Performance of eggplant grafted on tomato and eggplant rootstocks

Performance of eggplant grafted on tomato and eggplant rootstocks

2005

E10581

The yield and fruit characteristics of eggplant [aubergine] cv. 'Delica' (flask type fruit) were studied in relation to grafting and K rate. The fertilizers applied were NH4NO3 and KNO3 in a ratio of 1:1 N:K (250 mg/l) and 1:2 N:K (175 mg N and 350 mg K/l), together with MgSO4 (1:7 Mg:K). The vegetative growth and yield of plants grafted onto tomato rootstocks '515' and '516' were superior to that of the non-grafted control, whereas plants grafted onto eggplant rootstocks '494' and '543' showed similar development and yield to that of the control. The root systems of the tomato rootstocks were appreciably larger than those of the eggplant rootstocks, and this is likely to have encouraged the better vegetative growth of the former. Differences in yield were primarily due to larger fruits harvested from plants grafted onto tomato rootstocks, and higher fruit number. Increasing the K content had a variable effect on mean fruit weight and yield of eggplant grafted onto tomato rootstocks, increasing both these parameters in experiment 1 (planting in early spring), but having virtually no effect in experiment 2 (summer planting). Rootstock or K rate did not affect the mineral composition of the fruit. For greenhouse eggplant cultivated under warm conditions, tomato may be the preferable rootstock for grafting. When planting occurs early in spring, a higher K rate may also be beneficial.

70(3):130-134, EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE

Research > Published Articles