Key Points and Operation Methods of Cucumber Seedling Grafting Technique Explained
In our daily lives, cucumbers are generally grown by seed propagation, and people are actually not familiar with cucumber grafting techniques. Cucumber grafting has many advantages; generally speaking, it can overcome the harm of continuous cropping, improve resistance, enhance quality, and increase yield. So how do you graft cucumbers? Today, let's learn the grafting technique for cucumber seedlings with the editor.
1. Grafting Preparation
For grafting cucumber seedlings, we need to prepare the grafting rootstock, and usually Yunnan black-seed pumpkin and white-seed pumpkin can be used. Next is preparing the scion, which is the cucumber seedling; soak the seeds to promote germination, and sow after they sprout. The rootstock also needs to be soaked to promote germination before sowing. When sowing, the timing should be staggered; generally, cucumbers should be sown first, and after a few years the pumpkin seedlings should be planted, then grafting should be carried out when the cucumber seedlings have grown for about eight to ten days. Finally, grafting tools also need to be prepared, such as blades, bamboo skewers, grafting clips, adhesive tape, plastic film strips, and so on.
2. Grafting Methods
The most commonly used methods for grafting cucumber seedlings include four types: insertion grafting, approach grafting, cleft grafting, and splice grafting. Here, the first two grafting methods are mainly discussed. Insertion grafting is divided into diagonal insertion and straight insertion. In diagonal insertion, the cucumber seedling is cut into a slanted surface, then inserted at a 35-degree angle to a depth of 5 mm and fixed with a bamboo skewer. In straight insertion, the scion is inserted directly to a depth of 5 mm, with the rootstock and scion forming a cross shape, then sprayed with clean water. Next is approach grafting; we need to process both the rootstock and the scion, grasp the depth of the cuts well, then insert the tongue-shaped wedge of the scion into the cut of the rootstock, and finally fix it with a grafting clip.
3. Grafting Management
After grafting, we should pay attention to moisture retention. Move the grafted seedlings into nutrient pots and spray water, and a plastic arched shed can be built to retain moisture. After three to four days, humidity needs to be reduced and ventilation increased. At the same time, as time passes and the grafted seedlings grow, it is enough to maintain reasonable natural growing humidity. Next is temperature control and shading. The growing temperature should generally be maintained at around 25 to 30 degrees, with the lowest temperature not below 15 degrees and the highest temperature not above 30 degrees. At the beginning, light exposure should not be too strong, and light intensity needs to be gradually increased with later growth. Finally, the axillary buds that were not removed during grafting should be completely cleared, and root cutting should be carried out. After root cutting, the grafted seedling grafting is complete, and it can be moved to the field for normal growth.
4. Precautions
When grafting, we mainly need to pay attention to these points. First is the selection of grafting rootstock; choose a rootstock suitable for local grafting. Second, the nutrient soil in the grafting seedbed should be prepared in a reasonable ratio, and the seedbed should be watered before grafting. Also, the grafted cucumber seedlings should be moved into nutrient pots, and an arched shed should be built. Finally, the grafting tools need to be disinfected.
The above is the cucumber seedling grafting technique brought to you by the editor. In fact, when growing cucumbers, we are still used to seed propagation, because it is simpler and not so complicated. But if you want high yield and high quality, and want the soil's use value to be further developed, then grafted seedlings are a good choice.