COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOME GRAFTING TECHNIQUES ON (MANGIFERA INDICA)

ABSTRACT The study titled Comparative Assessment of Some Grafting Techniques on Mango (Mangifera indica) Propagation was conducted to evaluate and compare the performance of selected grafting techniques on mango under nursery conditions. The aim was to determine which grafting methods offered higher survival rates and better vegetative growth performance. Three grafting techniques; cleft, veneer, and slide graftingwere applied to three local mango varieties (Julie, Fair Child, and Sugai) at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Nigeria. A Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) was used, and data on survival rate, plant height, stem diameter, and number of leaves were collected over a period of three months. Descriptive statistics and Two-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed for data analysis. The results revealed that the veneer grafting method achieved the highest survival rate (88.88%) on the Fair Child variety, followed by the slide and cleft grafts with moderate success (55.55–77.77%). In terms of growth performance, veneer grafts produced the tallest plants (13.31 cm), while cleft grafts yielded the largest stem diameter (1.45 cm) and highest number of leaves (3.89). Statistical analysis showed significant effects of both grafting method and variety (p < 0.05) on all growth parameters, though their interaction was not significant. The study concluded that the veneer and cleft grafting techniques were the most effective for successful mango propagation. It is recommended that nursery operators adopt the veneer method for optimal graft success and the cleft method for vigorous early vegetative growth to enhance mango production efficiency in Nigeria’s tropical environments.