GRAFTING TO IMPROVE ABIOTIC STRESS TOLERANCE OF FRUIT VEGETABLES

Abstract

Vegetable crops are often exposed to various environmental stress factors, such as salinity, drought, soil alkalinity, heavy metals and excessive amounts of trace elements, which severely affect crop growth and productivity. One way to avoid or reduce losses in production caused by adverse environmental conditions in vegetables would be to graft them into rootstock capable of reducing the effect of external stresses on the shoot. Grafting is an integrative reciprocal process and, therefore, both scion and rootstock can influence tolerance of grafted plants to adverse environmental conditions. Grafted plants grown under adverse soil chemical conditions often exhibited greater growth and yield, higher photosynthesis, better water and nutritional status, and lower accumulation of Na and/or Cl, heavy metals, and excessive amount of trace elements in shoots than ungrafted or self-grafted plants. This article gives an overview on the prospects and restrictions of grafting as a means to minimise the negative effects of abiotic stresses on performance of fruit vegetables, taking into consideration agronomical and physiological aspects.