Influence of different scion-rootstock combination of pear on grafting success and vegetative growth under nursery conditions

A field study was carried out at the Experimental Farm of Division of Fruit Science, SKUAST-Kashmir, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) in 2019 to find out the best rootstock-scion combinations among different pear cultivars and rootstocks. As there is problem of uneven and weak growth of rootstock under different rootstock-scion combinations and to find best comination, four scion cultivars (Carmen, Abate Fetel, William Bartlett, and Chinese Sandy Pear) were bench grafted on five rootstocks (Quince C, BA-29, Quince seedling, Kainth seedling, and Pear suckers) during mid-March and these grafted plants were transplanted in the nursery. The earliest bud burst (14th April) was recorded in Chinese Sandy Pear/Quince and the highest grafting success (96.67 %) was recorded in Carmen/Quince C, Abate Fetel/Quince C, Chinese Sandy Pear/Quince C, Abate Fetel/BA-29 and Chinese Sandy Pear/Quince. The highest stock girth (34.29 mm) was measured in Chinese Sandy Pear/Quince whereas the highest scion girth (38.51 mm) was measured in William Bartlett/Kainth. The highest and lowest stock-scion ratio was recorded in William Bartlett/Quince and Abate Fetel/Quince C, respectively. Maximum plant height (132.15 cm) and the number of branches per plant (3.55) was recorded in Chinese Sandy Pear/Pear sucker whereas minimum plant height (98.16 cm)and the number of branches per plant (1.88) was recorded in Carmen/Quince and Carmen/BA-29, respectively. The minimum and maximum internodal length was recorded in Carmen/Quince (1.58 cm) and William Bartlett/Pear sucker (2.31 cm). The maximum growth and proportion of saleable plants was obtained in William Bartlett/Quince (86.33 %). From the present study, it is concluded that the pear scion cultivars grafted on Quince C and Quince rootstocks had moderate to high levels of compatibility and hence are best suitable for the propagation of pear.