Grafting in Tomato for Improving Abiotic Stress Tolerance, Yield and Quality Traits

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a major vegetable crop worldwide, however, its production is adversely affected by a wide range of abiotic and biotic stresses at various stages of its cultivation. Abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity, flooding, extreme temperatures and heavy metals can cause morphological, physiological and biochemical changes in the plant, which ultimately affect crop growth, yield and quality. Among various mitigation strategies, grafting technology has emerged as an effective and alternative tool to slow breeding programs to alleviate various biotic and abiotic stresses. Various studies indicated that increased osmolytes accumulation, synthesis of antioxidant enzymes, improved photosynthesis and vigorous root architecture in grafted tomatoes confer tolerance towards abiotic stresses, besides improving plant growth and fruit yields. Moreover, tomato grafting on suitable rootstocks has also a positive effect on the nutritional qualities of fruits, such as, lycopene, β-carotene, ascorbic acid, proteins, etc.). In this review, we have tried to summarize the adverse effects of abiotic stresses in tomatoes and include all possible recent references related to the response of grafted tomatoes using different intra-and/ or inter-specific rootstocks on improving plant growth, yield and quality and alleviation in various abiotic stresses.