Question

Explain the process of budding in detail.

Answer 1

Budding is a horticultural technique to combine two varieties of plants.The plant from which the bud is removed is called scion and the plant to which the bud is grafted onto is called stockroot.

Complete answer:
Budding is a plant propagation method, in which a plant bud is grafted onto the sem of a rootstock plant.
This method is used to combine plants of two different characteristics together.
There are 3 types of budding.
T budding: In this method, a fully matured bud from a growing plant is detached in the shape of a shield. A T-shaped cut is made on the stem of the stockroot plant which is the same in length as the detached bud. Peel the bark away from the T-cut which will form a triangular pocket on the stem. Place the bud shield’s wooden side or the cut side towards the rootstock’s exposed tissue. Once the bud and the pocket are lined up perfectly, fold the peeled flaps of bark back, in such a way that it will cover the bud shield and hold it there. Seal the portion with a grafting tape with only the bud shield’s leaf, stem and bud are exposed. Let the plant heal for 2-3 weeks and remove the tape. The new bud will get integrated to the stockroot plant.
Chip budding: A chip of the bark is removed from the base of stockroot plants and the bud from scion is cut in the exact shape of this chip. Now the chips are aligned perfectly and taped using grafting tape.
Patch budding: This is the simplest method of budding where a complete patch of rectangular shape is removed from the bark of the stockroot. Bud is detached by two parallel horizontal cuts. Bud is aligned to the patch made on the stock followed by covering with the tape.

The roostocks should be clean and any leaves and side branches must be removed from the rootstock.

Note: Rootstocks impart disease resistance in scion. Disadvantage of budding is that new varieties of plants are not formed. And also specialised skills are required to perform this.