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Effect of grafting/budding techniques and time on propagation of black

mulberry (Morus nigra L.) in cold temperate zones

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Propagation of Ornamental Plants
Vol. 8, № 2, 2008: 55-58

EFFECT OF GRAFTING/BUDDING TECHNIQUES AND TIME ON PROPAGATION

OF BLACK MULBERRY (MORUS NIGRA L.) IN COLD TEMPERATE ZONES

Ugur Vural1, Hatice Dumanoglu2, and Veli Erdogan2*

1
Ankara University, Faculty of Agriculture, Research Station, 06110, Ankara, Turkey,
2
Ankara University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, 06110 Ankara, Turkey,
*Fax: + 90 (312) 3179119, *E-mail: verdogan@agri.ankara.edu.tr

Abstract
The effects of grafting/budding techniques (crown grafting, and T-budding and patch budding) and grafting date
(May, June and August) on graft success, bud growth rate, shoot diameter and shoot length were investigated
in two years. Grafting success was the highest (40.6%) in T-buddings while it was 34.6% in patch buddings
and 21.7% in crown grafts. Buddings made in May were superior for budding success (43.2%), bud growth
rate (89.6%) and shoot length (100.2 cm). Although June buddings had higher bud take success (53.4%) only
31.8% of successful buddings grew into shoots, and shoot length was very short (20.2cm). August buddings
had the lowest bud take (16.3%) and none of the successful buddings grow into shoots because they were
killed by winter colds.

Key words: Crown grafting, Morus nigra, patch budding, propagation, T-budding

INTRODUCTION in results could be attributed to genotypes, type of cut-

Black Mulberry (Morus nigra L.), is one of com-
mon Morus species as a fruit or ornamental tree, which
makes the fabulous shade trees in home gardens or parks
(Ottman 1987, Yaltirik 1982, Westwood 1993).
Propagation of Morus species and cultivars with-
out loosing their properties is achieved by clonal
propagation (Ma et al. 1996). However, success rate
varies depending on genotypes and the methods used.
Research on propagation concentrated on rooting
hardwood or softwood cuttings for black mulberries.
Although hardwood cuttings resulted in 4.1% rooting
(Ünal et al. 1992) application of 2500-7500 ppm IBA
(�����������������������
indole-3-butyric acid, �������
Sigma, ����
St. �������
Louis, �����������
MO���������
) in 50%
alcohol, increased rooting to 8.5% - 60.4% (Ünal et al.
1992, Yıldız and Koyuncu 2000, Koyuncu and Şenel
2003). Bottom heating in addition to 4000-5000 ppm
IBA treatment gave generally higher rooting success
between 56.7% and 89.3% (Özkan and Arslan 1996,
Yıldız and Koyuncu 2000). Softwood cuttings gave
42.5% rooting (Erdogan and Aygün 2007) while 4000-
8000 ppm IBA treatment increased rooting success to
52.5% - 60% (Özkan and Arslan 1996, Erdogan and
Aygün 2007). Some of the softwood cuttings were
sprouted out during rooting (60 days) that it was 17.6%
in the control where as it was 33.3% in 8000 ppm treated
cuttings (Erdogan and Aygün 2007). The differences
tings, time, hormone application and bottom heating.
In general, the success rate increased according to the
control of factors affecting rooting.
Micropropagation is another method but the stud-
ies on black mulberry (Ivanicka 1987, Yadav et al.
1990) are rare. Ivanicka (1987) reported 88.8% root-
ing of micro cuttings obtained from shoot tip cultures
of back mulberry on MS media added with 0.2 mg l-1
BA + 0.2 mg l-1 NAA. Ex vitro survival ratio of potted
plants was 90%.
Grafting or budding is usually preferred by nursery-
men over cuttings because of variable results, or over
micropropagation because of the lack of infrastructures
in the nurseries. Budding has wider use than grafting
since it is easy to apply and needs less plant mate-
rial (budstick versus scionwood) and application time
(Hartmann et al. 1997). Güneş and Çekiç (2007) re-
ported that there was no difference among the rootstock
genotypes (M. alba, M. rubra and M. nigra seedlings)
or between budding types (T and inverted T) on bud-
ding success in greenhouse. They found that buddings
made in August had the highest (62.8%) bud take. Their
open field buddings had even higher (65%) success
in August. However, a lot of nurserymen complain
about the low bud take in August buddings due to the
climate conditions during the next cold winter because
most of the over wintering buds are damaged by low

Received: November 27, 2007 Accepted: March 10, 2008

55
Ugur Vural et al. Effect of grafting/budding techniques and time on propagation of black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) in cold
temperate zones
winter temperatures. On contrary, there is no problem
in propagation of white mulberry (M. alba) by buddings
in similar climatical conditions. Our search on finding
scientific reports on propagation of black mulberry by
grafting or budding have not yield any result except the
one mentioned above������������������������
(����������������������
Güneş and Çekiç�������
2007)�.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects
of crown grafting, T������������
-�����������
and patch buddings,
��������������
and grafting
���������
dates (May, June and August) on graft success, bud
growth rate, shoot diameter and shoot length of black
mulberry in cold temperate zone characterized with cold
winters, hot summers and relatively short vegetation
period of 6-7 months.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Plant material
One year old white mulberry (M. alba L.) seedlings
were purchased from a nursery and they were planted
in early March to grow for���������������������
������������������������
one season to reach graft-
������
ing/budding size. Following year, the seedlings having
about 2.5-3 cm collar root diameter were used for graft-
ings, while the seedlings reaching diameter of about 1.5
cm at 15-20 cm above soil level were used for buddings.
A 12 year-old black mulberry (M. nigra L.) tree having
medium growth vigor was used as a source of scions and
budsticks. For crown grafts, and T- and patch buddings
in May, endodormant scions and budsticks, collected
in the first week of April were used. They were stored
between layers of moist paper in polyethylene bags at
5 ± 1°C before use. For buddings in June and August
however, buds from current season’s budsticks were
used. The experiments were carried out at Ayas town
of Ankara province, Turkey in 1998 and 1999.
Crown grafting
The graft union made at the root system transition
region is called crown grafting (Hartmann et al. 1997).
Graftings were made on May 1-3 when the bark of
rootstock is easy to separate. The soil around the crown
was removed until exposing the roots. For grafting we
followed the procedure of Tingzing et al. (1988) who
described the technique as “b����
ark ���������������������
grafting of saccular
system (bag grafting)”. ������������������������
The stem was cut at 45° angle
������
at about 5 cm above the roots. Both sides of rootstock
were squeezed with thumb and index fingers to separate
the bark from the xylem to form a pocket-like opening.
Scions carrying 2-3 buds about 10-12 cm long were
used. One smooth cut slanting across the lower end
of the wood, about 3 cm long, was made at the back
of the lower bud. The scion was inserted between the
bark and the wood of the rootstock in such a way that
the cut surface of the scion faced to the bark of the
rootstock. Graft union was heeled up with moist soil
up to 1-2 cm over top of the scion. The soil around the
scions was removed after 3 weeks when buds started
56
to grow. Only one shoot was allowed to grow and the
others were removed on the successful grafts within the
following two weeks.
T- and patch buddings were applied as described by
Hartmann et al. (1997) using dormant buds on 4-6 May
or using newly formed buds taken from current season’s
shoots on 21- 27 June and 25-27 August.
Characteristics investigated
Number of scions/buddings having alive bud and
bark tissue after 3 weeks of graftings was used to calcu-
late the percent of graft success, while number of scions
or buds that grew into shoots was used to calculate the
percent of bud growth rate. Average shoot diameter
(mm) and shoot length (cm) were measured at 5 cm
above the graft point at the end of the growth season
on shoots of successful grafts/buddings performed in
May and June. Buddings performed in August did not
result in live shoots.
Experimental design and statistical analyses
The experiment was laid out in a completely ran-
domized design with 3 replications (20 grafts/buddings
in each) per treatment. The data of two years were com-
bined and subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) at
p ≤ 0.05 using the MINITAB software (MINITAB Inc.).
The means were separated by Duncan’s new multiple
range test. The percent data were subjected to angular
(arcsine) transformation prior to analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The highest grafting success (65.0%) was obtained
in T-buddings made in June (Table 1). T-buddings made
in May and patch buddings done in May and June gave
similar results (between 41.7% and 43.8%). We were
unable to get over 18.3% graft success in T- and patch
buddings made in August in both years of the study.
However, Güneş and Çekiç (2007) reported that T-
buddings made in March, June and August resulted in
0%, 30% and 60% graft success in the open field, re-
spectively. Their higher success in August compared to
ours could be result of differences in climate conditions.
They carried out the study in Tokat basin in Turkey
where winters are mild. Our findings are similar to the
experience of nurserymen in similar climate conditions,
who reported also low graft success (about 0% to 10%)
with T-buddings made in August (I. Akçay, personal
communication).
Crown grafting is generally used in propagation of
white mulberry (M. alba L.) plants for silkworm grow-
ing (Tingzing et al. 1988). Graft success in our study
was low (21.7%) (Table 1). Güneş and Çekiç (2007)
reported higher success that M. nigra scions grafted in
greenhouse on M. alba, M. rubra and M. nigra seed-
lings rootstocks resulting in 46.5%, 49.3% and 47.3%,
 Propagation of Ornamental Plants
Vol. 8, № 2, 2008: 55-58

Table 1. Graft success and bud growth rate, shoot diameter and height in crown grafts, and T-and patch buddings.

Graft success Bud Growth Shoot Diameter Shoot Length

Technique Date
(%) (%) (mm) ± SE (cm) ± SE
With dormant scions and budsticks
Crown Grafting 01-03 May 21.7 bc 88.2 a 13.5 ± 1.8 a 85.0 ± 21.4 a
T-Budding 04-06 May 42.5 ab 87.5 a 9.4 ± 1.6 b 93.1 ± 25.8 a
Patch Budding 04-06 May 43.8 ab 91.7 a 11.8 ± 2.1 ab 107.2 ± 24.4 a
With current seasons budsticks
T-Budding 21-27 June 65.0 a 31.4 b 4.3 ± 0.5 c 22.1 ± 3.7 b
Patch Budding 21-27 June 41.7 ab 32.3 b 5.1 ± 0.3 c 18.2 ± 1.6 b
T-Budding 25-27 August 14.2 c 0.0 c - -
Patch Budding 25-27 August 18.3 bc 0.0 c - -
P ** *** *** **
Means within columns followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p < 0.05 by Duncan’s multiple range test.
*, **, *** Significant at p ≤ 0.05, 0.01, or 0.001, respectively.

respectively. The factors positively affecting the graft
success could be endogenous and exogenous. Among
these, compatibility, nutrient content of the scion and
rootstock, water content of the scion, the activity of the
cambium in the scion and rootstock, grafting technique,
temperature, and moisture in soil have been reported
(Tingzing et al. 1988).
Dormant scions/buds grafted in May had high bud
growth rate in both years and 88.2%, 87.5% and 91.7%
of the buds grew into shoots in successful crown grafts,
and T- and patch buddings, respectively. However,
growth rate in June buddings was low (31.9%) although
bud take was the highest (65%). A possible reason could
be that in contrast to dormant buds, newly formed buds
on current season’s shoots used in June were probably
not enough developed physiologically to heal up and
to form strong connection with the rootstock. Buddings
in August did not result in any bud growth in the fol-
lowing spring. The reason for this failure was the low
winter temperature, which killed the buds (Table 2)
even on successful buddings, which were alive prior
the winter.
Shoots grown on crown grafts had the largest shoot
diameter (13.5 ± 1.8 mm) followed by T- and patch bud-
dings done in May (9.4 ± 1.6 mm and 11.8 ± 2.1 mm,
respectively). The differences between crown grafts and
patch buddings in shoot diameter were insignificant.
The lowest shoot diameter for T- and patch buddings
(4.3 ± 0.5 mm and 5.1 ± 0.3 mm, respectively) was
that of grafts done in June. This is probably due to the
shorter vegetation period, as compared to the grafts
done in May.
Shoots grown on patch buddings done in May were
the tallest (107.2 ± 24.4 cm) followed by T-buddings
(93.1 ± 25.8 cm) and crown grafts (85.0 ± 21.4 cm).
The differences among them were not significant. As in
shoot diameter, length of the shoots was much shorter
in buddings made in June (18.2-22.1 cm) than those
in May, probably because the short vegetation period
was not sufficient for full shoot growth. Hartmann et
al. (1997) reported that as a method of nursery propa-
gation, June budding is confined to regions that have a
relatively long growing season.
As a conclusion, our results showed that T- and
patch buddings in May should be considered as a
propagation method in areas with cold winter climate
(Table 2). This is supported by the fact that graft suc-
cess was 42.5% and 43.8%, and bud growth was 87.5%
and 91.7%, respectively, when these techniques were
applied in May. Although graft success was 65.0%

Table 2. The average lowest and the highest air temperatures during grafting/budding in the place of experiment
(Ayas).

Temperature May June July August September October

Minimum (°C) 2.9 4.8 10.3 8.2 5.0 1.0
Maximum (°C) 31.6 36.6 41.8 40.1 34.9 34.9
November December January February March April
Minimum (°C) -6.0 -4.8 -12.8 -6.2 -8.0 -1.8
Maximum (°C) 20.4 16.2 13.3 14.3 24.2 26.1

57
 Ugur Vural et al. Effect of grafting/budding techniques and time on propagation of black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) in cold
temperate zones
and 41.7% when using the same techniques in June
bud growth rate was lower (31.4% and 32.3%, respec-
tively). Thus, the final plant number in buddings made
in May was about two times higher (38.7%) than that
of buddings done in June (16.9%) and even than those
of crown graftings made in May (19.1%).
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