Effects of grafting on tomato and eggplant

The consequences of grafting on fruit production and characteristics of tomato (cv. 'Rita') and eggplant (cv. 'Mission bell') were studied. Plants not grafted, self grafted, and grafted on three different rootstocks were grown on fumigated soil to exclude soilborne disease interferences on the effects of the technique. In both species self grafted plants yielded as the control and, on average, as the grafted plants. According to the three rootstocks, the response of two species was different; 'Beaufort' rootstock enhanced the production of tomato, whereas the yield level in eggplant was lowered by grafting on 'Energy'. The above results were more or less in accordance with plant size. Dry weight of above-ground vegetative organs in fact was highest for tomato grafted on 'Beaufort', and lesser in eggplant grafted on 'Energy' rootstock. On the whole, grafting slightly affected fruit characteristics.