Effect of eggplant rootstock on yield and quality parameters of grafted tomato

Abstract

© Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Przyrodniczego w Lublinie, Lublin 2016. The effect of eggplant rootstock on yield and quality characteristics of tomato fruit have been studied in a three subsequent cropping years at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad, Serbia. Tomato cultivar ‘Jeremy’ was used as scion and as an ungrafted control, and as rootstock eggplant cultivar ‘Madona’ and Lycopersicon esculentum ssp. subspontaneum var. cerasiformae. In the case of Lycopersicon esculentum ssp. subspontaneum var. cerasiformae as a rootstock high percentage (82%) of successful grafting was observed, while survival rate of treatment ‘Jeremy’ as a scion and eggplant ‘Madona’ as a rootstock was only 68%. A negative effect of grafting on the eggplant rootstock was observed regarding fruit yield per plant, number of fruits per plant and total yield. These parameters were significantly higher in the ungrafted treatments and in the treatment Lycopersicon esculentum ssp. subspontaneum var. cerasiformae as a rootstock. Organic acid and lycopene content was significantly higher when the eggplant ‘Madona’ was used as a rootstock. Total sugar and vitamin C content was highest in the treatment Lycopersicon esculentum ssp. subspontaneum var. cerasiformae as a rootstock.