Studies on the Influence Age of Rootstocks and Season on Grafting Success in Manila Tamarind (Pithecellobium dulce Roxb.)

Abstract

Background: Manila tamarind (Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth) belongs to the family Fabaceae and sub-family Mimosoideae. This tree have multiple uses; fruit, firewood, honey, fodder, soap oil, tannin, hedges and shade. Naturally this plant species can be multiplied by seeds. Apart from genetic variability, the seedling progenies may take long time to first bearing and sometimes irregular bearing also noticed due to its genetic makeup. In order to overcome these drawbacks, vegetative propagation is the only alternate way to get genetically uniform, early bearing and high yielding characters. The age of rootstocks and season of grafting influences the success of the grafts and performance of the grafted plants. With this background, studies on age of rootstocks and season on grafting success in Manila Tamarind was carried out. Methods: An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of season and age of the rootstocks in Manila Tamarind (Pithecellobium dulce). The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with 15 treatment combinations and four replications. In this study, three rootstocks of different age viz., 6, 9 and 12 months old were grafted during June, July, August, September and October. Result: The main and interaction effects on age of rootstocks and season of grafting had a significant influence on survival percentage, number of days taken to first sprouting, number of leaves per plant and chlorophyll content of manila tamarind under controlled conditions. The softwood grafting performed on nine month old rootstocks during September recorded the highest survival percentage and it was significantly different from all other treatments. The same treatment i.e., nine months old rootstock grafted in September was also recorded the less number of days taken to first sprouting with highest number of leaves per plant and chlorophyll content.