This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
We often think of agriculture asplanting seeds and harvesting crops. But many crops do not come fromseeds. Many kinds of trees and plants are grown from pieces cut fromexisting trees and plants. This is called grafting.
Farmers cut branches or young growths called buds from one plantand place them on a related kind of plant. The branch or bud that isgrafted is called a scion [SY-uhn]. The plant that accepts the graftis called root stock.
Over time, the parts from the two plants grow together. Thegrafted plant begins to produce the leaves and fruit of the scion,not the root stock.
A graft can be cut in several ways. For example, a cleft graftrequires a scion with several buds on it. The bottom of the scion iscut in the shape of the letter V. A place is cut in the root stockto accept the scion. The scion is then securely placed into the cuton the root stock. A growth medium is put on the joint to keep itwet and help the growth.
Grafting can join scions with desirable qualities to root stockthat is strong and resists disease and insects. Smaller trees can begrafted with older scions. The American Environmental ProtectionAgency says grafting can reduce the need for poisons on crops. TheE-P-A found that grafting stronger plants cost less than usingchemicals. Also, many poisons are dangerous to the environment andpeople.
Agriculture could not exist as we know it without grafting. Manyfruits and nuts have been improved this way. Some common fruit treessuch as sweet cherries and McIntosh apples have to be grafted.
Bing cherries, for example, are one of the most popular kinds ofcherries. But a Bing cherry tree is not grown from seed. Branchesthat produce Bing cherries must be grafted onto root stock. Allsweet cherries on the market are grown this way.
And then there are seedless fruits like navel oranges andseedless watermelons. Have you ever wondered how farmers grow them?The answer is, through grafting.
The grapefruit tree is another plant that depends on grafting toreproduce. Grapes, apples, pears and also flowers can be improvedthrough grafting. In an age of high-technology agriculture, graftingis a low-technology method that remains extremely important.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter.