Graft Responses to three different techniques in Mango (Mangifera indica L.) under Bhutanese nursery conditions

Abstract

<p>Veneer grafting (Inarching) is a vegetative method of mass propagation of mango in Bhutan. However, this method of propagation has many setbacks in Bhutanese nursery conditions. The most important disadvantage of this method is high cost of production as grafting is done in field and seedlings are kept in open condition until proper graft union is formed. Providing graft aftercare in open field spread in large areas prove challenging in Bhutanese conditions. This study was aimed at identifying viable alternative methods of propagation to Veneer grafting. The experiment was conducted at Agriculture Research and Development Center, Bajo in 2015 in Horticulture Nursery Block. Three grafting techniques (Veneer, Splice and Wedge) were evaluated for different indicators of shoot, leaf and graft success. The results showed no significant difference (p<0.05) among the grafting techniques studied at 95% confidence interval. Initial rate of graft success before 20 DAG was higher for Wedge followed by Veneer or Inarching" however the gap narrowed after 60 DAG. Splice grafting showed higher rate of graft success (60%) and survival percentage (53) after 60 DAG than the veneer grafting (control). Our findings suggest that splice and wedge grafting can be safely followed for mass propagation of mango in Bhutanese nursery conditions. Further work on study of cost of production using different propagating techniques for mango would be useful for coming up with recommendation package.</p>