Melon Grafting: Side Insertion

Side Insertion

This particular grafting method requires slitting through the stem of the rootstock. The area to be slit simply needs to be long enough to insert the scion. After inserting the scion, a clamp must be used to hold the rootstock and scion in place.

Rootstock seedlings should have at least one true leaf, and scion seedlings should have one or two true leaves (Fig. a).

With a sharp knife or razor blade, cut a slit all the way through the stem of the rootstock (Fig b). The cut doesn’t need to be too long, just long enough to insert the scion.

Cut the scion at an angle and insert into the slit of the rootstock (Fig c). Hold in place with a grafting clip (Fig. d). Place the grafted seedling in a chamber with high humidity at about 77°F and discard the unused parts.

Advantages:

1) Simple technique.

Disadvantages:

1) Requires careful control of humidity, light, and temperature after grafting. Can experience high losses due to poor environmental control and possible disease under high humidity conditions.
2) After healing of graft union, requires removal of top portion of rootstock. This requires additional time and labor but allows scion alone to establish plant canopy.