GRAFTING AND IMPROVEMENT OF BREADFRUIT PRODUCTION IN MICRONESIA

Breadfruit (Artocarpus spp.) is of great cultural significance and is the main staple crop in the Pacific.
Vegetative propagation by root cuttings and grafting of various cultivars of breadfruit was undertaken at the Agriculture Experiment Station of the College of the Marshall Islands.
Root cuttings and root sprouts of three local cultivars of breadfruit (Betaaktak, Mejenwe and Mejwaan) were established well in the soil.
Approach and side graft union produced positive results in cultivars of Artocarpus altilis (syn. A. communis) and A. mariannensis, seedless (Marshallese name Betaaktak) and seeded (Marshallese name Mejwaan) cultivars, respectively.
Graft success was highest (over 80%) in the approach grafting as compared to side graft union (20%). This procedure represents an improvement over budding of breadfruit cultivars.
In the limited farming space available in the Marshall Islands, the economy of splicing different varieties onto single rootstocks is highly desirable.

International Symposium on Harnessing the Potential of Horticulture in the Asian-Pacific Region

D. Nandwani, A.H. Kuniyuki

Artocarpus altilis, Artocarpus mariannensis, propagation, rootstock, scion, graft union, atolls, pacific

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.694.50