Hazelnuts are popular among adults and children. They are grown in gardens and cultivated with various types of nut trees. A common question for breeders is grafting hazelnuts onto bear nuts. The rules and timing of vaccination will be discussed below.
Vaccination dates
Hazelnut is one of the varieties of hazel, distinguished by large fruits. In total, there are about 20 varieties of hazel, which are obtained by cultivation and grafting. Bear nut is used to cultivate hazel, but other trees are also suitable. This is a long-living, frost-resistant tree up to 25-30 m high.
There are several reasons why it is necessary to graft hazelnuts onto bear nuts. This is done for:
- increased winter hardiness;
- arborescence;
- early pregnancy;
- increased productivity;
- lack of growth;
- life extension;
- the ability to exploit the area under trees.
Hazelnuts are grafted onto bear nuts in the winter and spring. It is better to use a heated room or greenhouse to place the cuttings.
Spring grafting
Harvesting cuttings should begin in late November or early March before the buds awaken. The cuttings are stored in the cellar. It is necessary to vaccinate after slight warming, depending on the region. In the southern part of the country, vaccination begins at the end of March, in the northern part - in mid-April. The buds of the scion must be dormant, otherwise the tree will die due to the lack of plastic substances in the cuttings.
Summer grafting
The cutting can be grafted in the summer; it is best to do this in July-August. It is necessary to cut the cuttings right before grafting or a day before. If cuttings were cut the day before grafting, they should be wrapped in a damp cloth and placed in a bag. Grafting cuttings to the crown is usually done in warm regions, since in the cold they will not take root and will disappear.
Hazelnut grafting methods
Propagation of hazelnuts by grafting onto hazel varieties with many beneficial properties makes it possible to obtain new bushes in a short time. You can graft cuttings in early spring in the following ways:
- Improved copulation is the most effective method. It increases the survival rate due to close contact with the grafted parts and a large area of contact. Copulation is performed in any season.
- Vaccination for the bark. This method gives one hundred percent survival rate. In the spring, due to the easy separation of the bark, the grafting process is simplified.
- Grafting into the cleft. The cuts must be correct, clearly matching. The cut area must be wrapped tightly. It is important that all factors are present - correct technique, good juice production, optimal environmental conditions.
- By budding. In this case, an eye or a bud is grafted. The germinating eye appears in the spring, and the dormant eye appears in the summer. Budding consists of eliminating natural prolapses before cutting the scion buds. They should not touch the vaccination site. If fibers get into it, fusion will fail. Improved survival rate can be achieved by two or three buddings.
After grafting, no more than 2-3 buds should remain; they will ensure successful fusion and further development of the tree. Wrapping the cuttings in bags will prevent moisture evaporation and protect from the sun.
The grafting is done at a height of 1-1.5 m, after which all buds are removed after germination, otherwise the rootstock and scion may be damaged. In the places where the cuts are made, you need to coat them with garden varnish. After this, they are wrapped with polyvinyl chloride film, which is removed after the buds open.
Winter vaccination
Hazelnuts can be grafted onto bear nuts in winter and spring. In mid-November, you should dig up the rootstock bushes and place them in the cellar, where the temperature is at least 0OC. At the beginning of March, they need to be taken out of a heated room, the rhizomes should be washed, and placed in mulch covered with boiling water for 10-14 days. This will cause the rootstock to wake up.
Cuttings wrapped in a bag are best stored in a cool place. They are harvested in late November – early December. They must be dormant until grafting.Otherwise, they will not take root and will die.
The awakening of the rootstock can be determined by swollen or sprouting buds. From this moment you can begin to graft trees. After all grafting manipulations have been completed, the seedlings are placed in wet mulch for 14-21 days in a warm room with a temperature of +12-14OC. Irrigation should be done by systematic sprinkling. After warming, the trees are planted in boxes and germinated until autumn.
Features of grafting hazel onto bear nut
A very effective technique for accelerating the growth and establishment of cuttings is fusion in a pipe. The plant is placed in a polypropylene sewer pipe at the grafting site. Through it there is a supply of warm air with temperatures up to +25OC – this will improve fusion. The rest of the plant is kept cool (not lower than +12-13OWITH).
A slot is made in the pipe into which the seedling is inserted. Next, the pipe is wrapped with some kind of material, without affecting the lower and upper parts of the tree. You can prevent the scion part from drying out by spreading it with garden varnish. The air can be heated by a heating cable or from a hot furnace.
Growth occurs within three weeks; trees take root under such conditions in 98% of cases.
