Jamun (Syzygium cumini Skeels) is a vital fruit crop for arid regions. An investigation was conducted to assess the propagation success of four jamun varieties (CISH-42, CISH-37, Konkan Bahadoli and Goma Priyanka) in the south western region of Punjab. Data were collected on grafting success, graft survival, sprout initiation, number of sprouts and leaves per graft, graft height, and chlorophyll index. The results revealed that the variety Konkan Bahadoli recorded highest graft success (83.7%, 82.8%) and survival rates (76.6%, 73.9%) during both the years, followed by Goma Priyanka. The var. Konkan Bahadoli recorded earliest sprouting (16.6 days, 15.3 days, respectively in both years) and superior growth parameters, including the number of sprouts and leaves, graft height, and chlorophyll index. Overall, the var. Konkan Bahadoli responded best to grafting performed in March under south-western region of Punjab

Chander, S

Kumar, A

English

Journal of Horticultural Sciences

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License,which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.J. Hortic. Sci.Vol. 19(1), 2024https://doi.org/10.24154/jhs.v19i1.1877Short CommunicationEffect of grafting on success and survivability ofjamun (Syzygium cumini Skeels.) varietiesKumar A. and Chander S.*Regional Research Station, Abohar - 152116, Punjab Agricultural University, Punjab, India*Corresponding author Email : subhashghorela@pau.eduABSTRACTJamun (Syzygium cumini Skeels) is a vital fruit crop for arid regions. An investigation was conducted to assessthe propagation success of four jamun varieties (CISH-42, CISH-37, Konkan Bahadoli and Goma Priyanka)in the south-western region of Punjab. Data were collected on grafting success, graft survival, sprout initiation,number of sprouts and leaves per graft, graft height, and chlorophyll index. The results revealed that the varietyKonkan Bahadoli recorded highest graft success (83.7%, 82.8%) and survival rates (76.6%, 73.9%) duringboth the years, followed by Goma Priyanka. The var. Konkan Bahadoli recorded earliest sprouting (16.6 days,15.3 days, respectively in both years) and superior growth parameters, including the number of sprouts andleaves, graft height, and chlorophyll index. Overall, the var. Konkan Bahadoli responded best to graftingperformed in March under south-western region of Punjab.Keywords: Chlorophyll index, graft success, graft survival, grafting, jamunINTRODUCTIONJamun (Syzygium cumini Skeels.) is one of theimportant minor indigenous fruit crops of India,belongs to the family Myrtaceae. The tree bears darkpurple date like fruits of 2-4 cm long with prominentelongated seeds. The fruit is usually astringent,sometimes unpalatable and the taste varies from acidto fairly sweet. In recent years, this crop has attainedimportance as an arid zone fruit crop because of itshardy nature, high yielding potential besides itsnutritious fruits. Jamun seed powder has antidiabeticproperties and also cures ringworm. It is found in wildthroughout India i.e., from Indo-gangetic plains in thenorth to Tamil Nadu in the south. In Punjab, jamunis cultivated in an area of about 80 ha which is mainlyconfined to arid irrigated zone. Considering thecommercial and medicinal importance of thisunexploited crop and the potentiality of cultivation ofthis fruit crop especially in the arid zone, there is agreat demand of improved varieties with good qualityfruits, early bearing and dwarf stature, and high yieldpotential. Despite its benefits, the cultivation of jamunfaces challenges, particularly in terms of propagationand ensuring high survival rates of plants. As this crophas gained importance the growers are demandinggenuine true-to-type planting materials.Jamun is propagated both sexually and asexually. Butpoor germination, slow growth of rootstock seedlings,lack of information on season and suitable method ofpropagation has rendered the clonal multiplicationprocess more difficult to produce large scale plantingmaterial to meet the growing demand (Chander et al.,2016a). Grafting technique is being practicedcommercially at almost all the commercial nurseriesof the country (Chander et al., 2016b). The techniquegives an excellent result in initial success withminimum mortality, better and uniform cropestablishment (Ram & Pathak, 2006). Prevailingweather conditions plays a prominent role on graftingsuccess and growth parameters of grafts. The idealmonth of grafting and further the response of differentvarieties to weather conditions vary in differentregions. Various factors influence the success andsurvivability of grafts viz., varieties, grafting method,defoliation period of scion, time of grafting operation,age of the scion, leaf and node retention on rootstock(Khushi et al., 2019). The vegetative methods ofpropagation like patch budding and grafting areperformed in jamun (Giri & Lenka, 2007; Shindeet al., 2010; Chander et al., 2016b; Ruchita et al.,2022). Also, the grafting success and survivability ofthe jamun varies with the genotypes (Ruchita et al.,2022). The south-western region of Punjab,characterized by its semi-arid climate, presents aJ. Hortic. Sci.Vol. 19(1), 2024Kumar & Chanderunique set of challenges for jamun cultivation.Understanding the specific responses of jamunvarieties to grafting under these conditions is crucialfor optimizing cultivation practices and improvingyield. The study seeks to identify which jamun varietyexhibits the best overall performance when subjectedto grafting in the specific climatic conditions ofsouth-western Punjab.An experiment on the success of grafting in jamun wasperformed at fruit nursery, Regional Research Station,Abohar, Punjab Agricultural University, Punjab,during two consecutive years i.e. 2021 and 2022.Wedge grafting was performed for four jamun varietiesnamely CISH-42, CISH-37, Konkan Bahadoli andGoma Priyanka. Pre-raised jamun seedlings of 8-9months old having pencil size thickness, vigorousgrowth and uniform size were selected as rootstock(Local cultivar) for grafting. Eighty plants of eachvariety were grafted during 1st week of March in boththe years. For the scion bud-sticks collection, the pastseason shoot having pencil thickness were defoliated1 week prior to the grafting operation to make the budsactivated. The scion sticks were collected from mothertrees of all the four varieties in the morning hours onthe day of grafting. Immediately after separation ofthe scions from the mother tree, they were wrappedin moist cloth and carried in polythene covers to thesite of grafting. The grafting was carried out on thesame day of separation. Then the scions were coveredwith 100 micron polytubes to avoid desiccation of thescion by creating humidity near and above the graftunion. The observation on graft success and numberof sprouts was recorded at 30 days after grafting.Graft survivability was recorded after 90 days ofgrafting. Growth parameters including total numberof leaves per graft, graft height were recorded after60, 120, and 180 days after grafting. Chlorophyllindex was measured after 180 days of grafting byusing chlorophyll content meter (CCM-200 plus).Prevailing weather data was recorded during theexperimentation period (Fig. 1). The experiment waslaid out in a completely randomized design with fourtreatments and four replications. All the data wereanalysed using OPSTAT (Sheoran et al., 1998).Bartlett’s Chi-square test was performed to test ofhomogeneity of variances. Pooled analysis of twoyears were analysed and discussed at P < 0.05 for thesignificance of the difference between their meanvalues.The pooled data results indicated no significantdifferences in graft success among the four varieties.However, variety Konkan Bahadoli achieved acomparatively higher graft success rate (83.7%) inboth years (Fig. 2). There was a significant impact ofvarieties on graft survival in both years. Specifically,varieties Konkan Bahadoli and Goma Priyankashowed the highest graft survival rates (76.6% and73.9%), respectively. The variety Konkan Bahadolidemonstrated better scion and stock union formation,as evidenced by a higher number of leaves andchlorophyll index. Initially, most grafts sprouted butlater dried up. This initial sprouting likely occurreddue to stored food reserves, as the unsuccessful unionbetween stock and scion prevented water and nutrientsupply to the scion (Chander et al., 2016a).Variations in graft survivability among different jamunvarieties may be attributed to varietal characteristics.Similar findings were also reported by Ruchita et al.(2022) in jamun and Khushi et al. (2019) in mango.Significant varietal differences in the days to sproutingwere observed. Grafts of the var. Goma PriyankaFig. 1: Weather data recorded during the period ofstudyFig. 2: Effect of grafting on graft success and survivalin different varieties of jamunEffect of grafting success and survivability in jamunsprouted earliest (16.4 days), while, CISH-42 took17.4 days. The number of sprouts per graft also variedsignificantly among varieties, with Konkan Bahadolirecorded highest number of sprouts per graft (2.2)whereas, var. Goma Priyanka recorded lowest (1.7).Growth parameters such as the number of leaves andgraft height, recorded at two-month intervals up to sixmonths, showed significant differences among the fourvarieties. The var. Konkan Bahadoli grafts recordedhighest number of leaves at 60, 120, and 180 dayspost-grafting (13.4, 17.5, and 20.1) in both years(Table 1). This higher leaf count in var. KonkanBahadoli is likely due to the greater number of sprouts,indicating a successful union and active growthbetween stock and scion.This growth can also be influenced by climaticconditions affecting cambial activity. Similar resultswere also observed by Chander et al. (2016a) injamun. Grafts of Konkan Bahadoli also recorded thegreatest heights at different intervals (12.9 cm,17.3 cm, and 21.2 cm), likely due to the higher numberof leaves per graft (Table 1). The var. Goma Priyankagrafts recorded minimum height, potentially due to itsgenetic characteristics as a semi-dwarf. The highernumber of leaves per graft led to increasedphotosynthate production, resulting in better growthof these grafted plants. The greater height of var.Konkan Bahadoli grafts might be due to the earlyhealing of graft unions, leading to early sprouting andfaster growth. Photosynthates produced by the leavesenhance cambial activity, aiding in graft union healing.Well-nourished roots develop a strong root system,absorbing more nutrients from the soil, thus increasingthe graft’s height and girth. Similar results have beenreported by Shinde et al. (2011), Chander et al.(2016a), Kaur & Kaur (2018), and Ruchita et al.(2022). There was a significant effect of varieties onthe chlorophyll index. The var. Konkan Bahadoligrafts recorded higher chlorophyll index (79.6),indicating better physiological condition compared tothe other varieties. These findings highlight the criticalrole of varietal characteristics in graft success andgrowth performance.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe authors are grateful to the Director, Dr. J. C.Bakhshi, Regional Research Station, Abohar Punjab,and Project Coordinator AICRP on Arid Zone Fruitsfor providing necessary facility.REFERENCESChander, S., Kumar, S., Kavino, M., & Bora, L.(2016b). Effect of seasonal variation onsoftwood grafting under different environmentalconditions in jamun (Syzygium cumini Skeels.).Research on Crops, 17(3), 524-528.Chander, S., Kumari, S., Nimbolkar, P. K., & Bora,L. O. (2016a). Seasonal variability andenvironmental condition to grafting success infruit crops- A review. Advances in LifeSciences, 5(16), 5812-5816.Giri, B., & Lenka, P. C. (2007). Effect of time ongrafting success in Jamun (Syzigium cumini).Orissa Journal of Horticulture, 35(2), 122-123.Kaur, H., & Kaur, A. (2018). Standardization ofpropagation techniques in jamun. InternationalJournal of Current Microbiology and AppliedSciences, 7(10), 2143-2151. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.710.246.Table 1: Effect of grafting on days taken for sprouting, number of sprouts, number of leaves, graft heightand chlorophyll index in different varieties of jamunTreatment Days No. of Number of leaves/graft Graft height (cm) Chlorophylltaken for sprouts/ 60 120 180 60 120 180 indexsprouting graft DAG DAG DAG DAG DAG DAGCISH-42 17.4a 2.1b 10.7b 16.4b 19.3b 11.0b 15.0b 20.8b 77.2bCISH-37 16.7b 1.8c 9.9c 14.3c 16.7c 9.9c 14.6c 20.1c 71.5cGoma Priyanka 16.4b 1.7d 9.5d 13.9c 13.9d 8.3d 13.5d 18.5d 68.8dKonkan Bahadoli 16.6b 2.2a 13.4a 17.5a 20.1a 12.9a 17.3a 21.2a 79.6aC.D. (P=0.05) 0.61 0.06 0.29 0.51 0.36 0.20 0.33 0.44 1.65C.V. 2.26 1.81 1.70 2.09 1.31 1.22 1.39 1.41 1.42*DAG: days after grafting;Khushi, M. G. A., Sarker, M. D. T., & Islam, M. D.S. (2019). Effect of grafting time on the successand survivability of different varieties of mango.Biodiversity International Journal,  3(5),209- 217. doi: 10.15406/bij.2019.03.00147.Ram, R. A., & Pathak, R. K. (2006). Softwoodgrafting opens new avenues in cultivation offruit crops. Indian Journal of Horticulture,63(4): 10-11.Ruchitha, T., Honnabyraiah, M. K., Mangala, K. P.,Fakrudin, B., Sakthivel, A. S. A., &Shankarappa, K. S. (2022). Studies on softwood grafting of elite jamun (Syzygium cuminiiSkeels.) genotypes. The Pharma InnovationJournal, 11(12), 379-381.Sheoran, O. P., Tonk, D. S., Kaushik, L. S., Hasija,R. C., & Pannu, R. S. (1998) Statisticalsoftware package for agricultural researchworkers. Department of mathematic statistics,CCS HAU, Hisar, 139-143.Shinde, S. B., Saiyad, M. Y., Jadav, R. G., & Chavda,J. C. (2010). Effect of structural conditions onsoftwood grafting success and survival of jamungrafts (Syzygium cimini Skeel). Asian Journalof Horticulture, 5(2), 391-392.Kumar & Chander(Received : 17.02.2024; Revised :22.05.2024; Accepted :25.05.2024)

Effect of grafting on success and survivability of jamun (Syzygium cumini Skeels.) varieties

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Effect of grafting on success and survivability of jamun (Syzygium cumini Skeels.) varieties

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