Tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) grafted with a wild Solanum species

Tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) is an economically important tree from the Andes. This species was grafted onto cucubo (Solanum stellatiglandulosum Bitter). Cucubo was the rootstock and 3 tree tomato cultivars were used as scions. Trees were cleft grafted by introducing a 15 cm long tree tomato scion onto cucubo. Grafted trees had a survival rate above 94%. Fruits derived from grafted trees were longer, wider, and heavier than ungrafted ones. Best fruit weight results occurred in the grafted comun cultivar (193.7 g). Best fruit length results were obtained in the grafted mango cultivar (7.9 cm). Best fruit width occurred in the mora cultivar (6.7 cm). Grafted trees were more productive (about 30–40 fruits/tree) than ungrafted ones (about 10–15 fruits/tree). Fruit features were not modified in grafted trees i.e. color, shape, and taste. Large and small-scale growers worldwide could benefit from bigger-sized tree tomato fruits as a result of grafting. Grafting is key to improve tree tomato quality in global markets.