THE FRUIT SECTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20474, 28 January 1930, Page 5

THE FRUIT SECTION.

BUDDING OPERATIONS. The season in which budding may be practised is rapidly approaching and thole who intend to carry out any of this work should make all preparations that may be required. First of all one should decide the extent of the operations that are going to be performed. Before this can be done one must consider the reason for carrying out this work in the first placer . If one has a particularly good seedling the orchardist may desire to work this on to other trees that are not such good ones. Budding and grafting are the two methods by which this may be done, and the former may be tried now bo that if the buds are not successful the grafting may be tried'instead. In certain renovation programmes it may have been planned to bud on to the shoots that arise from the trunks and main arms to which the tree was cut back." This is done sometimes instead of grafting immediately afterwards.

Advantages of Budding. Nurserymen practise budding quite a lot in order that they may supply the best trees to their customers. In the case of apple trees the different varieties are all worked on to a " blight resistant" stock so that the roots will not be affected by the woolly aphis on the roots. If this pest gets on the roots it causes swellings that restrict the flow of the sap and the usefulness of the tree is limited thereafter. There are one or two varieties that are not affected by this pest on the roots at all, however, and these are used the stocks to provide the root systems for all the other varieties. As a rule the one, used for this purpose is Northern Spy, but Winter Majetin is sometimes usedijn place of this variety. In the case of the" amateur, however, the most probable reason for practising budding is in connection with renovation operations. One advantage that budding has is that the buds may be inserted so that the shpots will grow in the direction in will be best able to serve as leaders. When the budding is being done it should be remem-. bered that an opportunity to effect a change in the variety is offering and if the old kind has not been altogether satisfactory, a new one should be used for the provision of the buds.

Another Reason. Another reason for practising budding by the amateur is when one has a variety that is not pollinated satisfactorily and there is .not sufficient room to plant another tree. In a case like this one may introduce another variety by budding or grafting it on to the tree itself. Budding is the easier method, and two or three buds may be inserted on various branches of the tree. The exact number will depend on the size of the tree, but if two of the buds are successful, this should be sufficient for a tree Bft. or 9ft. high. The pear is an outstanding instance of whero this may be carried Gut. There are cases of plum trees where the second variety may be introduced in'this manner. as well, and this should not be lost sight of. Before any budding is commenced the orchardist should see that everything is in readiness. The first thing to attend to is the provision of the " bud sticks." These should be obtained, as near the time for the budding as possible so that they will be as fresh as possible. Buds that are half withered have very little chance of uniting successfully. - When th® shoots with the buds have been procured they should be placed in_ water or else wrapped up in damp sacking. A sharp knife is, of course, an essential, and one with a thin blade is the best.