{"id":4320,"date":"2012-03-15T18:49:03","date_gmt":"2012-03-15T18:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/?page_id=4320"},"modified":"2022-11-02T08:25:26","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T15:25:26","slug":"garden-news-issue-33","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/library\/garden-news-issue-33\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden News Issue 33"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Garden
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\nIssue 33 \u2022 Seasonal tips and featured varieties coming to a retailer near you<\/a> \u2022 June 2, 2010<\/span>
\n\"divider\"<\/p>\n

Introducing Our First Crop Ever of Grafted Tomatoes!<\/h1>\n

\"graftedGrafted vegetables are created when the top part of one plant (the scion<\/strong>) is attached to the root system of a separate plant (the rootstock<\/strong>). The rootstock contributes vigor and disease resistance while the scion is chosen for fruit flavor or quality.\u00a0 Produce growers have found that this traditional technique can dramatically improve plant health and increase harvests naturally and economically.\u00a0 Now, Log House Plants is making these amazing plants available for the first time to home gardeners in the U.S., at select nurseries throughout the Northwest.<\/strong><\/p>\n

History<\/strong><\/p>\n

For centuries, grafting has been used in agriculture to enhance the health, yield, and fruit quality of woody species like fruit trees and grape vines.\u00a0 Large scale production of grafted vegetables emerged in Asia, where land has been intensively cultivated for many years.\u00a0 In the 1920s, growers there found that grafting watermelon plants onto squash or gourd rootstock significantly reduced the incidence of fusarium wilt.\u00a0 Today, 81% of Korean vegetables and 54% of all Japanese vegetables (95% of Japan\u2019s watermelons, oriental melons, greenhouse cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants) are produced on grafted plants.\u00a0 Vegetable grafting is also popular throughout Europe, especially in Greece, Spain, France, Italy, and Morocco.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., the technique\u2019s potential for improving plant health and fruit yield without harmful pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or soil fumigation\/steam sterilization is catching the attention of greenhouse produce growers and organic farmers, especially on the East Coast with its short growing season.<\/p>\n

\"tomatoBenefits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Advantages of grafted vegetables include enhanced plant vigor, stronger disease resistance, tolerance of environmental stresses, and heavier crops<\/strong> that are produced over an extended harvest period<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Disease resistance<\/em> \u2013 This is probably the most important reason commercial growers initially turned to grafted vegetables.\u00a0 After Asian growers\u2019 success with grafted melons in the 1920s, tomato grafting emerged in the 1960s as a strategy to avoid soil-borne diseases like bacterial wilt, which can be hard to eradicate in a tomato crop because of its wide range of hosts and ability to persist for years in the soil.<\/p>\n

When a grower raises tomatoes and other solanums (potatoes, eggplant, peppers) in the same fields or in the ground in greenhouses year after year, a range of fungal, bacterial, viral, and nematode diseases can become established in the soil, leading to a poorer yield with each subsequent harvest. Grafting has been found effective against verticillium wilt (Verticillium albo-atrum, V. dahliae), fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum), corky root rot (Pyrenochaeta lycosersici), root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne), bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum), Tomato mosaic virus, and Tomato spotted wilt virus.<\/p>\n

Grafting may also help plants ward off three of the other big tomato problems we face in the Pacific Northwest: early blight (Alternaria solani), late blight (Phytophthora infestans), and blossom end-rot (a physiological disorder caused by low calcium levels).\u00a0 Tomato plants that are less vigorous to start with or weakened by nematodes are more susceptible to early blight, so super-vigorous grafted tomatoes with enhanced resistance to pests and disease should fare better.\u00a0 Blossom end rot is exacerbated by fluctuations in soil moisture or when plants are stressed by drought.\u00a0 Grafted tomatoes, with their superior root structures, allow continued uptake of moisture and nutrients even in less-than-optimal conditions.\u00a0 It\u2019s not clear whether grafted tomatoes are resistant to late blight (infamous for causing the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s and still responsible for widespread losses of potato and tomato crops each year).\u00a0 The spores of the late blight fungus can\u2019t survive in soil but are carried through the air, bypassing grafted tomatoes\u2019 protective root system and landing directly on fruits or foliage.\u00a0 However, we expect that grafting would confer some level of protection because in general, the healthier and more vigorous the plant, the greater its ability to fight off a disease or pest. (See this article<\/a> from Ohio State University for recent research)<\/p>\n

Tolerance to environmental stresses<\/em> – Grafted plants are also more tolerant of environmental stresses like salinity or temperature extremes.\u00a0 And with the ability to withstand hotter and cooler temperatures comes an added bonus \u2013 an extended growing season.<\/p>\n

\"tomatoes\"<\/strong>Increased vigor and yield<\/em> – Even for those growers and gardeners fortunate enough to have fresh soil and ideal growing conditions, grafting has its advantages.\u00a0 The vigorous rootstock increases the uptake of water and nutrients, for healthier plants and more abundant harvests without using chemical pesticides or fertilizers.<\/p>\n

Overall, grafted vegetables lead to bigger harvests<\/strong> of better quality fruits<\/strong> over a longer period<\/strong> with fewer harmful inputs<\/strong>.\u00a0 All tomatoes can benefit from grafting, but heirlooms, which are generally less disease resistant, can increase yields dramatically when grafted on special rootstock.\u00a0 Organic farmers find that they can achieve better resistance to pests and disease without soil fumigation or chemical pesticides, as well as higher yields without chemical fertilizers.\u00a0 Greenhouse produce growers are turning to grafted vegetables because the plants thrive and produce even when crops can\u2019t be rotated frequently to fresh soil.<\/p>\n

\"tomatoMethod<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tomatoes may be grafted using several methods, including side grafting or top grafting.\u00a0 In side-grafting, a notch is cut in the scion and in the rootstock, then the plants are clipped together at their notches and allowed to heal for several days before severing the scion\u2019s roots and the rootstock\u2019s shoot.<\/p>\n

After experimenting with several methods, we decided to use the Japanese top-grafting (or tube-grafting) method, a new technique that is fairly simple yet must be performed in carefully controlled conditions to avoid stressing the vulnerable, freshly grafted plant.\u00a0 When both rootstock and scion have developed 2-4 true leaves, we sever each seedling just below its cotyledon at a 45 degree angle, then use a special clip to attach the upper stem and leaves of the scion to the lower stem and roots of the rootstock.\u00a0 The stems must be the same diameter so their vascular tissue can align, allowing water and nutrients to flow up the stem.<\/p>\n

\"grafting\"Once the scion and rootstock have been clipped together, we place them in a healing chamber which regulates temperature (70-80 degrees F), humidity (80-95%), and light to create the best conditions for the vascular tissue to grow together and the scar heal over.\u00a0 For the first 2-4 days the seedlings are kept in complete darkness.\u00a0 Over the next week or so, we slowly reintroduce the seedlings to light and reduce the humidity to accustom them to natural conditions.\u00a0 After another week or two in the greenhouse, they are ready to be transplanted into the garden.<\/p>\n

Throughout the process, the plants must be handled carefully to avoid disturbing the graft union.\u00a0 Preventing water stress is also crucial.\u00a0 Both scion and rootstock seedlings should be well-watered the day before grafting, which is best performed in a shady, protected area in the early morning or just after dark, when water transpirations are lowest.<\/p>\n

Planting instructions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Handle carefully when transplanting to avoid bending or putting pressure on the graft.\u00a0 Plant at the same level the tomato is growing in the pot to keep the graft well above soil level so any adventitious roots that may form on the scion don\u2019t come into contact with the soil.\u00a0 These vigorous plants will require stakes or cages, as well as careful pruning<\/a> to ensure that the plant\u2019s energy goes to fruit production and not excessive foliage.\u00a0 Remove any suckers that form below the graft or any roots that emerge above the graft.<\/p>\n

Look for them around the Northwest!<\/strong><\/p>\n

This month Log House Plants is sending out our first crop of grafted tomatoes to select independent retailers around the Northwest.\u00a0 Look for favorite varieties like \u2018Brandywine\u2019 and \u2018Black Krim,\u2019 grown on the rootstock \u2018Maxifort,\u2019 an extremely vigorous tomato which would churn out hard, awful-tasting little fruits if allowed to grow on its own, but leads to generous and early yields of delicious tomatoes when grafted to a tastier variety.\u00a0 We chose \u2018Maxifort\u2019 for its high resistance to tomato mosaic virus, corky root rot, fusarium wilt race 2, verticillium race 1, and nematodes, as well as its moderate resistance to fusarium wilt race 1.<\/p>\n

In addition to single-grafted tomatoes, we\u2019re experimenting with other vegetables (like peppers and eggplant) and double-grafted plants.\u00a0 Double-grafting involves attaching two scion plants to the same rootstock, so that you can grow two different cultivars on one plant.\u00a0 You may have seen apple trees that produce two or three different kinds of apple \u2013 how about a tomato plant that produces both \u2018Red Brandywine\u2019 and \u2018Yellow Brandywine\u2019?\u00a0 Or \u2018Black Cherry\u2019 and \u2018Snow White Cherry\u2019 tomatoes?\u00a0 Or \u2018Hansel\u2019 and \u2018Gretel\u2019 eggplants?\u00a0 We\u2019re growing them right now, and hope to introduce them to you soon!<\/p>\n

Grafting for Disease Resistance in Heirloom Tomatoes<\/a> – Publication from the NC Cooperative Extension Service<\/p>\n

Grafting Can Help Fight Foliar Diseases, OSU Researchers Find<\/a> \u2013 Ohio State University research found that grated tomatoes are more disease resistant and have higher levels of flavonoids<\/p>\n

Grafting Techniques for Greenhouse Tomatoes<\/a> \u2013 Article by Richard McAvoy, University of Connecticut<\/p>\n

Tomato Grafting Research Program<\/a> – North Carolina Cooperative Extension research<\/p>\n

Tomato Grafting Project <\/a>\u2013 Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center research project (Ohio State University)<\/p>\n

Tomato Grafting<\/a> \u2013 Organic farmer Jack Manix from Vermont shares his grafting experiences<\/p>\n

Previous issues of Garden News are in the Log House Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Issue 33 \u2022 Seasonal tips and featured varieties coming to a retailer near you \u2022 June 2, 2010 Introducing Our First Crop Ever of Grafted Tomatoes! Grafted vegetables are created when the top part of one plant (the scion) is attached to the root system of a separate plant (the rootstock). The rootstock contributes vigor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3109,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4320"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28126,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4320\/revisions\/28126"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}