The effect of grafting on the antioxidant properties of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

The use of grafted plants in vegetable crop production is now being expanded greatly. However, few data are available on the nutritional composition of grafted vegetables with emphasis on antioxidant properties. Therefore, the major objective of this study was to evaluate antioxidant components of tomatoes influenced by grafting technique. The tomato plants were grown in a greenhouse located at Krizevci, Croatia. The cultivars 'Efialto', 'Heman', and 'Maxifort' were used as rootstocks, while 'Tamaris' was used as scion. Grafting resulted in increase of number of marketable fruits per plant by 30%. Content of total vitamin C and total phenolics significantly decreased after grafting. The concentration of total extractable phenolics in tomatoes ranged from 287.1 to 977.4 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) kg(-1) fresh weight, whereas lycopene content ranged from 11.44 to 60.99 mg kg(-1) fresh weight. Antioxidant activities determined by 1,1-dipheny1-2 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method of grafts were significantly different compared to their respective rootstocks. The overall results showed that tomato grafting on suitable rootstocks has positive effects on the cultivation performance, but decreases nutritional quality of tomatoes.