Grafting suitability of Sicilian eggplant ecotypes onto Solanum torvum: Fruit composition, production and phenology

The eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is one of the most widely cultivated crops in tropical and temperate regions around the world and is suitable for propagation through grafting. In many parts of the world, grafting is a routine technique used in continuous cropping systems, because in the horticulture field is a sustainable technique that allows cultivators to overcome abiotic or biotic stress. The objective of this research was to evaluate the suitability at the grafting of four Sicilian eggplant ecotypes grown in open field in Sicily, Italy. Vegetables in general are a great source of minerals in the human diet and the eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) provides significant quantities of various minerals, among which are P, K, Ca and Mg. The study demonstrated that grafting increased marketable yield. Furthermore, grafting has increased the amount of Ca, Fe, Zn and Cu in the fruit, while reducing the amount of Na, Mg and Mn. This variation is of significant interest, as lower levels of Na and Mn favour a reduction in hypertension and help keep blood pressure under control. Grafted plant height after 35 days is positively correlated with the average number of marketable fruits per plant (r = 0.607) and percentage of discard production (r = 0.583). Furthermore, after 35 days, the non-grafted plant’s height was also negatively correlated with the total average production (r = -0.528), the average marketable production (r = -0.558), and the average weight of marketable fruits (r = -0.815). This research confirmed that Solanum torvum selection Australys rootstock gave Sicilian eggplant ecotypes increased vigor in the initial 35 days from planting, increased yields while increasing the number of marketable fruit, and creating fruit with more healthful qualities.