BARBADOS CHERRY GRAFTING AND BUDDING UNDE R SEMI-SHADE CONDITIONS

In a work carried out at the Experimental Station of Bebedouro of the Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuaria do Tropico Semi-Arido of Embrapa, in P etrolina, PE, Brazil, in 1993, Barbados cherry and budding methods wer e studied. In randomized blocks with split-plot design and six replica tions, three vegetative propagation methods (cleft grafting, patch bud ding, splice grafting) were used as the main treatments, whereas prote ction of the graft or bud by a plastic bag and no protection, were use d as subtreatments. Ten plants per plot and five plants per subplot in six replications were used. Patch budding gave the best results among the propagation techniques studied, with a high success percentage (8 6.7%), when the bud was protected. The protection of the graft or bud by plastic bags increased consistently the success percentage for all grafting and budding methods studied.