Philippine Journl of Crop Siene 22, 27(2): 3-9 Copyright 24, Crop Siene Soiety of the Philippines Relesed Deember 24 ENHANCING OFF-SEASON PRODUCTION THROUGH GRAFTED TOMATO TECHNOLOGY CLARITA P AGANON, LUN G MATEO, DENNIS CACHO, ANACLETO BALA JR & TEOTIMO M AGANON Centrl Luzon Stte University, Siene City of Muñoz, Nuev Eij Philippines. Prt of report on reserh projet funded by GTZ Government of Germny in ollbortion with the Asin Vegetble Reserh nd Development Center (AVRDC), Tiwn. Tomto prodution in the Philippines during hot-wet months is very limited beuse of flooding, high temperture nd ourrene of pest nd diseses. Grfting tomto onto flood- nd disese-resistnt rootstok is potentil tehnology to overome these bioti nd bioti problems. To explore the full potentil of suh tehnology, the study ws onduted to identify high-yielding nd het-resistnt tomto sions s well s flood- nd bteril wilt-resistnt rootstoks. Furthermore, the benefits of rin shelter were ssessed. Seeds of rootstoks nd sions were grown seprtely in plsti trys onsisting of 5 ells per try. Prior to grfting, eggplnt seedlings were grown for 4 weeks nd tomto sions nd rootstoks for 3 weeks. Apollo nd CL 5915 were used s sions, (tomto) nd (eggplnt) s rootstoks. Grfted plnts, regrdless of rootstoks nd sions used, showed inresed survivl, number of fruits per plnt nd onsequently yield ompred to non-grfted plnts. Nongrfted Apollo hd lmost zero survivl t 9 DAT due to very high inidene of bteril wilt. CL5915 grfted onto yielded 28.1 t/h while the sme sion grfted onto yielded 22.1 t/h, n inrese of 332% nd 24% over the non-grfted CL5915. Apollo grfted onto nd yielded signifintly lower thn grfted CL5915, inditing low het tolerne of Apollo. Non-grfted Apollo yielded 2 kg/h s result of its suseptibility of bteril wilt. Provision of rin shelter to grfted tomto inresed the yield by 34% over grfted plnts grown in open field. Grfting nd rin shelter signifintly improved the yields of CL5915 nd Apollo. Keywords Apollo, bteril wilt, CL5915, eggplnt, grfting,, open field, plnt survivl, rin shelter, riny-seson tomto, rootstok, sion, tomto INTRODUCTION Tomto is one of the leding vegetble rops in the ountry both in terms of hetrge nd volume of prodution (BAS 1997). The demnd for the rop is yerround, owing to the verstility of its usge in both fresh nd proessed food preprtion. A survey of the supply of tomto hs shown errti mrket behvior beuse of the sesonlity of prodution (www.br.gov.ph). Prodution is onentrted during the ool months (from Otober to erly Februry), whih is the regulr growing seson. This results in mrket glut from Jnury to My nd meger supply during riny months (June to Deember). Tomto generlly requires fvorble temperture (18-24 C) for optimum fruit setting (Mteo et l 1999 & 22); thus, it grows best during the ool months of November to Februry. It is not surprising tht growing of tomto during riny months is lolized in uplnd hilly res where temperture is not onstrint. Besides, flooding n esily be prevented beuse of the sloping nture of the terrin.
At this time of the yer prie of tomto rnges from P 4 to P 6/kg in ontrst to P 5 to P 2/kg during the regulr seson. Off-seson prodution of tomto in the lowlnds hs lwys been futile ttempt beuse of the influene of unfvorble growing onditions speifilly flooding, ourrene of bteril wilt nd high temperture nd lk of suitble prodution tehnology. The existing vrieties of tomto re generlly suseptible to bteril wilt nd flooding, mking them unsuitble for offseson prodution. Besides, urrent prodution tehnologies re designed for regulr-seson prodution. In response, the Centrl Luzon Stte University (CLSU), in ollbortion with the Asin Vegetble Reserh nd Development Center (AVRDC), hs been developing the grfting tehnology on tomto. The purpose of grfting is to physilly ombine the desirble hrteristis of two seprte plnts into one plnt the grfted plnt -- in this se to provide flood- nd bteril wilt-resistnt rootstok to high-yielding tomto sion. The tehnology is ment to inrese tomto prodution during hot-wet months nd t the sme time inrese frm produtivity through the plnting of high-vlue rop (www.newsflsh.org). The reserh ws imed t ) evluting different rootstoks nd sions in reltion to tomto rop growth nd yield, nd (b) ompring the performne of grfted tomto grown during the hot-wet months in the lowlnds under rin shelter on one hnd nd open field on the other. MATERIALS & METHODS Two studies were onduted for three yers (WS 1999-21) to determine the fesibility of growing grfted tomto during the wet seson: Study 1: Evlution of rootstok nd sions for inresed tomto fruit prodution; Study 2: Comprison of grfted tomto prodution in open field nd under rin shelter. Study 1. Rootstok nd sions Seeding of eggplnt nd tomto Plsti trys of 5 ells with 5. m dimeter per ell were filled with rbonized riehull mixed with fine snd t 1:1 rtio s growth medium, nd seeded with 2 seeds of the eggplnt vriety. One week fter emergene the seedlings were thinned to single plnt per ell. Seeds of Apollo nd CL5951 nd Hwii 7996 tomto vrieties were likewise seeded on plsti trys week lter. As with the eggplnt, 1 seedling ws mintined per ell. Grfting & hrdening The 3-week-old tomto sions were grfted onto 4-week-old eggplnt nd to 3- week old rootstok. The sions nd rootstoks were ut t 3 ngle bove the otyledons nd inserted into opposite ends of the ltex tubing. The tube would protet the grft union from desition. It would lter brek hrmlessly s the union took nd the stem dimeter enlrged. Grfted seedlings were trnsferred to hmber with pproximtely 8 to 9% reltive humidity for one week. The seedlings were spryed with fungiide. They were trnsferred fter 5 dys to the hrdening hmber, where they styed for 3 to 4 dys. They were spryed with ure solution (2%) before they were trnsplnted to the field. Trnsplnting The seedlings were trnsplnted onto 2.5 x 5-m beds rised 3 m high. There were two rows per bed with 1 meter between rows nd 5 m between hills. All the experimentl plots were under rin shelters mde of UV resistnt plsti tthed by lips to metl pipe struture. Plnting distne ws 1 m between rows nd ½ m between hills. The tretments were lid out in ftoril rndomized omplete blok design replited 3 times. Plnting ws done 7 July 2. Two weeks lter, bmboo poles were ereted bout 5 m wy from eh tomto hill for support. CL5915, n indeterminte vriety, ws pruned, mintining 2 min stems. Fertiliztion nd Chemil Applition Orgni fertilizer t the rte of 1 t/h ws inorported into the beds prior to trnsplnting the seedlings. Complete fertilizer t the rte of 6-6-6 kg NPK ws lso bslly pplied followed by side-dressing of 45 kg N/h t 5 weeks fter trnsplnting nd 3 kg N/h t first hrvest. Fertilizer ws 4 CP Agnon, LG Mteo, D Cho, A Bl Jr & TM Agnon
pplied every fter 2 primings t the rte of 15-15-15 NPK. The totl fertilizer rte during the entire growing period ws 225-25-15 kg NPK/h. Dithne M 45 ws pplied s needed to ontrol blk lef spot while Fipronil nd rbonte were pplied to ontrol fruitworm. Study 2. Under open field nd rin shelter The sme proedures desribed bove for grfting, trnsplnting nd fertiliztion were followed, exept tht only ws used s rootstok. The plnts were trnsplnted 17 July 2 on beds provided with nd without rin shelter. Beds were rised to 4 m high, lined with plsti mulh nd pplied with 1 t/h orgni fertilizer plus 225-15-15 kg NPK/h inorgni fertilizer. RESULTS & DISCUSSION Study 1. Rootstok nd sions Perent Plnt Survivl The perentges of surviving plnts mong the tretments were determined from trnsplnting up to the lst hrvest. Perent survivl of grfted EG-23 nd were signifintly higher thn the non-grfted Apollo plnts (Figure 1). Apollo grfted to EG-23 registered 91.7% survivl while Apollo grfted onto hd 75.%. Despite the numeril differene, the survivl rtes of the two grfts were sttistilly the sme. The non-grfted Apollo plnts hd zero survivl t the lst hrvest (9 DAT). CL5915 grfted onto either rootstok hd signifintly higher plnt survivl thn the non-grfted plnts. The perentges of survivl from the different rootstoks were 97.2 for EG-23, 91.7 for nd 64.% for non-grfted CL5915. Grfted CL5915 hd similr survivl rtes with grfted Apollo. Between non-grfted plnts, CL5915 hd signifintly higher survivl rte thn Apollo. It ws noted tht CL5915 ws more tolernt to flooding nd bteril wilt thn Apollo. Number of fruits per plnt The number of fruits per plnt of both vrieties ws signifintly ffeted by grfting. The quntities of fruits in Apollo nd CL5915 were tremendously inresed with grfting regrdless of rootstok. Non-grfted Apollo plnts hd n verge of 4 fruits per plnt, signifintly lower thn those from the nongrfted CL5915 (Figure 2). Weight of fruits per plnt Weight of fruits per plnt ws inresed signifintly by grfting on both sions 12 Figure 1. Perent survivl of tomtoes grown under rinshelter 1 8 b Perent 6 4 91.7 75 97.2 91.7 b 64 2 Apollo nongrfted H&996 CL5915 nongrfted Tretments Grfted Tomto Tehnology 5
35 3 Figure 2. Number of fruits per tomto plnt grown under rinshelter Number of fruits 25 2 15 1 5 31.5 28.19 22.5 2.39 b 11.3 3.87 Apollo nongrfted CL5915 nongrfted Tretments (Figure 3). Apollo grfted to EG-23 nd produed fruits tht outweighed the fruits from non-grfted plnts. However, between rootstoks, the weight of fruits per plnt ws omprble. Fruits hrvested from grfted CL5915 were hevier thn the nongrfted tomto. Regrdless of sion used, grfted plnts produed bigger fruits, thus hevier weights thn the fruits from the non-grfted. Between sions, the weight of fruits hrvested from CL5915 grfted onto EG-23 ws twie higher thn tht of Apollo grfted to the sme rootstok. Between Apollo nd CL5915 grfted onto, the weight of fruits ws signifintly higher in CL5915. Figure 3. Weight of fruits per tomto plnt grown under rinshelter kg per plnt 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.8.6.4.2 b.77.633 d.29 Apollo nongrfted d 1.49 b 1.27.54 CL5915 nongrfted Tretments 6 CP Agnon, LG Mteo, D Cho, A Bl Jr & TM Agnon
Note tht even if Apollo produed more fruits, the fruits were smller thn those of CL5915, whih explins the hevier weight of the fruits of the ltter. Yield per hetre Grfted Apollo hd mrkedly higher yield thn the non-grfted ones (Figure 4). The yields were 12.2 t/h from the EG 223 nd 9.1 t/h from rootstoks. The nongrfted plnts registered lmost zero yield due to very low plnt survivl used by flooding nd bteril wilt. The men yields of CL5915 were 28.1 t/h grfted onto nd 22.2 t/h onto t/h signifintly outyielded the non-grfted plnts with 3.6 t/h, or yield differene of 14.3 t/h, equivlent to 397%. Study 2. Under open field nd rin shelter Perent Survivl The grfted plnts grown under rin shelter hd 79.8% survivl, those grown in the open field 7.1%. While the differene ws not signifint, this indited tht provision of rin shelter spred the plnts from dverse wether onditions, speifilly from the dmging effets of rindrops. Plnts in open field though grfted re prone 3 Figure 4. Yield of grfted tomtoes grown under rinshelter tons per hetre 25 2 15 1 5 b 12.2 9.1 d.2 Apollo nongrfted 28.1 b 22.1 6.5 CL5915 nongrfted Tretments. No signifint yield differene ws observed regrdless of rootstok used. Grfted CL5915 yielded higher thn the nongrfted ones. CL5915 grfted onto yielded 326% higher thn the non-grfted, while CL5915 grfted onto yielded 236% higher thn the non-grfted. Between Apollo nd CL5915, CL5915 grfted onto signifintly outyielded grfted Apollo. The yield differene ws more thn double. CL5915 grfted onto signifintly outyielded Apollo grfted to, but yielded similrly when grfted onto EG-23. Grfted plnts with men yield of 17.9 to dmge by rindrops. As rindrops fll, the leves re injured, providing entry for plnt pthogens tht lter infet the plnts, resulting in deth. Among the diseses tht were observed t gret mgnitude on plnts grown in the open field ws the blk spot. This ws observed on leves dy fter rinfll ourrene. The disese progresses to younger leves during ontinuous riny dys tht lter infets ll the leves. One ll the leves re infeted, the plnts suumb to deth due to bsene of photosyntheti tivity.
Number & weight of fruits per plnt Provision of rin shelter to tomto plnts during hot-wet months resulted in 7 more fruits per plnt, inditing fvorble effet of rin shelter on fruit setting. In the open field, hevy rins during the wet seson oftentimes result in flower drops nd poor fruit setting. Under sheltered onditions the rindrops kineti energy is muh redued or dissipted by the nylon net, resulting in very tiny drops nd no or little dverse effet on fruit setting. Plnts grown with rin shelter gve signifintly hevier fruits thn those without shelter. The verge weight of fruits per plnt ws more thn double over the weight of those grown without the provision of the rin tons per hetre 2 15 1 5 shelter. Figure 5. Yield of grfted tomto s ffeted by rinshelter 14.3 Grfted Tretments b 3.1 Non-grfted With bigger nd more fruits from plnts under rin shelter, the yield per plnt ws higher thn tht of plnts in open field. Yield Tomto plnts grown under rin shelter signifintly outyielded those plnts grown under open field with n inrese in yield of 11.2 t/h or 34%. The inrese in yield is ttributed to bigger nd more fruits per plnt nd more plnts tht survived. Plnts in the open field were exposed to hrsh wether onditions during the hot-wet months. The leves were dmged by ny or ll of the following: 1) impt of rindrops, 2) strong wind, nd 3) pests tht ttked the plnts through previously dmged leves nd stems. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The uthors wish to knowledge the Asin Vegetble Reserh nd Development Center (AVRDC), Tiwn; Deutshe Gessellsrft für Tehnishe (GTZ) nd BMZ, Government of Germny; nd the University of Munih for the finnil ssistne nd tehnil ollbortion with the Centrl Luzon Stte University, Siene City of Muñoz, Nuev Eij, Philippines. LITERATURE CITED Mteo LG, TM Agnon, JR Burleigh, DR Cho & AS. Cspilln. 22. Proeedings of the Ntionl Ademy of Siene nd Tehnology (NAST) 22nd Annul Sientifi Meeting. p12 Mteo LG, JR Burleigh, TM Agnon, FL Poriunul, CP Agnon, MG Ptriio, DR Cho & AS Cspilln. 1999. Philippine Journl of Crop Siene 24 (???): 22 Nriso JO, CH Bltero, LL Tndng, R Posds, E Briones, E Sn, BA Kebesen & CT Aplg. 21. On-site performne evlution of potentil off-seson vrieties. The Philippine Ntionl Progrm on Vegetble Reserh, Development nd Extension. Bureu of Agriulturl Reserh, Quezon City Opin VL, LM Dolores & MC Lit. Evlution of host resistne in tomto during off-seson ginst mjor diseses nd inset pests. Philippine Ntionl Progrm on Vegetble Reserh, Development nd Extension. Bureu of Agriulturl Reserh, Quezon City 8 CP Agnon, LG Mteo, D Cho, A Bl Jr & TM Agnon
Philippine Ntionl Progrm on Vegetble Reserh, Development nd Extension. Progress Report. Yer 1. http://www.br.gov.ph/vegrde/vtvtomy1.htm. Philippine Ntionl Progrm on Vegetble Reserh, Development nd Extension. Progress Report. Yer 2. Bureu of Agriulturl Reserh, Quezon City Vnzi SL. 22. Kmtis + Tlong Tomto for ll sesons. Philippine Hedline News Online http://www.newsflsh.org/22/11/ht/ht299.htm Villrel RL. Development of tomto proessing for the tropis: The Philippine Experiene. http://www.tohort.org/books/2/2-4.htm