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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #218426
Title: Grafting for disease resistance

Author
item KING, STEPHEN - TEXAS A&M UNIV.
item Davis, Angela
item LIU, WENGE - ZHENGZHOU, CHINA
item Levi, Amnon

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/30/2008
Publication Date: 9/15/2008
Citation: King, S.R., Davis, A.R., Liu, W., Levi, A. 2008. Grafting for disease resistance. HortScience. 43(6):1673-1675.

Interpretive Summary: The primary purpose of grafting vegetables worldwide is to provide resistance to soil-borne diseases. The loss of methyl bromide as a soil fumigant combined with pathogen resistance to commonly used pesticides will make plant resistance to soil-borne pathogens more important in the future. The main disease problems addressed by grafting include Fusarium wilt, Bacterial wilt, Verticillium wilt, Monosporascus root rot and nematodes. Grafting has also been demonstrated to increase tolerance to foliar fungal diseases, viruses and insects in some instances. If areas devoted to grafting increase in the future, there will likely be a shift in soil microbial environment leading to development of new diseases. This shift could lead to development of new diseases or reemergence of previously controlled diseases. While grafting has been demonstrated to control many common diseases, the ultimate success will likely depend on how well we monitor for changes in pathogen populations and other unexpected consequences.

Technical Abstract: The primary purpose of grafting vegetables worldwide has been to provide resistance to soil-borne diseases. The potential loss of methyl bromide as a soil fumigant combined with pathogen resistance to commonly used pesticides will make resistance to soil-borne pathogens even more important in the future. The major disease problems addressed by grafting include Fusarium wilt, Bacterial wilt, Verticillium wilt, Monosporascus root rot and nematodes. Grafting has also been shown in some instances to increase tolerance to foliar fungal diseases, viruses and insects. If the area devoted to grafting increases in the future, there will likely be a shift in the soil microbial environment that could lead to development of new diseases or changes in the pathogen population of current diseases. This shift in pathogen populations could lead to the development of new diseases or the reemergence of previously controlled diseases. While grafting has been demonstrated to control many common diseases, the ultimate success will likely depend on how well we monitor for changes in pathogen populations and other unexpected consequences.