What's your experience with grafted tomatoes?

[SummerintheSouth]

Would like to hear from people who have grown grafted tomatoes.
What rootstock did you use?
Did you find it helped your plants survive blights, nematodes and other diseases?

My tomatoes die an early death from one blight or another (bacterial wilt, verticillium wilt, etc.).
I was about to gear up for grafting next year (great video at Johnnysseeds.com)...
Then I waded into the Ag science literature...

For field-grown tomatoes, grafting doesn't improve yield.
It depends on the scion and rootstock varieties but the best improvement is about 25%.
This is huge for for commercial producer, but doesn't matter to me.
This is driving a lot of interesting plant research - for now it is trial and error.
So would like to hear about your trials.

[Cole_Robbie]

Root knot nematodes, common in the southern United states, is the best reason to graft.

[Rockoe10]

As Cole said, its for soil pests and diseases. I tried a rootstock variety this season and its performed mediocre. I don't have many soil issues here, but blight and spot are common. The rootstock has succumb to those diseases just as easily. I've found that the most resilient is a variety from my family that has been grown in this area for decades. I've started looking into studies on epigenetics. It's fascinating. You may find success in using seed stock purchased from local growers.

[zendog]

I don't think there is much research on rootstocks that directly relates to home growers, particularly those who are growing a wide range of heirlooms and self-pollinated types. When you have a specific soil-borne issue, selecting a rootstock that is resistant to that makes obvious sense and in places with bad nematodes or bacterial wilt, grafting could be almost essential for getting a good crop unless you just want to grow specific hybrids that are resistant to those.

For me, I've found the benefits appear to also include the added vigor and strength the rootstock conveys to the scion. Basically, in many cases, the grafted plants give me an overall stronger and more vigorous plant that, if well fertilized and watered, can battle blight, septoria, etc. more successfully. The first year I did some controlled tests with specific varieties on their own roots, growing against grafted plants of the same variety on two different types of rootstocks. The grafted plants had significantly better survival until frost, so that sold me. I didn't track production per plant, but it seemed better on grafted plants, and of course when an ungrafted plant is dead that production is 0%. I also found that it seemed to help the plants maintain fruit size later in the season, whereas ungrafted beefsteak types seemed to get progressively smaller fruit as the season went on. I'm not sure if there is really a benefit if you are growing some of the most vigorous heirloom types, but since I'm already grafting I just go ahead and graft everything except cherry types. Most cherries are very vigorous and since they're not being taxed by making 1 pound plus tomatoes, seem to keep growing strongly enough that I can keep them alive with careful care without grafting.

So here in hot, humid Virginia with a lot of disease pressure, I find it definitely worth the effort with our relatively long season. If I was further north or in a drier climate, it probably wouldn't be worth it unless I had one of the specific soil-borne issues rootstocks help overcome.

Since I don't seem to have an issue with bacterial wilt, I've been using DRO141TX for my rootstock which I've found has the vigor I want and provides production. Maxifort is very vigorous and ultimately very productive but seemed to delay early fruiting a bit more since the plants were so busy just growing and growing. If you have bacterial wilt in your soil, there is another rootstock that has resistance to that, but the name escapes me right now.

Give it a try, it's fun!

Here is a video I did on how I graft:


And here is a video I did on healing the grafts which is really a bigger part of the challenge once you figure out the basic mechanics of grafting.

[mama_lor]

If you have soil problems, grafting can make a huge difference. Otherwise not worth it for the home grower. And get a good modern rootstock with the disease resistance you want. From the old ones only maxifort still has good value, the problem is so many studies were only made with these that they kind of became the default.

[MissS]

Grafting did not do much for my plants and it is far easier for me to grow resistant varieties or find new soil.

[mama_lor]

What rootstock did you use? Commercial growers have certain tried combinations of rootstock/variety that work very well. For the home gardener the combinations are endless.
There's also the price. That is basically the biggest problem, as well as space, if you graft yourself. The good rootstock seeds cost a ton, and if you buy the plants they cost also a ton (and you don't even know what you get exactly). 25% increase in yield would be a jolly good improvement, I think people have unreasonable expectations.

Do try some grafted cucumbers though, the difference is staggering.

[strawbaleking]

I did it because even most of the hybrids I used were only resistant to F1 and F2 Fusarium. I have F3 (had- I moved out of state this year) and that took care of it. It is work but it was fun. I went to pots and plants were way happier anyway than in my soil no matter what I did for the soil or raised beds.
I also trialed straw bales growing. There was fusarium in the straw bales, plus some years even though were said to be organic and not sprayed, I could really tell there was roundup in them. Tomatoes are super sensative to roundup. I still use them for growing butternut squash and pumpkins, they do extremely well in them.
I now only do OP/heirloom, I hated nearly every hybrid.
I did some grafting for fun again with the plants in pots and the vigor and season length was better. Just be aware that grafting healing time adds time to first fruit set, so plan to start earlier.
I used Estimino and RST-04-106-T. I planted both for trial and was glad because they both have different stem sizes and growth rates so it made it easier to match to scion size because I had so many varieties. I side grafted with great success after many top grafting failures. You could use Big Beef for rootstock it has V F1F2 and N tolerance.
Tell me more about the grafted cucumbers!

[Yak54]

I did graft tomato plants for 3 yrs. and it did help with my soil born disease issues. But when I started growing them in grow bags and ProMix the vigor and health of my plants improved very much as well as productivity. So I no longer feel the need to graft. It was a good learning experience though. The two types of rootstock I used were Supernatural & Estamino in 2015,2016 & 2017.

Dan

[Harry Cabluck]

Maxifort rootstock seems the better seed choice for this garden in south Austin, Texas. Hope to start heirloom seeds before Jan. 15. Will sow rootstock seeds about a week later.