With horticultural products such as watermelons and squash, grafting makes it possible to cultivate species that are sensitive to certain pathogens on infected soils by resorting to tolerant or resistant patterns. It is a low-polluting technique, accepted for integrated production or organic cultivation, which has evolved as an alternative technique to soil disinfection.
According to a report published by PROAIN, which explains the grafting processes for this type of fruits, the production of grafted watermelons results in a considerable increase in the fruit's size. Both watermelons and pumpkins have vascular bundles arranged in groups in a circle around the stem's axis.
A proper and successful grafting is very important, since there will certainly be issues if a small part of the variety or the pattern's tissues come into contact with the sun. Even after good healing has taken place and the growth of the variety starts, a poor grafting can prevent the transport of sufficient water and cause the collapse of the grafted plant.
Some of the goals pursued by grafting are:
Improving tolerance to diseases.
In horticultural crops, the main objective is to prevent diseases caused by fungi in the soil. The variety to be cultivated is grafted onto a plant that is resistant to the disease.
Improving the yield.
Dieleman and Heuvelink (2005) mention an increase of between 5 and 15% following the grafting of tomatoes, assuming good management and adequate compatibility between the rootstock and the variety, in the case of long cycles. The yield is strongly correlated with a good plant vigour and the resistance shown by the rootstock to certain diseases.
What is grafting?
Grafting consists in joining portions of living plant tissues of two different plants in order for them to develop as a single plant. The commercial horticultural species that are usually grafted are melons, watermelons, aubergines, tomatoes and peppers. In vegetables, the purpose of grafting is to prevent infections caused by fungi and nematodes in the soil.
Proain Tecnología Agrícola can supply the resources you need for any kind of grafting. Get in touch with us and start producing quality seedlings.
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