Tomato Grafting: A Global Perspective

Abstract

<jats:p>Grafting of vegetable seedlings is a unique horticultural technology practiced for many years in East Asia to overcome issues associated with intensive cultivation using limited arable land. This technology was introduced to Europe and other countries in the late 20th century along with improved grafting methods suitable for commercial production of grafted vegetable seedlings. Tomato grafting is becoming a well-developed practice worldwide with many horticultural advantages. The primary motivation for grafting tomato has been to prevent the damage caused by soilborne pathogens under intensive production system. However, recent reports suggest that grafting onto suitable rootstocks can also alleviate the adverse effects of abiotic stresses such as salinity, water, temperature, and heavy metals besides enhancing the efficiency of water and nutrient use of tomato plants. This review gives an overview of the scientific literatures on the various aspects of tomato grafting including important steps of grafting, grafting methods, scion–rootstock interaction, and rootstock-derived changes in vegetative growth, fruit yield, and quality in grafted plants under different growing conditions. This review also highlights the economic significance of grafted tomato cultivation and offers discussion on the future thrust and technical issues that need to be addressed for the effective adoption of grafting.</jats:p>

Effect of shading and grafting on yield and quality of tomato

“…H [1][2][3] Ungrafted tomato is characterized with higher lycopene content in comparison with grafted tomato.…”

“…H [1][2][3][4] Tomato skin properties -skin strength and skin elasticity, and Ca content, is higher in grafted tomato.…”

“…is one of the most important vegetable species in terms of both its economic and its health aspects. It is produced and consumed worldwide, grown in open fields and protected conditions, and in soil or soilless media . The growth, yield, and fruit quality of tomato is influenced by its genetic potential as well as by environmental factors (temperature, radiation) and cultivation practice (grafting) …”

“…It is produced and consumed worldwide, grown in open fields and protected conditions, and in soil or soilless media. 1 The growth, yield, and fruit quality of tomato is influenced by its genetic potential as well as by environmental factors (temperature, radiation) and cultivation practice (grafting). 2,3 Farmers need to protect crops against global warming during the summer months by additional cultural practices such as shading and grafting.…”

Conventional Industrial Robotics Applied to the Process of Tomato Grafting Using the Splicing Technique

“…On the other hand, the average cost of grafted tomato plants versus non-grafted plants varies considerably depending on several factors, mainly the productive scale of the nursery, the cost of labor, the production practices, and the cost of seeds employed, which can sometimes amount to more than 50% of the total costs [7]. In nurseries with a medium-high production volume, the costs of hand-grafted plants are estimated at approximately $0.67 for the USA, compared to $0.15 for non-grafted plants [8][9][10]. Similar prices are maintained for Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea [5], while for Spain and other European countries, the costs vary between €0.54 for hand-grafted plants compared to €0.18 for non-grafted plants [11].…”