Growth and yield of non-grafted and grafted tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivars grown in two cultivation systems

Abstract

Tomato is a high-value vegetable crop because of its broad culinary uses and nutritional values. Its production however is inhibited in some areas with soil-borne disease problems, particularly bacterial wilt. This study was conducted to evaluate the yield, bacterial wilt infection, and profitability of non-grafted and grafted tomato cultivars planted in open field and protected cultivation. Protected cropping of tomato increased number of marketable fruits and total yield by approximately 2 times fold than those grown in open field. Grafting of the cultivars to eggplant significantly reduced bacterial wilt infection such that increased survival among plants resulted to higher yield than non-grafted. The cultivar with biggest fruits was from ‘Kingkong’ while season red had the smallest and other cultivars were in average size of the two. Grafted ‘Diamante max’ cultivar yielded the highest followed by ‘Season red’. Net return of protected cropping tomato was higher than in open field. Non-grafted tomato grown in bacterial wilt infected area was unprofitable. On the other hand, grafting and protected resulted in better yield, gross income and a positive net return. Season red produced the highest income in the open field while Diamante max for protected cultivation. The use of grafted tomato and protective structure are strongly recommended for planting in areas known to have high bacterial wilt.