Effect of tomato rootstock variety on growth and yield of grafted Tengeru 97 tomato variety under Ralstonia solanacearum infested fields

Abstract

Bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) is one of the major diseases of solanaceous plants and is particularly devastating to tomato. Tengeru 97 is one of the highest yielding and popular tomato variety in Uganda but it is susceptible to tomato bacterial wilt. However it is still popular because it is tolerant to Nematodes, tomato mosaic virus, and fusarium wilt. The continuous growing of Tengeru 97 is also due to its high yield. In this experiment, four rootstock varieties were selected to determine their effect on the growth and yield of Tengeru 97 scion. They included; MT56, Suhosin, Red Cherry and Yellow cherry. Local germplasm (Red and yellow cherry tomato) has been reported to be resistant to the wilt as well as Suhosin, a new cultivar from South Korea and MT56. The trial was carried out at National Crop Recourses Research Institute (NaCRRI), Namulonge. Normal cultural practices were carried out including, mulching, staking for support, irrigation, fertilizer and pesticide application. A randomized complete block design was adopted with 3 replications, each consisting of 20 plants per treatment. Data were collected on growth and yield parameters including; plant height, internode length, bacterial wilt severity, number of fruits, number of days to flowering and number of days to maturity. The data were collected every week starting two weeks after transplanting until crop maturity. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Means were separated using the Least Significant Difference (LSD at 5%). The results of this study showed that grafting Tengeru 97 to Suhosin and MT56 cultivars improves bacterial wilt resistance. Grafting influences height through production of shorter internodes. It did not significantly affect the number of days to flowering and maturity, grafting also increased yield. The varieties Suhosin and MT 56 are suitable rootstocks for the susceptible tomato variety Tengeru 97 and should be adapted for managing bacterial wilt in tomato and the performance with respect to wilt resistance and agronomic performance of other susceptible but adapted tomato varieties as scions on Suhosin and MT 56 should be investigated