2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Purpose: Tens of millions of grafted solanaceous and cucurbit vegetable plants are prepared by hand or with machine assistance each year in the U.S. and used in horticultural education, home production, or commercially (greenhouse, high tunnel, and field). For fruiting vegetable growers, grafting can speed the delivery of important root-based traits, especially disease and abiotic stress resistance/tolerance and vigor, to farms and gardens. Fruit produced by grafted plants may also have improved quality over fruit from the same ungrafted scion. For propagators and plant retailers, grafting is an opportunity to increase and/or diversify income. For scientists, grafting opens a large number of hypotheses collectively spanning the fundamental to applied spectrum. For grower-advisors, grafting offers a promising technology while still needing careful study. For educators, grafting can be useful in units focused on genetics, development, physiology, mineral nutrition and water relations, horticultural techniques, and other topics. This workshop is designed to: a) provide a comprehensive update on the state of vegetable grafting science and application in the U.S., and b) create an atmosphere where individuals and teams learn how vegetable grafting can provide additional value in horticultural research, practice (business), and education. Approach: This workshop is set up in 3 parts. First, 10-12 synopses, each three minutes long, containing one slide, and collectively covering grafted plant preparation (beginning with rootstock-scion selection), use, and evaluation, will be shared by researchers and educators. Next, a moderated group-wide discussion will demonstrate how participants can immediately gain and contribute to the science and practice of vegetable grafting. Finally, a supplementary, interactive, multimedia, and hands-on session will demonstrate and portray hand and machine assisted vegetable grafting techniques. Outcomes: Workshop participants will gain: a) greater familiarity with the U.S.-based vegetable grafting-related scientific and industry community; b) a shared understanding of the current application of vegetable grafting in commercial and consumer horticulture and education; c) up-to-date information on current and emerging vegetable grafting-related hypotheses, experiments, recommendations, resources, and techniques; and d) foundations for plans representing independent and collaborative efforts to follow up on insights gained during the workshop.