i have to differ, and in fact by saying the exact opposite, that logically— grafting/budding would be the only practical approach for all important cultivars.
again i differ, because it is true.
grafting dates back to ancient chinese, way before the romans. From there, the science and practice spread( presumably via silk road) westward, along with the pears, apples, citrus, plums and peaches that were likewise being trafficked.
grafting is hands-down the earliest form of biotechnology. It was revolutionary then, and is revolutionary up to this day.
while i agree with you on that, i was referring to the hypothetical condition where there is zero infection and growing conditions are identical.
i find it hard to imagine that a marcot could revert to absolute juvenile status having been detached, and find it hard to visualize that in hypothetical sterile/pest-free conditions with identical soil and climate conditions-- that a clone will considerably outlive the mother plant, especially when planted on its own roots.
if you graft a 40 year old lemon branch to a seedling, say, trifoliate, you won’t have to wait several years for flowering and fruiting. If you plant a lemon seed, and as soon as it sprouts you graft its bud to a very old trifoliate, you will still have to wait a long time and run its course to maturity before it will bear flowers and fruit.
the longer ‘childhood’ of budwood from the seedling sure adds years to the lifespan, whereas the 40 year old mother plant will ultimately require pruning and have some of its stems grafted onto younger rootstock should the mother plant start declining, if intending to preserve the cultivar.
lastly, would it be reasonable to expect a marcot(of identical-size and condition) taken from a 40 year old lemon have a longer productive life compared to an identical sized 5 year old marcot? growing on their own roots?
forgot to add, the longevity of lemons is reportedly 50 years
