.

2. ROLE OF GRAFTING IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION

3.  Grafting is an ancient technique, especially with fruit crops
 In vegetable (cucurbits), it was briefly described in a 17th century book written by
Hong (1643 - 1715)
 The production of grafted vegetable plants was first begun in Japan and Korea in
the late 1920s with watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) grafted onto pumpkin (Cucurbita
moschata) rootstock (Lee 1994)
 Soon after, watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) were grafted onto bottle gourd
(Lagenaria siceraria) rootstocks
 Eggplant (Solanum melongena) was grafted onto scarlet eggplant (Solanum
integrifolium Poir.) in the 1950s
 Later, grafting was introduced to North America in the late 20th century
 Now common in Asia, parts of Europe and the Middle East (Davis et al. 2008)

4. What is Grafting ??????
Grafting is a method of asexual propagation where two
living plant parts (the rootstock and scion) are united
together to grow as a single plant.
Grafting is a propagation method where
the tissue of two plants are fused together.
The bottom part of the plant that contributes
roots and support is called the rootstock.
The upper part contributing leaves, flowers,
fruits and stems, is called the scion. Graft
Union
Rootstock
Scion
or

5. Popular pairings
 INTER-GENERIC
Watermelon and Bottle gourd
Cucumber and Pumpkin
Melon and Wax gourd
 INTER-SPECIFIC
Tomato and Tomato
Eggplant and Eggplant

6. Disease tolerance
Low temperature
tolerance
High temperature
tolerance
Flood
tolerance
High salt
tolerance
Improving
quality
traits
High
yield

7. Root stocks
Scions
Compatibility
Grafting Aids
Screen house
Healing chamber/Grafting chamber
Acclimatization chamber
Species /
Varietal
Specific
How to perform grafting????
Basic
prerequisites:

8. Rootstock and method of grafting in different
vegetable crops
Sl.
No.
Vegetable Rootstock Method of grafting
1 Watermelon Squash & bottle gourd Cleft & tongue approach
grafting
2 Cucumber Squash & fig leaf gourd Splice & tongue approach
grafting
3 Melon Squash for oriental melon and
melon for other melon
Splice and tongue
approach grafting
4 Tomato wild species of tomato do
5 Brinjal Brinjal and wild species do
6 Pepper Pepper & wild relative Splice grafting

9. Recommended rootstock by World Vegetable Centre
Crop
name
Bacterial
wilt
Fusarium
wilt
Pythium Root-knot
nematode
Flooding Salinity
Tomato VI043614
(Hawaii
7996)
VI043614 VI006378
(L973B)
- VI006378
Eggplant
VI045276
(EG203)
VI045276 VI045276 VI045276 VI039523
VI046103
(EG195)
VI046104 VI046104 VI046103 VI037670
VI034845
(TS03)
VI046101 VI046101 VI034845 VI041752
VI046104
(EG219)
VI046104
VI046101
(EG190)
VI046101

10. Grafting inVegetable Plants
Step-by-Step
Choose scion and rootstock
Construct healing chamber
Sowing the seed
Choose best time to graft
Make the grafts
Move grafts to healing chamber
Acclimate the grafts to normal conditions

11. Best time to graft
When seedlings have 2-4
true leaves
Stems are 1.5-2
millimeters
Early morning or just after
dark when water stress is
low
Should be done indoors or
under shade device

12. Make the graft
Sanitation anti-microbial soap, latex
gloves and sterile tools
Graft at 45-degree angle
Use rubber or silicon clip
Locate the graft above the cotyledon
to prevent adventitious roots

13. Grafting Secateurs
Grafting rubber Grafting Clip
Grafting clips
Grafting tools
Grafting Wax

14. Screen house
• Used for growing seedlings prior to grafting
• Should be constructed with 60-mesh nylon net
• Arrange double door
• The upper half of the structure should be covered with a
separate UV resistant polyethylene to prevent UV light
penetration

15. Steps before grafting for proper union
of rootstock and scion
 Expose the scion and root stock to sunshine for 2-3 days
 Withhold water from the plants to avoid spindly growth
 Make sure that the scion and rootstock have stems of similar diameter
 The scion and rootstock to come into contact, by maximum area of cut
surface

16. Timeline

17. • Selecting matching size of scion and rootstock is important in this
grafting procedure
• Grafting clips should also be selected according to the size. Too large
clips cannot hold the grafted union together, or too small clips gives too
much pressure and may deform the union
• Make sure that the prepared rootstocks do not have auxillary bud at
the base of remaining cotyledonary leaf. Rootstock grow-outs in the
field is a “must avoid” situation
Key for success

18. Methods Of Vegetable Grafting
Hole insert
grafting
(HIG).
One-
Cotyledon/
Splice/
Slant cut
Grafting
Method
Tongue
approach
grafting
(TAG).
Pin
grafting
Cleft
grafting
Tube
grafting
Micro
grafting

19. Hole Insertion/Top Insertion Grafting
 Most popular in cucurbits
 When scion and rootstock have hollow hypocotyls,
this method is preferred (Hang et al., 2005)
 One person can produce 1,500 or more grafts/day

20. Root stock & Scion material Making a hole for the scion
Inserting the scion in rootstockSecuring the joint with the clip
Preparation of scion

21. One-Cotyledon/Splice Grafting Method
Originally developed for grafting robot
It is applicable to most vegetables
Easy to learn for beginners
Suitable for mass production
Need scion stem size to be similar as possible to
rootstock size
Grafting without roots is optional

22. Root stock & Scion material
Securing the joint with the clip Joining the root stock & Scion
Preparing the root stock & Scion

23. Tongue Approach/Approach Grafting
• Most widely used by farmers and small nurseries
• Requires more space and labor compared to other
methods
• High seedling survival rate can be attained even by
beginners
• Grafted seedlings have a uniform growth rate
• Not suitable for rootstocks with hollow hypocotyls

24. Root stock & Scion material Preparing root stock & scion
Joining the scion to the rootstockSecuring the joint with a grafting strip

25. It is similar to slant grafting except
that in this method root stock &
scion joined are held with an
elastic tube instead of clips
It is more popular in tomato,
brinjal
Tube Grafting

26. Angle of cut Clip attachment Scion insertion Provide good contact
between the rootstock
and the scion.
Tube Grafting Technique

27. Cleft grafting
It is a simple and easy method
It is suitable for rootstocks with wide hypocotyls
Can be practiced in all vegetables

28. Eggplant: Cleft Method
Selection of rootstock Preparation of rootstock Preparation of scion
Grafted plant Joining rootstock & rootstock

29. Pin Grafting
It is also same as the slant grafting
In this instead of grafting clips, to hold the grafted
position, specially designed pins are used
The ceramic pin is nearly about 15mm long and
0.5mm in diagonal width of the hexagonal cross-
section
Design pin are used to hold the graft union, i.e.;
ceramic pin

30. PINS
Pin Grafting

31. Micro -grafting
Micro ex- plant are used less than 1/1000th mmᵌ
To eliminate virus infection
Determine the chemical basis of cell-to-cell contact
Used in herbaceous plant to evaluate the
physiology of grafting

32. Healing and acclimatization
• Shade place sheltered from wind to avoid wilting of the grafted
plants
• Grafted plants usually heal and acclimatized in plastic tunnel.
• After the grafting, the grafted plants were kept at 28-30 ͦC and
with more than 95% relative humidity for three days of healing
• Recommended to keep light levels at about 3-5 lux
• Used for formation of better graft union
• In this chamber grafts should be kept for 5-7 days

33. Reduces
water stress
by reducing
transpiration
Maintains
high
humidity
Maintains
optimum
temperature
Reduces
light
intensity
Advantages of healing chamber

34. HEALING CHAMBER

35. Acclimatization chamber
 Used for hardening the grafted seedling
prior to transplanting and to prevent leaf
burning and wilting of the just healed
seedlings
 Grafted seedling take 7 to 10 days for
acclimatization as hardening treatment

36. Fig: Structure of acclimatization tunnel

37. Monitoring grafting success
Measurement of electrical resistance (minimum
res. means success)
Thermal imaging of leaf temperature
Assessment of hydraulic connection by
displacement transducer (upward water
movement)
Electrical wave transmission (successful means
wave is present)

38. ROBOTIC GRAFTING IN VEGETABLE
CROP

39. Robotic grafting…?
Consist of functional component-feeding wheels, gripping hands, conveying wheels,
cutters, fixing clipper, discharge hand, programmable controller and power supply
One cycle time from feeding nursery plants to releasing a grafted nursery plant requires
about 3 seconds. Successful grafting rate and agglutination rate are 98% and 95%
respectively
The seedling are cut at the point of attachment of the cotyledon to the hypocotyls at an
angle of 10 degree for the scion and 30 degree for the rootstock.

40. The first semiautomatic cucumber grafting system was commercialized in 1993
A simple grafting machine can produce 350–600 grafts/hour with 2 operators,
whereas manual grafting techniques produce about 1,000 grafts / person / day (Gu,
2006)
A fully automated grafting robot performing 750 grafts/hour with a 90-93%
success rate
Cont…

41. Overall configuration of the tubing grafting robot

42. Inserting the
rootstock into the
tube
Inserting
the scion
into the tube
Finished
Moving the
scion to
grafting position
Cutting the scionChucking the scion
Putting the scion
into the
chuck by operator
Cutting the
rootstock
Moving the
rootstock
to grafting position
Putting the
rootstock chuck
by operator
Chucking the
rootstock
Feeding the tube Cutting the tube Moving the tube to
grafting position
The flowchart of the robotic grafting process
Rootstock processing
Tube preparing
Scion processing
Tubing- grafting

43. Grafting

44. A prototype of the tubing grafting
robotic system

45. GRAFTING ROBOT
GRAFTING
ROBOT
COMPANY
(COUNTRY)
CROP(S) EFFICIENCY
CCG IAM BRAIN
(Japan)
Cucumber 500/hr.
G 892 IAM BRAIN
(Japan)
Cucumber 1200/hr.
G 710 Nasmix Co.
(Japan)
Cucurbits 600-800/hr.
G 720 Nasmix Co.
(Japan)
Solanaceous 600-800/hr.
AG 1000 Yanma (Japan) solanaceous 1000/hr.

46. TGR grafting robot TGR institute
(Japan)
Solanaceous and
cucurbits
800/hr.
Pin grafting robot Takii (Japan) Solanaceous -
Plug-in grafting
robot
Osaka Prefecture
Univ. (Japan)
Solanaceous and
cucurbits
-
Grafting robot Kyungpuk Univ.
(Japan)
Solanaceous and
cucurbits
900/hr.
Pin-grafting robot RDA (Korea) Solanaceous 1200/hr.
Cont…

47. 1. Expose the scions and rootstocks to sunlight for 2 to 3 days before
grafting
2. Drying of the potted soil where the scion and rootstock grow by
controlled watering to avoid spindly growth
3. Scion and rootstock with similar diameters are important to
increase the survival rate
• Keep 100% RH for 3 days and then gradually reduce the humidity
• Keep the light intensity at 3-5 k lux
For a high survival rate in grafting…
Before grafting :
After Grafting :

48.  Raised beds and shelters
 Raised beds are highly recommended to
minimize flooding
 Clear polyethylene covered on raised
beds can be used to protect the field
plants from direct impact of heavy
rainfall
 Transplanting depth
 The graft union should be placed above
soil line while transplanting
 Sucker and adventitious root
removal
 Timely removal of suckers developed
from the rootstock after transplanting
Field management of grafts

49. Grafted plants should be staked two to three weeks after
transplanting
This will prevent vines from sliding down and the scion stem
contacting the soil
Water management
Plants with eggplant rootstocks require higher soil moisture
than non-grafted tomato plants

50. Tomato
Potato
POMATO
Pomato plant is a result
of grafting of tomato on
potato plants
We can reap tomatoes
on the top of the plant and
potatoes under the soil

51. Pomato (Tomtato)

53. Byczynski, 2011
Economics
*Values = Gross revenue – harvest costs – transplant costs
Selling price = $0.66 per lbs

54. Time after sowing (weeks)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
$0.00
$0.20
$0.40
$0.60
$0.80
$1.00
$1.20
$1.40
$1.60
$1.80
$2.00
non
graft
Accumulatedcosts($/plant)
$0.76
Seed costs
Mark-up
Cold frame
18-cell tray
Grafting / healing
50-cell tray
Germination
Production stage
$0.13
$0.67
$0.98
$1.21
$1.25
$1.88
$0.51
$0.47
Grafted
Non-grafted
$0.44
$0.24
Time after sowing (weeks)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
$0.00
$0.20
$0.40
$0.60
$0.80
$1.00
$1.20
$1.40
$1.60
$1.80
$2.00
non
graft
Accumulatedcosts($/plant)
$0.76
Seed costs
Mark-up
Cold frame
18-cell tray
Grafting / healing
50-cell tray
Germination
Production stage
Mark-up
Cold frame
18-cell tray
Grafting / healing
50-cell tray
Germination
Production stageProduction stage
$0.13
$0.67
$0.98
$1.21
$1.25
$1.88
$0.51
$0.47
Grafted
Non-grafted
$0.44
$0.24
B
Time after sowing (weeks)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
$0.00
$0.20
$0.40
$0.60
$0.80
$1.00
$1.20
$1.40
$1.60
$1.80
$2.00
non
graft
Accumulatedcosts($/plant)
$0.76
Seed costs
Mark-up
Cold frame
18-cell tray
Grafting / healing
50-cell tray
Germination
Production stage
$0.13
$0.67
$0.98
$1.21
$1.25
$1.88
$0.51
$0.47
Grafted
Non-grafted
$0.44
$0.24
Time after sowing (weeks)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
$0.00
$0.20
$0.40
$0.60
$0.80
$1.00
$1.20
$1.40
$1.60
$1.80
$2.00
non
graft
Accumulatedcosts($/plant)
$0.76
Seed costs
Mark-up
Cold frame
18-cell tray
Grafting / healing
50-cell tray
Germination
Production stage
Mark-up
Cold frame
18-cell tray
Grafting / healing
50-cell tray
Germination
Production stageProduction stage
$0.13
$0.67
$0.98
$1.21
$1.25
$1.88
$0.51
$0.47
Grafted
Non-grafted
$0.44
$0.24
B Propagation Costs

55. Propagation Costs
$0.74 / plant = Added cost
• Proportion of added costs
– e.g. seed costs (%) = (SEEDgraft - SEEDnon) / (TOTALgraft - TOTALnon)

56. B- Bigred alone
BH- Bigred on Heman
BP- Bigred on Primavera
BB- Bigred self graft
Effect of grafting on yield of tomato cultivar Bigred
Khah et al., 2006

57. Effect of the scion on fusarium disease
incidence of the grafted melon
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
40 50 60 70 80
Ein Dor
Ein Dor/Brava
Ofir
Ofir/Brava
Wiltincidence%
Days after planting
Dias et al., 2002

58. Effect of the rootstock on fusarium disease
incidence of the grafted melon
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
50 60 70 75 80 100
non-grafted Ofir
Ofir/Brava
Oifr/Orca
Ofir/Adir
Ofir/TZ148
Wiltincidence(%)
Days after planting Dias et al., 2002

59. Accumulated yield of grafted and non grafted melons
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
75 80 85 90 95 100
Non grafted Ofir
Ofir/Adir
Ofir/Brava
Ofir/TZ 148
Ofir/Orca
Fruityield(Kg/10m2)
Days after planting Dias et al., 2002

60. Yield comparison in green house
Khah, 2005

61. Yield comparison in field
Khah, 2005

62. 68.4
34
9.7
21.29
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Number of
fruit
Weight (T/ha) Fruit diameter
(cm)
Fruit length
(cm)
Non grafted
Self - grafted
Beaufort
S. aethiopicum

63. Estimated yield and partial net return per plant
0.77
3.17
5.36
23.95
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Yield
(Kg/plant)
Net return
($/plant)
Nongrafted ‘Brandywine’
‘Brandywine’ grafted onto
‘Multifort'

64. Miguel et al., 2004
Different attributes affected by grafting on different
rootstocks in watermelon

65. • More labor required
• High cost of grafted seedlings
• Fruit quality could be down: not all
rootstocks are good
• Special care is required
• Additional charge of transplanting in
case of cucurbits
• It can be overcome by the heavy yields
Disadvantages of Grafting

66. • Maintenance of popular cultivar against
diseases and others
• Ease of producing organically grown
vegetable
• With the invention of robot grafting and
acclimatization facilities, the price of
grafted seedlings considerably reduced
• Grafting of vegetables may be useful in
the low input sustainable horticulture of
the future
Future prospects