Special Issue "Grafting to Improve Yield and Quality of Vegetable Crops"

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Protected Culture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2022.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Federica Caradonia
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via J.F. Kennedy, 17 I, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Interests: grafting; microorganism-plant interactions; horticultural crops

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to announce the opening of a Special Issue in MDPI Horticulturae focused on the use of innovative rootstock genotypes and the most recent progress on vegetable grafting techniques.

Modern agriculture is presently facing countless challenges, including climate change and the need to secure food production for an ever-growing human population. In addition to this, consumer awareness of environmental as well as health issues is shifting agricultural production toward more environmentally friendly practices while still delivering products of the highest quality.

In this context, rootstock genotype and grafting appear as powerful tools that can be used by farmers to face those challenges. Grafting, as the vascular connection of two living tissues coming from different plant species and genotypes, allows the combination of desirable traits present on different plant species or genotypes into a single plant. The use of rootstock has the potential to improve traits on elite scions, such as growth, development, and fruit yield and quality. Selected rootstocks can also improve crop tolerance to soil-borne pathogens and abiotic stresses, consequently reducing crop losses and the need for external inputs. Finally, crop efficiency can be increased by combining different crop species in order to harvest more than one final product from the same plant, for instance, by grafting tomato into potato plants.

Thus, the MDPI Horticulturae Special Issue is welcoming original research papers, communications, and review articles.

Dr. Federica Caradonia
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • grafting
  • rootstock
  • high-quality production
  • sustainability
  • yield

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Exogenous Treatments to Enhance Splice-Grafted Watermelon Survival
Horticulturae 2021, 7(7), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7070197 - 16 Jul 2021
Viewed by 544
Abstract
This study evaluated the use of splice grafting as a propagation strategy for watermelon. In experiment 1, the treatments consisted of sucrose, antitranspirant A, antitranspirant B, auxin (indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)) at two concentrations (10 and 20 mg·L−1), plus a water control. [...] Read more.
This study evaluated the use of splice grafting as a propagation strategy for watermelon. In experiment 1, the treatments consisted of sucrose, antitranspirant A, antitranspirant B, auxin (indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)) at two concentrations (10 and 20 mg·L−1), plus a water control. The survival (%) of splice-grafted watermelon plants differed due to the number of days after grafting and treatment (p < 0.0001, for both). At 21 days after grafting, plants treated with sucrose and antitranspirant A, and sucrose and antitranspirant A with 10 mg·L−1 auxin had 90% and 88% survival, respectively, whereas the graft survival was 18% for plants treated with water. Experiment 2 included the three top performing treatments from experiment 1 and a water control treatment, applied to both root-intact and root-excised rootstocks. There was a significant difference in survival (%) of splice-grafted watermelon due to root treatments, exogenous treatments, and the number of days after grafting (p < 0.0001, for all). At 21 days after grafting, survival for root-excised grafted plants was 11% lower compared to root-intact plants. Plants treated with sucrose and antitranspirant A, and sucrose and antitranspirant A with 10 mg·L−1 auxin had 87% and 86% survival, respectively, whereas plants treated with water had 14% survival. The external application of auxin applied to rootstock seedlings does not appear to be cost-effective; however, other products should be evaluated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grafting to Improve Yield and Quality of Vegetable Crops)
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Article
Fruit Yield and Physicochemical Quality Evaluation of Hybrid and Grafted Field-Grown Muskmelon in Pennsylvania
Horticulturae 2021, 7(4), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7040069 - 03 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 734
Abstract
Selecting vegetable cultivars suitable to local environmental conditions and with quality traits desired by the evolving market and consumer needs is an important production decision farmers face annually. As seed companies continue to expand their offerings of new cultivars and rootstocks, selecting the [...] Read more.
Selecting vegetable cultivars suitable to local environmental conditions and with quality traits desired by the evolving market and consumer needs is an important production decision farmers face annually. As seed companies continue to expand their offerings of new cultivars and rootstocks, selecting the best cultivar and/or scion/rootstock combination can be challenging for farmers. Land-grant universities, through their integrated research and extension programs, can provide an unbiased, science-based evaluation of the available cultivar and rootstock options to assist farmers in making this important selection. A two-year study was conducted to evaluate 20 hybrid cultivars and two grafted entries of muskmelons at three locations in Pennsylvania in 2018 and 2019 to provide farmers with science-based recommendations focused on fruit yield and physicochemical quality characteristics. Most cultivars did not differ in fruit yields from the standard “Aphrodite”. “Sugar Cube” produced more, smaller sized melons than “Aphrodite”. However, the combination of the soluble solids concentration, flesh pH, and titratable acidity values was not as favorable, indicating that consumer preference may be lower for “Sugar Cube” than for other cultivars. Yield from grafted entries was not different from the non-grafted “Aphrodite”; although, biotic and abiotic stressors favoring the use of grafting were not present throughout the study. Physicochemical evaluation of the combination of “Aphrodite” scion and “Flexifort” rootstock was more favorable than “Aphrodite/RS841” and non-grafted “Aphrodite”. This combination may be desirable even in the absence of yield stressors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grafting to Improve Yield and Quality of Vegetable Crops)
Article
Grafting Improves Fruit Yield of Cucumber Plants Grown under Combined Heat and Soil Salinity Stresses
Horticulturae 2021, 7(3), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7030061 - 23 Mar 2021
Viewed by 668
Abstract
Improving the productivity of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants subjected to combined salinity and heat stresses is a significant challenge, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Gianco F1 cucumbers were grafted onto five cucurbit rootstocks and, together with an ungrafted control, were [...] Read more.
Improving the productivity of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants subjected to combined salinity and heat stresses is a significant challenge, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Gianco F1 cucumbers were grafted onto five cucurbit rootstocks and, together with an ungrafted control, were grown in Egypt in a net house with saline soil during the summer season over two years. The vegetative growth, yield, quality, biochemical, and mineral composition traits were measured. Although many differences were observed among treatments, in general, the grafted plants had a performance better than or similar to that of the ungrafted plants, based on the different parameters measured. In particular, the cucumber plants grafted onto the Cucurbita maxima × C. moschata interspecific hybrid rootstocks VSS-61 F1 and Ferro had the highest early and total marketable yields. These two rootstocks consistently conferred higher vigor to the scion, which had lower flower abortion rates and higher chlorophyll contents. The fruit quality and N, P, and K composition in the leaves suffered few relevant changes as compared with the control. However, the leaves of the VSS-61 F1 had higher catalase activity, as well as proline and Se contents, while those of Ferro had higher Si content. This study reveals that the grafting of cucumber plants onto suitable rootstocks may mitigate the adverse effects caused by the combination of saline soil and heat stresses. This represents a significant improvement for cucumber cultivation in saline soil under high-temperature stress conditions in arid regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grafting to Improve Yield and Quality of Vegetable Crops)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Light spectra provided by LEDs variably affect the production of grafted watermelon seedlings while maintaining fruit quality

Authors: Filippos Bantis*, Christodoulos Dangitsis, Athanasios Koukounaras

Abstract: Upon grafting of watermelon, seedlings undergo a period of healing where artificial lighting is provided by light-emitting diodes in controlled chambers. The objective of our study was to test the effect of light quality on the final product (grafted seedlings) in the nursery, as well as to evaluate the possible implications on plants after transplanting in the field, and on fruit quality. Narrow-band red and blue lights and red-blue combinations during healing impose variable responses which were manifested in watermelon seedlings. Collectively, red-blue combinations enhanced the production of grafted watermelon seedlings, while fruit quality maintained high levels.

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