Successful Methods of Grafting in Pecan (Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch)

Considering the importance of grafted seedlings for the development of pecan orchards in subtropical regions of Iran, and in order to achieve a scientifically practical method of producing grafted pecan seedlings, this project was carried out in Safiabad Agricultural Research Center of Dezful during 2011-12. The project investigated three grafting methods including hot cable, hypocotyl and lateral. For each grafting method, scions of Gratex, Wichita, Choctaw, 10J and Graking pecan cultivars were grafted onto two-year old seedling rootstocks having a diameter of 1-1. 5 cm. Scions were grafted on seedling rootstocks using the hot cable grafting method in 5 times ranging from late October to mid-February and the hypocotyl and lateral grafting methods in five times ranging from early November to early March. The graft success was then investigated four weeks after grafting. The best grafting time was late-January to late-February using the hot cable grafting method and mid-February to late-March using the hypocotyl grafting method. Also, the highest percentage of grafted success was achieved by using Wichita scions (91. 7%), while «10J» had the lowest percentage. The Lateral grafting method was unsuccessful compared to the other two methods and percentages for different cultivars using this method were below 20%.