Abstract
Vegetable grafting is increasingly recognized as an effective and sustainable plant production alternative. Grafted plants usually show increased uptake of water and minerals compared with self-rooted plants, mostly thought a consequence of the vigorous rootstocks selected. However, while studies frequently addressed the effects of rootstocks on the performance of scions, knowledge on the influences of scions on biomass allocation, morphology, and metabolic activity of roots is rare. In particular, the plasticity of root traits affecting resource acquisition and its efficiency remains poorly understood. Two different rootstock species, Cucurbita maxima × Cucurbita moschata and Lagenaria siceraria , were grafted in combination with melon ( Cucumis melo ) and watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ). Self-grafted rootstocks were used as control. Plant biomass and root traits were determined after destructive harvesting 30 and/or 60 days after grafting. Traits included biomass allocation, leaf and root morphology, potential activities of four extracellular enzymes on root tips and basal root segments, and root respiration. Successfully grafted scions increase the ratio of root to whole plant dry matter (RMF), and increased ratios of root length to whole plant dry matter (RLR) and to plant leaf area (RL : LA). In contrast, morphological root traits such as diameter, tissue density, and specific root length remain surprisingly stable, and thus scion-induced changes of those traits may only play a minor role for the beneficial effects of grafting in Cucurbitaceae. Incompatibility in melon/ L. siceraria grafts, however, was likely responsible for the reduced root growth in combination with clear changes in root morphological traits. Reduced root respiration rates seem to be the effects of a non-compatible rootstock–scion combination rather than an active, C-efficiency increasing acclimation. In contrast, heterografts with melon and watermelon frequently resulted in root-stock-specific, often enhanced potential enzymatic activities of acid phosphatase, β -glucosidase, leucine-amino-peptidase, and N-acetyl-glucosaminidase both at root tips and basal parts of lateral roots—presenting a potential and complementary mechanism of grafted plants to enhance nutrient foraging. The studied melon and watermelon scions may thus increase the nutrient foraging capacity of grafted plants by fostering the relative allocation of C to the root system, and enhancing the extracellular enzymatic activities governed by roots or their rhizobiome.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Successful scion grafting increased root dry matter fraction.
- Taxon
- melon and watermelon plants
Citrullus lanatus.jpg?width=60)
Cucumis melot0 - Treatment
- Successfully grafted scionse0
- Outcome
- ratio of root to whole plant dry matter (RMF)e0
- Direction
- increasee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
t0“grafted melon and watermelon plants”
e0“Successfully grafted scions increase the ratio of root to whole plant dry matter (RMF)”
Claim · model-written summary
Successful scion grafting increased root length relative to whole plant dry matter and leaf area.
- Taxon
- melon and watermelon plantsCitrullus lanatusCucumis melot0
- Treatment
- graftedt0
- Outcome
- ratios of root length to whole plant dry matter (RLR) and to plant leaf area (RL : LA)e0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“grafted melon and watermelon plants”
e0“increased ratios of root length to whole plant dry matter (RLR) and to plant leaf area (RL : LA)”
Claim · model-written summary
Root diameter, tissue density and specific root length remained stable with scion grafting.
- Taxon
- melon and watermelon plantsCitrullus lanatusCucumis melot0
- Treatment
- graftedt0
- Outcome
- diameter, tissue density, and specific root lengthe0
- Direction
- remain surprisingly stablee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“grafted melon and watermelon plants”
e0“morphological root traits such as diameter, tissue density, and specific root length remain surprisingly stable”
Claim · model-written summary
Incompatible melon and L. siceraria grafts had reduced root growth.
- Taxon
- melonCucumis meloe0
- Material
- L. sicerariae0
- Treatment
- melon/ L. siceraria graftse0
- Outcome
- root growthe0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“grafted melon and watermelon plants”
e0“Incompatibility in melon/ L. siceraria grafts, however, was likely responsible for the reduced root growth”
Claim · model-written summary
Incompatible melon and L. siceraria grafts had clear changes in root morphology.
- Taxon
- melonCucumis meloe0
- Material
- L. sicerariae0
- Outcome
- clear changes in root morphological traitse0
- Qualifier
- Incompatibilitye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“grafted melon and watermelon plants”
e0“Incompatibility in melon/ L. siceraria grafts, however, was likely responsible for the reduced root growth in combination with clear changes in root morphological traits.”
Claim · model-written summary
Root respiration rates were reduced in a non-compatible graft combination.
- Taxon
- melon and watermelon plantsCitrullus lanatusCucumis melot0
- Treatment
- non-compatible rootstock–scion combinatione0
- Outcome
- root respiration ratese0
- Direction
- Reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“grafted melon and watermelon plants”
e0“Reduced root respiration rates seem to be the effects of a non-compatible rootstock–scion combination”
Claim · model-written summary
Melon and watermelon heterografts often enhanced root extracellular enzyme activities.
- Taxon
- melon and watermelonCitrullus lanatusCucumis meloe0
- Organ / stage
- root tips and basal parts of lateral rootse0
- Treatment
- heterografts with melon and watermelone0
- Outcome
- potential enzymatic activities of acid phosphatase, β -glucosidase, leucine-amino-peptidase, and N-acetyl-glucosaminidasee0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Qualifier
- root-stock-specifice0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“grafted melon and watermelon plants”
e0“heterografts with melon and watermelon frequently resulted in root-stock-specific, often enhanced potential enzymatic activities of acid phosphatase, β -glucosidase, leucine-amino-peptidase, and N-acetyl-glucosaminidase both at root tips and basal parts of lateral roots”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors infer that melon and watermelon scions may increase nutrient foraging capacity through root carbon allocation and extracellular enzymes.
- Taxon
- melon and watermelonCitrullus lanatusCucumis meloe0
- Outcome
- nutrient foraging capacitye0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Qualifier
- relative allocation of C to the root system, and enhancing the extracellular enzymatic activitiese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“melon and watermelon scions may thus increase the nutrient foraging capacity of grafted plants by fostering the relative allocation of C to the root system, and enhancing the extracellular enzymatic activities governed by roots or their rhizobiome”
The same questions in other papers
Lagenaria siceraria · growth · Cucumis melo (muskmelon)Positive and negative results
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grafting · growth · Citrullus lanatus (watermelon)Results differ
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- positive
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See all 39 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.