A little background info first... I have two Choctaw variety trees that I planted and grafted some 40 years ago. The trees were grafted when they were about 1 1/2" diameter. The rootstock (a "pecan" that I planted and grafted onto) was given to me by my dad. The nuts were strange looking... Dad said that they were bitter tasting and he called them "pig nuts" and for some reason, he felt that they would make good root stock for a grafted pecan tree. At that time I thought they were pecan, but now, based on internet research I've done, I think that they likely were a type of hickory nut. Dad died some 20 years ago, so I can't ask him where he got the "pig nuts".

I am really curious about the "pig nut" that I used back then and wonder if there is a way to encourage the 40 yr old tree to produce a "sprout" from a dormant bud below the graft...? Perhaps some sort of wound or damage to the tree trunk below the graft could produce this result..?

Or if I were to dig up the right size of root, that the root could be induced to sprout...?

If either of the above methods were successful, the plan would be to allow the resulting sprout to grow and mature to the point that it could be used as graftwood, a scion. I plan to graft it on to an established producing pecan tree limb with the hope it would then produce the pig nuts as were originally planted and grafted to some 40 years ago...

CRAZY idea... YES .... but ... Any suggestions on what it would take to get the Choctaw tree to "sprout" new growth below the graft...? Or... is it impossible...?

Thanks

..