A rootstock can alter the production, quality, and yield of the crop if grafted well

1. Root Stock And Its Impact On Crop
Production
 Introduction
 Classification
 Choice of rootstock
 Successful Grafting
 Rootstock Impact on Crop Production
 Fruits Having Mandatory Requirement of Rootstock Propagation

2. Root Stock:
 Rootstocks are specialized stock material to which cultivars with desirable
fruit properties are grafted.
 The shoot portion of the two grafting partners is termed the scion.
 The rootstock provides the root system
 Fruit tree scions have been propagated on rootstocks for over 20 centuries.
 Selected rootstocks often are grafted to scions to increase crop yield, fruit
quality, resistance to disease and frost, and adaptability to soil.

3. Classification of Rootstock:
Seedling Rootstock Clonal Rootstock
• These rootstocks are developed
from the germinated seeds
Rootstocks which are multiplied
through vegetative means either
by stooling, layering, rooted cuttings
or by aseptic tissue culture method.
• Un-uniform growth Uniform growth
• Root system more firmly anchored Root system less firmly anchored as
compared to Seedling rootstock.
• Commonly used in
mango, ber, pecan nut, pistachio nut
etc.
More popular in fruit
crops, like apple, pear, plum, cherry,
grape and citrus.

4. Choice of Rootstocks:
 The ideal rootstock should be cold hardy, drought tolerant, heat tolerant,
and adaptable to a wide variety of climatic conditions.
 It must produce a good, clean, upright stem, easy to budding or
grafting.

5. Successful Grafting:
 The vascular cambium responsible for cell division of the two grafting
partners must make contact with each other so that they can “build” a
connection between their separate “plumbing” systems for water and
nutrient supply.

6. Rootstock Impact On Crop Production:
 The various effect of rootstock on scion cultivar are listed below:
Anchorage
Precocity in
bearing
Flowering,
fruiting and
yield
Fruit size
and quality
Diseases
Abiotic
stresses
Insect-pest

7. Anchorage:
 The primary and most important function of rootstock is to provide
anchorage to tree by growing deep into the soil.
 Rootstocks with deeper root system avoid the need of staking and hence
reduce the cost of cultivation.
 These rootstocks perform well under irrigated conditions.
 Preferred as rootstocks in windy area.

8. Precocity in bearing:
 Rootstocks aid in inducing precocity in different scion cultivar.
 Dwarfing rootstocks are preferred.
 Most striking example of induction of precocity in bearing has been the use
of dwarfing rootstock in apple.
 Flying Dragon, a world known citrus rootstock also induces precocity in
bearing in the different scion cultivars.

9. Flowering, fruiting and yield:
 Flowering, fruiting and yield are chiefly governed by rootstocks.
 Dwarfing rootstock aids scion cultivar to flower early and profusely than the
vigorous rootstocks.
 Moreover the yield per tree basis is less on dwarfing rootstocks but yield in
terms of per unit tree volume is always very high. Moreover, due to dwarfing
effect of rootstocks, accommodation of plants is 2 to 3 times higher than on
the conventional rootstocks resulting in high yield.

10. Fruit size and quality:
 Rootstocks have notable impact on fruit size and quality.
 Vigorous rootstocks are preferred over dwarfing varieties because they
produce fruits of larger size.
 The seedling rootstock of apple produce large sized fruit as compared to
dwarfing varieties.

11. Diseases:
 Rootstocks are classified as susceptible or resistant according to their
response to pathogen attack.
 The different relations of rootstocks to the various pathogens may be
grouped into the following types viz. susceptible, tolerant, resistant and
immune.
 It is preferred to use disease free and tolerant rootstock.

12. Abiotic stresses:
 Abiotic stresses like salinity, drought, frost etc. effect production and
productivity very badly.
 Some rootstocks have special qualities to fight against these abiotic
stresses.
 Citrus unshiu is regarded as freeze tolerant rootstock of citrus.
 Some strain of Rough lemon citrus rootstocks are suitable for saline and
alkaline soils.

13. Insect-pest:
 Insect pest resistant rootstocks should be preferred.
 On the basis of rootstock's response to insect-pest attack, these have been
classified as susceptible, tolerant, resistant and immune.

14. Fruits Having Mandatory Requirement
of Rootstock Propagation:
 MANGO:
o Varieties fall into two categories, monoembryonic and polyembryonic.
o Almost all the commercial varieties in the world belong to monoembryonic
category.
o Polyembryonic types are suited for developing genetically uniform clonal
rootstocks which are presently lacking in Mango.
o For rootstock purpose seeds must be sown within a week of extraction from
ripe fruit. The seedling may be germinated in leaf mould mixed with FYM.
After 2-3 weeks seedling may be transferred to the nursery bed in two row
system for grafting. The seedlings transplanted in the nursery can be grafted
in next season (i.e.. July-August).

15. Fruits Having Mandatory Requirement
of Rootstock Propagation:
Dashehari The fruit size is medium, shape is oblong to oblique and fruit color
is yellow. Fruit quality is excellent, keeping quality is good.
Chaunsa The fruit has a golden-yellow color when it is soft, is almost
fibreless, and has an aromatic, pleasant, sweet flavor. worldwide
favorite
Langra The flesh is fiber-less, yellowish brown in color and has a strong
smell when it ripens. As compared to other varieties of mangoes,
it is naturally very sugary and soft. The size of the seed is small
and oval in shape
Creeping Dwarfing
Mango

16. Fruits Having Mandatory Requirement
of Rootstock Propagation:
 CITRUS:
o Stock-Scion compatibility issue due to presence of certain citrus viruses.
o So continuous rootstock trials are essential for a given set of growing
condition.
o Most of the citrus species are polyembryonic.
o Some of the commonly used rootstocks are rough lemon, sweet orange,
trifoliate orange and sour orange.

17. Fruits Having Mandatory Requirement
of Rootstock Propagation:
Orange Rootstocks Remarks
Rough lemon (C. jambhiri) Vigorous, well adopted and fairly
resistant to soil borne disease and short-
lived trees.
Sweet orange (C. sineusis) A moderately cold hardy of wide range
of soil adaptation, susceptible to soil
borne disease and long-lived trees.
Trifoliate orange (P. trifoliate) Dwarfing rootstock, good resistance to
soil borne diseases, and well adapted to
heavy and moist soils
Sour Orange (Citrus
aurantium)
Cold Hardy resistant plant

18. Fruits Having Mandatory Requirement
of Rootstock Propagation:
 GAUVA:
o Several species of Psidum such as P. cujavillis, P. molle, P.guineese can be
suitably used as root stock.
o The Chinese guava has been fount resistant to wilt diseases and to be a
compatible rootstock.
 GRAPES:
o Some root stocks of grapes are as follow:
o Resistant to phylloxera: Riparia Glorie and St. George.
o Resistant to nematode: Dogridge and Salt Creek.

19. Fruits Having Mandatory Requirement
of Rootstock Propagation:
 SAPOTA:
o Use of proper root stock is important in grafting or budding other wise it will
cause problems like incompatibility and undesirable effects.
o The different rootstock used are:
o Sapota Seedlings(Achras zapota)
o Star Apple(Chrysophyllum cainto)
o Mea Tree (Bassia longifolia)

20. Fruits Having Mandatory Requirement
of Rootstock Propagation:
 BER
o In Ber Zizyphus nummularia and Zizyphus rotundifolia are potential
rootstocks.
 OLIVE
o In Olive Olea huspidata is the rootstock used commonly.

21. References:
 Keller, M. (2010). Botany and anatomy. The science of grapevines, 1-47.
 Kozlowski, T. T., & Pallardy, S. G. (1997). Growth control in woody plants.
Elsevier.
 Goswami, A. K., Singh, S. K., Srivastav, M., Nagaraja, A., Prakash, J., &
Kumar, C. Important Rootstocks in Different Fruit Crops.