North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Gordon Nofs" <gc_nofs@hotmail.com>]

Victoria
   Parafilm is used in the medical field. Sort of like skin. There is more 
to it tho. Do a search on Parafilm. It is very thin when stretched out.
         Gordon
************************************************


----Original Message Follows----
From: "victoria l. caron" <vicaron@gis.net>
Reply-To: nafex@yahoogroups.com
To: nafex@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [nafex] parafilm results
Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 12:46:37 +0000

Mark,
I totally agree with Gordon. But I also wonder why you would have such a low
percentage of takes - if there is not something else that is not quite 
right.
(Since I am very happy and successful wrapping with surveyor's tape, I have
to admit that I haven't taken the time to read all the memos on parafilm. Do
I understand correctly that it is a clear plastic like Saran wrap or
heavier?) If this is so then there probably isn't too much difference as far
as that goes.
What if you would have someone work with you to see if you are matching up
your cambium layers and not displacing them when you wrap? Even someone who
is not a grafter may have a way of seeing this better for you. You can
practice on other similar wood like willow or prunings if you are out of
rootstocks and scions.
Also, how long are your scions? Have you kept them refrigerated? If they are
not the same size as your stock, are you offsetting them to get one side to
match?
Maybe later this year you could try budding. For two years I had periodic 
eye
surgery and did budding instead of whip & tongue since perfect vision and
depth perception are not critical for successful budding. You can still bud
onto the stocks that did not take this spring.
Hopefully, Gordon's suggestions will see most of your grafts take off. Good
luck! ...........vic

Mark Lee wrote:

 > I have used electrical tape for many years when doing grafts of
 > apple.  I would typically have 80% of the grafts take.  One problem
 > with the tape is when it is removed, the adhesive stick too well to
 > the bark, and strips off a chuck of bark from the graft, killing it.
 > When I leave the tape on, it girdles the branch and restricts
 > development.  Two seasons ago I started using parafilm.  I hold the
 > grafts together with budding rubbers and cover them with a single
 > layer of parafilm.  Parafilm is easy to put on, and since it has no
 > adhesive, it is easy to remove, eliminating my tape-related
 > problems.  I did 10 grafts last year, with about 3 taking but
 > eventually drying out.  This year I did 30 grafts, with about 5
 > taking, but these too look like they will dry out and die also.  With
 > parafilm it looks like I will have no success with 40 grafts over 2
 > seasons.
 >
 > Two things other than parafilm changed in the last two seasons, so
 > parafilm may not be the cause of my failure.  Change #1: All of my
 > scionwood was obtained through the mail, while previously I got the
 > wood fresh locally.  Change #2: The rootstock was obtained through
 > the mail, and the roots were not very abundant.  The roots planted
 > this year are putting out lots of leaves below the graft, but above
 > the graft are dried scionwood.
 >
 > For those of you having success with parafilm, any advice for me?
 > Any suggestions or comments?
 > Thanks,
 > Mark Lee in Seattle
 >
 >
 >
 > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/


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