Influence of intraspecific and interspecific grafting on phenology, harvesting behaviour and fruit quality of tomato under salinity stress
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: An experiment was conducted during 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the Vegetable Research Farm, RHRS, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, to evaluate the effects of intraspecific and interspecific grafting on phenological, harvesting and fruit-quality traits of tomato under five salinity levels (0.5, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0 and 8.0 dS m⁻¹). Six graft combinations were tested: GT-7 (non-grafted), GT-7/Arka Vikas, GT-7/Abhinav, GT-7/GNRB-1, GT-7/Surati Ravaiya and GT-7/Solanum torvum. Salinity had no significant effect on days to 50% flowering, first picking and last picking. However, increasing salinity significantly reduced the number of pickings and lycopene content, while increasing titratable acidity. The maximum pooled number of pickings (13.65) and lycopene content (4.19 mg 100 g⁻¹) were recorded at 0.5 dS m⁻¹. Among graft combinations, GT-7/S. torvum recorded the numerically highest pooled values for number of pickings (14.44), TSS (5.27 °Brix), ascorbic acid (14.11 mg 100 g⁻¹), lycopene (4.20 mg 100 g⁻¹) and titratable acidity (0.28%). Interaction effects were non-significant, indicating consistent graft performance across salinity levels. GT-7 grafted onto S. torvum improved harvesting duration and fruit quality under saline conditions.
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7212371959