Grafting Affects Growth, Yield, Nutrient Uptake, and Partitioning Under Cadmium Stress in Tomato

Summary

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the influence of long-term cadmium (Cd) exposure (0, 25, or 50 µ m of Cd) on crop productivity, fruit quality, leaf chlorophyll content, fluorescence, and mineral composition in plants of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Ikram), either nongrafted, self-grafted, or grafted onto rootstocks of tomato (Maxifort or Unifort) and eggplant (Black Beauty). Both moderate (25 µ m) and high (50 µ m) concentration of Cd in root environment considerably decreased the fruit yield and fruit number in response to Cd levels, whereas mean fruit weight decreased but was similar to both Cd supply levels. The fruit yield, shoot and root biomass, and leaf area (LA) were higher in plants grafted onto tomato rootstocks and especially onto Maxifort in comparison