2018 ASHS Annual Conference

An experiment was carried out in Overton, TX in spring 2017 to test the effects of commercial tomato rootstocks on growth and yield performance of determinate tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) varieties. The Overton trial was part of an internal statewide grant funded by Texas A&M AgriLife Research (led by Dr. Daniel Leskovar) with trials conducted in 4 locations in Texas. to understand regional performances that would benefit all Texas producers. Results in this poster reflect only the field trial conducted at Overton on Kirvin fine sandy loam soil. The experiment consisted of two scions (TAMU Hot and Tycoon) grafted on two rootstocks (Estamino and Multifort) with non-grafted scions as controls for a total of 6 treatment combinations. The experimental design was a RCBD with 4 replications and eight plants per treatment - replication with a total of 196 plants. Transplanting was conducted on 21 March and the trial was terminated on 11 July after 6 harvests. A fertilization program by Vital Fertilizer Co. was adopted. Pest and disease control followed local recommendations by Texas A&M. Data collected consisted of: number of fruits per plant, marketable and total yields, and final shoot dry weight and leaf area. Results indicated that grafting significantly increased total and marketable yields, and total and marketable number of fruits per plant for Tycoon, but not for TAMU Hot. Marketable yield ranged from 54.1 for non-grafted Tycoon to 81.4 Mg/ha for Tycoon-Estamino combination. No significant differences in average fruit weight were observed between grafted and non-grafted Tycoon plants, while that of Multifort rootstock was significantly higher than non-grafted TAMU Hot. There were no statistical differences in fruit or shoot dry weights among all treatments. Leaf area was highest with Tycoon-Multifort combination and lowest with TAMU Hot non-grafted, with no significant differences among other treatments.