1, solid seedlings. The use of seed sowing to grow out of the seedling is called a live seedling. Live seedlings using the most primitive seedling method, reproduction method is simple and easy, low production costs. Fruit seedlings have the main root, strong growth potential, adaptability is also strong, fruit tree life long, but fruit tree traits variation. If the seeds of large peaches are sown and grown into peach trees, the fruit is likely to become smaller and worse. There is a farmer's proverb "peach three apricot four pear five years, no empty planting white orchard", said from the seed to the beginning of the results, peach trees to 3 years, apricot trees to 4 years, pear trees to 5 years, as for the white fruit tree (ginkgo tree) results to 60 years. Now the production of fruit tree seedlings bred from live seedlings, usually as rootstocks.
2, grafted seedlings. Is a plant branch or bud, grafted to another plant, the two healed, grow together and become a new individual reproduction method. Be taken by the branch or bud is called the scion, bear the part of the scion is called the rootstock, the use of grafting to breed out of the seedling is grafted seedlings.
Grafted seedlings take full advantage of some of the advantages of the rootstock, to maintain the excellent traits of the scion remains unchanged. Such as citrus grafting when the use of Hovenia as rootstock, is the use of Hovenia cold resistance, disease resistance, semi-dwarf excellent characteristics, and the scion of the traits generally do not mutate. Grafted seedlings into seedlings fast, flowering and fruit early, a variety of traits performance neat and consistent, such as peach, plum, pear, grape, etc. in the second year on the results, earlier than the live seedlings. But the grafting operation process of grafted seedlings is more cumbersome, the technical requirements are higher, the production cost is also higher than the live seedlings.
3, cuttings. Cuttings are cut from the plant stem, root or leaf part of the plant, inserted in the appropriate substrate to grow a new plant. Cuttings can preserve the excellent traits of the parent plant, and generally do not mutate, seedlings neat and consistent. Seedling method is relatively simple, low cost. But cuttings do not have a main root, life expectancy than live seedlings, grafted seedlings to be shorter, the growth potential is not as good as live seedlings, but also prone to degradation; its flowering and fruiting early, generally 1 to 2 years on the flowering and fruiting. At present, the main production of figs, passion fruit, pomegranate, fruit mulberry and other fruit trees using cuttings nursery method to cultivate seedlings.
4, group culture seedlings. Group culture seedling is based on the theory that plant cells have totipotency, the use of plant isolated organs (such as roots, stems, leaves, stem tip, flowers, fruits, etc.), tissues (such as the formation of layer, epidermis, cortex, medulla cells, endosperm, etc.) or cells as well as protoplasts, in the appropriate artificial medium and light, temperature and other conditions, to induce the healing tissues, adventitious buds, adventitious roots, and finally the formation of a complete plant. However, the cost of group culture seedling is very high, usually professional nursery companies only use this method of seedling nursery.