HOW TO PROPAGATE AN OLIVE

Olive plant is one of the plants mentioned in the Qur’an. Because of its privilege, many people are looking for this plant to be planted, even by spending quite a bit. During this time, olive trees are still planted by plant hobbyists in homes. The number of those who pursue it is still one of the reasons for the lack of knowledge of the cultivation of these plants. Some of them see that there is an exotic side to the olive tree which is known to the world as a symbol of the peace tree. Olive tree seeds of 50-60 cm in size are sold for Rp600,000 to Rp800,000, - this is an attraction for Indonesian farmers to develop.

Increase olives with graft techniques

This method is one safe way to do, but the right technique must be applied properly. Olives, which are 'desert' plants, must be able to adapt to Indonesia's climate and weather. The most appropriate graft media is without using soil. Soil tends to dry easily and is easily dense. The most acceptable media currently is the use of cocopeat (coconut fiber powder) which has ideal humidity for growing graft roots. This can also be applied with moss media (forest moss) which has the same character as cocopeat. One recipe to note is that you don't need to wait for the graft to be filled with roots. You just have to wait for one or two roots to come out, the graft can be cut immediately and then transferred to a polybag. After that, the plants are stored in the shade by providing the necessary vitamins and root hormones. Of course according to the right dose. This method is a way to avoid growing failures that are usually experienced by beginners, such as grafted stems that die dry due to stress conditions post graft. The success of this grafting technique is generally around 80-90%.

Graft Stages:

1. Prepare a wet coco peat with no water dripping conditions when kneading.
2. Prepare ice plastic (PE plastic) or you can also use fruit wrapping as a protective layer of rainwater.
3. The olive tree's trunk should be at least the size of a pencil stem (bigger is better). Simply 5 cm wide. then scrap the cambium until there is nothing left in the transplants cut area. Apply enough root-up in the area of ​​the wound.
4. Cover the transplants cut before with coco peat media then add root vitamins.
5. Wait for 2-3 months, the roots begin to grow. Root growth time can also be longer than this due to several factors. For example media, that is dry or exposed to pests.
6. If you have started to see a root growing one or two, you can already cut it in the afternoon.
7. Then remove the plastic that is still attached. Soak the graft in Atonic liquid and B1 or the like to help growth.
8. The cut graft is planted in polybag with a mixture of fuel husk and raw husk, soil, sea sand, and manure in a ratio of 3: 3: 2: 2. Sea sand is used following olive habitat that grows in areas near the Mediterranean coast. At the polybag, the grafted seedlings were sprayed with vitamin B1 so that it would not be stressed and placed in the shade for 40 days. While in the shade, the seeds are watered with Atonic and B1 solutions every 2 days.

Propagating by shoot cuttings

In addition to grafting, propagation by cuttings technique can also be done. However, this one method requires handling quite 'troublesome' because you must always pay attention to the humidity of cuttings when in the nursery media. Generally, the success of this method is only around 40-50-%. But it doesn't hurt if you try it first.

Cuttings Stages:

1. Prepare wet cocopeat media
2. Fine sand (sieving results)
3. Plastic tray for media holder
4. The way the olive shoots are taper 12-12 cm long. The lower leaves are removed and 6 leaves are left at the top. The remaining leaves are trimmed edges to reduce evaporation. Next, the shoot pieces were immersed in a root-stimulating solution for 1 hour and planted in cocopeat media. Then, the plant is covered with plastic and placed in the shade.
5. After the roots begin to appear and new shoots appear plants can be moved to polybags in the shade of heat and rain. Wait until the plants are completely ready. Happy gardening! Let to grow olives in your home. It may be useful (Nanang Hanif)