Title:
Why Grafting Still Fits Nicely Into Agriculture
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
Grafting is a way to produce plants from pieces of
existing plants instead of seeds. Branches or buds
are cut from one plant and placed on a related kind
of plant. The branch or bud that is grafted is
called the scion. The plant that accepts the graft
is called the rootstock. Grafting can join scions
with desirable qualities to rootstock that is strong
and resists disease and insects. A graft can be cut
several ways. One way is a cleft graft. It requires
a scion with several buds on it. The bottom of the
scion is cut in the shape of the letter V. The scion
is then securely placed into a cut on the rootstock.
Material called a growth medium is put on the joint
to keep it from getting dry and to help the two
plants grow together. Many fruits and nuts have been
improved through grafting. Flowers can also be
improved this way. Some common fruit trees such as
sweet cherries and McIntosh apples have to be
grafted. Grafting is also used to produce seedless
fruits like navel oranges and seedless watermelons.
Grafting continues to hold an important place in
agriculture even in an age of modern genetic
engineering. Recently we told you about a study of
genetically engineered crops and how they have
affected farming in the United States. The study
found that many farmers have better harvests, better
weed control and fewer losses from insect damage
compared to traditional crops.Our story brought a
number of comments, including this one from
Odalberto in Brazil. He wrote that in his town the
population depends on agriculture and transgenic
crops. He wrote that it is true that such crops can
have higher output with less cost, but he added: "No
one knows the consequences that will have on soil
fertility and the human body. Only the future will
tell us the truth about transgenic food." Christian
in France expressed a different concern. He wrote: "
The big problem of the transgenic seeds is that they
are the monopoly of big companies. The small farmers
cannot reproduce any more seeds by themselves."And
Joom from Thailand wrote: "I don't care where the
crops come from, natural plants or genetic
engineering, as long as we can produce food enough
for people."And that's the VOA Special English
Agriculture Report. You can comment on our stories
and find transcripts, MP3s and podcasts at
voaspecialenglish.com.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
