Grafting Tomatoes on Eggplant Rootstock

Tomato is one of the most popular and widely used vegetables in the world. Tomato plants can grow on every ground that has a good structure and water housekeeping. In terms of mass production, tomato yields is highly seasonal. Farmers and gardeners seldom plant tomatoes during rainy season due to high risks exposure on garden flooding and prevalence of pests and tomato plants diseases.

Tomato plants may suffer blooms that keep falling off without production of fruit could be caused by Blossom End Rot, a Fruit Rot - A mold growing inside tomatoes as they ripen but outside the tomatoes are healthy, or Early Blight - Leaves that curl up, turn a yellowish brown color and almost look like black spot found on rose bushes.Early blight is a fungus. Dark brown to black spots on the leafs with concentric rings, usually starting on the lower leaves. Leaves can turn yellow and drop off the plant.

Various research groups around the glove in the plant industry have conducted a painstaking research, and studied on how to improve tomato production especially during off-season. In the Philippines, researchers at the Bureau of Plant Industry in Los Banos National Crop Research and Development, a research laboratory based in Los Banos Laguna, have discovered a

new technology for tomato off-season production. This new tomato off-season production technology is now being commercialized in the region.

Tomato growers, farmers and gardeners who wants to earn more from tomato harvested during rainy season, may find this technology beneficial. Even the hobbyist gardeners may find this tomato off-season production technology, enjoyable, as they continuously plant tomatoes in pots, boxes, or any available containers, for easy and accessible fresh tomato yields during

mealtime.

Grafting tomato on eggplant rootstock is one way of eliminating bacterial wilt, which is a very destructive disease of tomato. Research showed that grafted tomatoes in the eggplant rootstock yielded a 21% higher than the ordinary tomato seedlings. The grafting process is simple. Sow seeds of eggplant for rootstock 5-7 days ahead of tomatoes. Graft when eggplant is 3-4 weeks old. Cut the stock and scion ( the same size ) with a sterilized blade at 70-80 degree angles above the first two leaves (the cotyledon). Insert rubber tubing, 10mm long and 1-1.5 cm diameter on the stock allowing the cut portion of the scion or splice to get in touch with each other. Set the grafter plants inside the humidity chamber and transfer seedlings in a cool dry place with complete black net cover for 4-7 days. The seedlings are then ready for transplanting.

The eggplant variety used for rootstock is EG-203 which known and identified to be very highly resistant to bacterial wilt and other soil-borne tomato plant disease organisms.

The tomato variety for scion must be an indeterminate type wherein trellis must be provided for favorable vegetable development.

Try this tomato off-season production technology and enjoy a fruitful tomatoes growing on eggplant rootstock.