Evaluation of Grafting Rootstocks on Plant Growth, Fruit Yield and Quality in Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill).

Abstract

Grafting is the process of combining two parts of plants to form a single plant. Grafting is a common technique in trees and vine crops and is becoming popular in annual vegetable production in order to control biotic and abiotic stresses, improve fruit yield and quality. The objectives of the study were to determine the (a) compatibility of the tomato scion x rootstocks combinations (b) effect of rootstocks on vegetative growth parameters (c) effect of tomato rootstocks on fruit quality and yield of tomato. The experiments were conducted under a protected environment (in a high tunnel) at the University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa. Four tomato rootstocks (‘Powapak’, ‘Everest’, ‘Matterhorn’ and ‘Golf’) and two scion cultivars (‘Money Maker’ and ‘Rodade’) were used to develop 10 scion x rootstock combinations. The tube grafting method was used. Seedlings were transplanted in the polyethylene bags inside the high tunnel. Growth parameters, including plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves per cluster as well as yield attributes were measured. In addition, the chemical fruit quality parameters including the total soluble solids and pH were determined. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used for the study. Quantitative data sets of the variables were subjected to analysis of variance. There was a high plant survival rate and the number of clusters per plant showed marked improvement in some grafting combinations particularly in ‘Rodade x Everest’ and ‘Money Maker x Everest’. A few individual stunted plants were observed in the tunnel. A significant seasonal effect was observed on some of the growth and productivity attributes. The pH showed a narrow range of values and there was significant interaction between sampling time and genotype. The results demonstrated the viability of producing grafted tomatoes under tunnel conditions.