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Detailed Explanation of Key Grafting Techniques for Young Korean Pine Forests

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1. Scion collection: Select mother trees with good growth traits and strong seed-bearing capacity in the seed orchard for scion collection, and carry it out in the early spring of the grafting year, in the first and middle ten days of March, before the sap begins to flow. The collection site is the 2nd to 3rd whorl of branches on the trunk, and these should be robust 1-year-old branches. The scion diameter should be about 8 mm. Do not collect too many scions at one time; 15-20 branches per tree can be controlled to protect the superior mother trees. After collection, the scions must be packaged, transported with moisture retention, or stored in a cellar. If using a rural vegetable cellar for storage, place 50 cm of ice at the bottom, put the scions in, and seal

1. Scion collection: Select mother trees with good growth traits and strong seed-bearing capacity in the seed orchard for scion collection, and carry it out in the early spring of the grafting year, in the first and middle ten days of March, before the sap begins to flow. The collection site is the 2nd to 3rd whorl of branches on the trunk, and these should be robust 1-year-old branches. The scion diameter should be about 8 mm. Do not collect too many scions at one time; 15-20 branches per tree can be controlled to protect the superior mother trees. After collection, the scions must be packaged, transported with moisture retention, or stored in a cellar. If using a rural vegetable cellar for storage, place 50 cm of ice at the bottom, put the scions in, seal the cellar opening tightly, and keep the temperature inside the cellar below -5°C.

2. Grafting time: The grafting time for Korean pine can be from the middle ten days of May to the first ten days of June, preferably during the rapid height-growth period of the new shoots or just after it.

3. Grafting method: Select newly planted young forests with a stand age of more than 2 years; a tree age of 4-6 years is suitable. After the scions are taken out of the cellar, select and cut the stored scions, choosing those with plump, robust terminal buds that have not sprouted, are not air-dried, and are not dehydrated; cut them to a length of 9-10 cm, and keep the scion needles completely intact. When grafting, it is best to carry the scions in a container and take moisture-retention measures to avoid sunlight and air-drying, which affect the scion survival rate. It is best if the scion and rootstock are consistent in diameter; the scion diameter should not be less than 2/3 of the rootstock diameter.

Cut the scion into a wedge shape, with a length of 1.5-2 cm. It should be cut with 1 stroke; never repeat the cutting. After the scion is cut, treat the rootstock: first remove the needles in the direction below the terminal bud of the rootstock for about 5 cm. Then cut off the terminal bud horizontally from the base of the bud upward 2 mm, and then cut downward along the pith of the rootstock, with a length slightly greater than the wedge length of the scion. Insert the cut wedge-shaped scion into the cut surface of the rootstock so that the cambium of the scion and the cambium of the rootstock join. Bind with plastic strips, exposing the plump terminal bud, and ensure it is impermeable to water and air.

4. Precautions: At the time of grafting, do not yet cut off the terminal buds of the lateral branches around the rootstock. If the scion is damaged, withered, or dies after grafting due to damage by humans or livestock, drought, or other factors, since the main branch of the rootstock cannot be grafted again, in the second year a lateral branch with good growth and strong vitality can be used for grafting again. For plants grafted using lateral branches as rootstock, depending on their growth, they can be cultivated for both fruit and timber or cultivated to promote seed bearing.

5. Post-grafting management: After grafting, livestock must be strictly prohibited from entering the forest land. 90 days after the graft survives, remove the binding plastic strips and cut off the terminal buds of the rootstock's lateral branches. After the graft survives, the growth of the rootstock's lateral branches is greater than that of the scion. To promote the growth of the scion's main branch, pruning should be carried out once every spring to remove the terminal buds of lateral branches that affect the growth of the scion's main branch. After seed bearing, pruning to promote seed bearing should be carried out.

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