Grafting Improves Fruit Yield of Cucumber Plants Grown under Combined Heat and Soil Salinity Stresses

Abstract

Improving the productivity of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants subjected to combined salinity and heat stresses is a significant challenge, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Gianco F1 cucumbers were grafted onto five cucurbit rootstocks and, together with an ungrafted control, were grown in Egypt in a net house with saline soil during the summer season over two years. The vegetative growth, yield, quality, biochemical, and mineral composition traits were measured. Although many differences were observed among treatments, in general, the grafted plants had a performance better than or similar to that of the ungrafted plants, based on the different parameters measured. In particular, the cucumber plants grafted onto the Cucurbita maxima × C. moschata interspecific hybrid rootstocks VSS-61 F1 and Ferro had the highest early and total marketable yields. These two rootstocks consistently conferred higher vigor to the scion, which had lower flower abortion rates and higher chlorophyll contents. The fruit quality and N, P, and K composition in the leaves suffered few relevant changes as compared with the control. However, the leaves of the VSS-61 F1 had higher catalase activity, as well as proline and Se contents, while those of Ferro had higher Si content. This study reveals that the grafting of cucumber plants onto suitable rootstocks may mitigate the adverse effects caused by the combination of saline soil and heat stresses. This represents a significant improvement for cucumber cultivation in saline soil under high-temperature stress conditions in arid regions.

Interspecific Hybrid Rootstocks Improve Productivity of Tomato Grown under High-temperature Stress

“…These vegetative growth traits were positively correlated with the absorption of nutrients (N, P, K) and chlorophyll contents (Supplemental Table 1). These results are in agreement with those of previous studies of grafting cucumber and tomato (Bayoumi et al 2021;Ili c et al 2022), indicating better physiological and nutritional statuses of grafted plants. This might be associated with the stronger root system of grafted plants, which allows greater water and nutrient uptake compared with nongrafted plants under stress.…”

Approaches Involved in the Vegetable Crops Salt Stress Tolerance Improvement: Present Status and Way Ahead

“…Salinity disturbs dry mass partitioning between vegetative and reproductive organs, whereas grafted plants exhibited less alteration (Parthasarathi et al, 2021). In grafting, some rootstocks may have better performance than the others, though their response may change depending on level of salt concentration in the growth medium (Singh et al, 2020;Bayoumi et al, 2021). Numerous reports have demonstrated the ameliorative response of grafting to salinity stress in cucurbitaceous crops (e.g., melon, watermelon, and cucumber) involving the Cucurbita interspecific hybrid rootstocks (Goreta et al, 2008;Rouphael et al, 2012).…”

Enhancing salinity tolerance in cucumber through Selenium biofortification and grafting

“…Salinity stress adversely affects cucumber growth as a result of osmotic stress, which is followed by ion toxicity. The osmotic stress leads to nutrient imbalances, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and membrane damage thereby reducing yield and product quality [ 29 ]. Research indicates that high salinity tolerance in grafted cucumber plants is linked to increased leaf potassium concentration [ 20 ].…”

“…Research indicates that high salinity tolerance in grafted cucumber plants is linked to increased leaf potassium concentration [ 20 ]. Grafting cucumber onto fig leaf gourd ( Cucurbita ficifolia Bouche L.) has shown to increase yield and tolerance to salinity [ 29 , 30 ]. However, cucumber fruit quality and taste can be negatively affected necessitating a careful rootstock selection to increase tolerance both under abiotic and biotic stresses, while improving the yield and quality of grafted cucumber fruit.…”