Rootstock for grafting tomatoes and eggplants

You can order clips for finishing separately.

Vigorous rootstock for tomatoes, multiply resistant to Fusarium and Verticillium wilt and nematodes. Grafting onto this rootstock ensures a very strong root system to support the cultivated plant.

Solanum lycopersicum × S. habrochaites
Sow at 20–25 °C from February to April, simultaneously with the graft (the upper plant).

Tips for breeding:

Defensor as a rootstock is one of the two tomato varieties required for grafting and serves as the basis. In addition, you use a so-called noble variety of your choice, also known as the graft.

The goal is to protect the noble variety against soil fungi and nematodes thanks to the resistance of the rootstock.

Step-by-step plan:

Step 1:
The rootstock and the noble variety are sown in seed compost. Depending on the rootstock used, both varieties are usually sown simultaneously or, depending on experience, with a time interval.

Step 2:
As soon as both plants are approximately 10 cm tall, begin grafting. The rootstock is cut off below the first leaf. This must be done with a clean, straight cut using a sharp knife, ensuring the cut surface is completely horizontal. The upper part of the rootstock can be discarded. Only the stem and roots are required.

Step 3:
Step 2 is repeated with the plant to be grafted. Here, the cut upper part is particularly important for the grafting process; the roots are no longer needed.
Important: the cut surfaces of both plants must be the same size. If the vascular bundles do not align precisely, the grafting will fail.

Step 4:
The cut part of the plant to be grafted is placed on the stem of the rootstock so that the cut surfaces touch. The parts are secured with special grafting clips for a firm connection. Both parts must grow into a single new plant that combines the roots of the rootstock with the characteristics of the noble variety.

Step 5:
The new plant has been weakened by the “stress” of grafting and must be well watered and protected from environmental influences. Place it in a greenhouse or under a protective cover until the grafting is complete.

Step 6:
After about a week, you can start acclimating the plant to the outdoor climate. Lift the cover a little further each day to allow more fresh air in. After about five days, the acclimatization is complete.

Step 7:
If the grafting is successful, the rootstock and the noble variety have firmly fused into a single plant and the plant is viable. The grafting clips can be removed. Then plant the new plant in a sunny, warm spot, well protected against harsh environmental influences, just like any tomato plant. Further care is the same as for other tomato plants.