California Rare Fruit Growers

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The gift of grafting

By Ben Shouse

Grafting is the process by which a shoot or bud of a plant is inserted into another where it grows permanently.

Gonzales High School student

Timmy Sanchez, 17, left, learns how to graft an apple tree Wednesday from Mam Daniels, a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers association. Several classes at Gonzales High School took part in the day-long activity.

Joe Sabol arrived at Gonzales High School on Wednesday with enthusiasm and a cooler full of apple stems.

By the time he left, he had taught 50 students how to make a tree.

The students learned to graft stems from Fuji and Gordon apple trees onto roots from another tree, a common practice among fruit growers.

Sabol, who is director of outreach at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, said his aim was to show students agriculture in action.

"I like to watch their faces," he said. "They get to see some magic here."

Lorbje Menginsay, a Gonzaless student, successfully grafted a Gordon twig onto a semi-dwarf rootstock, with help from Sabol. But for a few of her classmates, things went less smoothly. "This is the kind of graft that grows good in Australia," Sabol said, holding up another student's tree. "What's wrong with an Australian graft? The buds are going the wrong way"

Mario Rodriguez, another student, explained the reason for grafting. "Let's say there are two trees, and one doesn't give out a lot of apples," he said. "Well, you can get the stem of another tree and clone it to a rootstock." The result is a productive tree with strong roots.

Sabol said students will remember the hands-on experience, and may even start growing their own trees. "The nurserymen ought to be happy that we're here today getting these kids excited," he said.

-- Mario Rodriguez,

PORTERVILLE - A hands-on lesson in tree grafting at local high schools Monday produced not only a batch of new apple trees, but student satisfaction in their work.

Students in Granite Hills High School instructor Danell Salerno's ag biology class may have been slightly skeptical about their ability to graft fruit trees when class began. By the time Dr. Joe Sabol, Cal Poly's director of outreach for the college of agriculture, completed his grafting demonstration, they looked interested.

Once they got their hands on rootstock, potting soil and the scion (a twig with buds from a plant), they were hooked. Even Principal Xavier de la Torre joined the class to graft a new tree.

Sabol's lesson included the basics of tree grafting, an art that sustains the tree-fruit industry by producing trees that bear fruit true to form and taste.

Assisting Sabol were volunteers from the California Rare Fruit Growers Association.

"Kids don't usually see this type of operation and they're interested in how it can work," said volunteer Diane Mercieca.

Sabol, who told students that he has an apple tree in his back yard that grows 65 different varieties of apples, explained that grafting is necessary for the production of many varieties of apples.

Sabol's presentations at Granite Hills and Lindsay high schools were only two of the 30 grafting demonstrations he gives at California high schools each spring. Mercieca said Sabol began offering the grafting demonstrations two years ago and the project spread quickly.

Granite Hills students used semi-dwarf apple rootstock purchased for $1 each and learned that their trees, if grafted correctly, would be three to five feet tall in one year and would be worth about $15 -$20.

Scion wood for the grafts was donated by Bear Creek Apple Ranch in Springville, said Salerno. Students had a choice of grafting Arkansas Black, Fuji or Pink Lady apples on their rootstock.

After extracting a pledge that students show extreme caution in handling the sharp grafting knives, Sabol showed them how to cut the top off the rootstock and make an inch and a half cut down into the rootstock.

"Just put the knife there an tap it down straight," he instructed. He then explained how to choose a piece of scion wood with four buds, how to expose the cambium layer of the scion wood and insert it into the rootstock.

"Remember, buds have to be going up," he warned.

"It has to be perfect, with no air between them," Sabol said "This line and this line have to be straight and no air."

Sabol said after a proper graft, the two plants will heal together to produce a new tree. Students wrapped their grafts with tape and daubed black goo on the exposed cuts to complete the project.

"This will be a beautiful tree," said junior Chris Wells as he finished his project.