Helping those who grow and eat the most delicious fruit.
In this article on growing citrus from cuttings, I show how to root citrus rootstocks in stonewool. These rootstocks can then be used to graft citrus trees of many different varieties. For example, to propagate a lemon tree, rather than rooting lemon cuttings, citrus rootstock cuttings are rooted. A lemon cutting is then grafted to the rootstock. Grafting to a rootstock will produce a superior tree. Benefits include disease resistance and improved fruit flavor and texture.
This article shows a highly efficient bud grafting technique used for grafting citrus trees in citrus nurseries.
I saw chip budding of citrus performed at TreeSource Citrus Nursery in California’s central valley. Chip budding is a bud grafting technique used for grafting orange trees, grafting lemon trees, and for grafting citrus trees of all varieties. Chip budding to young citrus rootstocks makes it possible to propagate a large number of citrus trees in a small space.
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California scientists use various techniques, including grafting citrus trees under a microscope, to avoid all graft-transmissible diseases when introducing a citrus variety to the state. Because citrus trees are vulnerable to many graft-transmissible diseases, all citrus varieties to be introduced in California must by law go through the Citrus Clonal Protection Program or CCPP at the University of California Riverside. Using a grafting technique called shoot tip grafting, the CCPP will remove any disease-causing organisms and certify that a variety is healthy for release in California.
In California our citrus trees are severely threatened by a deadly and incurable plant disease called huanglongbing or HLB. It is possible to save citrus trees from this disease by removing and destroying unloved citrus trees. A free citrus tree removal service is now available in California's HLB-affected areas.
