Techniques in budding
BUDDING is a technique similar to grafting, only now a single bud is used instead of a graft with several buds. The same care with grafting has to be taken with budding, i.e., the cambial tissue of both scion and rootstock must be in contact with each other for successful budding. One of the most important factors in budding is the harvesting of the bud-sticks. A very helpful hint is to observe the time the mother-plant is emitting new growth or vegetative flush. Usually, the harvesting of buds 25 to 30 days before that time will ensure fast bud growth and budding success because at that point, the buds are programmed to growth and will slip easily from the bud-sticks. The buds can be harvested with or without a small piece of the wood.

Types of budding
T-Bud or Shield Bud: This is one of the most common types of budding. The process is quite simple and can be mastered easily with reasonable practice. This type of budding is widely used by nurserymen for propagating nursery stock of many fruit trees, shade trees, roses, and ornamental shrubs.

For the T-Bud, the rootstock receives a ‘T ‘shape cut where the bud will be inserted (Fig.1).  It is not necessary to open the cut made. The bud is then removed from the budstick by starting the cut about 1 cm below the bud. Some of the wood is removed, but it is not necessary to remove a lot of it.  The cut should end about 1.5 – 2 cm up from the bud, where a transverse cut is made to free the bud. After the bud has been removed from the budstick, it is then pushed downward in the ‘T’ cut, under the two bark flaps. The budding is ended by firmly tying the bud with wrapping material. However, the pass over the bud should not be too tight, or it might damage the bud.
Inverted T-Budding: This is very similar to the T-Bud, only now the cut is upside down and the harvest of the bud starts from the top down
Chip budding: This is another technique of budding that differs from T-Budding in both the type of budding used, and the kind of cuts made on the rootstock. Nurserymen replacing T-Budding have increasingly used this process.

It consists of making a cut at a 45o angle 0.5 cm in the stock. About 2.5 cm above the first cut, start the second cut downward until it connects with the first cut. These cuts must be made between two internodes of the rootstock. Similar cuts are made on the budstick for the removal of the bud. After the removal of the bud, it is placed on the rootstock and wrapped firmly in place with plastic tape.

In this method, the rootstock and the scion must have the same diameter for a perfect fit of the bud to the rootstock. Where this is not possible, the bud must be moved to ensure that at least one side of the bud will match exactly one side of the cut on the rootstock. This procedure is similar to the grafting technique with scion and rootstock with different diameters, and is made to ensure that at least part of the cambial tissue of both bud and rootstock will meet each other.
Another important feature of chip-budding is that the buds can be mechanically cut. Also, the bud can be cut without the portion of the wood; just the skin with the bud.

Other types of budding are the Patch Bud, Flute Bud, Ring or Annular Bud, and I-Bud.
For the patch bud, special tools are required, such as the double-bladed knives or four rectangular cutting blades.
Top-working can also be performed with budding. The most widely used method is T- budding but other methods also can be used. If budding is to be used for top-working, some branches to serve as rootstock should be allowed to grow to receive the buds. Because top-working happens under field conditions, the leaves of the branch should be used to protect the buds. Sometimes the bud may be exposed to direct sunlight and quickly dry out.

Next week, we will discuss how to select the materials for grafting and budding, and the care for the grafted and budded plant while in the nursery.