Grafting vegetable plants: from challenge to standard

Can be grafted on all vegetable crops like tomato, eggplant, cucumber, zucchini, pepper, watermelon. Today, challenge pasting has become a standard, and although it is an ‘operation’ it must be done with the utmost precision. Hans von Herk of Dissemination Solutions talks in detail about the subject below.

As a cultivation consultant, Hans von Herk focuses specifically on plant breeders

There are many reasons for grafting. Usually the main causes are resistance to disease or extra malignancy. As a result, more stems and / or fruits may be retained, and CO² may be used and cultivation may continue for longer. All of these will lead to higher productivity.

From challenge to standard
Grafting was already an old trick but rediscovered itself in the late 90s. Introduced new rootstocks in tomatoes, which, in addition to resistance, gave extra vigor to the crop. Tomatoes and eggplant in particular benefited greatly and production rose sharply due to the above points. Eggplant growers in the Netherlands should definitely go for product development loans because they are the first person to combine the potency of the rhizomes with the quality of the fruit of the variety.

Also, with the advent of the so-called ‘Japanese grafting method’, the grafting of tomatoes by growers became more enjoyable. This method gave greater speed, efficiency, better success and has now become a global standard.

Tomatoes purchased above the lobes

However, this challenge still exists in other crops such as pepper and cucumbers. Despite the substantial portions of these crops, these crops do not adhere except for organic crops and soil crops. At this time there are no rhizomes that can take these crops to a higher level in terms of production in terms of dosage. It’s all about the opposition now.

Watermelon with exception
The big exception, (almost) not grown in the Netherlands, is watermelon. Large areas are cultivated in southern Europe, Mexico, the United States, Australia and the Middle East. Fusarium oxysporum is a soil-borne disease that requires adhesion. However, watermelon is a tricky one and the different varieties (seedless, microscopic varieties) make it even harder. Because the rhizomes are so genetically diverse, it is difficult to match the varieties: pumpkin-like (Cucurbitta maxima x mossatta) and Lagenaria (Lagenaria vulgaris) are used. Also, the taste of watermelon is affected by the root. So a visionary expertise has been implemented based on the root and a variety of combinations.

Watermelons cannot be made with Japanese purchases, so a variant of ‘sucking paste’ is used. The flap leaf of the root and the two flap leaves of the watermelon are used. The roots are also removed to reduce root pressure. It forms a complex mixture of two plants in which all sorts of processes are performed, which take root again on the same day as grafting. So the number of hours per hour is significantly less than buying tomatoes or eggplant.

Watermelon grafted with lobe leaf rhizome

Keeping plants compact is also not easy, as it is often the real consumer preference of end users who grow watermelons on an agricultural basis. Summary is obtained by applying the correct plant age for grafting.

Watermelon plants stretch easily in the growing area due to the high humidity required to grow, but it can easily become hostile. Tight focus is essential during growth to prevent moisture problems.

Grow and cure glue
Allowing the wound to heal when two plants are cut and reconnected is similar to human surgery and hospital recovery time. The vaccination environment should be clean and sterile. Conditions after surgery should be comfortable and free of stimuli. All of these require full focus on injury recovery.

If it translates to plants and conditions, the following things are most important as soon as the grafting is complete:

• High humidity (100%) to stop evaporation;
• Leaf moist period to strengthen it;
• Pleasant and flat temperature (23 ° CD / N);
• No evaporative effects such as radiation and wind.

The stem diameter should be very even, depending on the custom working and growing days, season and location. The methods of creating these conditions are different. The following are common.

1. Plastic mines
Two examples of mines made in the greenhouse; A curved tunnel or a flat tunnel. The latter is preferred because the temperature and humidity are the same for all plants. It is highly conceivable that this does not apply to curved tunnels compared to the center lateral. It compromises unity.

The advantages of this system are low cost and flexibility in terms of location. Disadvantages are that many impacts (temperature and wind) can worsen the stable climate in the tunnel.

2. Climate cells
Under ideal conditions, temperature and humidity can be controlled up to 0.1 C and up to 1%. A climate cell must be perfect for this. The advantages are that it is very efficient in terms of the number of plants per square meter and is not affected by radiation or wind. The disadvantages are that the system is very expensive and requires many cells if vaccinated for several weeks.

Success is success
The details determine the degree of success, however it is often overstated with tomatoes. Watermelon is 80-85% standard because it is so hard. 24/7 work is the moment to start the habit and bring the ‘patient’ back to the ‘real world’; Of course it also takes place on weekends. Moisture should be reduced slowly in small steps, in cucumbers it often works with 1%, while other crops can withstand large steps (3-5%). Since this is the engine of the process the temperature will be the same. If it is reduced, it also slows down the healing process.

From the first day of acclimation, the plants quickly become ‘active’, which is characterized by drooping lobe leaves and dark green color of the head. Then the tunnel must be closed again quickly or the RH must be increased to control re-evaporation. This may be 20-30 minutes after the first day.

On the second day, getting used to it can take a while, for example 2-3 hours. But even after that, the same symptoms reappear, thereby causing adequate evaporation of the plants and there is a risk of deficiency.

On the third day, the habit lasts throughout the day and the symptoms do not return until the end of the day. Humidity should then be brought to a state of low evaporation.

On the fourth day of gestation, usually 6-7 days after vaccination, the procedure is almost complete and the wound heals. Humidity can certainly return to 70-75% and the plants can function normally again.

Usually an extra day is good for recovery so you can transfer to the next process area. Plants move to significantly lower densities (approximately 400 pl / m² to approximately 75 pl / m²). Not a small step, so Hans advises taking your time.

Familiarization technique
Tuning can be done in two ways, namely by making regular cuts in the plastic or by opening the tunnels.

Making cuts is relatively uneven for plants, and opening the tunnel is a very definite step. The advantage of the latter is that it is very consistent, and the disadvantage is that you almost really have to stand with it.

In addition to the imbalance in moisture for plants, there is a high risk of first-time elongation. This is highly undesirable because compact is an important customer preference, making it very difficult to retrieve the Plugin later.

Healing Symptoms = Practice
Plants can not speak, but show when they grew. Through physiological processes, viz. Examples:

If these last three symptoms appear, it is time to start practicing or speed up / increase the steps. Often a protocol is used so that acclimatization begins after 3-4 days. That’s right, but there are exceptions. Varieties can combine well with one root or it can be a perfect combination at the moment. You can definitely start a day earlier and follow the same standard protocol, everything will only be faster one day. For this, it is necessary to check twice a day, which should be done on weekends as well.

Good adhesion results
Successful grafting is essential for a plant grower, as all costs have already been incurred. Compensating for deficiencies by replanting causes a significant setback compared to the rest of the land, which can no longer be compensated.

To create homogeneous clusters of plants, the following are essential:

• Good fit for rootstock and different ages;
• Quality rhizomes (high energy, compact, many roots, dark green leaf color);
• Regulatory personnel for hygiene and grafting related to the assembly of 2 plants;
• Good conditions for plants to grow together;
• Well-trained staff to determine the right moment of familiarization.

Hans concludes that in a few decades grafting vegetable plants has become the norm for many crops. We hope to be able to obtain and maintain a standard level of quality.

For more information:
Hans von Herk
Spreading solutions
+31 (0) 6 20 91 81 00
[email protected]