Impact of plant determinacy and grafting methods on productivity in tomato hybrids
1Central Ukrainian National Technical University, Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine. 2Kherson State Agrarian and Economic University, Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine. 3Institute of Agriculture of the Steppe, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine. Corresponding e-mail:marketing-kiapv@ukr.net.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2025.v27i04.126
Growing tomatoes in film greenhouses is an important direction in modern vegetable growing. One promising method for increasing tomato productivity is grafting, which allows combining the positive characteristics of different varieties and types. Non-standard grafting methods for tomato cultivation, such as cleft grafting and splice grafting, influenced the biometric indicators and productivity of tomato hybrids with various growth types, providing options for cultivation in controlled environments. In cleft-grafted tomato hybrids, where both the rootstock and scion had a determinate growth type, the highest degree of semi-determinacy expression was observed. When grafting plants by splicing, all the hybrids we studied showed a higher degree of indeterminacy. The impact of grafting on the duration of the growing season for tomato hybrids in controlled environments and on the expression of late maturity was confirmed; however, no effect of the grafting method on inflorescence flowering time was established. Hybrid tomato varieties created through cleft grafting showed higher fruit yield than splice-grafted hybrids. The most productive were the grafted hybrids Pink Delight F1 (13.8 kg m-1) and Ronda F1 (14.2 kg m-1). Increasing the productivity of the Pink Delight F1 tomato hybrid through grafting with a determinate rootstock, regardless of the method, provides an advantage when selecting hybrids for cultivation in controlled environments.
