Plant tissue bonding in grafting.

Grade:

7

Teacher:

Kainat Shafi

STUDY OF DIFFERENT PLANT PROPAGATION The overall purpose of this experiment is to find out how different grafts cause changes, and which one is the most effective. My investigative question was, “ How long does it take for a successful grafting and tissues to bond and heal in dragon fruit and Christmas cactus?” My hypothesis was incorrect, but it was, “I believe that the straight cut into the core will be the shortest and most effective graft. This project was chosen because grafting is an important part of plant propagation and asexual reproduction. Grafting is a process where a scion is cut from a plant (In this case, Christmas cactus) and placed on the rootstock (Dragon fruit). Then, asexual reproduction must occur so that the two plants in the same genus must bond, forming a new plant. The concept in this project is that I must find out which horticulture design/ cut can most effectively create a stronger plant theoretically. This is what I will find out in my experiment and engineering design. Many gardeners and horticultural experts have done several experiments in the past on the same subject. My procedures were, to first wipe a knife off with alcohol, then cut a thin tilted slit in the rootstock, in a triangular manner. Later, break off a stem of the christmas cactus, and cut gently to reveal the core. Insert scion into slit carefully, applying pressure. Use the cotton to carefully wipe away excess liquid.Place in a shady place. Do not water for at least 4 days since the graft will be filled with moisture. For example, at first, scientists wanted to know whether they could fuse the tissues of both plants, so that new and stronger plants could be created, supporting harsher conditions. However, scientists also discovered that only plants with the same genus or species, containing similar DNA could be propagated. This is because plants of different species would cut off the flow of nutrients from each other, killing both plants. These experiments helped scientists find this out, allowing them to design new and hardy plants, able to resist the environment. Grafting and propagation can have a large effect on daily life. This experiment can help people learn which type of horticultural design is best for tissue bonding. I have discovered that the best design is the slant cut on the side of the rootstock. This allows the nutrients to flow more easily through the two tissues, making the Christmas cactus or scion stronger and more resistant to weather, pests, etc. This experiment can also help people learn how grafting can help us make more weather resistant crops and plants for many reasons. The cut style can differ from different plants, but for this project, a Slant cut was the best. My data shows that the most effective graft was the slant cut, even if it took an average of 16 days (the longest). My conclusion is that the slant cut with a large scion is the most effective graft.

Project presentation

Lab journal excerpts