Vegetable Grafting: Methods, Uses and Opportunities for Nepal: A Review

Abstract

Grafted vegetable seedlings have been used from the early 20th century. This technique has been utilized extensively in East Asia and the European countries where it has developed as a multimillion-dollar industry. The increase in land area under protected cultivation, intensive use of land, scarcity of production resources and changing climate leading to unpredictable weather has caused a rapid increase in the use of grafted vegetables. However, in Nepal, where the productivity of vegetable crops is quite low and the breeding activities are inadequate, use of grafted vegetables is still unexploited. Therefore, this technique can be an important intervention to improve the overall production system of Solanaceous and Cucurbitaceous vegetables. Methods of vegetable grafting, their current uses, research carried out in Nepal and the possible opportunities are discussed in this review paper. Cleft, splice, tongue approach, hole- insertion and pin grafting are the methods currently in use. Grafting can be used to overcome the problems caused by various soil borne disease and nematodes and abiotic stresses like, low and high temperature stress, water stress, salinity, metal and organic pollutants while increasing the yield and extending crop duration in vegetable production. In Nepal, few research have been carried out on vegetable grafting with majority of them on assessment of tolerance to soil borne diseases. Utilization of this technique in Nepalese conditions provide ample opportunities for researchers and academicians to conduct researches and for breeding companies to develop resistant rootstocks. By implementing this method, vegetable industry can improve the overall yield, its quality and reduce hindrances in production.