Propagation of almond through budding under temperate conditions of north western Himalaya

An experiment was carried out in Fruit Plant Nursery of Division Fruit Science, SKUAST-K, Shalimar, Kashmir during 2014 to standardize budding method, time of budding for almond (Prunus dulcis) and to determine the suitable portion of scion for maximum success. T-budding with 51.2% success proved significantly superior over chip budding (42.3%). Of the four budding timings tested, the highest budding success of 52.1% was achieved when budding was done in 2^nd week of June. Overall, highest success of 49.4% was achieved when middle scion portion was used for budding than the lower scion portion which gave overall success of 44.1%. Of the varieties evaluated cultivar ‘Non-Pareil’ with budding success of 49.8% showed significant superiority over cv. ‘Shalimar with budding success of 43.7%. Highest bud take (65.65%), shoot length (25.9 cm) and shoot diameter (4.16 mm) were observed in T-budding performed in the 2^nd week of June. T-budding resulted in better success as compared to chip during June, July and August however chip budding performed significantly better in the month of September in both the cultivars.