Growth and quality of Ethiopian peppers grafted on Korean peppers

Abstract

Vegetable grafting is a century-old technique used in Asia in order to enhance plant production, including reduction in disease susceptibility and increase in plant vigor. Nevertheless, in Africa (Ethiopia), vegetable grafting is rarely existent. Vegetables are among the major agricultural crops in Ethiopia, and pepper is one of the most important vegetable crops cultivated in the country. However, both biotic and abiotic factors limit pepper productivity, keeping it very low. Hence, this study investigates grafting methods and the impact of grafting on growth and quality of two Ethiopian pepper varieties (Mareko Fana and Melka Zala) grafted on two commercial Korean rootstocks varieties. Both Ethiopian varieties showed 100% grafting union success with the Korean varieties when wedge grafting method was used, while the splice grafting method resulted in lesser success. Furthermore, grafting the Mareko Fana variety on PR3 resulted in statistically significant higher yield compared to the control, while the yield of the Melka Zala was reduced when grafted on PR3. On the other hand, fruit diameter and fruit length of the Ethiopian pepper was not significantly affected by the rootstocks. Finally, grafting was found to increase the TSS content of the Mareko Fana variety. This study documented the standardization of grafting methods and grafting effects on growth and quality traits of pepper under greenhouse conditions. The results of this study will be indispensable for the beginning of the grafting technology in Ethiopia.