Tropical Fruit Plant Propagation Basics

Plant propagation simply means making more of a desired plant by using any number of techniques. These include using seed, cuttings, air-layers (also called marcots), division, and grafting. Propagation by seed is sexual propagation, while the other four techniques are asexual propagation. I will focus on the propagation of sub-tropical and tropical fruit, but these techniques can be applied to any plants.

Sexual Propagation
Sexual propagation is beneficial because you can usually get many seeds for a small amount of money. Another key advantage is that the offspring are not exactly the same as the parent plant. For example, if there are a thousand oak trees in a forest and a disease strikes, it is possible that some of the trees would not die because they are not all genetically the same.

Pros and Cons
Genetic diversity can also be a detriment. If you are trying to clone a specific cultivar, like an ‘Arkin’ carambola, you would need to use one of the asexual techniques. A cultivar is a named and unique fruit within a species. You may be familiar with the mango cultivars ‘Valencia Pride’, ‘Fairchild’, and ‘Keitt’. These are all mangos, but they also have specific qualities that make them distinctive from other mangos. Propagation by seed would not produce offspring identical to the parent. A final disadvantage of propagation by seed is that the tree will take a long time to produce flowers or fruit. If you are trying to grow an avocado from a seed, you will not know what the fruit will taste like (it could be awful because it is not the same as the mother plant), and it will take seven to ten years to produce fruit because the tree needs to go through all of the stages of sexual maturity.

Asexual Propagation
Propagation by cuttings, air-layers, division, and grafting are all asexual techniques. These techniques clone the parent plant so you are able to get an exact copy of a specific cultivar. When you graft an ‘Arkin’ carambola, the offspring will be an ‘Arkin’ carambola. Propagation by cuttings, air-layers, and division are fairly easy, while the technique of grafting takes more time to learn. Cloning the parent plant is an obvious advantage to maintain a cultivar over time and to get the exact fruit that you want. Another key advantage is that unlike sexual propagation, asexual propagation allows your tree to fruit very quickly because you are cloning material that is already sexually mature.

A Monroe avocado piece (scion) ready to be joined to a healthy rootstock.

 

Techniques at a glance

Sexual propagation = Seeds
Pros=genetic diversity, cheap
Cons=slow, not a clone, can take many years to fruit

Asexual propagation = Cuttings, Air-layers, Division, Grafting
Pros=clones the parent plant, produces a plant that can produce fruit quickly
Cons=can sometimes be difficult

You can find a more detailed explanation of sub-tropical and tropical fruit propagation here.

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Jeff Wasielewski
Posted: December 31, 2024


Category: Agriculture, , Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension



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