Effect Of Rootstocks Research Articles

Response of Soursop (Annona muricata L.) to Clonal Multiplication through Budding and Rootstock Compatibility

A research trial was carried out at the College of Horticulture, Mysuru, University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, Karnataka, India during January–June 2021 to study the effect of different environmental conditions and rootstocks on success and survival of soursop budlings. There were 6 treatment combinations consisting of different rootstocks of Annona sp. (Annona muricata and Annona squamosa) along with growing conditions (polyhouse, 50% shade net and open condition) were replicated thrice in factorial completely randomized design. The results of the study indicated that soursop scion budded on its own rootstock (A. muricata) and placed under polyhouse condition had significantly affected on days taken to bud sprout (34.96 days), success (91.60%), survival percentage (85.30%) and growth parameters like number of leaves (3.81, 6.56 and 13.67), length of sprouted shoot (3.58 cm, 8.19 cm and 15.42 cm), girth of sprouted shoot (1.35 mm, 1.86 mm and 2.08 mm), number of nodes (3.52 , 6.11 and 11.67) and length of internode (1.20 cm, 1.47 cm and 1.73 cm) at 60, 90 and 120 days after budding whereas A. muricata scion budded on A. squamosa rootstock kept under open condition recorded more number of days for sprouting (37.86), least success (37.86%), survival percentage (85%) and growth parameters like number of leaves (2.33, 4.44 and 11.11), shoot length (2.78 cm, 5.51 cm and 11.13 cm), diameter of shoot (0.70 mm, 1.01 mm and 1.24 mm), number of nodes (2.11, 4.33 and 10.22) and node length (0.84 cm, 1.01 cm and 1.42 cm).

Resistance of domestic plum tree rootstocks against periodic overwatering of floodplain soils

This work investigates the effect of domestic plum rootstocks on the stability and productivity of Stanley plum plants. The main factor limiting the productivity of fruit crops in the floodplain soils of the foothill horticultural area of Krasnodar Oblast was found to be an unfavorable water-air regime of these soils in wet periods. The main geogenic factors that negatively affect the state and productivity of plum plants include the following: the presence of layers of low fertility and medium-clay granulometric composition in the soil profile. Depression and death of trees is promoted by prolonged overwatering of the upper part of the soil profile, caused by low filtration capacity of soil layers in combination with heavy granulometric composition and conditions of laying on the terrain (absence of horizontal surface runoff). A different degree of plum trees resistance to these unfavorable geogenic conditions depending on the type of rootstock was revealed. The lowest degree of depression under prolonged overwatering of the root-containing soil layer was observed in plum trees on the PK SK2 rootstock, which demonstrated the highest vegetative mass growth under the smallest number of dead plants. Stanley plum trees on rootstock AP1 were subjected to the greatest depression. The different degree of plum tree stability on different rootstocks is mainly related to the location of potentially active roots in the soil. The root system of plum trees on rootstock PK SK2 is characterized by the concentration of the main part (about 65 %) of potentially active roots in the upper soil layer of 0–40 cm. In plum trees on AP1 rootstock, potentially active roots penetrate to greater depths, with about 60% of the roots located in the soil layer of 40-80 cm. During wet periods and after abundant precipitation, when the soil below the 40 cm level is saturated with moisture, more than half of potentially active roots of plum trees on AP1 rootstock have to survive in unfavorable conditions.

Long-term effects of rootstock and tree type on the economic profitability of ‘Gala’, ‘Fuji’ and ‘Honeycrisp’ orchards performance

Planting a new orchard requires a complex management strategy that involves many factors including cultivar, rootstock, planting density, training system, tree type, climate, and economic conditions that affect orchard profitability. To evaluate the relative importance of each factor, data from long-term field studies is required to analyze their impact on lifetime profitability. Here, we conducted two long-term field studies at two locations in New York State (Dressel farm in South-eastern and VandeWalle farm in Western New York State). The trials were planted in 2006 at a planting density of 3,262 tree/ha and the trees were trained as Tall Spindles. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of tree type (newly bench-grafted trees and large 2-year feathered trees) and rootstock (B.9, M.9, G.11, G.16, G.41) on long-term profitability of three apple cultivars (‘Fuji’, ‘Gala’, and ‘Honeycrisp’). There were important differences in profitability between cultivars, with a higher Net Present Value (NPV) for ‘Honeycrisp’, followed by ‘Gala’ and, finally, for ‘Fuji’. For all the cultivars, the NPV of the feathered trees was substantially higher compared to bench-grafted trees. Furthermore, the highest cumulative NPV's for ‘Honeycrisp’ were on B.9, G.11 and G.16, whereas with ‘Fuji’ the highest NPV's were on G.16, G.11 and M.9 and with ‘Gala’ the highest NPV's were on G.16, G.41 and M.9. The break-even year of a positive NPV for each rootstock, tree type, and cultivar, showed that the fastest investment pay offs were achieved with ‘Honeycrisp’, followed by ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’. Feathered trees showed a faster break-even year of a positive NPV compared to bench grafted trees in all cultivars. Our results showed that the key variables that influence orchard profitability were, in descending order, fruit price and yield, followed by discount rate, labor cost, and finally tree price and land cost.

Rootstock-mediated carbohydrate metabolism, nutrient contents, and physiological modifications in regular and alternate mango (Mangifera indica L.) scion varieties.

Most of the popular scion varieties of mango possess alternate/irregular bearing. There are many external and internal factors assigned, among them carbohydrate reserves, and nutrient content plays important roles in the floral induction process in many crop species. In addition to that rootstock can alter the carbohydrate reserve and nutrient acquisition of scion varieties in fruit crops. The present investigation was carried out to understand the effect of rootstocks on the physiochemical traits of leaf, and bud and nutrient content in regular and alternate bearing varieties of mango. The rootstock "Kurukkan" promoted starch content in leaves of both alternate bearing varieties 'Dashehari' (5.62 mg/g) and regular 'Amrapali' (5.49 mg/g) and encouraged higher protein content (6.71 mg/g) and C/N ratio (37.94) in buds of alternate bearing 'Dashehari'. While Olour rootstock upregulated the reducing sugar in leaves of 'Amrapali' (43.56 mg/g) and promoted K (1.34%) and B (78.58 ppm) content in reproductive buds of 'Dashehari'. Stomatal density in 'Dashehari' scion variety was found higher on Olour rootstock (700.40/mm 2), while the rootstock fails to modify stomatal density in the scion variety regular bearer 'Amrapali'. Further, a total of 30 carbohydrate metabolism-specific primers were designed and validated in 15 scion/rootstock combinations. A total of 33 alleles were amplified among carbohydrate metabolism-specific markers, which varied from 2 to 3 alleles with a mean of 2.53 per locus. Maximum and minimum PIC value was found for NMSPS10, and NMTPS9 primers (0.58). Cluster analysis revealed that scion grafted on Kurukkan rootstock clustered together except 'Pusa Arunima' on Olour rootstock. Our analysis revealed that Fe is the key component that is commonly expressed in both leaf and bud. Although Stomatal density (SD) and Intercellular CO2 Concentration (Ci) are more specific to leaf and Fe, B, and total sugar (TS) are abundant in buds. Based on the results it can be inferred that the physiochemical and nutrient responses of mango scion varieties are manipulated by the rootstock, hence, the scion-rootstock combination can be an important consideration in mango for selecting suitable rootstock for alternate/irregular bearer varieties.

Leaf physiological responses of the citrus commercial varieties grafted onto rootstocks

The use of rootstocks provides choices to growers to increase fruit quality and yield, obtain high-density planting, avoid juvenility, and control tree size. The choice of rootstock for a citrus orchard was an important consideration. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of citrus rootstocks on leaf mineral composition and leaf physiology of the citrus commercial cultivars (‘Pontianak’ tangerine, ‘Pamindo’ pamelo and ‘Montaji’ lemon). For this purpose, the citrus commercial cultivars were budded onto Japansche citroen (JC) and Citrumelo rootstocks and then leaf mineral composition (total nitrogen, phosphor and kalium concentration) and leaf physiology (chlorophyll index, respiration rate, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate) of each scion were measured. Results showed that rootstock type had different influence on leaf mineral composition and leaf physiology in leaf of each scion. For total nitrogen, total kalium and stomatal conductance variables, rootstocks had no effect. For total phosphor variable, JC rootstock induced higher value than Citrumelo in all scion. For chlorophyll Index variable, Citrumelo induced higher value on ‘Pamindo’ and lower value on ‘Montaji’ than JC but had no effect on ‘Pontianak’ tangerine. For respiration rate and photosynthetic rate variable, Citrumelo induced higher value than JC in ‘Pamindo’ but had no effect on ‘Pontianak’ tangerine and ‘Montaji’. Therefore, ‘Pamindo’ was better to be budded on Citrumelo, ‘Montaji’ and ‘Pontianak’ tangerine were better to be budded on JC.

Dynamics of grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) infection in the vineyard and study of the response of different rootstocks

Planting is a major step in the life of a vineyard. The choices made at this stage, including that of the plant material, commits the winegrower for several decades (Dewasme et al., 2022a). The rootstock, which forms part of the terroir, can contribute to the longevity of the vineyard. Viral diseases represent one of the major causes of dieback today, though their prevalence remains difficult to quantify (Dewasme et al., 2022c). The effects of different rootstocks on the impact of viral diseases need to be determined if they are to be used to help control dieback and extend the life of vineyards.

Influence of rootstock on endogenous hormones and color change in Cabernet Sauvignon grapes

Different rootstocks for grapes can significantly affect fruit color and quality, possibly by affecting hormone contents, related genetic pathways, and fruit coloring mechanisms in skin. ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ was grafted to ‘5BB’, ‘SO4’, ‘140R’, ‘CS’, ‘3309M’ and ‘Vitis riparia’ rootstocks, with self-rooting seedlings as the control (CS/CS), and sampled from the early stage of veraison to the ripening stage. The effects of rootstock on the contents of gibberellin (GA3), auxin (IAA), and abscisic acid (ABA) in grape skin were determined alongside the expression levels of eight anthocyanin synthesis related genes using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR methods. The rootstock cultivars exhibited accelerated fruit color change, and the CS/140R combination resulted in grapes with more color than the control group in the same period. With the development of fruit, the IAA and GA3 contents in the skin of different rootstock combinations showed trends of increasing initially, then decreasing, while the ABA content decreased initially and then increased. During the verasion (28 July), the various ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ rootstock combinations exhibited varying degrees of increases in GA3, ABA, and IAA contents; correlation analysis showed that, at the start of veraison, the expression levels of the anthocyanin synthesis-related genes VvCHS, VvDFR, and VvUFGT had strong positive correlations with hormone contents, which indicated they are key genes involved in the endogenous hormone responsive anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway. The results of this study showed that rootstock regulates the fruit coloring process by influencing the metabolism level of peel hormones in the ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ grape.

Effect of Rootstock on the Volatile Profile of Mandarins.

Mandarin production has increased in recent years, especially for fresh consumption, due to its ease of peeling, its aroma, and its content of bioactive compounds. In this sense, aromas play a fundamental role in the sensory quality of this fruit. The selection of the appropriate rootstock is crucial for the success of the crop and its quality. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the influence of 9 rootstocks ("Carrizo citrange", "Swingle citrumelo CPB 4475", "Macrophylla", "Volkameriana", "Forner-Alcaide 5", "Forner-Alcaide V17", "C-35", "Forner-Alcaide 418", and "Forner-Alcaide 517") on the volatile composition of "Clemenules" mandarin. For this, the volatile compounds of mandarin juice were measured using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction in a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Seventy-one volatile compounds were identified in the analyzed samples, with limonene being the main compound. The results obtained showed that the rootstock used in the cultivation of mandarins affects the volatile content of the juice, with "Carrizo citrange", "Forner-Alcaide 5", "Forner-Alcaide 418", and "Forner-Alcaide 517" being those that presented the highest concentration.

Determination of the effect of cucumber grafting on some morphological and physiological characteristics in hydroponic conditions

Due to the benefits and importance of the use of grafted seedlings, the demand for high quality grafted seedlings is increasing. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect of rootstocks on some morphological and physiological parameters of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plant under hydroponic growing conditions. In this study, grafted on seven different rootstocks and non-grafted plant characteristics were compared. Non-grafted seedlings were used as control plants. The values measured in at least one grafting application in 9 different morphological and/or physiological parameters among the 12 parameters measured were higher than the non-grafted plants. In leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD), photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) and root dry weight/fresh weight rate measurements, the values measured in non-grafted plants were not lower than grafted plants. It was determined that Cremna and Devrim rootstocks were effective in terms of shoot length and biomass values, but rootstock use did not have a significant effect in terms of photosynthetic activity. It was concluded that grafting of cucumber plants on different rootstocks may cause significant advantages in terms of some parameters, but the effects largely depend on the rootstock selection.

Transcriptome and physiological analyses reveal new insights into delayed incompatibility formed by interspecific grafting

Pinus elliottii used as rootstock instead of homologous rootstock, have been proved to accelerate early growth of the scion (Pinus massoniana), for cultivation of large diameter wood. However, the basal diameter of scions in heterologous grafts was significantly smaller than self-graft 10 years later, according to field investigation, which was opposed to cultivation objectives. Although advantage of heterologous grafts has been reported, less is known about the long term effect of heterologous rootstock on scions of P. massoniana. The aim of present study was to investigate the mechanism of the above difference. Toward this aim, the growth traits and physiological characteristics of scions in the two graft groups were studied, and the underlying mechanism was preliminarily explored through transcriptome sequencing technology. Results showed that scions of heterologous grafts had less TSCA compared to self-grafts, while no significant difference of plant height, number of branches and canopy volume between two graft groups. Besides, scion leaves of heterologous grafts displayed higher antioxidant enzyme activity and lower chlorophyll content. And interactions between rootstocks and scions had also changed the mineral element composition of scion leaves. Compared with homologous grafts, scion leaves of heterologous grafts accumulated more K+, Mg2+ and Zn2+, but less Ca2+,which have been proved to be conducive to the growth of stem diameter of P. massoniana. Moreover, a comparative transcriptome analysis of two graft groups showed that DEGs between them were mainly caused by the specificity of rootstock. GO and KEGG analysis found that heterologous rootstock had different gene expression preferences, and the gene expression level between rootstocks and scions were significantly different, such as auxin auxin-related genes and stress responsive genes. That may imply that auxin pathway played an important role not only in grafting healing process, but also in maintaining the growth between scion and stock. Summary of all above results, we concluded that the long term effect of heterologous rootstock on scions may be unsatisfactory with the later rapidly growth of scion, probably due to delayed graft incompatibility between scion and stock of heterologous grafts. This study may remind us that the long-term growth of the scion deserves attention as well as the healing process, which could also provide a basis for delayed graft incompatibility.

Effects of Different Rootstocks on the Metabolites of Huanglongbing-Affected Sweet Orange Juices Using a Novel Combined Strategy of Untargeted Metabolomics and Machine Learning.

Huanglongbing (HLB) is one of the most destructive citrus diseases, mainly caused by the Gram-negative bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. Aiming at unraveling the mechanisms of different scion/rootstock combinations on improving HLB-affected orange juice quality, the effects of rootstocks on the metabolites of HLB-affected sweet orange juices were investigated using a combined strategy of untargeted metabolomics and machine learning. A total of 2531 ion features were detected using UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and 54 metabolites including amino acids, amines, flavonoids, coumarins, fatty acids, and glycosides were definitely or tentatively identified as the differential markers based on the random forest algorithm. Furthermore, 24 metabolites were verified and semi-quantified using authentic standards. Notably, the presence of specific amino acids and amines, especially polyamines, indicated that different rootstocks might affect glutamate, aspartate, proline, and arginine metabolism to regulate the physiological response against HLB. Meanwhile, the production of flavonoids and prenylated coumarins suggested that rootstocks influenced phenylalanine and phenylpropanoid metabolism. The possible metabolic pathways were proposed, and the important intermediates were verified by authentic standards. These results provide new insights on the effects of rootstocks on the metabolites of HLB-affected sweet orange juices.

Effects of rootstocks on the flavor quality of huanglongbing-affected sweet orange juices using targeted flavoromics strategy.

Citrus greening disease or Huanglongbing (HLB) is one of the most destructive diseases affecting all varieties of citrus worldwide. Aimed at optimizing the scion/rootstock combination to improve HLB-affected orange juice quality, a flavoromics strategy was used to investigate the effects of six different rootstocks (CH, blue, 1804, FG, SW, and Volk) on flavor quality of HLB affected orange juices. A sensory quality test was conducted by a panel to evaluate the sensory attributes of different orange juices. The orange juice from rootstock CH had the best flavor quality with highest sweetness, low sourness and bitterness, while rootstocks Volk and FG produced the poorest quality orange juices. Chemical profile analysis resulted in semi-quantification of 89 metabolites including 57 nonvolatile compounds and 32 volatile compounds using UHPLC-MS and GC-MS, respectively. Canonical correlation analysis indicated that some specific sugar and sugar alcohols including raffinose, xylose, rhamnose, glucose, sorbitol, and myo-inositol made a strong positive contribution to sweetness. Meanwhile, several amino acids including alanine, glutamic acid, proline, arginine, serine, asparagine, as well as aspartic acid were responsible for positive flavor quality. On the other hand, some nucleotides and limonin increased bitterness. In addition, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated different rootstocks could affect aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, ABC transporters, and monoterpenoid biosynthesis. These results indicated different rootstocks can change specific metabolites and thus affect the flavor quality of orange juices. This study also provides reference for optimizing the scion/rootstock combination to improve HLB-affected orange juice quality.

Effects of Rootstock and Training System on Tree Canopy, Fruit Quality and Phytochemicals of ‘0900 Ziraat’ and ‘Regina’ Sweet Cherry Cultivars

Effects of Rootstock and Training System on Tree Canopy, Fruit Quality and Phytochemicals of ‘0900 Ziraat’ and ‘Regina’ Sweet Cherry Cultivars

The effects of rootstocks on growth and development of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L. cv. "Kütahya") in the growing conditions of Bursa

The effects of rootstocks on growth and development of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L. cv. "Kütahya") in the growing conditions of Bursa

Effect of rootstock on plant growth, fruit yield and quality of sweet orange cv. Early Gold under central zone of Punjab

Effect of rootstock on plant growth, fruit yield and quality of sweet orange cv. Early Gold under central zone of Punjab

Effects of Cucurbita, Lagenaria and Citrullus rootstocks on pollen and fruit characters, seed yield and quality of F1 hybrid watermelon

In the study, two commercial Cucurbita maxima×Cucurbita moschata hybrid (Nun9075 and TZ148), Lagenaria spp. hybrid (Argentario) and one local Lagenaria spp. genotype (3335) and one Citrullus amarus genotype (PI 296341) were used as rootstocks. The male and female parents of two watermelon hybrids (187×125 and 11×162) were used as scions. Ungrafted plants formed the control group and also each parent was grafted on itself. Male parents were used for pollen measurements. Fruit weight, fruit height, fruit diameter, fruit rind thickness, total soluble solid content, total number of seeds, total seed weight and 1000 seeds’ weight and seed vigor tests were carried out in fruits of female parents crossed with male parents grafted onto the same rootstock. According to results of this study, the highest pollen production was obtained from Argentario while in terms of pollen germination and pollen viability there was no difference between applications in general. It was determined that grafting on Argentario and 3335 rootstocks increased fruit height, fruit diameter, fruit rind thickness, and the amount of total soluble solid, and the best performing rootstocks in terms of fruit weight were found to be Argentario, 3335, TZ148 and NUN9075. The highest seed number, seed weight and 1000 seeds weight were obtained from those grafted on TZ148 and NUN9075 rootstocks. Although variable results were obtained in terms of early germination, there was no rootstock that came to the fore in general. There was no difference between the rootstocks regarding accelerated aging test and controlled deterioration test.

Effect of Low-Temperature Tolerant Rootstocks on the Growth and Fruit Quality of Watermelon in Semi-Forcing and Retarding Culture

Watermelon grafting is practiced in order to improve tolerance to poor environments such as low temperature. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of low-temperature tolerant bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) rootstocks on the growth and fruit quality of watermelon in semi-forcing and retarding culture where plants were exposed to low or high temperature. Five bottle gourd accessions (FR79, IT207112, BG702, BG703, and FRD22) with low temperature tolerance were evaluated as rootstock for the watermelon scion ‘Sambokkul’. Non-grafted watermelon and watermelon grafted onto commercial rootstock ‘Shintozwa’ (Cucurbita maxima D. × C. moschata D.) or ‘Bullojangsaeng’ (L. siceraria) were used as controls. Watermelons were cultivated in spring (April to June, semi-forcing culture) and autumn (August to October, retarding culture). The responses to low-temperature, growth, yield, and fruit quality differed depending on the rootstocks and growing season. In semi-forcing culture, the monthly averages of daily and minimum temperature in April were, respectively, 13.4 and 1.5 °C. Although the low temperature of the early growth stage suppressed the initial growth of watermelons, grafting mitigated the low-temperature stress. The fruit quality of non-grafted watermelons was greater, but the fruit mass was the lowest (4.8 kg). Grafting onto ‘Shintozwa’ increased the fruit weight (7.0 kg) but reduced the fruit quality. Grafting onto bottle gourd rootstocks had high affinity, good root growth, tolerance to low temperature, and little effect on fruit quality. In retarding culture, the temperature conditions in early and late growth were very high and low, respectively. The growth and fruit quality of grafted watermelons were not superior to those of non-grafted watermelons. Accordingly, these results suggest that watermelon grafting onto the bottle gourd rootstocks may increase the low-temperature tolerance, especially in the early growth stage, and the marketable yield without a reduction in fruit quality. The most promising accession for this purpose was found to be ‘FR79’.

Transcriptional Effects of Rootstock on Scion after Drought: A Case Study of Using MdGH3 RNAi as the Rootstock

Drought stress is an important environmental factor limiting apple yield and fruit quality. Previously, we identified GRETCHEN HAGEN3.6 (GH3.6) as a negative regulator of drought stress in apple trees. Using transgenic MdGH3 RNAi (knocking down MdGH3.6 and its five homologs) plants as rootstock can increase drought tolerance, water use efficiency, flowering, and fruit quality of the Fuji scion after drought stress. However, the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon is still unknown. Here, we performed transcriptome sequencing of the grafted plants (Fuji/GL-3 where Fuji was used as the scion and non-transgenic GL-3 was used as the rootstock, and Fuji/MdGH3 RNAi where MdGH3 RNAi was used as the rootstock) under control and drought conditions. Under control conditions, 667 up-regulated genes and 176 down-regulated genes were identified in the scion of Fuji/MdGH3 RNAi, as compared to the scion of Fuji/GL-3. Moreover, 941 up-regulated genes and 2226 down-regulated genes were identified in the rootstock of MdGH3 RNAi plants relative to GL-3. GO terms of these differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in scion and rootstock showed associations with plant growth, fruit development, and stress responses. After drought stress, 220 up-regulated and 452 down-regulated genes were identified in MdGH3 RNAi rootstock, as compared to GL-3. Significantly enriched GO terms included response to abiotic stimulus, cell division, microtubule-based process, metabolic and biosynthetic process of flavonoid, pigment, and lignin. The comparison between the scion of Fuji/MdGH3 RNAi and Fuji/GL-3 yielded a smaller number of DEGs; however, all of them were significantly enriched in stress-related GO terms. Furthermore, 365 and 300 mRNAs could potentially move from MdGH3 RNAi rootstock to scion under control and drought conditions, respectively, including FIDDLEHEAD (FDH), RESPONSIVE TO DESICCATION 26 (RD26), ARS-binding factor 2 (ABF2), WRKY75, and ferritin (FER). Overall, our work demonstrates the effects of rootstock on scion at the transcriptional level after drought stress and provides theoretical support for further understanding and utilization of MdGH3 RNAi plants.

Determination of Phenological and Morphological Characteristics of Some Standard Pear Cultivars on Different Quince Clonal Rootstocks

This study was conducted to determine the effects of Quince BA29 (BA29), Quince A (QA), and Quince C (MC) rootstocks on phenological and morphological characteristics of ‘Deveci’, ‘Santa Maria’, ‘Abate Fetel’, and ‘Williams’ pear cultivars in Bafra (Samsun) ecological conditions between 2020-2021 years. It has been determined that the effect of rootstocks and cultivars on phenological characteristics was significant. In the study, the earliest flowering and harvest were in ‘Abate Fetel’, the latest flowering was in ‘Williams’, and the latest harvest was in the ‘Deveci’ cultivar. The highest rootstock diameter, trunk diameter and tree height were in BA29 and the lowest in MC rootstock. The highest canopy volume was determined in the ‘Santa Maria’ cultivar and the lowest in the ‘Williams’ cultivar. The effect of rootstocks and cultivars on leaf area was significant and the highest leaf area was determined in ‘Santa Maria’/QA combination. Annual shoot length of the MC rootstock was lower than the other rootstocks. It is thought that it would be more appropriate to continue the research for a long time to determine the most suitable cultivar/rootstock combination as a result of the data obtained due to the young trees of the plants where the research was carried out.

Tomato fruit quality is more strongly affected by scion type and planting season than by rootstock type.

Previous studies of tomato rootstock effects on fruit quality have yielded mixed results, and few attempts have been made to systematically examine the association between rootstock characteristics and tomato fruit quality. In this study, grape tomato ('BHN 1022') and beefsteak tomato ('Skyway') were grafted onto four rootstocks ['Estamino' (vigorous and "generative"), 'DR0141TX' (vigorous and "vegetative"), 'RST-04-106-T' (uncharacterized), and 'SHIELD RZ F1 (61-802)' (mid-vigor, uncharacterized)] and compared to non-grafted scion controls for two growing seasons (Spring and Fall in Florida) in organically managed high tunnels. In both seasons and for both scions, the two vigorous rootstocks, regardless of their designation as "vegetative" ('DR0141TX') or "generative" ('Estamino'), exhibited negative impacts on dry matter content, soluble solids content (SSC), SSC/titratable acidity (TA), lycopene, and ascorbic acid contents. Similar effects on fruit dry matter content and SSC were also observed with the 'RST-04-106-T' rootstock, although little to no change was seen with grafting onto 'SHIELD RZ F1 (61-802)'. Further studies are needed to elucidate the impact of rootstock vigor on tomato volatile profiles and consumer sensory acceptability in order to better determine whether any of the documented effects are of practical importance. On the other hand, the evident effects of scion cultivar and planting season on fruit quality were observed in most of the measurements. The scion by rootstock interaction affected fruit length, firmness, pH, and total phenolic content, while the planting season by rootstock interaction impacted fruit firmness, pH, total antioxidant capacity, and ascorbic acid and lycopene contents. The multivariate separation pattern of planting season, scion, and rootstock treatments as revealed by the canonical discriminant analysis further indicated that the influence of scion cultivar and planting season on tomato fruit quality could be much more pronounced than the rootstock effects. The fruit color (C* and H°), length and width, SSC, pH, total antioxidant capacity, ascorbic acid, and lycopene contents were the main attributes distinguishing different scion-planting season groups.