Hey guys,
I am planning on grafting some tomato varieties onto a rootstock this Spring and was surprised to learn that you can also graft peppers and eggplants. My question is does anyone know specific pepper and/or eggplant varietals I can grow to use as rootstock?
Thanks,
Matt
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rainbowgardener
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I don't, I don't even grow eggplant at all. But I don't think anyone could answer that question in general. The only point of doing all that extra work (other than bragging rights, just to say you could 
) is to accomplish something specific. I think the commonest reason for grafting tomatoes is to confer modern resistance to soil borne infections to heirloom tomatoes. It has also been used to increase tolerance to salinity, flooding/ excess soil moisture, temperature extremes. Grafting has also been used for dwarfing and for increasing fruit size due to increased water and nutrient uptake among vigorous rootstock genotypes. I expect each of these purposes would lead to the use of a different root stock variety. So why do you want to graft your nightshade plants?
) is to accomplish something specific. I think the commonest reason for grafting tomatoes is to confer modern resistance to soil borne infections to heirloom tomatoes. It has also been used to increase tolerance to salinity, flooding/ excess soil moisture, temperature extremes. Grafting has also been used for dwarfing and for increasing fruit size due to increased water and nutrient uptake among vigorous rootstock genotypes. I expect each of these purposes would lead to the use of a different root stock variety. So why do you want to graft your nightshade plants?I have heard to tomatoes grafted onto potatoes as a novelty.
Technically, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, tomatillos, and peppers are not frost tolerant but can be grown as a perennial in the tropics. Most of the time though, it is disease that kills them. Since they are in the same family they could be compatible for grafting. But since almost all of them are also susceptible to the same problems it hardly seems worth the trouble.
It is better to get a resistant cultivar instead. There are nematode resistant tomatoes, peppers and eggplant which is a requirement living in the tropics.
Disease resistance to multiple strains of fusarium as well as tolerance to TMV and TYLCV and other viruses also help.
While this family loves the heat they will drop flowers and stop producing in temps over 90 degrees unless you have a heat tolerant variety. Most of them will also not germinate or produce much fruit until the temperatures are near 70.
My eggplant has two eggplant on it now. Normally, I would have about 8 every 10 days. People do keep them for years. My neighbor has one that is 8 years old. I only keep mine a couple of years because the production drops off significantly as the plant gets older.
Bell peppers do not last long and are poor producers compared to other peppers. The longest lived and most productive peppers for me are the tabasco peppers. I have one that is close to ten years old and it is still producing.
Cherry tomatoes are the strongest, but I don't really know how long they last since seedlings keep popping up.
Technically, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, tomatillos, and peppers are not frost tolerant but can be grown as a perennial in the tropics. Most of the time though, it is disease that kills them. Since they are in the same family they could be compatible for grafting. But since almost all of them are also susceptible to the same problems it hardly seems worth the trouble.
It is better to get a resistant cultivar instead. There are nematode resistant tomatoes, peppers and eggplant which is a requirement living in the tropics.
Disease resistance to multiple strains of fusarium as well as tolerance to TMV and TYLCV and other viruses also help.
While this family loves the heat they will drop flowers and stop producing in temps over 90 degrees unless you have a heat tolerant variety. Most of them will also not germinate or produce much fruit until the temperatures are near 70.
My eggplant has two eggplant on it now. Normally, I would have about 8 every 10 days. People do keep them for years. My neighbor has one that is 8 years old. I only keep mine a couple of years because the production drops off significantly as the plant gets older.
Bell peppers do not last long and are poor producers compared to other peppers. The longest lived and most productive peppers for me are the tabasco peppers. I have one that is close to ten years old and it is still producing.
Cherry tomatoes are the strongest, but I don't really know how long they last since seedlings keep popping up.
Hey all,
The two main reasons for grafting my nightshades are increased yields and disease resistance. I also love about the challenge it presents. Being as heirlooms aren't hybridized (obviously...) they are suseptible to disease so hopefully grafting them will help.
And on the point of grafting eggplants onto tomato rootstock, I've found the following studies that show an increase in yeild and disease resistance:
https://hortsci.ashspublications.org/con ... /2058.full
https://www.hort.cornell.edu/expo/procee ... 20Reid.pdf
I like the idea of grafting another top producing nightshade to a potato plant - has anyone heard if this will produce edible root crop, as well?
Thanks,
Matt
The two main reasons for grafting my nightshades are increased yields and disease resistance. I also love about the challenge it presents. Being as heirlooms aren't hybridized (obviously...) they are suseptible to disease so hopefully grafting them will help.
And on the point of grafting eggplants onto tomato rootstock, I've found the following studies that show an increase in yeild and disease resistance:
https://hortsci.ashspublications.org/con ... /2058.full
https://www.hort.cornell.edu/expo/procee ... 20Reid.pdf
I like the idea of grafting another top producing nightshade to a potato plant - has anyone heard if this will produce edible root crop, as well?
Thanks,
Matt
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
They sell them and claim that they will:
https://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetabl ... o/t47176TM
interestingly the article that links to describes these as "hand-grafted." And yet many of the headlines I found about it described it as "mutant" "hybrid" "Frankenstein." Grafting is not a mutation and it is not a hybrid! And they acted like this was a brand new creation, but I have seen them advertised in novelty catalogs (along with fruit cocktail trees) for years.
Anyway, I have no idea if it really works as claimed. It seems like it would be really hard for the roots and leaves to feed both crops.
It is a difficult graft to do.
https://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetabl ... o/t47176TM
interestingly the article that links to describes these as "hand-grafted." And yet many of the headlines I found about it described it as "mutant" "hybrid" "Frankenstein." Grafting is not a mutation and it is not a hybrid! And they acted like this was a brand new creation, but I have seen them advertised in novelty catalogs (along with fruit cocktail trees) for years.
Anyway, I have no idea if it really works as claimed. It seems like it would be really hard for the roots and leaves to feed both crops.
It is a difficult graft to do.