Tomato grafting
Tomato grafting is a horticulture technique that has been utilized in Asia and Europe for
History of vegetable grafting
Grafting can take place on a number of crops. However, because of the added expense, it is typically associated with melons,
Fruit yield
The first grafts in the early 20th century were made in order to diminish attacks by infectious organisms, such as Fusarium oxysporum on watermelons. [2] However, research has shown that this technique can be effective against a variety of
Grafting tomatoes with tolerant rootstocks has been highly effective at producing a saline-tolerant plants. Research indicates that several rootstocks prevent the translocation of sodium and chloride into the shoot.[7] Many of the most economically important vegetable crops like tomato, squash, cucumber, and watermelon are highly sensitive to thermal stress in the roots throughout vegetative development and reproduction. Whether using rootstock tolerant of hot or cold temperatures, the use of temperature tolerant rootstocks often leads to the extension of the growing season in either direction, resulting in better yield and economic stability through the year.[2] Although the vegetable grafting is typically associated with reduction of disease or abiotic stress, yield is often increased without the presence of these identified sources of stress.
In tomatoes, increases in fruit yield are typically the results of increased fruit size.
Tomato grafting methods
There are a variety of methods for grafting vegetable crops. Cleft grafting occurs when a V-shape is cut into the rootstock and a complementing wedge-shaped scion is inserted. The graft is then held with a small clip until healing occurs.[11] Approach grafting involves notching opposing sides of the stems of the rootstock and scion, and then using a clip to hold the stems together while they fuse. Once the graft has healed, the original scion is then cut off of the desired rootstock and the unused rootstock is detached from the scion.[12] Micrografting is a new technique that has been recently[when?] integrated into micropropagation production for hybrid tomato. This method uses micropropagated scion shoots that grafted onto 3 week-old rootstock seedlings.[13] The most common commercial technique for grafting tomato is tube grafting. Tube grafting takes place when the scion and rootstock are severed as seedlings and reattached with a small, silicone tube or clip.[14][15] This technique has been highly effective as it can be carried out when plants are very small, thereby eliminating the need for large healing chambers while increasing the output. Tube grafting has been adopted as the primary method for vegetable grafting on the farm as it can be easily carried out with small healing chambers with typical success rates ranging from 85 to 90 percent [14].
- Approach grafting is done by cutting opposing and complementary notches in the stem of the rootstock and scion. The complementary notches are fit together and held with a spring clip or some type of tape. Once the graft union has healed, the root system is cut from the scion plant and the shoot is removed from the rootstock plant[12].
- Cleft grafting is carried out when the plants are slightly larger, and a V-shaped cut is made in the stem of the scion. The scion is then inserted into the rootstock, which has a vertical slice cut down the center of the stem. The rootstock and scion are then held together by a spring clip while the graft union forms[11].
- Tube grafting or Japanese top-grafting is carried out when the plants are very small and the rootstock and scion are held together with a 1.5–2 mm silicone clip or tube[15].
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Approach grafting (Lee, 2003)
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Cleft grafting (Oda, 1999)
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Tube grafting (Rivard and Louws, 2006)
References
- ^ Kubota, C., McClure, M. A., Kokalis-Burelle, N., Bausher, M. G., and Rosskopf, E. N. 2008. Vegetable grafting: History, use, and current technology status in North America. HortScience. Pages 1664-1669
- ^ Rivero, R. M., J. M. Ruiz, et al. (2003). "Role of Grafting in Horticultural Plants Under Stress Conditions." Food, Agriculture, & Environment 1(1): 70-74
- ^ Lee, J. M., H. J. Bang, et al. (1998). "Grafting of vegetables." Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science 67(6): 1098-1104
- ^ Besri, M. (2005). Current Situation of Tomato Grafting as Alternative to Methyl Bromide for Tomato Production in the Mediterranean Region. 2005 Annual International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Reductions San Diego, CA USA.
- ^ King, S. R., Davis, A. R., Liu, W. G., and Levi, A. 2008. Grafting for disease resistance. HortScience. Pg 1673-1676
- ^ Black, L.L., D.L. Wu, J.F. Wang, T. Kalb, D. Abbass, and J.H. Chen. 2003 Grafting tomatoes for production in the hot-wet season. Asian Vegetable Research & Development Center
- ^ Fernandez-Garcia, N., V. Martinez, A. Cerda, and M. Carvajal. 2002. Water and nutrient uptake of grafted tomato plants grown under saline conditions. Journal of Plant Physiology 159 (8):899-905
- ^ Pogonyi, A., Z. Pek, L. Helyes, and A. Lugasi 2005 Grafting tomatoes for early forcing in spring has a major impact on the overall quality of main fruit components. Acta Alimentaria 34:453-462
- ^ Leonardi, C., and F. Giuffrida. 2006 Variation of plant growth and macro-nutrient uptake in grafted tomatoes and eggplants on three different rootstocks. European Journal of Horticultural Science 71:97-101
- ^ Ruiz, J. M., and L. Romero. 1999. Nitrogen efficiency and metabolism in grafted melon plants. Scientia Horticulturae 81:113-123
- ^ Oda, 1999. Grafting of Vegetables to Improve Greenhouse Production. College of Agricultural Education. pg 1-11. Osaka Prefecture University. Japan.
- ^ Lee, J. M. 2003. Advances in Vegetable Grafting. Chronica Horticulturae 43 (2):13-19
- ^ Grigoriadis, I., I. Nianiou-Obeidat, and A. S. Tsaftaris. 2005. Shoot regeneration and micrografting of micropropagated hybrid tomatoes. Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology 80:183-186
- ^ Oda, M. 1995. New grafting methods for fruit-bearing vegetables in Japan. Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly 29:187-194
- ^ Rivard, C. L., and Louws, F. J. 2006. Grafting for Disease Resistance in Heirloom Tomatoes College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, ed. North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service.
External links
- http://www.vegetablegrafting.org
- http://www4.ncsu.edu/~clrivard/TubeGraftingTechnique.pdf
- http://oardc.osu.edu/graftingtomato/graft.htm
- http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/graftingGHtomato.html
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080509161631/http://www.avrdc.org/LC/tomato/grafting.pdf
- http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul05/fruit0705.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/20090910014340/http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/greenhouse_veg/topics/topics-pages/Grafting.html
- http://cals.arizona.edu/grafting