GRAFTING FOR MANAGEMENT OF ROOT-KNOT NEMATODES, MELOIDOGYNE INCOGNITA, IN TOMATO (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM L.)

The basic role of grafting vegetables worldwide has been to provide resistance to soil-borne pathogens and improve yield. The root-knot nematode-resistant tomato cultivars 'Celebrity','Big Beef', and 'Jetsetter' roots were grafted with scions of the susceptible cultivars 'Tropimech' and 'Power' and tested in plant-house and field experiments for their ability to increase yield of the susceptible tomato cultivars in the presence of Meloidogyne incognita. Grafting reduced nematode population levels in the plant-house. In an untreated field, nematode population levels were lower in Power that had been grafted on Celebrity, Jetsetter, and Big Beef rootstocks than Power that was either self-grafted or ungrafted. Fruit yield, including the number and weight of fruit, was higher with the resistant cultivars as rootstocks in a field that had not been treated with a nematicide, but no significant differences were seen in a treated field. The use of rootstocks with nematode resistance can be effective for management of root-knot nematodes on susceptible tomato cultivars.