Nghe An farmers graft tomatoes onto eggplant roots for a yield of 5 tons/sao

Tomatoes grafted with eggplant roots bear heavy fruit on the land of Dien Thanh commune (Dien Chau). Photo: Mai Giang

In the spring crop of 2018, with the support of the District Agricultural Extension Station, Dien Thanh Farmers' Association visited, studied and successfully grafted more than 1,000 tomato plants on eggplant roots on an area of ​​2 sao of fertile land.

After 3 months of planting, tomatoes are now being harvested, with the highest yield ever, estimated at about 5 tons/sao, 1 ton higher than the rootstock tomatoes that people previously bought seeds from.

According to Mr. Thai Ba Gac - who directly grafted tomatoes and planted them on his field, 7 households participating in the model were supported to build small greenhouses, equipment, and received technical transfer from the Department of Science and Technology. At first, grafting was awkward, and the local weather was also difficult; 1,500 plants were grafted but only more than 1,000 survived. However, when planted in the field, the plants lived very well, because the eggplant roots penetrate deeply and absorb water, so when planted on dry sandy soil, the plants were still green and produced a lot of fruit.

Grafted tomato varieties are strong, so people rarely need to use pesticides. Photo: Mai Giang

"Since the beginning of the season, I have harvested about 3 tons/sao, currently the tree still has a lot of fruit, must have at least 2 tons more. With high productivity, selling price from 5,000 - 10,000 VND/kg, earning nearly 35 million VND/sao. It turns out that tomato grafted with eggplant rootstock is the crop with the highest income in Dien Thanh land" - Mr. Thai Ba Gac shared.

Previously, Dien Thanh farmers had to buy grafted tomato plants in Hanoi at a higher price, with a high loss rate. The success of grafting tomato plants onto eggplant roots not only helps them to be self-sufficient in quality seeds but also to provide seeds to many other localities./.