Influence of grafting on fruit quality traits in eggplant grafted onto solanum torvum and interspecific rootstocks

Abstract

The present use of grafted seedlings is dramatically increasing because of the intensive use of agricultural land, global warming, and environmental pollution. However, grafting of seedlings can cause changes in fruit appearance, earliness, and yield. This study aimed to determine the changes in fruit morphology depending on different rootstocks with new parameters and on different observation dates. Solanum melongena L. varieties Amadeo and BT Bıldırcın were used as scions. In addition, Solanum torvum Sw. (ST) variety Hawk and interspecific eggplant hybrid (IEH) variety Anafor were used as rootstocks. Our results showed that grafting had a positive effect on peduncle length, and time of physiological ripeness depending on the scion/rootstock combination. Grafting of both scions onto S. torvum had the highest increase in peduncle length. Additionally, the Amadeo/S. torvum combination reached physiological ripeness at the latest. However, grafting also had negative effects on fruit earliness and browning of pulp tissue depending on the scion/rootstock type combination. The S. torvum combination had delayed fruit earliness compared with the other rootstock combination and ungrafted plants. Meanwhile, the BT Bıldırcın/IEH combination had the most browning of the fruit pulp. Consequently, rootstocks can make the eggplant suitable for mechanical harvest by extending the fruit peduncle length.