Improving Vegetative Propagation of Mango

Abstract

Abstract An experiment was conducted during three consecutive years (2010, 2011 and 2012) at the nursery of the Faculty of Agricultural science, University of Dongola, Northern State, Sudan, to study the effects of season of the year, selected pre-graft cultural treatments on scion graft take and subsequent scion shoot growth and development of mango (Mangifera indica L.) Three pre-cultural practices were used; namely, defoliation, decapitation and a combination of defoliation and decapitation of the source branches of scion shoots. All scion shoots were collected from a single e “Abu Samaka” tree during the winter and summer seasons of each year from defoliated, decapitated, and defoliated and decapitated branches two weeks prior to grafting. Ten-to twelve- months old “Kitchiner” seedlings were used as rootstock. Grafted seedlings were kept under lath house conditions. Scions grafted during winter gave significantly higher percentage of successful graft than their summer grafted ones irrespective of the cultural treatment. Also all cultural treatments gave significantly high scion graft success relative to the control in both seasons with no significant difference between them. However, the highest percent graft success, the greatest number of scion shoots, the longest shoots, and the largest number of leaves were obtained with defoliation compared with the control or the cultural treatments tested. Both season and cultural practices tested had little or no effect on scion number, elongation and leaf number responses.