Author
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Bausher, Michael |
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Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 4/20/2008 Publication Date: 7/20/2008 Citation: Bausher, M.G. 2008. Study of Quality and Growth Characteristics of a Tomato variety 'Camelia' Grafted onto Commercial Rootstocks. Hortscience. 43(4)p.1275 . HortScience. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Grafting of plants offers the ability to join differing genetic material and to create a plant that possesses the best qualities of each germplasm. Grafting of tomatoes and other Solanaceous crops is practiced in Asia and Europe where the numbers of plants grafted reach numbers in the hundreds of millions. Little information is available as to the influence rootstocks have on quality parameters. This study was conceived to determine the influence of commercial tomato rootstocks on a common scion ‘Camelia’. The commercial rootstocks tested were 'Beaufort', 'Maxifort’, ‘Multifort’ and ‘Vigostar’. A tomato variety ‘Sebring’ was also included because it has resistance to Fusarium race 3. The plants were grown in a growth chamber at a temperature of 26/24 C day/night with 12 hr photo-period. Each of the 12 plants for each variety and the self grafted control and the grafted rootstocks was arranged in a completely randomized design. Measurements we made for fruit size, weight, firmness, titratable acidity and oBrix. The fruit produced by Camelia/Camelia (scion/rootstock) and Camelia/Sebring were larger by 7% and mean weight of fruit was 23 % greater then the rootstock variety ‘Beaufort’. Firmness of the fruit was affected by the rootstock with the self graft Camelia with the highest compression value of 10.9 N; the rootstock with the lowest value of 5.28 N was ‘Sebring’. The type of root stock had a positive influence on titratable acidity and oBrix with 'Multifort' gaining 15% and 28% over the varieties 'Vigostar' and the self graft ‘Camelia’ respectively. |
