Yield And Fruit Quality Of Tomato Grafted Onto Rootstocks Partially Resistant To Root-Knot Nematodes In A Naturally Infested Greenhouse

Root-knot-nematodes (RKN), Meloidogyne spp., are major soilborne diseases in protected tomato production and grafting with resistant or partially resistant rootstocks has been showing promising results. The experiment was carried out in a sandy soil greenhouse in the Littoral NW Portugal. Tomato cv. Anairis was grafted onto rootstocks Embajador, Emperador, Multifort and Silex, with non-grafted and self-grafted plants used as controls, in an experimental design of 6 treatments in three randomized blocks, to evaluate the effects on yield and fruit quality. Soil samples were collected at planting and at the end of the trial to estimate soil populations of RKN. At the end of the trial, plants were uprooted to evaluate the numbers of galls, egg masses and female fecundity. The potential benefits of increased yield by plant grafting have not been revealed. However, plants grafted onto any of the tested rootstocks suffered significantly less nematode damage, which are in agreement with previous findings in organic and transitional fields when soil RKN pressure was low. As tomato production in organic greenhouses can be affected by RKN due to relatively short rotations, grafting with appropriate rootstocks may play an effective role in RKN management when high populations of nematodes are present.