Relationships between Rootstock-Scion Combinations and Growing Regions on Watermelon Fruit Quality

Abstract

Grafting of vegetable plants is done primarily to reduce the potential for damage caused by soil-borne diseases. Most of the watermelons (Citrullus) grown in the Mediterranean Basin, including in Israel, are grafted, mainly on interspecific hybrid pumpkin (Cucurbita) rootstocks. Biblical law (Leviticus 19:19) does not allow intergeneric grafting, so in recent years, great efforts have been made in Israel to find or breed watermelon rootstocks. Both interspecific and intergeneric grafting can have negative or positive effects on fruit yield and quality after harvest. The inconsistencies in fruit quality and shelf-life parameters can be attributed to differences in production environments. However, many farmers are grafting and planting the same rootstock-scion combination all over the country, regardless of local soil, water, and climactic conditions. We studied the effect of similar rootstock-scion combinations on watermelon yield and fruit quality in three regions of Israel differing in soil type and altitude. Fruit-quality parameters were evaluated after 4 days at 21 °C (local marketing simulation). Fruit quality was significantly affected, mainly by the growing region, based on factorial analysis, but also by rootstock-scion combination, regardless of rootstock vigor. Therefore, the best rootstock-scion combination needs to be found and adopted for each growing region. Grafting was essential for watermelon crop survival in contaminated soils and improved both plant performance and postharvest fruit quality, but was not a factor in non-contaminated soils.

Watermelon Rootstock/Scion Relationships and the Effects of Fruit-Thinning and Stem-Pruning on Yield and Postharvest Fruit Quality

“…However, not all of the internal and nutritional quality parameters were significantly affected by this combined grafting + thinning treatment. Since watermelon fruit quality is significantly affected by the growing region and the rootstock-sciom combination, regardless of rootstock vigor [22], it is very important to develop specific pruning and/or thinning practices for each growing region and rootstock-scion combination.…”

Genetic and Pre- and Postharvest Factors Influencing the Content of Antioxidants in Cucurbit Crops

“…In this respect, although the use of different rootstocks does not seem to affect the lycopene content, other factors, such as the growing region, should be taken into account. The interaction between the growing region and the rootstock plays an important role in determining fruit quality, and it is therefore important to evaluate and select the most suitable scion/rootstock combination depending on the growing region, as it significantly influences fruit quality, lycopene and vitamin C content, and antioxidant activity [160].…”

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis in Homo- and Hetero-Grafted Cucurbit Seedlings

“…In 2009, Spain and Italy jointly produced 60 million grafted watermelon seedlings (Lee et al, 2010), while in Greece about 19 million grafted watermelon seedlings are produced annually (Bantis et al, 2019). High compatibility can be achieved between the watermelon scions and watermelon rootstocks (Fallik et al, 2019) or interspecific squash hybrid rootstocks, such as TZ-148 (Cucurbita moschata × C. maxima) which is the most common rootstock for the grafted watermelon seedlings throughout the world (Lee et al, 2010).…”