An Overview of Grafting for Vegetable Crops

Andrew MefferdGrowing for Market Magazine

Grafting has the potential to overcome many production

problems

A natural way to get more out of your plants

Healthier plants and higher yields are due to:

• Increased resistance to disease and abiotic stress

• Higher vigor and a bigger root system

So, why is grafting not as important for other crops yet

as for tomatoes?

Why grafting works • Plant breeding is a balance of many

different goals• Grafting separates the goals of the

scion from the rootstock

Rootstocks are the mules of the vegetable world

• Most rootstocks take advantage of interspecific hybrid vigor

Potential Drawbacks

• Increased cost• Increased labor of grafting• Potential of bad grafts• Can make plants too vigorous• Diminishing returns• No yield boost?

A quick overview of the grafting process

• Propagation• Cutting and Splicing• Healing• Re-acclimation

Old-fashioned razor blade

Don’t try this without the paper wrapper!

Snapped in half

Solanaceous top grafting- start with a plant like this

Sever the top at a 60-70 degree angle

So it looks like this

Cut your top variety at the same angle and put in a grafting clip

Put the top on with the slant of the cut visible in the opening of the clip

This is what a finished top grafted plant should look like

Solanaceous cleft grafting

Cut the top off and split the stem

Cut a top to match and put a clip below the cut

Insert the top into the rootstock…

…and push the clip up to secure the graft union.

Approach graft- nightshades or cucurbits

Make a downward slanting cut 2/3 of the way through the stem of one plant, and an upward matching cut through the stem of the other plant.

Clip the plants together and remove the top of the rootstock

One cotyledon graft- cucurbit family

Sever the top, including dormant bud, leaving one cotyledon

Cut the top off the scion below the cotyledons at a matching angle

Clip the plants together for healing

Questions?? Thank you!