Allanblackia (Clusiaceae) is dioecious. Nine species of Allanblackia are indigenous to the African tropics of which three (A. stuhlmannii, A floribundaand A. parviflora) have known mportance in food (margarine) and cosmetic (soap and detergent) industries.The oil from the seeds containing 5258%stearic acid and 3945% olei acid requires less chemical processing compared to otheroils. The fatty acid profile of the oil has been reported to lower plasma cholesterol levels and thereby reduce the risk of heart attacks besides other uses.
Tag: Grafting
Potential to harness superior nutritional qualities of exotic baobabs if local adaptation can be conferred through grafting
Baobab leaves form an important part of the local diet in Sahel countries and elsewhere in Africa. Existing leaf nutritional data and agroforestry performance information are based solely on Adansonia digitata L., the baobab of continental Africa. The introduction potential of Adansonia species from the center of diversity in Madagascar and from Australia remains untapped. To assess this potential, the mineral contents and B-1 and B-2 vitamin levels of dried baobab leaves were determined for five-year old trees of A. digitata, A. gibbosa (A. Cunn.) Guymer ex D. Baum, A. rubrostipa Jum. & H. Perrier (syn. A. fony Baill.), A. perrieri Capuron and A. za Baill. grown in an introduction trial in Mali. Nutritional data were evaluated against survival and vigor to identify promising germplasm. Leaf vitamin and crude protein contents were highest in the Madagascar species, especially A. rubrostipa (B-1 88 mg 100 g(-1), B-2 187 mg 100 g(-1), protein 20.7% dry weight). However, the local species far outperformed the introductions in survival, tree height, basal diameter and resistance to termites. We suggest grafting as a way of harnessing the vigor of well-adapted local baobab varieties to the superior nutritional profiles of A. rubrostipa and others. Cross-species grafting tests in Adansonia were successful, thus creating new agroforestry possibilities with different scion/rootstock combinations.
Bush mango – family Irvingiaceae: Ando’o, Oba, Meba
Botanical describtion irvingia gobonensis grows to a height of 15-40m, with boles slightly buttressed.Leaves range from elliptic to slightly abovate. Flowers can be yellowish to greenish-white, with slender individual flower stalks.Fruits are yellowish when ripe,broadly ellipsoid and variable in size,with a yellow,fibrous pulp sarrounding alarge seed.
Early recognition of graft compatibility in Uapaca kirkiana Müell Arg. clones, provenances and species
Examination of callus micro-grafts in Uapaca kirkiana Müell Arg. was carried out with the objective of determining early signs of graft compatibility. Leaves from U. kirkiana, U. nitida and Jatropha curcas trees were used for callus induction. Two pieces of callus were co-cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with different supplements. Co-cultured calli were embedded in paraffin wax and dissected. The specimens were stained in safranin and fast green before viewing under a light microscope. Results showed that MS medium with 0.1 mg l-1 thidiazuron (TDZ) and 0.5 mg l-1 naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) or 1.0 mg l-1 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 0.5 mg l-1 NAA was effective for callus induction. There were no necrotic layers at the unions within U. kirkiana clones and provenances, but a differential growth (irregularity) between U. kirkiana and U. nitida co-cultured calli. Phenol deposits were observed at the union interfaces of U. kirkiana combinations and were high on calli derived from mature trees. Phenol deposits were absent at the union of J. curcas heterografts. Necrotic layers developed at the unions of U. kirkiana and J. curcas micro-grafts and indicating an outright graft incompatibility. Accumulation of phenol deposits at the union interfaces inhibited graft compatibility in many U. kirkiana combinations. Callus fusion technique can be used to identify partners with an outright graft incompatibility, especially for distant related plant species
Vegetative propagation of Garcinia lucida Vesque (Clusiaceae) using leafy stem cuttings and grafting
Garcinia lucida Vesque (Clusiaceae) is a tree species that is highly valued for its medicinal properties by rural households in the humid forest zone of Cameroon. However, the unsustainable exploi – tation of the species threatens its long-term regeneration. This study focuses on its vegetative propagation via stem cuttings in non-mist propagators and through grafting. The study tests the effects of three rooting media (sand, sawdust, sand + sawdust (1/1); three leaf sizes (0,25 and 50 cm 2 ); and three types of hormone [indole butyric acid (IBA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA)], applied as a single dose. Furthermore, three grafting techniques (cleft, side tongue and whip-and-tongue grafting) were tested. All experiments were designed as completely randomized blocks with three replicates. Results showed that cuttings require a medium that has low water holding capacity and high porosity, and a leaf area of 50 cm 2 and NAA treatment; grafting success was affected by the technique used, with top cleft grafting yielding a 100% success rate. From this preliminary study, it is concluded that G. lucida is amenable to vegeta – tive propagation by cuttings and grafting
Mango grafting manual: A step-by-step guide
Grafting is a rapid vegetative propagation technique to multiply plants identical to the desired parent tree. Propagation is the process of raising new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, bulbs and other plant parts.
Effect of tree age, scion source and grafting period on the grafting success of cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale L.)
Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) can be propagated by seed or vegetative propagation. Grafting is the best method for large-scale asexual propagation of cashew. An assessment of grafting success of cashew nut was conducted at Chikwawa Estate nursery where graft-take was compared for scions obtained from different populations of different ages and then grafted from the month of August to October 2008. Mature and immature scions were collected from forty cashew accessions of age 12 and 20 years in Liwonde, Nkope, Kaputu and Chikwawa populations. Results show that scion source and tree age had no effect on grafting success. However, there were significant differences (p 0.05) for scion type. Immature scions performed better in August while mature scions did well in October. The differences are attributed to differences in temperature in the two months that further affect rate of healing of graft unions. There were significant differences (p 0.05) for graft take of mature scions as compared to immature scions with 57.5 and 72.5% in August and October respectively. There were no correlations between cashew tree age and scion type on the grafting success suggesting that cashew scions could be collected from trees of different ages to be used for grafting.
Successful grafting elite cocoa clones (Theobroma cacao L.) as a function of the age of rootstock
Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa producer, faces numerous challenges because the yield of orchards is low due to several factors including the non-use of improved plant materials. This work is part of ICRAF’s Vision for Change (V4C) project, which aimed at contributing to the regeneration of cocoa farms by making effective plant materials available to small cocoa producers. It essentially consisted in evaluating the effect of the age of the rootstock on the success of grafting to obtain a satisfactory quantity of improved plants in the nursery. The study was carried out in Adiopodoumé at the National Agronomic Research Center (CNRA). Ten elite cocoa clones from the “Vision for Change” project were used as scions. Top grafting was performed on seedlings of 2, 3- and 4-months used as rootstocks. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Data collection was focused on the grafting success rate and morphological parameters. The results showed that the grafting success rate is proportional to the rootstock age. Two months after grafting, the success rate was low. This indicates that grafting should eventually start at 3 months. This period could therefore represent a good stage to successfully graft and replant cocoa seedlings.
A simple guide to growing wild loquat, Uapaca kirkiana
Amenability of priority indigenous fruit trees of West and Central Africa to grafting
Grafting scions of trees with desirable features is an important step for the domestication of indigenous forest fruit trees. Two experiments were carried out in the World Agroforestry (ICRAF) experimental nursery at Yaoundé (Cameroon) to assess the graft success of five forest fruit tree species identified as priority species for domestication in West and Central Africa namely Irvingia gabonensis, Garcinia kola, Cola nitida, Ricinodendron heudelotii and Monodora myristica. In experiment 1, various grafting methods (i.e. side tongue, top cleft, side veneer, and whip-and-tongue) were tested. In experiment 2, three Irvingia species rootstocks (i.e. I. grandifolia, I. gabonensis and I. wombolu) were tested for the grafting of scions of I. gabonensis. Experiment 1 shows that the grafting method significantly affected the percentage of graft success all the tested species except G. kola where all methods resulted in a very high percentage of graft success. The top cleft grafting method had the highest percentage of success, whatever the species. Experiment 2 shows that the type of rootstock significantly influenced the graft success of I. gabonensis scions, with I. wombolu rootstocks showing the highest percentage of graft success at 45.5 ± 7.75%. Our results can guide future propagation programs for these priority fruit tree species for domestication purposes.