Shield budding, also known as T-budding, is a technique of

grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...

to change varieties of

fruit tree A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, ...

s. Typically used in

fruit tree propagation Fruit tree propagation is usually carried out vegetatively (non-sexually) by grafting or budding a desired variety onto a suitable rootstock. Perennial plants can be propagated either by sexual or vegetative means. Sexual reproduction begins w ...

, it can also be used for many other kinds of nursery stock. An extremely sharp knife is necessary; specialty ''budding knives'' are on the market. A budding knife is a small knife with a type of spatula at the other end of the handle. The rootstock or stock plant may be cut off above the bud at budding, or one may wait until it is certain that the bud is growing. Fruit tree budding is done when the bark "slips," i.e. the

cambium A cambium (plural cambia or cambiums), in plants, is a tissue layer that provides partially undifferentiated cells for plant growth. It is found in the area between xylem and phloem. A cambium can also be defined as a cellular plant tissue from w ...

is moist and actively growing. Rootstocks are young trees, either seedlings as Mazzard cherries for many

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

varieties, or clonal rootstocks (usually propagated by layering) when one wants highly consistent plants with well defined characteristics. The popular Malling-Merton series of rootstocks for

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

s was developed in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and are used today for the majority of the commercial apple orchard trees. T-budding is the most common style, whereby a T-shaped slit is made in the stock plant, and the knife is flexed from side to side in the lower slit to loosen up the bark.

Scion Scion may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities *Scion, a playable class in the game ''Path of Exile'' (2013) *Atlantean Scion, a device in the ''Tomb Raider'' video game series *Scions, an alien race in the video game ''Ba ...

wood is selected from the chosen variety, as young, actively growing shoots. Usually, buds at the tip, or at the older parts of the shoot are discarded, and only two to four buds are taken for use. The buds are in the

leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

axils. They may be so tiny as to be almost unnoticeable. Holding the petiole of the leaf as a handle, an oval of the main stem is sliced off, including the petiole and the bud. This is immediately slid into the T on the rootstock, before it can dry out. The joined bud and rootstock are held by a winding of rubber band, which will hold it until sealed, but the band will deteriorate in the sunlight so it soon breaks and does not pinch new growth, girdling the shoot. The percentage of "take" of the buds depends on the natural compatibility of the stock and scion, the sharpness of the knife, and the skill of the budder; even the experts will have some buds die.

References

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