Accelerate fruiting process on hybrid seedlings

[alexmed95]

Hi all,


New to citrus and citrus crossing. I want to learn the best techniques to have successful hybrid seedlings. That said, I came across a video of
someone with a hybridization project, and the guys said that, to accelerate the fruiting process of the resulting hybrid seedlings, he grafted them to a mature tree.

Is it a legit, fruiting acceleration hack?


Thanks a lot,
Alex

[Walt]

Things that accelerate growth accelerate fruiting.  Things that make taller but not more leaf nodes, like low light or giberilic acid, don't count.  What counts is good healthy growth and the number of leaf nodes between the seed and the top of the plant.  That said, grafting onto a good healthy plant could make a seedling grow faster in a healthy way and thus accellerate bloom.

[alexmed95]

Many thanks for the reply! 

I suppose it's something breeding experts are doing to accelerate their hybrids' fruiting process?

Best,
Alex

[caladri]

Setting aside the question of what you choose to hybridize with and management of growing conditions, grafting onto some rootstocks, such as shekwasha (Citrus depressa) can accelerate flowering, per https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304423808000770.

And yes, per your initial question, a mature rootstock is likely to be able to push more growth than the seedling's roots, and you may also have a seedling which would make a desirable scion, but which has poor-quality roots for whatever reason (often what people mean about things growing poorly on their own roots.)