This chapter describes in detail the available germplasm resources for vegetable rootstock breeding. It discusses the genetic diversity in the Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae, and describes the gene bank collections of these families. Current usage of genetic material in rootstocks (rootstocks for production of cucurbits and solanaceous crops) is also discussed. The germplasm collections and the grafting in other plant families, including Cynara and Phaseolus, are also described. It is concluded that the range of rootstock cultivars currently in widespread commercial use is extremely narrow and is much more limited than the diversity of scion cultivars.

A great number of varieties have been described in grapevine; however, few of them are currently in use. The increasing concern on varietal diversity loss has encouraged actions for recovering and preserving grapevine germplasm, which represents valuable resources for breeding as well as for diversification in grapevine-derived products. On the other hand, it is expected that this important crop, which is distributed in warm areas worldwide, will suffer the climate changes. Therefore, it is also convenient the identification of intravarietal variability and the recovery of accessions well adapted to particular environments. In this chapter, we will contribute to highlight the importance of recovering ancient materials, the usefulness of SSR markers to determine their molecular profile, the importance to analyze their virus status, and the possibilities that offer biotechnological tools for virus sanitation and in vitro storage as a complement of field preservation. In this context, we have evaluated different grapevine accessions and developed in vitro culture protocols for micropropagation, sanitation, and storage grapevine cultivars. In this work, we report the results obtained for the historic variety "Valencí Blanc" (or "Beba") and the historic and endangered variety "Esclafagerres" ("Esclafacherres" or "Esclafacherris").

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This reviews the recent and relevant literature about the effects of grafting (scion-rootstock interactions) on vegetable fruit quality. It focuses on product-oriented quality and objective criteria. The effects of grafting on the main qualitative traits are presented for the most commonly grafted crops: watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), melon (Cucumis melo), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), aubergine (Solanum melongena) and pepper (Capsicum annuum). Finally, possible mechanisms involved in the effects of grafting on fruit quality are discussed. The chapter concludes by identifying the prospects for future research.