EFFECT OF GRAFTING ON PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF TOMATO GROWN IN NUTRIENT FILM TECHNIQUE

Abstract

The experiments was carried out in the plastic house of the Arid land Agricultural Graduate Studies and Research Institute, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, during the two successive seasons of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 to evaluate the effect of grafting on Productivity and Quality of Tomato Grown in Nutrient Film Technique. Each experiment contained two rootstocks of tomato cultivars, i.e. VT.916 and R.X.010 and on rootstocks of eggplant cultivar, i.e. SolanummelongenaBaladi, plus controls one (cultivar tomato of R.X.010). Moreover, tomato plants of each grafting method were trained as a single and / or double stemmed system. The important obtained results could be summaries as following: The grafting tomato on rootstock named R.X.010 gained the tallest plants which carried the highest leaves number, stalk diameter, heaviest total and early fruits yield. Also the highest values of N, P, K, total chlorophylls, fruit weight.firmness, ascorbic acid, total acidity and the highest value of TSS. Moreover, using rootstock named SolanummelongenaBaladi(eggplant) obtained the no significant values of the above mentioned measurement which recorded by rootstock source of R.X.010. In addition the no grafted tomato plants gained the lowest values of the studied parameters. As general, that grafted plants gained more vigorously plants and had more tomato fruits yield which contained more physically and chemically properties if compared which that plants no grafted. Training tomato on one branch had the taller plants which had the higher values of leaves number, stem diameter, heavier total and early yield, as kg / plant. However, the N, P, K, chlorophylls, total acidity, had no significant response by the training methods.

Key words:Tomato, Grafting, Growth, Training, plant growth, yield, physical, chemical properties.