Grafting in ber

Is grafting possible in ber. What is grafting? What is budding?

About ber (Budding and Grafting)

Ber or Indian jujube (Zizyphus mauritiana) is a tropical and subtropical fruit plant. It can successfully cultivated even in the most marginal ecosystem of tropics and subtropics. Ber is known as poot man’s fruit. It is an ideal fruit for cultivation in the arid and semi-arid zones of Northern India because it has the least irrigation requirements in the summer months of May and June when it sheds its leave to enter in dormancy.

Also read: Propagation methods in fruit plants

Importance

Ber is one of the most nutritious fruits. Depending upon the variety, the fruit pulp when fully ripe contains;

TSS: 13.0 to 20.0 percent
Acidity: 0.20 to 0.80 percent

It is one of the richest source of vitamin C, next to only anola and guava but better than citrus and apple.

Wild species of ber for

Zizyphus xylopyrus Wild
Zizyphus oenoplia Mill
Zizyphus zoaziro Mart
Zizyphus mistol Griseb
Zizyphus spina-christi Willd
Zizyphus rugosa Lam
Zizyphus fumiculosa Buch-Ham
Zizyphus glabrata Hyne
Zizyphus oxyphylla Edgew
Zizyphus lotus Lamk

Promising varieties

Umran

Distribution: Maharastra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, etc.
Specification: Fruit is large, oval in shape with a roundish apex and has an attractive golden yellow colour which turns into chocolate brown at full maturity.
Yield: 150-200 kg of fruit per tree.

Sanaur

Distribution: Patiala
Specification: Fruit is large and oblong with a roundish apex. On ripening, fruits atain a light yellow colour.
Yiel: 150 kg fruit per tree.

Kaithli

Distribution: Haryana
Specification: The fruit is medium in size, oval in shape and has a tapering apex. Fruit pulp is soft.
Yield: The average yield is 120 kg fruit per tree.

Gola

Distribution: Haryana and Rajasthan
Specification: It is an early variety. Fruits are round in shape, medium in size and attain golden yellow colour. Taste is sweet.
Yield: The average yield is 80 kg fruit per tree.

Rootstock and propagation

Seeds of Katha ber are generally used for raising rootstock which are easily available from the wild growing trees and possess the qualities of a good rootstock.The ber plants are budded on Zizyphus mauritiana for higher fruit yield. Umran trees grafted on thia rootstock show a spread of 6 metre as compared to recommended rootstock viz. elongated dehradun.

Raising of rootstock

• Collect the seeds during the month of February and March from a vigorous and healthy wild ber tree.
• Dip the seeds into a salt solution of 17-18 percent concentration for 24 hours before sowing.
• Discard the floating seeds.
• Sow all seeds in seed bed at a distance of 15 cm in a rows 30 cm apart.
• Germination starts in about 3-4 weeks and seedlings make a rapid growth.
• Nearly 1/4th of seedlings attain buddable size of a lead pencil by August, while the rest are ready for budding by April next.

Budding

The propagation of ber by budding is the most successful method. Both shield or T-budding and ring budding methods are employed but the former is preferable, because it is easier to perform. Budding operation should be done when there is proper flow of sap in the stock to be budded. Shield budding is done during March-April or August-September, but it has been found that August-September budding gives a far better success. The buddlings make growth at a very fast speed. Plants budded in April usually become saleable in August-September, where as those budded in rainy season are ready for planting by February-March next. The ring budding is preferable during June-July when the new growth starts.

Is grafting possible in ber?

Budding is the commercial method of propagation in ber.

Grafting is a different method of plant propagation in fruit plants. The major difference between grafting and budding is plant propagation materials. In budding, the bud of the plant is used for propagation, while the scion is used for grafting.

Yes, grafting is possible in ber.

For grafting in ber, we employ softwood graft.

Follow these steps for grafting in ber

Step 01: Select few healthy branches
Step 02: Cut these branches to initiate new shoots
Step 03: New shoots come with many buds. Select the tender shoots having plump buds.
Step 04: Remove a bud from the tender scion stick by giving a sharp cut.
Step 05: Perfom top veneer grafting to make grafted ber plant.