REVIEW ON GRAFTING STATUS OF SOLANACEOUS VEGETABLES IN INDIA

– Unfavourable soil and environmental factors, as well as biotic factors like soil-borne pests and diseases, are reducing the global capacity for cultivating vegetables. Vegetable grafting is regarded as the most environmentally safe management strategy for sustainable vegetable production since the resistant rootstock lessens the need for agrochemicals in the treatment of soil-borne diseases and has opened up new possibilities for organic vegetable farming. Given their ability to withstand both biotic and abiotic stresses, grafted solanaceous plants are being produced and grown in greater quantities across Asia, Europe, and North America. It increases the production of the cultivars in addition to their tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Grafting is currently recognized as a quick replacement option for the rather lengthy breeding methodology and is useful in sustainable farming that requires less input for future agricultural systems. Also, innovations in robotic and mechanized grafting have encouraged the development of this creative eco-friendly strategy. In the future, mechanization has the potential to dramatically cut the cost of producing grafted seedlings. This method continues to be infancy in India due to the significant post-graft mortality of seedlings; therefore, for its commercial implementation in India, grafting skills need to be improved, and strategies to increase the graft success percentage has to be developed. This review focuses on research works conducted on the grafting of solanaceous crops throughout India and how these could be used to improve the current situation of grafted solanaceous vegetable cultivation in India.