ABSTRACT
Grafting is the connection of two or more pieces of plant tissue which are forced to develop a vascular connection and grow as a single plant. Grafting methods have been carried out especially with fruit trees for thousands of years and recently in vegetables. Grafting involves four phases: selection of rootstock and scion species, creation of a graft union by physical manipulation, healing of the union, and acclimation of the grafted plant. Vegetable grafting is considered as a rapid alternative to slow breeding method for increasing plant resistance against abiotic stress. Grafting watermelon onto interspecific hybrid rootstocks decreased flesh quality, increased firmness and better shelf life and field holding abilities. The reasons for tomato grafting and looking for different rootstocks are extending the harvest season in the greenhouse, disease resistance in non-heated soil under a plastic tunnel, control of bacterial wilt and brown root rot in open field production, and also abiotic stress tolerance.
