Increase Your Harvest by Choosing the Right Rootstock!

Hello. I am Takahiro Ogawa, an agricultural management supporter.
There are two types of crop seedlings: "seedling-grown" and "grafted." Seedling-grown refers to plants raised from seeds; simply put, they are seedlings grown directly from seeds. They are also called own-root seedlings. On the other hand, grafted seedlings are created by cutting the stem of a normally grown seedling and attaching the stem of another plant to it. In this process, the plant on the root side that serves as the base is called the "rootstock," and the plant that is attached to the top to produce flowers or fruit is called the "scion."
By grafting, you can take advantage of the best characteristics of both the rootstock and the scion.

The general method for grafting is to align the cut surface of the scion with the cut surface of the rootstock (which has had its top removed) and secure the joint with specialized tape, bands, or clips. The meristematic tissue called the "cambium" at the cut surfaces of both the rootstock and scion fuse together, and by creating new cells at the wound, nutrients and water can flow between the two.

However, it is amazing that plants can stay alive even when different plants are attached to each other at the top and bottom. It is like a "centaur," which is unthinkable in mammals.

Grafting is performed to improve resistance to diseases, pests, and environmental stress, as well as to increase tree or plant vigor. Originally, the main purpose was resistance to diseases, pests, and environmental stress, but recently, cases where the primary goal is to increase plant vigor have been increasing. Such rootstocks are called high-vigor rootstocks (strong-growth rootstocks), which have good root development and can maintain plant vigor until the latter half of cultivation, leading to increased yields.

Furthermore, rootstocks called interspecific hybrid rootstocks are hybrids with tomato relatives, bred with the goal of maintaining even stronger plant vigor than regular high-vigor rootstocks. They are suitable for hydroponic cultivation, where the root zone is restricted and root clogging or damage is likely to occur.

In hydroponic cultivation of forced tomatoes, results have shown that grafting onto these interspecific hybrid rootstocks can increase yields by nearly 30% compared to cultivation with own-root seedlings. (From the Chiba Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry Research Center)

In this way, many rootstock-specific varieties with excellent characteristics have been bred for fruit vegetables such as Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae.

When choosing a rootstock, you must select one according to your purpose.
For tomatoes, it is recommended to choose "King Barrier" for fields prone to bacterial wilt, "Green Guard" for fertile fields or when the scion variety has strong vigor and you want to suppress it, "Green Save" for long-term cultivation where you want to maintain stable vigor with medium vigor and stamina, or "Green Force" if you want to increase plant vigor. Be sure to carefully consider the characteristics of the scion and rootstock, such as their vigor, as well as the characteristics of your field when making your choice!

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