Cause of the Deterioration of Mango Graftage (Grafting)

There are 5 major causes of the deterioration of Mango Graftage, height of the grafting, unclear cuts, improper alignment, poor hygiene..

Mango grafting is an art. There are several methods of grafting in mango. Out of them three methods are commonly used by gardeners.

The three methods of commercial propagation of mango are as follows:

In this post, we will know about the cause of the deterioration of grating in mango.

Why this post?

  • To know about the cause(s) of deterioration of graftage, particularly scion.
  • And, to know about the cause(s) of rotting (decaying) of graftage, particularly scion.

For:

  • How many days grafting operation take place?
  • Scion is rotting.
  • How to know grafting has taken?
  • Why is mango grafting decaying?
  • Causes of deterioration of mango grafts
  • Why is my grafted mango deteriorating?

Also read: Best time for grafting in mango

Index: Cause of Deterioration of Mango Graft (Graftage)

(1). How many days grafting operation take place?
(2). Why is my mango graftage deteriorating?
(3). The major factors affecting grafting in mango or Causes of Deterioration of Mango Graft (Graftage)

(1). How many days grafting operation take place?

We have practiced grafting in mango  in both the outdoor and indoor conditions, and found the major causes which affect grafting in mango.

A precisely grafted mango plant shows promising sign within 4 – 5 days. Sprouting occurs within 7 – 10 days. There is no need to wait for more than a week to identify if the grafting has taken.

(2). Why is my mango graftage deteriorating?

If you are following the actual grafting procedure, then there is a very little possibility of your grafting being fail.

Once grafted, the upper portion of the graftage doesn’t show any symptom of decaying for more than a week.

After 10 – 13 days the symptoms of deterioration occur. While it is necessary that we identify the symptoms of deterioration at right time, so it can be regrafted to get a successful graftage.

Also read: Cultivation of mango

(3). The major factors affecting grafting in mango or Causes of Deterioration of Mango Graft (Graftage)

  • Scion.
  • Rootstock.
  • Height of the grafting.
  • Improper alignment.
  • Unclear cuts.
  • Grafting equipments.
  • Poor hygiene.
  • Heavy rain.
  • Strong wind.
  • Physical damages.
  • Disease.
  • Insects.
  • Experience.

Scion

Maturity: Scion should be 4 – 6 months old. Tender scion may dry rapidly after grafting. So don’t prefer scion which is less than 4 moths.

Defoliation: Scion should be in dormant stage. Fresh scion without leaf defoliation gives very little success. So, we should know about the right time for defoliation in mango.

Length of the scion: It should not be more than 7.5 cm (side and veneer grafting), 10 cm (stone grafting), otherwise breaking and drying occurs.

Attack of insect-pests: Scions attacked by insect-pests start decaying 7 – 10 days after grafting. Always prefer a scion which is free from the insect-pests attack.

Rootstock

Stage: The one year old rootstock should be active during grafting practice. All rootstocks are highly active during rainy season. Graftage may fail and start decaying if we use a less active rootstock.

Attack of insect-pests: A disease-fighting plant is already weak, after grafting, this disease affects the graftage before the wound is healed. In this way the plant starts rotting.

Size of rootstock: The rootstocks (the diameter of rootstock) smaller than the scion are one of the cause of the failure of graftage. Bigger and equal-size rootstocks don’t create any problem.

Height of the graft: The ideal height for grafting is 15 – 20 cm.

What happens when it goes below 15 cm or above 20 cm?

Below 15 cm: It is not the active growth region.
Above 20 cm: Scion faces difficulty in getting food materials directly from the rootstock.

In both situations, scion starts drying. Always perform grafting at the height of 15 – 20 cm above from ground level.

Also read: Flower and fruit drop in mango

Improper alignment

Examples of improper alignment:

The cut surface of scion is not in fully contact with the cut surface on rootstock. Example: Side and veneer grafting.
Scion is not in straight position. Example: Side grafting.
The three sided rectangular cut on rootstock is not straight. Example: Side grafting.

Proper alignment is necessary. Scion doesn’t get any food material due to improper alignment.

And the most important thing is that the cambium layers of both the rootstock and scion don’t make any contact.

Most of the times this happens due to unclear cuts.

Unclear Cuts

The unclear cut may check the flow of sap from rootstock to scion (unclear cut in rootstock). And, may also check scion to receive it from rootstock (unclear cut in scion).

Proper alignment becomes difficult due to unclear cut.

And the most important thing is that the cambium layers of both the rootstock and scion don’t make any contact due to this.

Grafting equipments

List of grafting equipments:

  • Grafting knife.
  • Secateurs.
  • Carving blade.
  • Grafting tape.

Grafting knife: The edge of grafting tape should be razor sharp. No sharp edge means no clear cut.
Carving blade: Same as the grafting knife.
Grafting tape: It should be stretchable so that it can adhere to rootstock and sign, properly. It prevents rain to enter inside the graftage.

Note: You can use grafting knife or carving blade to make cuts on rootstock and scion.

Also read: Mango anthracnose

Poor hygiene

Poor hygiene results in attack of fungal diseases. Anthracnose is one of the very serious fungal disease of mango.

With poor hygiene, grafting operation may fail very soon because of the attack of anthracnose during rainy season.

Scion starts rotting very fast leaving rootstock alone. It may spread to rootstock.

Heavy rain

Damages by heavy rain:

Breaking of graftage.
Rotting of scion.
Spreading of disease.

Breaking of graftage: Heavy rain causes breaking of graftage. Scion breaks from just above the grafting point. This happens in case of outdoor grafting.

Strong wind: The strong wind always causes the breaking of graftage. This happens in case of outdoor grafting.

Physical damages

Physical damages are done by..

Domestic animals.
Rain.
Wind.

After physical damages, the damage recovery of graftage is very low. If not healed in time, then it starts to decay.

The outdoor graftage decay very fast.

Disease: Anthracnose is the major fungal disease which causes the failure of grafting operation.

Use healthy rootstock and scion.

Insects: Mango mealy feed on current season growth by making it very weak.

Use healthy rootstock and scion.

Experience

Experience is the first as well as last thing. Without experience, both the rootstock and scion are prone to loss.

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