Studying the Collection Accessions of Vegetable Crops to Expand the Range of Their Usage as Rootstocks

Abstract

Local breeding tomato varieties released for cultivation in Armenia in the protected ground conditions have a relatively weak resistance towards disease and stress conditions, despite good taste and quality fruits indicators. This factor, among others, is the reason for the unprofitability of growing tomatoes in greenhouses, which in turn leads to an even greater intensification of production in terms of–pesticides use. The vegetative grafting of vegetable plants can be the problem solution, which helps to increase the disease resistance, yield and improve the fruits quality indicators. The effectiveness of grafted plants depends on the genetic rootstock potential. Collection accessions of tomato and eggplant lines have been evaluated for resistance to fusarium wilt using real-time PCR diagnostics. A preliminary phytosanitary assessment of collection accessions has made it possible to recommend the most disease-resistant samples for using as a rootstock for vegetative grafting. The grafted plants assessment according to a complex of agronomic characters has shown the advantage of using eggplant rootstocks comparing with tomato rootstocks.