g. stone fruits) from injury caused to wood portion of
the stem at the time of grafting.
• Budding union is stronger than grafting so damage by wind
or storm is less compared to grafted plants.
• Budding is comparatively simple, efficient and quicker
method of propagation than grafting.
Selection of Bud Wood
• While selecting bud-wood, one should careful enough to use
vegetative buds than the flowering buds for budding.
• The vegetative buds are usually small and pointed while
flower buds are large and plump. In case of bud wood to be
procured from distant place, the leaves must be removed by
leaving petiole intact.
• The bundle of bud-wood should be packed in moist jute or
sphagnum moss, or cloth and should be kept moistened in
the transit
Time of Budding
• Budding time usually depends upon the availability of
well developed budwood of the desired cultivar.
• In most plants, these conditions exist at three
different times during the year:
I. SPRING BUDDING
II. JUNE BUDDING
III. FALL BUDDING
I. SPRING BUDDING
• In spring budding, the bud must be dormant and the rootstock just
begins to start growth as soon as the bark slips easily on the rootstock.
• The period of spring budding is short and should be completed before
the rootstock has made much new growth.
• Due to combination of dormant bud and active growing buds on the
rootstocks, the bud sprouts and develops easily.
• The bud sticks are collected well in advance of actual budding
operation and stored at -2 to 00C temperature to hold them dormant
by wrapping them in moist jute cloth or sphagnum moss.
• The rootstock top is cut after 2 - 3 weeks of budding, when healing has
taken place, by giving a slanting cut. Spring budding is commonly done
in citrus
II. JUNE BUDDING
• June budding is done in early part of the growing season i.e.
mid-May to mid-June.
• Budding is done in the early part of the growing season and
the inserted bud is forced to sprout immediately.
• The bud is taken from the current season’s growth.
• This method is preferred in areas having relatively long
growing season.
• June budding is used mostly to produce stone fruits
(peaches, nectarine, almond, apricot, plums, cherry, ber and
aonla etc.).
• A seedling of 30 cm height, 3 - 5 mm diameter can be used
for budding.
• June budding should not be done after late June, so as to
II. JUNE BUDDING
• In June budding, the rootstocks are smaller and have less
stored food in them. Usually, 3 - 4 leaves are also retained
below the bud.
• The healing of bud usually takes 2-3 weeks under normal
environmental conditions.
• If leaf stock or petiole drops off cleanly, it is a good indication
of bud union and if it has adhered strongly and starts
shriveling and darkens, it indicates budding failure.
• The rootstock is immediately cut after healing process,
leaving at least one leaf above the bud and several below.
• Other sprouts should be rubbed off or discouraged to ensure
fast growth of scion bud.
III. FALL BUDDING
• Fall budding is particularly important in northern areas and cold
deserts where the growing season is short.
• Fall budding is done in late summer, and not in autumn.
• The rootstock are large enough by late summer to accommodate the
bud and the plants are actively growing with the bud bark slipping
easily, should be moderately vigorous, actively growing and
containing healthy bud in the leaf axils.
• As bud sticks are selected, the leaves should be cut off immediately,
leaving only a short piece of leaf petiole attached to the bud to help in
handling the bud while performing budding.
• The best buds on the stick to be used are usually on the middle and
basal portion. Buds on the succulent terminal portion of the shoot
should be discarded as they are immature.
III. FALL BUDDING
• After the buds have been inserted and tied, nothing needs to be done
until the following spring.
• If the budding operation is done properly, the bud piece should unite
with the rootstock in two to three weeks, depending upon growing
conditions.
• Even though the union has formed, buds on most deciduous species
usually do not grow or push out in the fall, since they are either in a
physiological rest or inhibited by apical dominance.
• By spring, the chilling winter temperatures overcome the rest
influence and the buds start growing.
• Most of the tropical, subtropical and temperate fruits like aonla,
mango, guava, ber, bael, jackfruit, stone fruits, walnut, chestnut and
hazelnut etc. are propagated during this period.
STAGES OF BUD OR GRAFT UNION
FORMATION
a) PRE-CALLUS STAGE - It lasts for 5 to 8 days, after budding or grafting
operation. During this stage, there is no sign of callus formation and
scion falls if the wrapping material is removed.
b) CALLUS FORMATION - After 5th to 8th day, the callus formation may
take place in the bud/graft union. The process of callus formation is
fast in firmly attached stock and scion. The initiation of callus
formation takes place either from stock, scion or both. Usually, living
cells of recently formed xylem and phloem play active role in the
callus formation.
Stages of bud or graft union formation
c) FORMATION OF CAMBIAL BRIDGES - The paranchymatous cells of the callus
form a cambial bridge within 12 to 15 days after budding. After the
formation of cambial bridge, dedifferentiation of secondary xylem and
phloem takes place after 36 - 48 days of budding. Afterwards, the partial
movement of stock to scion takes place. The bud union is completed within 6
- 7 weeks, if conditions are favourable.
d) HEALING OF THE BUD UNION - After de-differentiation of secondary xylem
and phloem of both stock and scion, there is formation of many new xylem
and phloem cells after 6-8 months of budding or grafting. The callus unites
completely with the scion pith and the union heals completely. In general,
better contact and alignment of the cambial cells of stock and scion helps in
development and proliferation of callus.
METHODS OF BUDDING
CHIP BUDDING
• Chip budding is done in early spring, summer or autumn.
• In chip budding, a chip of bark and wood is removed from the smooth surface
between the nodes of the stock.
• A chip of similar size and shape is also removed from the bud wood of the desired
cultivar.
METHODS OF BUDDING
CHIP BUDDING
• For which, a 2 - 3cm long downward cut is made through the bark and slightly
into the wood of the stock. Then a second cut of about 2.5 cm is made so that it
bisects the first cut at an angle of 30 - 45O C and the chip is removed from the
stock.
• Similarly, a chip of bud is removed from the budwood, ensuring that the bud is in
the middle of chip. The bud chip inserted in the stock in such a way that cambium
of the bud chip should have direct contact with the cambium of the stock.
• It is then tightly wrapped with polythene strip, leaving the bud uncovered.
• The bud may sprout after 3-4 weeks and afterwards the wrapping material should
be removed.
• When the bud starts growing, the stock may be cut above the bud union
METHODS OF BUDDING
Shield or T-budding
• As the name indicates, shield is the shape of the bud and “T‟ is the
shape of cut given on the rootstock.
• It is the most common method of budding used by nurserymen
worldwide.
• For shield budding, one year old rootstock seedlings of 25 - 35 cm
height and 2 - 2.5 cm thickness is selected.
• The bark of seedlings should slip easily.
• The selected bud of desired cultivar is inserted 15 – 20 cm above the
ground level and is tied with a polythene strip.
METHODS OF BUDDING
Shield or T-budding
• For performing budding operation, a “T” shaped cut is made on the selected portion of
the stock with the help of a sharp budding knife.
• The incision should be given through the bark not the wood.
• The two flaps of bark are loosened with the help of budding knife.
• The healthy bud is removed from the bud wood by cutting shallowly about 5 - 6 mm
below and 2– 3 cm above the bud.
• This shield piece containing a bud is inserted in the “T” cut made on the rootstock.
• The shield should be covered by two flaps of the bark, but bud should be exposed.
• The buds are pressed firmly, fitted into the “T” cut and finally tied with polythene strip.
• When bud healing process is over, the bud may attain a height of 15 - 20cm, the
remaining portion of the stock is cut to about 10 - 15cm above the bud. Plants with thin
bark, with sufficient flow of the sap like apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, cherry, rose and
citrus are propagated by this method.
METHODS OF BUDDING
PATCH BUDDING
• In case of patch budding, a rectangular patch of bark is removed completely
from the rootstock and replaced with a patch of bark of the same size
containing a bud of the cultivar to be propagated. It is a slower and difficult
to perform method than T-budding.
• It is widely used in thick-barked species, such as walnuts, pecans and rubber
tree, where T-budding gives poor results due to poor fit around the margins
of the bud-particularly the top and bottom.
• It is usually done in late summer or early fall, but can be done in spring also.
• In patch budding, the stock and scion should preferably be of same
thickness (20 - 25mm).
METHODS OF BUDDING
PATCH BUDDING
• First, a rectangular piece of bark (25 mm long and 10 - 15 cm wide) is removed from
the stock and a similar patch, containing a bud is removed from the scion by making
two horizontal cuts above and below the bud and then two vertical cuts connecting
the horizontal cut.
• After removing the patch, the bud should fit tightly at the top and bottom.
• It is then wrapped with polythene strip, keeping the bud uncovered.
• The wrapping material should hold the bark tightly and cover all the cut surfaces to
prevent free entry of air or water or pathogens.
• After the bud starts sprouting, the stock above the bud union may be cut off step-by-
step.
• In addition to pecanut and walnut, mango, rubber plant, aonla, jackfruit and jamun are
also propagated by this method
METHODS OF BUDDING
RING OR ANNULAR BUDDING
• In this type of budding, a complete ring of bark is removed from
the stock and it is completely girdled.
• A similar ring of bark containing a bud is removed from the bud
stick and is inserted on to the rootstock.
• The thickness of stock and scion should be of same size.
• It has been utilized in ber, peach and mulberry because the newly
emerged shoots from the heavily pruned plants are capable of
giving such buds for budding, which can be easily separated.
• In this method since the stock is completely girdled and if the bud
fails to heal in, the stock above the ring may eventually die
METHODS OF BUDDING
FORKERT BUDDING
• In forkert budding, the stock is prepared by giving two vertical cuts and a
transverse cut above the vertical cuts to join them.
• The bark is removed carefully along the cuts, so the flap of bark hangs down.
• The scion is prepared in a fashion similar to patch budding, having the size
similar to cuts made on the stock.
• The scion is then slipped into the exposed portion of the stock and the flap is
drawn over the inserted bud patch.
• It is then tied with a suitable wrapping material.
• After successful growth of bud, the portion of stock above the union is
removed carefully.
METHODS OF BUDDING
FLUTE BUDDING
• In flute budding, the patch of bark is removed from the stock in such a way
that it almost completely encircles the stock except with a narrow bark
connection between the upper and lower cuts on the stock.
• A similar patch of bark is removed from the bud stick containing a healthy
bud.
• The shield containing the bud is then inserted in the vacant area of the stock
and the shield should fit tightly on the stock.
• It is then wrapped with suitable wrapping material, leaving the bud
uncovered.
• The other procedure is same as in patch budding.
• Because of the presence of a narrow connecting strip of bark on the stock, it
remains alive even if the bud fails to sprout.
METHODS OF BUDDING
I-BUDDING
• In I-budding, the bud patch is cut in the form of a rectangle or square like patch budding.
• With the same parallel–bladed knife, two transverse cuts are made through the bark of the
rootstock.
• These are joined at their centre by a single vertical cut to produce the shape of letter-I.
• The two flaps of the bark can then be raised to insert the bud patch beneath them.
• A better fit may occur if the side edges of the bud patch are slanted.
• While tying the I-bud, one should ensure that the bud patch does not buckle outward and
leave a space between the rootstock.
• I-budding is the most appropriate method of propagation when the bark of the rootstock is
much thicker than that of the bud stick.
• In such cases, if the patch buds are used, considerable paring down of the bark of the
rootstock around the patch would be necessary.
METHODS OF BUDDING
MICRO-BUDDING
• Micro-budding is used successfully for
propagating citrus particularly in Australia.
• It is similar to “T” budding except that the
shield (bud piece) utilized is thin and tiny
like “T-budding”; the micro-budding is also
not done under aseptic conditions.
• The petiole is cut off just above the bud and
then bud is removed from the bud stick by a
flap cut just underneath the bud. Thus, only
the buds are utilized in micro-budding.
• In stock an inverted “T” cut is made and the
tiny shield containing the bud is inserted in
it and later tied with a thin plastic tape.
• The tape may be removed soon (15-20 days)
after the healing has taken place.
