Optimizing production of quality nursery plants for fruit tree cultivation

Publication date: 29/06/2019
Extent: 60 pages

Contributions by: Stefano Musacchi, Washington State University and Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, USA; and Davide Neri, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy

Chapter synopsis: It is now possible to purchase specific nursery tree types that are more compatible with an intended training system, improving planting efficiency and encouraging early production. Although single axis, well-feathered scions suitable for high-density spindle training systems have dominated nursery production over the past two decades, recent nursery trends increasingly produce double axis scions for pear, apple and even stone fruits, to obtain uniform and early producing fruiting walls. This chapter summarizes current knowledge of the physiology of grafting and recent innovations in such fruit tree nursery techniques. New approaches to regulate nursery plant growth and development are reviewed. In vitro propagation is also included which is becoming more and more powerful for producing rootstocks and self-rooted varieties of several fruit species. Sections on scion grafting and budding techniques are covered and the biochemical and physiological aspects of graft incompatibility are discussed in detail. The chapter concludes with a section on tree production in the nursery.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2018.0040.06