Grafting in vegetable crops: status, avenues and future perspectives

Abstract

Vegetable grafting is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional breeding methods for crop improvement. It is a basis of intensive vegetable cultivation in Asia and Europe, controlling soil-borne diseases, such as Fusarium wilt, enhancing tolerance to low temperatures, salinity and waterlogging, improving nutrient uptake and extending harvesting periods. It is now widely applied to solanaceous (tomato and eggplant) and cucurbitaceous (watermelon and cucumber) crops. In solanaceous crops, tube grafting is the most common method, whereas in cucurbits, hole insertion and one-cotyledon grafting are more prevalent. A successful intergeniccombination, such as watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) grafted onto pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) grafted onto bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) used to enhance disease resistance and water efficiency. Advanced interspecific innovations, such as tomato (tomato scion on potato rootstock), further demonstrate the potential of grafting to achieve dual harvests without genetic modification. With the advent of robotic and automated systems like the CCG and TGR grafting robots, success rates exceed 95% in cucurbits. However, despite global research progress, vegetable grafting remains underutilized in India, underscoring the need for greater awareness, research and policy support. Ultimately, grafting has evolved from a disease management tool to a versatile strategy for sustainable intensification under fragile agro-ecosystems and stressful environments.