V and Probably F -- Which Rootstock?

[b54red]

I always have an assortment of grafting clips so that I can change to what fits the stems I am grafting together. I prefer top grafting but I make a big change from how most people do it in order to get a much higher success rate. I never use potting soil until the last step in the process which is putting the successfully grafted and healed plant into a container that will stay outside until the hardening process is complete. The reason for this is that damping off is a big problem for me down here and the potting soil frequently has it already in it and the humid healing chamber just causes it to spread more rapidly causing frequent failures. Before when I was using potting soil my grafting success rate was far lower and frequently all my grafts would fail because of damping off which could occur at the base where the potting soil was damp or even at the joint of the graft. I guess once that disease gets in the healing chamber is can spread too fast and easy. I still get damping off occasionally with a single plant in the healing chamber but with the DE it is very infrequent.

I start all my seed in fine DE and when they are large enough to graft I pull the rootstock out and pull off most of the roots then line it up with a scion and make the cut through both at the same time with a thin double edge razor blade at a 45% angle. I then join the two together with the appropriate size clip checking against a bright light to make sure the joint in tight and no light can be seen between the two stems. I then pour some diluted TTF through larger grain DE that is in a Styrofoam coffee cup with plenty of holes in the bottom. I then take my finger and make a hole in the damp DE and plant the graft pushing the DE around it to keep it upright. I then pour some dry DE around the base of the grafted plant so that the surface is dry then place it in a healing chamber that has had the sides and lid misted. I then close the chamber and put it in a shady place in a room that is not too hot and leave it for at least 24 hrs. I then start opening it for a few minutes to allow in some fresh air a couple of times a day for a few days. Usually on the fourth or fifth day I leave a large crack for a day or so then completely remove the lid. When I remove the lid I then give the plants a drink of diluted TTF and place the chamber where it gets good indirect sunlight. After a few days it is fairly clear which grafts took and the ones that didn't get tossed if the graft is separated or the scion is dried up completely. If it is just wilted badly I give it more food and see if it will get better and surprisingly many that look hopeless will recover with time. I gradually move the plants into more sunlight and when they start growing good and seem healed I pot them up into potting soil and brace them upright with small wooden skewers until they are large enough to plant out. It is important to make sure the grafts have totally healed when setting them out in the wind of the garden so it is best to either wait till they are really getting big or make sure they are supported so the wind doesn't bend and snap the graft apart. I usually remove the clips just before setting them out or a day or two before that but many will pop off on their own from the stem growing.

It is best if you have at least two inches of stem from the base of the plant to the graft so that roots don't form from the scion and go into the soil which will negate the grafts purpose. I have made grafts as high as 6 to 8 inches up the stem of the rootstock successfully but find that between 2 and 4 inches up the stem is best. I have never noticed any difference in the production from how high up the graft is made but the further up the more likely that shoots will form from the rootstock which will have to be removed regularly.

I like to take the top of the freshly cut rootstock when grafting and put it in damp fine DE to root and feed them until they are tall enough to use again. I frequently get twp or three plants to graft to from one seed but I have a very long season and it usually takes 3 or more weeks before the tops have grown enough to be used again.

Bill

[Father'sDaughter]

Fantastic information, Bill! Thank you for answering many of my questions so thoroughly. I already use the finer DE for all my seed starting, but I will try to hunt down the larger grain stuff by next spring.

[Father'sDaughter]

Well, I went back and looked at rootstock specs this morning and realized that RST-04-106-T has no listed resistance to Verticulum Wilt which I am 99% sure that's what initially did most of my plants in this year. The few that did manage to hold on, we're then hit with what I'm 99% sure is Fusarium Wilt.

So I'm back at the starting point for rootstock.

My readily available options with resistance to V and all three F seem to be Maxifort, Estamino, Fortamino and DR0141TX. We've already established that Estamino is probably not the best option.

Anyone have any thoughts on the others given that I have a shorter growing season, not necessarily interested in growing the largest tomatoes possible, and more concerned with better yields, especially for pastes.

[b54red]

Have you had the plants tested to make sure you are dealing with Verticullum wilt?

I have tried both Estamino and Multifort which I believe are both resistant to V but they do tend to make the first tomatoes later but they also tend to encourage larger fruit. All varieties of scion are not totally compatible with all rootstock varieties and the only way to find out is try them. I was very happy with my production when I only used Multifort and Estamino but like RST-04-106-T better because of earlier production and more prolific production with most scions even if the fruit may not be quite as large.

Bill

[Father'sDaughter]

I haven't had them tested but I've read a lot of info and looked at a lot of pictures and what I was seeing on my plants matched. That's why I'm going with 99%!

They went from incredibly healthy with lots of early fruit set, to having increasing amounts of yellow then brown spots on the leaves starting at the bottom and quickly moving upwards. It was when I read about the "V" pattern often observed in the dead spots, the sporadic wilting to finally no longer recovering from the wilting, and the brown in the bottom of the stem interior that I realized what I was most likely dealing with.

Those that did/are hanging on are now getting the bright yellowing of the leaves (initially with no brown) up just one side of the plant and going down fast. They also have the tell-tale brown inside the stems.

While some plants did produce a few fruit, the fruit were all very small and quite a few never matured enough to ripen before the plant died completely.

I guess I could try a few with the RST-04-106-T next year and see what happens. But I would hate to take a chance with all of them given what I'm seeing this year.

[Father'sDaughter]

I've ordered my clips from Hydro-Garden after finding Bill's mention of them in another thread (thanks Bill--great prices and super fast shipping), I have a package of 20 RST-04-106-T seeds from Ricky Shaw (thanks, Ricky!), and after a week of obsessive research, I have my order of DRO141TX seeds on their way from Johnny's.

All I need now are the vented domes for my trays, a razor and blades, and the coming winter to fly by so that I can start a new (hopefully disease free) chapter in tomato growing!

Come March/April I may be back with more questions, but in the meantime thank you all for the information provided to date!

[BigVanVader]

Bump: For anyone wanting to try grafting neseeds has RST-104-06 (and other) rootstock for good prices and free shipping till Dec. 12th. http://www.neseed.com/Rootstock-for-...ding-s/445.htm

[JerryL]

So, riddle me this Batman.

If a person was ONLY concerned about preventing disease and NOT at all interested in earlier or better or bigger production could you use something like Better Boy or Big Beef as the root stock? I would think the cost would be much lower and the germination rate much better.

[Gardeneer]

You want cheap root stock seeds ? How bout BIG BEEF ? You can buy it at BBS, for under 2 bucks for about 40 seeds.
Lets see what Bill has to say about that.
I might try to experiment with that.

[BigVanVader]

Big Beef is fine to use if it is resistant to all the issues you have in your area/soil. The reason I need RST is I had Bacterial wilt last year. It comes down to what you need from your rootstock, you can use any variety you want. I have been considering grafting my Bumblebees to Juliet this year as an experiment.
To put it another way, if you take the time/effort/money to graft you don't want your plants to succumb to disease because then what was the point?

[Father'sDaughter]

In reading through older posts by people like Bill, I saw many where people started using hybrids as root stock. Most of the stories ended with the grower eventually giving up and investing in the sure thing--specific root stock seeds.

I decided my time and effort was worth too much to not go with a sure bet right from the start.

[jtjmartin]

I'll be grafting some of my extra seedlings on to Big Beef this coming year. In reading all the grafting blogs there seems to be some learning curve for the the techniques used. I hope to have some mastery before I really need it.

[Gerardo]

I'll be joining the grafting fun too. Fortamino F1 12 seeds $12.75, a decent price?

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

I'll be joining the grafting fun too. Fortamino F1 12 seeds $12.75, a decent price?

High Mowing has 25 seeds for $12.75. Not sure where else they're available.

[Ricky Shaw]

Celebrity comes up a lot when reading about a good alternative root stock. In addition to multiple disease-resistance, and some say possibly better vigor from being a determinate.