Effect of softwood grafting period on vegetative characters of different varieties in sapota (Acharas zapota L.)

Introduction

Sapota (Acharas zapota LS), belonging to the family Sapotaceae, has a chromosome number of 2n=26. It was originated in Mexico and is native to Central America. The genus Manilkara includes about 30 -32 species, out of which only a few are cultivated in India. Among these, Manilkara acharas is the commercially important species grown widely across tropical and subtropical regions of the country. Other species include M. hexandra (commonly known as Rayan or Khirni), which is used as a rootstock. In India, sapota is commercially grown in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. According to Department of Agriculture & Farmer's Welfare, Gujarat has the highest area under cultivation of sapota of approximately 27,000 hectare and have production of 2,74,000 million tonnes. The cultivation of sapota has attracted many farmers on account of its hardy nature and better adaptability to diverse soil and climatic conditions. There is 72thousand-hectare area under sapota cultivation and 887 million tonne production in 2023-24 (Anonymous, 2024) [1] . Sapota plant is usually grown in tropical areas, but can also be grown in semi-tropical areas in green-house. It can be grown up to 1200 m. above sea level. Being a tropical fruit, it needs warm (10-38 °C) and humid climate (70% relative humidity) for growth. Alluvial, sandy loam, red laterite and medium black soil having good drainage system, with acidic to neutral pH, provide best environment for sapota (Bhaskar et al., 2020) [2] . Kalipatti is one of the most widely grown varieties in India due to its high yield, sweetness and long shelf life. Cricket Ball is known for its large, round fruits and firm pulp. Improved selections like PKM-1, CO-1 and DHS-2 have been released to enhance productivity, uniformity and fruit quality. Many regional varieties such as Guthi, Pala and Kirtibharti are cultivated for local and niche markets (Tripathi and Karunakaran, 2020) [3] . Sapota is commercially propagated through asexual means, but seed propagation is limited to crop improvement owing to high heterozygosity and long juvenile phase. For true to type multiplication and commercial production of sapota, it becomes mandatory to propagate sapota through vegetative means. [4] . Softwood grafting is a highly effective and commercially important method for the propagation of sapota, as it helps in producing true-to-type, early bearing and uniform plants.

It stands out among other vegetative means due to its high success rate, simplicity and ability to produce quality planting material at large scale. It is especially effective when done on young, actively growing Khirni (Manilkara hexandra) rootstocks. This technique also facilitates the rapid multiplication of superior varieties. Monsoon and post-monsoon periods are generally considered the most favorable for grafting due to optimal humidity, temperature and active growing plant growth. Grafting during August and September is identified as optimal, yielding maximum success and survival percentages, along with vigorous early growth and leaf development (Kalalbandi et al., 2014) [5] .

Materials and Methods

An experiment was performed at the Horticulture Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur, during July 2025 to February, 2026. One year old Khirni rootstock was used and the experiment was laid out in CRD with ten treatments: T 1 -Kalipatti grafted on 1 st fortnight of July, T 2 -Kalipatti grafted on 2 nd fortnight of July, T 3 -Kalipatti grafted on 1 st fortnight of August, T 4 -Kalipatti grafted on 2 nd fortnight of August, T 5 -Kalipatti grafted on 1 st fortnight of September, T 6 -Cricket Ball grafted on 1 st fortnight of July, T 7 -Cricket Ball grafted on 2 nd fortnight of July, T 8 -Cricket Ball grafted on 1 st fortnight of August, T 9 -Cricket Ball grafted on 2 nd fortnight of August, T 10 -Cricket Ball grafted on 1 st fortnight of September. Before the operation of grafting, the scion and the stock were defoliated and the stock was headed back at 10-15 cm. with the help of grafting knife, 3-5 cm deep vertical cut was made in the centre of this rootstock. Scion with same thickness of this rootstock was selected and a V-shaped cut was made in both side of lower part of scion similar to the length of that in the rootstock. It is inserted in the cleft of the stock and tied with polythene strip (Patel et al., 2022) [6] . The observations from each treatment for sprout length (cm) at 60, 90 and 120 DAG, branches after 150 days, leaves per graft at 60, 90 and 120 DAG was recorded.

Experimental data collected and it was subjected to statistical analysis by using analysis of variance technique (ANOVA) which is explained by Panse and Sukhatme (1985) [7] . Critical Difference (CD) value was calculated whenever the 'F' test was found significant at 5% level.

Results and Discussion

Sprout length (cm): Sprout length at 60 DAG The sprout length increased up to 120 DAG (Table 1). Sprout length at 60 DAG showed significant results while numerically higher value of sprout length (10.12 cm) was observed in Kalipatti when grafted on 2 nd fortnight of August (T 4 ), after that Cricket Ball grafted during 2 nd fortnight of August (T 9 ) showed highest value (9.05 cm). The treatment T 6 (Cricket Ball grafted on 1 st fortnight of July) produced lowest sprout length (6.45 cm). [8] , Kalabandi et al. (2014) [5] in sapota.

Sprout length at

Number of branches after 150 days

Number of branches after 150 days presented in Table 1 shows that the effect of different grafting period was found to be significant on the character of branches after 150 days. Kalipatti grafted on 2 nd fortnight of August (T 4 ) and Cricket Ball grafted on 2 nd fortnight of August (T 9 ) produced significantly higher number of branches after 150 days (3.96 and 3.32) respectively. While plants grafted on 1 st fortnight of July in Cricket Ball (T 6 ), showed minimum number of branches (2.42 and 2.22). The increase in number of branches could be attributed to congenial environment owing to rapid callusing and early contact of cambial layers, quick healing and stronger graft union. These results are in accordance with the findings of Patel et al., (2007) [9] in mandarins and Jeet et al., (2025) [10] in mango. This increase in number of leaves at 60, 90 and 120 days might be due to active growth of stock and scion because of favourable climatic conditions during the period of 2 nd fortnight of August. This caused better uptake of nutrients and increase in cambial activity. Apart from this, the scion appears to be in a photosynthetically active state for increased sap flow and meristematic growth of the plant. These results are in accordance to Ghosh et al. (2010) [8] in Sapota, Uchoi et al. (2012) [11] in Jamun and Karna et al.

Conclusion

On the basis of this experimental study, it may be concluded that treatment T 4 (Kalipatti grafted on 2 nd fortnight of August) was the superior of all the treatments and then in T 9 (Cricket Ball grafted on 2 nd fortnight of August) significantly recorded highest values of vegetative characters viz., sprout length (cm) at 60, 90 and 120 DAG, number of branches after 150 DAG and leaves per graft at 60, 90 and 120 DAG.

References

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