In the process of obtaining quality fruit, it is necessary to do some efforts that we are familiar with by grafting plants. Plant grafting is a method of artificial vegetative propagation. The breeding method aims to obtain results that are more or less the same as the parent, or even better.
Meaning of Plant Grafting
The process of grafting plants is a fairly simple and easy breeding process. The process of grafting plants can even be done by people who don’t understand much about plantations, but on the condition that the person understands the steps involved in grafting.
Grafting is one of the fastest solutions to grow roots on plant stems. Therefore, most of the grafting process uses twigs that are not too large. Grafting has the main purpose of producing fruit more quickly with the growth of the plant not being too large.
F. Rahardi in his book entitled In order for plants to bear fruit quickly revealed that grafting can only be applied to dicotyledonous or dicotyledonous types of seed plants. In order to get high-quality results, the branches or twigs that will be used in grafting must not be too old or too young.
Steps to Plant Grafting
Well, before doing the grafting process, there are some things that are done and observed.
1. Choose the parent plant to be grafted.
This selection is the most important step. The good and bad result of grafting is determined from the selection of the parent plant. Therefore, before grafting it is expected to ensure that the parent plant that will be used in grafting has good quality.
2. Choose twigs or plant stems that are straight.
There are several conditions that need to be observed before choosing a stem for grafting, namely that the stem is not too old or too young. In addition, the selected plant stems should be straight and get enough sunlight. The selection of the plant stem here has the purpose so that the photosynthesis process in the plant can run well and can accelerate root growth on the grafted plant stem.
3. Peel the skin on the plant stem
The first step to be done in this stage is to peel the bark 5 cm long. The trunk or twig or branch to be used must be peeled off the skin. Make sure the stem of the plant is clean of the attached bark.
4. Clean the cambium on the plant stem
The cambium on the stem or twig or branch of the plant should be cleaned around it with a knife first. The easiest technique to clean the cambium content on the plant stem is to feel the part of the plant stem. If the plant stem feels rough, then it can be confirmed that the plant stem is clean from the cambium.
5. Leave the plant stem for 1 day.
This step needs to be done so that the stems of the plants that have been peeled can dry and be resistant to diseases and fungi. At this stage, what needs to be ensured is the cambium content on the plant stem, hopefully the plant stem is clean and there is no cambium attached. This step will be beneficial so that the grafting results can grow well in producing high-quality and high-quality seeds.
6. Covering the plant stem
The next step is to wrap the plant stem with plastic or use coconut coir. Packaging can be done by first tying the bottom of the plant stem that has been peeled off. After making a rope at the bottom of the plant stem, the next thing is to fill the plant stem with soil. Land use is expected to be fertile land. Finally, wrap the top with plastic or coconut coir until it resembles a capsule.
7. Watering plants routinely and regularly.
The process of transplanting plants requires patience and diligence. Things that can be done so that the grafting process can be faster and the graft can immediately produce roots, which is to do routine and regular watering. It is not allowed to let the soil in it experience dryness due to lack of water intake. Besides. The thing that can be done to make the soil more fertile is adding fertilizer.
8. Wait until the roots grow.
Well, the signs that the grafting process has been successful is that the plant stem produces brown roots growing out of the wrapper. Once the roots have come out, it can be confirmed that the stem of the grafted plant can be cut and then sown.
Benefits of grafting plants
As mentioned above, the process of grafting plants is a quick way to produce beautiful fruits and flowers. Plus, combining two plants into one will make the plant stronger and resistant to various diseases and fungi. But, behind the superiority of grafting plants, grafting also has disadvantages that need to be noted.
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of the grafting process.
Advantages:
Proportionate height
The grafted plant will have a lower height than its parent. Plants that are tall but can already bear fruit or flower make plants easier to treat and not messy.
Fruiting or flowering fresh and lush
Grafted plants will be faster to bear fruit or flower. In addition, because the grafting process comes from a quality parent, the fruit or flower produced will also be better when compared to the parent.
Quality like parent
The process of grafting plants will not reduce the quality of the parent, in fact the grafted plant will have the same or even better quality than the parent.
Disadvantages:
The parent is broken.
The grafting process will not actually reduce the quality of the parent, but what needs to be noted is excessive peeling on the stem of the parent plant. As a result of being peeled more than used, it can make the parent damaged and even die.
Prone to death.
After the graft takes out the roots and is ready to cut and sow. The thing to pay attention to is maintenance. Grafted plants must be given special care and cannot be neglected. Newly sown grafted plants are not as strong as plants sown from seeds, therefore, special and diligent care must be taken so that the plants can grow optimally.
Well, knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of grafting plants is very necessary, considering that there are many things that need to be observed so that plants can grow lushly and develop well. It’s like taking care of a child, plants that are still small and just growing need special attention, which is certainly different from plants that have grown. Therefore, the key to successful grafting is the perseverance of the owner.
The difference between layering and grafting
In fact, there are many and varied ways of grafting. The naming of grafting is also different, from layering, grafting, to transplantation.
Here are the differences in the ways of grafting plants.
1. Layering
Layering is a way of grafting plants by planting plant branches that are still connected to the parent plant to be used as roots and grow new plants. After the graft takes root, the stem of the plant is then cut to be sown.
2. Grafting
Grafting is a method of grafting that combines two different types of plants into one. Many people do Grafting to produce fruit or flowers that are fresher and more lush.
3. Transplantation
Transplantation is a method of grafting by moving plants from one place to another. In the process of transplanting, you will usually need new soil and pots.
Once again, thoroughness in performing the method of grafting and treating grafted plants is the key to successful grafting. Therefore, the correct knowledge of the basic techniques of grafting is the best step before starting to graft plants
Artificial Vegetative Reproduction
Reproduction basically means making again. In the field of plants, reproduction can usually be interpreted as breeding or in other words extending the lineage, It should be noted that reproduction in plants can take place in two ways, namely Sexually (Generative) and Asexually (vegetative).
- Sexual (Generative): This means that new plants that grow are the result of the Fertilization process. Fertilization itself can be interpreted as the fusion of male gamete cells and female gamete cells. Simply put, this process is common and common as a marriage process.
- Vegetative means, new plants that are produced without going through the fertilization process. Vegetative itself can be divided into two types, namely natural vegetative and artificial vegetative.
Natural vegetative can be done with special means or tools. Natural vegetative growth usually occurs in meristem cells. The natural way of vegetative reproduction is by: rhizome rooting, stolons, stem tubers, layered tubers, root tubers, buds and adventitious buds.
While Artificial Vegetative is a breeding process that is successful due to getting help from outside parties, or humans. Artificial vegetation can also occur due to human engineering. Artificial vegetative reproduction has a specific purpose, such as to obtain superior seeds as desired.
Interestingly, artificial vegetative reproduction is not only grafting. Here are five methods of artificial vegetative reproduction, namely grafting, sticking (oculation), connecting, cuttings, and bending down.
The following are the methods of artificial vegetative reproduction:
1. Grafting
As discussed above, grafting is one of the fastest processes to multiply plants in artificial vegetative propagation. The end result of grafting is making the trunk or branch of a tree produce roots. Briefly, the grafting step is to peel off a little bark of the tree and then wrap it with coconut coir or plastic and sprinkle it with soil.
Plants that can be grafted are only dicot plants or dicots. The most commonly grafted plants are oranges, guava, mango, rambutan, or durian.
2. Steak
Cuttings are one of the artificial vegetative propagation. Steps to cut the plant can be done by cutting on one part of the plant. Further, the cuttings of the plant can be directly planted on the plant stem that has been opened with a knife.
Cuttings are one of the fastest and most common ways to propagate plants. Plants that are cut are usually ornamental plants and fruit plants, such as grapes, passion fruit, apples or peppers.
3. Oculation
Oculation is one of the methods often used to multiply plant seeds. Oculation can be done by sticking a piece of tree bark that has buds from the upper trunk on a slice of another tree bark. Usually, tree bark is taken from the lower trunk. This is meant for the plant to unite and become a new plant.
Some people usually use inoculation as one of the techniques to improve plant quality in an artificial vegetative way. Just like other methods, artificial vegetative propagation by means of occulation aims to obtain superior quality plant seeds.
4. Connecting
Connecting plants is one way to multiply plants. This process itself can be done by combining the upper stem and lower stem of two similar plants. The purpose of the self-fertilization process is to combine the superior properties of two plants. It is hoped to obtain a plant that has superior properties.
The joining technique is usually used for vegetable crops such as tomatoes and eggplants. In addition, it is also widely used for fruit crops such as coffee, cassava, or mango.
5. Bend down
Bending over is also one of the techniques used to multiply plants. The bending process uses a technique by bending the stem or branch into the ground to be piled with soil. However, the tip of the plant is still removed to the soil surface. In this breeding process, the tree trunks used must be old or mature trunks.
The process of prostrate reproduction is usually applied to plants that have long and flexible stems or branches. The plants that are commonly used for breeding are bent over, namely betel nut. The way of bending down to make cambium on the plant stem does not need to be removed, because it has been removed by the soil naturally.