Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Splice grafting versus root pruning splice grafting: Stand establishment and productivity issues in Cucurbitaceae vegetables

Author(s):

Ismet Babaj, Glenda Sallaku, Astrit Balliu *

Recieved Date: 2013-09-21, Accepted Date: 2014-01-07

Abstract:

Two different grafting methods - splice grafting (SG) and root pruned splice grafting (RPSG) were applied for grafting of watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai] and cucumber (Cucumis sativum L.) seedlings. The influence of grafting methods on the dry matter partitioning and stand establishment rate of transplanted seedlings was estimated on pot experiments, while the influence of different grafting methods on early production and the harvesting rate of each crop were estimated under common commercial production conditions. Root, stem and leaf dry matter of randomly selected plants were weighed, and together with the leaf area of the respective plants, were used as primary data for the computation of several growth parameters during the nursery stage. The plant relative growth rate (RGR), as well as root relative growth rate (RRGR), were used as indicators of plant stand establishment rate, after transplanting. During the vegetation period, the length of main stem was successfully measured for each crop in ten selected plants, and the respective stem elongation rate (SER) was calculated, while as the fruits getting matured, frequent harvest was done and early and total plant yields were recorded for each experimental plot. Compared with SG, RPSG seedlings demonstrated a higher relative growth rate (RGR) and root relative growth rate (RRGR) after transplanting, which means a higher stand establishment rate of them. The faster root growth of seedlings was promoted by the priority allocation of plant assimilates toward the root system. Still, since there was no significant difference in the number of leaves till the first fruit set and the number of harvested fruits, it is clear that the priority allocation of assimilates towards the recreation of the new root system of RPSG seedlings did not negatively affect the production potentials of root pruned seedlings versus intact ones. Following transplanting, a significantly higher stem elongation rate was recorded for RPSG cucurbitaceae seedlings. The advantage of faster stem growth rate was reflected to a higher harvesting rate and a higher total early production of RPSG plants in case of cucumber, but there was no yield difference due to grafting method in watermelon.

Keywords:

Cucumber, watermelon, splice grafting, root pruned splice grafting, root pruning, relative growth rate, stand establishment rate, stem elongation rate

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2014
Volume: 12
Issue: 1
Category: Agriculture
Pages: 165-168

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