Watermelon Grafting - WSU Extensionextension.wsu.edu/spokane/wp-content/uploads/sites/... · History of Watermelon Grafting thFirst record of cucurbit grafting, 5 century in China

Watermelon Grafting

Jesse Wimer M.S. Student Dept. of Horticulture

Taxonomy

Cucurbitaceae

Scion

Watermelon: Citrullus lanatus

Rootstocks

Squash: Bottle Gourd: Lagenaria siceraria

Cucurbita maxima C. moschata C. maxima X C. moschata

History of Watermelon Grafting

First record of cucurbit grafting, 5th century in China

Commercial adoption in Japan 1920s

Spread throughout Asia 1950s – 1960s Adopted in Europe 1990s

Studied in U.S. 2000s

Worldwide Watermelon Production Rankings and Grafting Percentages

Country Rank (2010) % Grafted China 1 20

Turkey 2 95

USA 5 <1

Spain 12 50

South Korea 13 95

Japan 27 95

Israel n/a 60

Taiwan n/a 95

(Davis et al., 2008; Dervis et al., 2009; Isleyen et al., 2012; Lee et al., 1998)

138,400 ha

379,200 ha

30 million grafted plants

Propagation

Grafting Techniques: One-Cotyledon Splice

Grafting Techniques: Hole Insertion

Grafting Techniques: Approach

Vegetable Grafting

Benefits of Watermelon Grafting

Improve fruit quality

Increased vigor

Tolerance to abiotic stress

Disease resistance

Vegetable Grafting

Potential Problems and Thing to Consider

Graft failure

Rootstock regrowth

Pathogen transfer during grafting

Higher cost of propagation

Demonstrating efficacy

Commercial Watermelon Grafting in China

Grafting Watermelon to Manage Verticillium Wilt in Washington State

0

5

10

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30

Mean AUDPC Values

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

42 49 56 63 70

Ver

tici

lliu

m w

ilt

sev

erit

y (

%)

Day after transplanting

SB

SB (Emphasis)

SB (Tetsukabuto)

SB (Rampart)

SB (Marvel)

SB (Titan)

0

2

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6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20A

vera

ge Y

ield

Pe

r P

lan

t (k

g)

So, how to get your hands on some grafted watermelon seedlings

Buy from a commercial supplier, or…

Do it yourself!