Effect of grafting time and technique on the success rate of grafted Mango (Mangifera indica L.) in Kalu District of Amhara Region, North Eastern Ethiopia

Vegetative propagation through grafting is the recommended method for most fruit crops including mango. It involves the joining of scion and rootstock where the rootstock develops into the root system while the scion develops the upper fruiting part of the grafted tree. The study was conducted in Harbu fruit nursery site of Amhara Region from June 2015 to December 2016 with the objective of determining appropriate grafting time and technique that maximize the graft success of grafted mango using Apple variety as a scion. The treatments were laid out in factorial arrangement using Completely Randomized Design with three replications. The results of the present study generally indicated that both the main and the interaction effects of grafting time with grafting technique had a significant influence on days to bud break, rootstock diameters, scion diameters, scion length, rootstock length, number of leaves per graft and graft success of mango. The minimum required times for bud breaking were observed when mango was grafted with cleft grafting technique during March grafting time (17.37days). The maximum success rate of grafting (100%) was obtained from treatment combination of June or March grafting time with cleft technique. Therefore, propagation of mango using cleft grafting technique during the month of March can be recommended for the study area and areas with similar agro-ecologies to increase the success rate of mango. Moreover, doing similar researches at different localities is recommended to identify best-fit mango propagation techniques to improve mango production at regional level in particular and at national level in general.