Role of rootstocks in horticultral crops

1. Submitted To : Presented By :
Dr. Amarjeet Kaur Fatehdeep Singh
In-charge Horticulture Deptt. M.Sc. Fruit Sci. (Sem III)
18003002

2. CONTENTS
What is rootstock and its types
Characteristics of an ideal rootstock
Major effects of a rootstock on scion cultivars
Role of rootstocks in different fruit crops
References

3. ROOTSTOCK?
 Rootstock is the lower portion of the graft which develops into the
root system of the grafted plant.
 A rootstock may be a seedling, a rooted cutting or a layered plant.
 It is also described a plant which already has an established
healthy root system on to which a cutting or bud from another
plant is grafted.
 The plant part grafted on to the rootstock is usually called as scion.
 Rootstocks are being used in plant propagation for more than 20
centuries.
 The rootstock may be a same or different species from the scion.
 The use of rootstock is most commonly associated with fruit
plants.

4. Source : Hartmann et al, 2002

5. TYPES OF ROOTSTOCK
1. Seedling rootstock :-
 These are developed from seeds.
 These rootstocks are relatively
simple and economical to produce.
 Root system developed by
seedlings tend to be deeper.
 These are mostly used for tropical
and sub-tropical fruit crops.
 Seedling rootstocks have an
advantage that the plants don’t
retain viruses occurring in their
parent plants.
 Seedling rootstocks have a
disadvantage of genetic variation
which may lead to variation in
performance of scion.

6. 2. Clonal rootstock :-
 Rootstocks propagated vegetatively are known as clonal
rootstocks.
 These also include those propagated through azygotic
seeds (parthenogentic, polyembryonic and apomictic
seeds).
 Each clonal individual plant is genetically same and have
identical growth characteristics in a given environment
(Hartmann et al, 2002).
 Major disadvantage of clonal rootstocks is that , they
retain the viruses occurring in the parent plants.
 These are available in majority for temperate fruits.

7. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN IDEAL ROOTSTOCK
 It should exhibit a high degree of compatibility with scion
cultivars and give maximum life to trees.
 It should be well adapted to agro-climatic conditions of the
particular locality like frost, cold and heat.
 Should be resistant to disease and pests prevalent in the
concerned area.
 Should be tolerant to adverse soil conditions like salt and
drought.
 Must exhibit favorable and positive influence on the
performance, bearing and quality of scion variety.
 Should possess good nursery characteristics like
germination, high degree of polyembryony, ability to attain
graft-able size in short period and free from excessive
branching.

8. MAJOR EFFECTSOF ROOTSTOCK ON SCIONCULTIVARS
 Stature of the tree ( dwarfing,
medium, vigorous)
 Fruiting ( size, quality, time
of maturity, yield)
 Cold hardiness
 Disease resistance
 Tolerance to adverse soil
conditions
 Nutrient uptake

9. ROLE OF ROOTSTOCK IN
DIFFERENT FRUIT CROPS

10. MANGO
 In India seed propagation is the chief method of
multiplication of rootstock.
 Monoembryonic and Polyembryonic both types of
rootstocks are uses in propagation of mango.
 Dwarfism and tolerence to salinity are two most
desired characteristics for a mango rootstocks.
 Use of non-descriptive mango stones for multiplication
of rootstocks has led to enormous variation in. the
performance of mango clones in the orchards.
 Attempts have been made to standardize the rootstocks
for various scion varieties.

11. Mango
rootstocks
Goa
Olour
Bellary
Bappakai
Kurrukan
Mylepalium
Chandrakaran
Polyembryonic Monoembryonic
Langra
Dashehari
Bombay green
Totapuri Red small
,etc

12. Olour Chandrakaran

13. Bombay Green Totapuri Red Small

14. EFFECTOF DIFFERENTMANGOSTOCKSON SCIONCULTIVARS
Dwarfing effect :-
 In India rootstocks with dwarfing effect include Kalapady, Olour,
Kerela Dwarf, Manjeera, Creeping, Amrapali, Vellaikulamban
etc.
 Rootstock Vellaikulamban impart dwarfing effect to Dashehari
and Alphonso where as Olour impart the same effect to Langra
and Himsagar cultivars (Kulkarni,1991).
Ability to absorb nutrients :-
 Rootstock 13-1 of mango has the capacity to restrict the
absorption and translocation of Na and Cl and facilitate the
absorption of calcium and is known to reduce the incidence of
internal fruit breakdown.
 Amrapali grafted on kurukkan rootstock has more Cl leaf content
than any other rootstock (Dayal et al, 2014).

15. Tolerence to salt :-
 Mango rootstocks found in India are only moderately
tolerant to salt.
 Polyembryonic rootstocks namely Bappakai, Olour and
Kurukkan could withstand higher level of salnity.
 Mango cultivar ‘13-1’ has been selected as a
polyembryonic rootstock for calcareous soils or for
irrigation with saline water.
 Seedlings from stone of Kesar variety has highest
survival percentage, germination percentage and growth
parameters with higher salt concentrations of water and
is well suited for areas where saline water for irrigation
is a problem ( Varu et al, 2010).

16. Fruit quality and Yield :-
 Influence of rootstock on the fruit quality and yield is
reported in many trials done in india.
 Neelum cultivar get higher total soluble content and yield
when grafted on polyembryonic rootstock Bappakai than on
other polyembryonic and several other monoembryonic
rootstocks.
 Mylepalium and Vellaikulamban rootstocks increased the
TSS of the Dashehari cultivar than other rootstocks.
 Langra grafted on Bappakai rootstock record the highest
fruits number/plant followed by Vellaikulumban and
Chandrakaran.
 Dashehari cultivar gives higher yield when higher yield
when grafted on its own seedlings than any other
rootstock.

17. CITRUS
 Rootstock role in citrus is well known for its tolerance
towards biotic and abiotic stress as well as for increasing
yield and quality.
 A wide variety of rootstocks are available , each having
desirable attributes.
 They can be grown from seed, rooted cuttings,or layers.
 A rootstock for citrus must be :-
a. Adapted to alkalinity
b. Resistant to phytophthora
c. Provide cold tolerance
d. Produce good yield and high quality fruit.

18. CITRUS ROOTSTOCKS
Species Variability
Rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri) Jatti khatti, Renuka lemon, Jambhiri poona,
Jambhiri local, Jallandhar khatti, Khatta etc.
Rangpur lime (C. limonia ) Florida Rangpur-8748, Khasi lime, Brazil
orange, Pink fleshed lime, Sindhuri etc.
Trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata) English small, English large, Trifoliate William,
Trifoliate Florida etc.
Trifoliate hybrids Carrizo citrange, Troyer citrange, Citragequat,
Citrumello, etc
Sour orange ( C. aurantium ) Willow leaf sour orange, Karun jamir, Molepuli,
etc.
Sweet lime ( C. limettioides ) Sweet lime, Mitha, sarbati lebu, Chinni.
Karna Khatta ( C. karna ) Karna Khatta, Karna, Karna Nimboo.
Cleopatra mandarin ( C. reshni ) Cleopatra mandarin.
Source : Singh et al, 2012

19. Rough lemon Carrizo citrange Trifoliate orange

20. Cleopatra orange Rangpur lime

21. CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME SELECTED CITRUS ROOTSTOCKS
Rootstoc
k
Yield Quality Scion
vigour
Tristez
a
Phytophtho
ra
Resistance
Salt Drough
t
Root
system
Rangpur
lime
G M G R L R R D
Rough
lemon
G L G R M T T D
Cleopatra
Mandarin
M M M R M MT S M
Trifoliate
orange
L M L R H HS HS SH
Troyer
citrange
M G M MT H HS HS SH
Carrizo
citrange
M G M MT H HS HS SH
Karna
Khatta
G M M - M T S D
G= good, M= moderate, L= low, R= resistant, T= tolerant, MT= moderately tolerant, S= susceptible,H=High,
HS= highly susceptible, D= deep, M= medium, SH= shallow, (-) = no information.
Source : Nimbolkar et al , 2016

22. APPLE
 There is a great diversity
in the type of material
used for raising rootstock
seedlings in apple.
 In Kashmir, wild
indigenous ‘Crab apple’
known as ‘Nasama Trel’
is used,
 In Himachal seedlings of
‘Crab C’ are employed as
rootstock.
 Clonal rootstocks of Apple
are very popular all around
the world.

23. CLONAL ROOTSTOCKS OF APPLE AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
CATEGORY ROOTSTOCK CHARACTERISTIC
S
Malling and Malling-Merton Series
Ultra dwarf M-27 Suitable for HDP.
Dwarfing
M9 Short juvenile phase,
suitable for HDP
M26 Cross between M16 and
M9. quite winter hardy but
susceptible to fire blight.
Semi- dwarf M4, M7 and MM106 Suitable for HDP, resistant
to wooly apple aphid but
susceptible to collar rot.
Semi-vigorous
MM111 & M104 Drought tolerant and
resistant to wooly apple
aphid.
Vigorous Merton 793 Early fruiting, wooly apple
aphid and collar rot

24. CONT….
CATEGORY ROOTSTOCK CHARACTERISTI
CS
Clonal rootstocks from Miscellaneous Sources
Ultra dwarf Vineland 1 (V1) Suitable for HDP.
Dwarfing
Bemali Cross rootstock,
advantage of easy
propagation
Mark Developed as anopen
pollinated seedling of M9
Vigorous Robusta No.5 Winter hardy.

25. Approx. size of Apple Rootstocks (clonal) after 10 years

26. EFFECT OF DIFFERENT APPLE STOCKS ON SCION CULTIVARS
Tree vigour :-
 Red delicious, Jonathan and Rymer when grafted on
M13 attain maximum girth, plant height, larger spread
and higher plant volume.
 Starking delicious on MM111 rootstock has higher
stomata resistance and minimum transpiration whereas
the minimum stomata resistance and higher transpiration
rate when grafted on M25 rootstock.
 Cultivars grafted on Crab C rootstock attain higher
plant volume than any other rootstock.

28. Precocity and flowering :-
 Malus robusta and M. rajek induced greatest fruit
precocity with 80% of the tree bearing fruits in a year
after grafting.
 Flowering of all cultivars is hastened on M9 stock and
was retarded on M16 rootstock.
 Very unprecocious Nothern Spy begins flowering by the
4th year when grafted on M9 rootstock.
 M. sikkimminsis and M. hypenhensis seedlings used as
rootstock reduce growth and retard flowering.

29. ROOTSTOCK FRUIT BEARING AGE (Yrs)
Seedling 6-10
MM111 4-6
MM106 3-4
M26 2-4
M9 2-3
Effect of Apple Rootstock on Fruit Bearing Age ( Source : Parker, 1993 )

30. Fruit yield and Quality :-
 Clonal rootstocks are more efficient than the seedling rootstocks.
 Non-spur type cultivar Red King Delicious produce more number of
fruits per tree with M7 and MM106 rootstock.
 Spurred strains attain highest yield when grafted on MM106
rootstock.
Winter hardiness :-
 Apple rootstock MM8 shows the maximum hardiness.
 Rootstocks of intermediate hardiness include MM26, MM111 .
 MM106 is the least hardy apple rootstock.

31. PEAR
 Fewer rootstock choices are available in Pear than Apple.
 Domestic Pear seedlings are the most acceptable rootstock in
terms of vigour, hardiness and compatibility.
Common rootstocks :-
1. Pyrus communis :- clonal rootstock (Old Home x
Farmingdale) , resistant to blight with high yield potential.
2. Pyrus pashia (Kainth) :- commonly used in punjab.
3. Pyrus serotina (Shiara) :- commonly used in Himachal
Pradesh.
4. Cydonia oblonga (Quince):- (i)Quince A standard rootstock.
(ii) Quince C semi-vigorous
rootstock

32. Clonal rootstocks of pear :-
(OH= Old Home , F= Farmingdale )
 Pear cultivars grown on OH x F rootstock tend to be
large and non-porous trees.
 OH x F rootstocks also provide resistance to blight and
have high yield potential than any other rootstock.
Dwarfing
• OH x F51
Semi-
dwarfing
• OH x F59
• OH x F230
Semi-vigorous
• OH x F217
• OH x F361
Vigorous
• OH x F18
• OH x F198

33. Use of Interstocks in Pear :
 Quince rootstocks are used
for dwarf growth and
precocity but they are not
compatible with many pear
cultivars like Bartlett,
Triumph,conference,
LeConte etc.
 This incomaptibility is
because of toxic effect of
prunasin, a cyanogenic
glycoside present in the bark
tissues of quince rootstock.

34. CONT…
 Prunasin present in bark tissues of quince rootstock ascend
into the pear scion where it is hydrolized by beta-
glicosidases , releasing cyanide, which is toxic to cambial
cell and causes necrosis od cell tissues on scars.
 Necrosis reduces the transport of water and and nutrients
through graft union.
 Pear cultivars differ in their capability to break down
glycosides hence this property can be exploited to
overcome the problem of incompatibility.
 Old Home cultivar doesn’t break down the glycosides that
is why it is compatible with quince rootstock and can
successfully be used as an interstock.
 Therefore to solve the problem of incompatibility of
Quince , Old Home is used as an interstock.

35. Approximate Relative size of pear cultivars on a number of clonal and seedling rootstocks (Source: Westwood, 1988)
 Quality of fruit is generally good on quince , P. communis, p. calleryana, P.
betulaefolia in the decreasing order.
 P. betulaefolia is resistant to diseases like fire blight and pear decline.

36. GRAPES
 In India grape varieties are multiplied by hard
wood cuttings.
 Use of cuttings is resulting in declining yield of
Anab-e-Shahi ,Thompson seedless and many other
cultivars due to high infestation of nematodes and
soil salinity.
 Grape rootstocks have been found to impart :-
a. Resistance to soil borne fungi.
b. Drought tolerance
c. Resistance / tolerance to phylloxera
d. Vigour to the scions

37. SOME IMPORTANT ROOTSTOCKS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
Rootstock Characteristics/ Role
St. George Vigorous, highly resistant to phylloxera and
drought.
Dog Ridge Resistant to nematode infestaion
Teleki 5-A Moderately resistance to nematodes but
highly resistant to phylloxera
1616 ( Syn. Solonis Riparia 1616 ) Moderately resistant to phylloxera but
highly resistant to nematodes, moderately
vigorous
1613 (Syn. Solonis-othello) Produces moderately vigorous sci )on,
resistant to nematodes and moderately
resistant to phylloxera.
Salt creek ( Vitis champini) Impart great vigour scions , resistant to
nematodes
Source : - Bal , 2015

38. STONE FRUITS
 Stone fruits include plum, peach, cherry, apricot, almond etc.
 In India, the stone fruits like peach, plum, apricot and almond
are generally propagated on their own seedling.
 Peach can aslo be propagated by using Khurmani as
rootstock.
 Cherry plants are raised on Paja ( Prunus cerasoides)
seedlings.
 Plum peach, Zardalu (wild apricot) , behmi (natural hybrid
of almond and wild peach) and Plum seedlings (Kabul
Green Gaze) are commonly used as rootstocks for Plum.
 Myrobalan B, a clonal rootstock for plum is also used.
 For Almond, Behmi (P. mira) and Marianna plum are
commonly use as rootstocks.
 Apricots are raised on Zardalu and wild peach.

39. SOME IMPORTANT ROOTSTOCKS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTIS
Fruit crop Rootstocks Characteristics
Peach Flordaguard Resistant to root knot
nematode
Desi peach Vigorous rootstock
Wild peach Drought tolerant
Peach/Almond hybrids
(GF556, GF667)
Vigorous and resistant to
Fe deficiency
Siberian C Winter hardy rootstock
Apricot Wild peach Drought tolerant
Zardalu Immune to root knot
nematode, less
susceptible to crown gall.
Myrobalan plum Suitable for heavy soils
Marianna 2624 Clonal rootstock
Citation Clonal rootstock

40. CONT..
Fruit crop Rootstocks characteristics
Almond Wild peach Drought tolerant
Behmi Least vigorous rootstock
California paper shell Moderately tolerant to
water logging.
Marianna 2624 Clonal rootstock.
Cherry Mahleb ( P. mahaleb) Hardier and more drought
resistant than other
rootstocks
Mazzard ( P. avium) Standard rootstock,
moderately tolerant to
droughts.
Malling F12/1 Clonal rootstock, highly
resistant to bacterial
cancker.
Colt Produce early heavy crop
and resistant to bacterial
cancker

41. Fruit crop Rootstocks characteristics
Plum Kabul Green Gaze vigorous rootstock
Myrobalan B Suitable to heavy soils
Marianna Plum Adaptable to heavy and
wet soil , immune to root
knot nematode, resistant
to crown rot and crown
gall.
Peach Good for light soils,
resistant to bacterial
cancker.
Apricot Used in nematode
infected soils.
Citation Interspecific cross of
Peach and Plum
Western sand Cherry Produces dwarfed plum
trees

42. REFRENCES
 Bal JS (2015) Fruit Growing. Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana.
 Dayal V, Dubey K, Awasthi P, Pandey R and Dhuja A(2014)
Growth, lipid peroxidation,antioxidant enzymes and nutrient
accumulation in Amrapali mango grafted on different rootstocks
under NaCl stress. Plant Knowledge J 3: 15-22.
 Hartmann HT, Kester DE, Davies FT, Geneve RL (2002). Plant
Propagation Principle and Practices(6th edn.). Prentice Hall of
India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
 Nimbolkar PK, Awachare C, Reddy YTN, Subhash Chander and
Hussain F (2016). Role of Rootstocks in Fruit Production–A
Review. J Agri Engg and Food Tech 3: 185-88.

43. CONT…
 Parker ML(1993). Apple Rootstocks. Available:
http://actahot/html/.[retrieved : September 1,2011]
 Singh S, Rattanpal HS, Aulakh PS, Sharma DR, Sangwan
AK, Arora A, Kaur S (2012). Citrus Rootstocks in India:
Problems and Prospects. Green Agri. Newer Tech. pp: 27-
71.
 Varu, DK and Barad AV (2010).Standardization of mango
rootstock for mitigating salt stress. Ind J Hort pp : 79-83.