Four common grafting methods for jujube tree cultivation
1) Single-bud bark grafting. From May to September, when the rootstock begins to slip bark, grafting can be done every day. Choose sour jujube rootstock under 5 years old with a diameter of about 1.5 cm; use lignified, disease-free and pest-free growing shoots as scions.
2) Subcutaneous grafting. Grafting can be done from spring when the rootstock sap begins to flow until early September, but late April to late June is the best period. The rootstock should be vigorously growing sour jujube with a diameter of 1.5-2.0 cm, and the scion should be a plump one-year-old growing shoot. The grafting site should preferably be 5 cm above the underground horizontal root. In Wendilou Township, Jin County, Liaoning Province, using this method in a year of severe drought, the survival rate was above 90%.
3) Cleft grafting. It is best to graft 15-20 days before the rootstock slips bark in early spring. Choose rootstock with a diameter of more than 1.5 cm, and use plump one-year-old growing shoots as scions. During grafting, do not let soil particles enter the graft union, so as not to affect wound healing. After grafting, cover the graft union with fine moist soil and pat it firm by hand until it covers 5-6 cm above the top of the scion, then cover the surface with a layer of dry soil.
4) T-shaped budding. It can be carried out from mid-May to mid-August, with July being the best. For spring budding, use the main bud of last year's jujube shoot as the bud; for summer and autumn budding, use the main bud of the current year's jujube shoot as the bud. The specific method is to first make a cut 0.5 cm above the bud on the scion, then make an upward slanting cut from 1.5 cm below the bud, take off a long shield-shaped bud piece that is flat on top and pointed at the bottom and has xylem, insert it into the rootstock incision, gently peel the bark layer of the incision to both sides, then insert the bud piece so that the upper part of the bud piece aligns closely with the horizontal cut of the rootstock, then tie it from bottom to top with a plastic strip, and expose the bud. If budding is done early, it may sprout in the same year; if late, it will sprout the following year.