Abstract
Grafting watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ) is a common practice in many parts of the world and has recently received increased interest in the United States. The present study was designed to evaluate early season growth, yield, and fruit quality of watermelon in response to grafting and in the absence of known disease pressure in a fumigated system. Field experiments were conducted using standard and mini watermelons (cv. Exclamation and Extazy, respectively) grafted onto 20 commercially available cucurbit rootstocks representing four species: giant pumpkin ( Cucurbita maxima ), summer squash ( Cucurbita pepo ), bottle gourd ( Lagenaria siceraria ), and interspecific hybrid squash [ISH ( C. maxima × Cucurbita moschata )]. Nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ and ‘Extazy’ were included as controls. To determine early season growth, leaf area was measured at 1, 2, and 3 weeks after transplant (WAT). At 1 WAT, nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ produced the smallest leaf area; however, at 3 WAT, nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ produced the largest leaf area in 2015, and no differences were observed in 2016. Leaf area was very similar among rootstocks in the ‘Extazy’ study, with minimal differences observed. Marketable yield included fruit weighing ≥9 and ≥3 lb for ‘Exclamation’ and ‘Extazy’, respectively. In the ‘Exclamation’ study, highest marketable yields were observed in nongrafted ‘Exclamation’, and ‘Exclamation’ grafted to ‘Pelops’, ‘TZ148’, and ‘Coloso’, and lowest marketable yields were observed when using ‘Marvel’ and ‘Kazako’ rootstocks, which produced 47% and 32% of nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ yield, respectively. In the ‘Extazy’ study, the highest marketable yield was observed in nongrafted ‘Extazy’, and ‘Kazako’ produced the lowest yields (48% of nongrafted ‘Extazy’). Fruit quality was determined by measuring fruit acidity (pH), soluble solids concentration (SSC), lycopene content, and flesh firmness from a sample of two fruit from each plot from the initial two harvests of each year. Across both studies, rootstock had no effect on SSC or lycopene content. As reported in previous studies, flesh firmness was increased as a result of grafting, and nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ and ‘Extazy’ had the lowest flesh firmness among standard and mini watermelons, respectively. The present study evaluated two scions with a selection of 20 cucurbit rootstocks and observed no benefits in early season growth, yield, or phytonutrient content. Only three of 20 rootstocks in each study produced marketable yields similar to the nongrafted treatments, and no grafted treatment produced higher yields than nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ or ‘Extazy’. Because grafted seedlings have an associated increase in cost and do not produce increased yields, grafting in these optimized farming systems and using fumigated soils does not offer an advantage in the absence of soilborne pathogens or other stressors that interfere with watermelon production.
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Claims 15
Claim · model-written summary
Nongrafted Exclamation had the smallest leaf area at one week after transplant.
- Taxon
- watermelon
Citrullus lanatust0 - Material
- ‘Exclamation’e0
- Organ / stage
- 1 WATe0
- Outcome
- leaf areae0
- Direction
- smalleste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“At 1 WAT, nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ produced the smallest leaf area”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Nongrafted Exclamation had the largest leaf area at three weeks in 2015.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Material
- ‘Exclamation’e0
- Outcome
- leaf areae0
- Direction
- largeste0
- Qualifier
- 2015e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“at 3 WAT, nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ produced the largest leaf area in 2015”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
No leaf area differences were observed in 2016.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- differencese0
- Direction
- no differencese0
- Qualifier
- 2016e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“no differences were observed in 2016”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Extazy leaf area differed minimally among rootstocks.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Material
- ‘Extazy’e0
- Outcome
- Leaf areae0
- Direction
- very similare0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Leaf area was very similar among rootstocks in the ‘Extazy’ study, with minimal differences observed”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Nongrafted Exclamation and plants grafted to Pelops, TZ148 and Coloso had the highest marketable yields.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- marketable yieldse0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“highest marketable yields were observed in nongrafted ‘Exclamation’, and ‘Exclamation’ grafted to ‘Pelops’, ‘TZ148’, and ‘Coloso’”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Marvel rootstock produced 47% of nongrafted Exclamation yield.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- ‘Marvel’e0
- Outcome
- marketable yieldse0
- Direction
- loweste0
- Value
- 47%e0
- Comparator
- nongrafted ‘Exclamation’e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“lowest marketable yields were observed when using ‘Marvel’ and ‘Kazako’ rootstocks, which produced 47% and 32% of nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ yield, respectively”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Kazako rootstock produced 32% of nongrafted Exclamation yield.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- ‘Kazako’e0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- producede0
- Value
- 32%e0
- Comparator
- nongrafted ‘Exclamation’e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“‘Kazako’ rootstocks, which produced 47% and 32% of nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ yield, respectively”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Nongrafted Extazy had the highest marketable yield.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Material
- ‘Extazy’e0
- Outcome
- marketable yielde0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the highest marketable yield was observed in nongrafted ‘Extazy’”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Kazako produced the lowest yield in Extazy, 48% of nongrafted Extazy.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- ‘Kazako’e0
- Outcome
- yieldse0
- Direction
- loweste0
- Value
- 48%e0
- Comparator
- nongrafted ‘Extazy’e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“‘Kazako’ produced the lowest yields (48% of nongrafted ‘Extazy’)”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Rootstock had no effect on soluble solids concentration or lycopene content.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- rootstocke0
- Outcome
- SSC or lycopene contente0
- Direction
- no effecte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“rootstock had no effect on SSC or lycopene content”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Grafting increased flesh firmness.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- graftinge0
- Outcome
- flesh firmnesse0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“flesh firmness was increased as a result of grafting”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Nongrafted Exclamation and Extazy had the lowest flesh firmness.
- Taxon
- watermelonsCitrullus lanatuse0
- Outcome
- flesh firmnesse0
- Direction
- loweste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ and ‘Extazy’ had the lowest flesh firmness among standard and mini watermelons, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Only three of twenty rootstocks in each study matched nongrafted marketable yields.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- marketable yieldse0
- Direction
- similare0
- Value
- three of 20 rootstockse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Only three of 20 rootstocks in each study produced marketable yields similar to the nongrafted treatments”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
No grafted treatment exceeded nongrafted Exclamation or Extazy yield.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- grafted treatmente0
- Outcome
- yieldse0
- Direction
- no grafted treatment produced highere0
- Comparator
- nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ or ‘Extazy’e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“no grafted treatment produced higher yields than nongrafted ‘Exclamation’ or ‘Extazy’”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude grafting offers no advantage in optimized fumigated systems without soilborne pathogens or other stressors.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- does not offer an advantagee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“grafting in these optimized farming systems and using fumigated soils does not offer an advantage in the absence of soilborne pathogens or other stressors”
t0“Watermelon”
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