Articles
THE HISTORY OF MELON AND CUCUMBER GRAFTING IN JAPAN
Article number
767_22
Pages
217 – 228
Language
English
Abstract
In Japan, research in grafting of melon and cucumber started in the late 1920s.
The main purpose was to reduce the damage of fusarium wilt using resistant rootstocks of Cucurbita species.
The use of melon grafting was limited to Oriental melons and the “field-grown type melon”, because the melon fruit quality of other melon types grafted onto Cucurbita species was inferior.
In addition, the fusarium wilt resistant gene, Fom-1, was widely incorporated into modern melon cultivars in the 1970s, reducing the need to use grafting technologies in melon for some time.
However, due to the spread of new pathotypes of fusarium wilt (e.g., race 1,2y) and new diseases (e.g., melon necrotic spotted virus), melon rootstock cultivars with multiple diseases resistances were released around 2003. Cucumber grafting was adopted by Japanese farmers around 1960 to strengthen low-temperature tolerance and resistance of cucumbers to fusarium wilt.
In general, from the 1970s to the late 1980s, low-temperature tolerant figleaf gourd was used as a rootstock for cucumber cultivation in the winter, whereas the heat-tolerant ‘Shin-tosa’ was used for summer cultivation.
In the late 1980s, the shift from these traditional rootstocks to new rootstock cultivars for bloomless fruit pro¬duction (bloomless rootstocks) occurred because bloomless cucumber fruit are popular in Japan due to their distinct shiny appearance.
In summary, appropriate grafting technologies for melon and cucumber cultivation are well established in Japan, but in the future, Japanese researchers would like to contribute to an even higher standard of grafting technologies suitable for large-scale, year-round, and eco¬nomical production for seedling nurseries.
The main purpose was to reduce the damage of fusarium wilt using resistant rootstocks of Cucurbita species.
The use of melon grafting was limited to Oriental melons and the “field-grown type melon”, because the melon fruit quality of other melon types grafted onto Cucurbita species was inferior.
In addition, the fusarium wilt resistant gene, Fom-1, was widely incorporated into modern melon cultivars in the 1970s, reducing the need to use grafting technologies in melon for some time.
However, due to the spread of new pathotypes of fusarium wilt (e.g., race 1,2y) and new diseases (e.g., melon necrotic spotted virus), melon rootstock cultivars with multiple diseases resistances were released around 2003. Cucumber grafting was adopted by Japanese farmers around 1960 to strengthen low-temperature tolerance and resistance of cucumbers to fusarium wilt.
In general, from the 1970s to the late 1980s, low-temperature tolerant figleaf gourd was used as a rootstock for cucumber cultivation in the winter, whereas the heat-tolerant ‘Shin-tosa’ was used for summer cultivation.
In the late 1980s, the shift from these traditional rootstocks to new rootstock cultivars for bloomless fruit pro¬duction (bloomless rootstocks) occurred because bloomless cucumber fruit are popular in Japan due to their distinct shiny appearance.
In summary, appropriate grafting technologies for melon and cucumber cultivation are well established in Japan, but in the future, Japanese researchers would like to contribute to an even higher standard of grafting technologies suitable for large-scale, year-round, and eco¬nomical production for seedling nurseries.
Authors
Y. Sakata, T. Ohara, M. Sugiyama
Keywords
watermelon, melon, cucumber, disease resistance, low-temperature tolerance, yield, yield stability, fruit quality
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