Shield budding/ T-budding of fruit trees
Grafting of fruit trees and shrubs is considered to be the best method of reproduction of these plants. It is the so-called “vegetative method”, which gives much better and faster results than, for example, sowing of seeds, which negatively affects the rate of obtaining new crops. The most popular form of grafting among amateur arboriculturists, fruit farmers and professional owners of nurseries of fruit shrubs and trees is shield budding.
Works related shield budding are most often carried out in the summer or spring. This procedure is easy to carry out – it requires taking a bud from scions, which is then transferred to the tree or shrub sprout or to the rootstock. It is worth choosing the strongest, well-developed as well as healthy plants for reproduction. Thanks to the fact that we use shoots of growing plants, we do not need to store shoots from the autumn season. This allows for much more dynamic work, as we do not need to plan it very far in advance. In the first year, the buds grow together with the sprout or rootstock – full growth is possible in the following year.
There are several methods of shield budding – the most commonly used methods are “side budding” and “T-budding”. The first one is considered to be the easiest, while the second one is used for plant safety when the rind of the grafted sprout easily comes away from the pulp.
It is important to note that shield budding cannot be performed during a drought. The cambium of plants disappears during this period, which would result in the failure of the whole process. The best time for grafting is summer – during growth and when the cambium is active.