Rootstock
Encyclopedia
A rootstock is a plant
, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system
, used for grafting
a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion. The scion is the plant which has the properties desired by the propagator
, and the rootstock is the working part which interacts with the soil
to nourish the new plant. After a few years, the tissues of the two parts will have grown together, producing a single tree although genetically it always remains two different plants.
The use of rootstocks is most commonly associated with fruit
ing plants and trees, but is the only way to mass propagate many types of plants that do not breed true from seed
, or are particularly disease
susceptible when grown on their own roots.
Although grafting has been practiced for many hundreds of years, most orchard
rootstocks in current use were developed in the 20th century. It is located on the root of a plant.
A variety of rootstocks are used for the same scion species
because they impart different properties to it, such as vigour, fruit size and precocity. Rootstocks are also selected for traits such as resistance to drought
, root pests, and disease
s. Grape
vines for commercial planting are most often grafted onto rootstocks due to phylloxera
, while vines available for sale to back garden viticulturists are usually not.
The rootstock can be a different species from the scion, but must be closely related, For example, many commercial pear
s are grown on quince
rootstock . Grafting can also be done in stages; a closely related scion is grafted to the rootstock, and a less closely related scion is grafted to the first scion. Also, a serial grafting of several scions may produce a tree that bears several different fruit cultivar
s. The same rootstock takes up and distributes water and minerals to the whole system.
It can be hard to match a plant to the soil in a certain field or orchard. Growers want a rootstock which is compatible with the soil; the fruiting characteristics of the scion can be considered later, once the rootstock has proved successful. Rootstocks are studied extensively and sold with a complete guide to their ideal soil and climate. Growers determine the pH
, mineral content, nematode population, salinity
, water availability, pathogen
load and sand
iness of their particular soil, and select a rootstock which is matched to it. Genetic testing
is growing more common, and new cultivars of rootstock are always being developed.
rootstock once widely used in California
viticulture
. Its name is an abbreviation for "Aramon Rupestris Ganzin No. 1", which in turn is based on its parentage: a cross (made by a French grape hybridizer named Ganzin) between Aramon
, a Vitis vinifera
cultivar, and Rupestris, an American grape species, Vitis rupestris
- also used on its own as rootstock, "Rupestris St. George" or "St. George," referring to a town in the South of France, Saint Georges d'Orques, where it was popular.
It achieved a degree of notoriety in California when, after decades of recommendation as a preferred rootstock - despite repeated warnings from France and South Africa about its susceptibility (it had failed in Europe in the early 1900s), it ultimately succumbed to phylloxera in the 1980s, requiring the replanting of most of Napa and Sonoma, with disastrous financial consequences.
Most current day grape rootstocks were and are originally imported from Texas. These were taken from the native wild mustang grapes that grow across Texas.
This rootstock also saved France's grape industry in the early 1900s when phylloxera decimated
the wine and vineyards of Europe.
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
, used for grafting
Grafting
Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...
a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion. The scion is the plant which has the properties desired by the propagator
Plant propagation
Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, bulbs and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants.-Sexual propagation :...
, and the rootstock is the working part which interacts with the soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
to nourish the new plant. After a few years, the tissues of the two parts will have grown together, producing a single tree although genetically it always remains two different plants.
The use of rootstocks is most commonly associated with fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
ing plants and trees, but is the only way to mass propagate many types of plants that do not breed true from seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
, or are particularly disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
susceptible when grown on their own roots.
Although grafting has been practiced for many hundreds of years, most orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
rootstocks in current use were developed in the 20th century. It is located on the root of a plant.
A variety of rootstocks are used for the same scion species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
because they impart different properties to it, such as vigour, fruit size and precocity. Rootstocks are also selected for traits such as resistance to drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
, root pests, and disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
s. Grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
vines for commercial planting are most often grafted onto rootstocks due to phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
, while vines available for sale to back garden viticulturists are usually not.
The rootstock can be a different species from the scion, but must be closely related, For example, many commercial pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s are grown on quince
Quince
The quince , or Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia and native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region...
rootstock . Grafting can also be done in stages; a closely related scion is grafted to the rootstock, and a less closely related scion is grafted to the first scion. Also, a serial grafting of several scions may produce a tree that bears several different fruit cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s. The same rootstock takes up and distributes water and minerals to the whole system.
It can be hard to match a plant to the soil in a certain field or orchard. Growers want a rootstock which is compatible with the soil; the fruiting characteristics of the scion can be considered later, once the rootstock has proved successful. Rootstocks are studied extensively and sold with a complete guide to their ideal soil and climate. Growers determine the pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
, mineral content, nematode population, salinity
Salinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
, water availability, pathogen
Pathogen
A pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
load and sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
iness of their particular soil, and select a rootstock which is matched to it. Genetic testing
Genetic testing
Genetic testing is among the newest and most sophisticated of techniques used to test for genetic disorders which involves direct examination of the DNA molecule itself. Other genetic tests include biochemical tests for such gene products as enzymes and other proteins and for microscopic...
is growing more common, and new cultivars of rootstock are always being developed.
AxR1
AxR1 is a grapeGrape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
rootstock once widely used in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
. Its name is an abbreviation for "Aramon Rupestris Ganzin No. 1", which in turn is based on its parentage: a cross (made by a French grape hybridizer named Ganzin) between Aramon
Aramon (grape)
Aramon or Aramon Noir is a variety of red wine grape grown primarily in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. Between the late 19th century and the 1960s, it was France's most grown grape variety, but plantings of Aramon have been in continuous decline since the mid-20th century...
, a Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
cultivar, and Rupestris, an American grape species, Vitis rupestris
Vitis rupestris
Vitis rupestris is a kind of grape native to the Southern and Western United States that is known by many common names including July, sand, sugar, beach, bush, currant, ingar, rock, and mountain grape. It is used for breeding several French-American hybrids as well as many root stocks. ...
- also used on its own as rootstock, "Rupestris St. George" or "St. George," referring to a town in the South of France, Saint Georges d'Orques, where it was popular.
It achieved a degree of notoriety in California when, after decades of recommendation as a preferred rootstock - despite repeated warnings from France and South Africa about its susceptibility (it had failed in Europe in the early 1900s), it ultimately succumbed to phylloxera in the 1980s, requiring the replanting of most of Napa and Sonoma, with disastrous financial consequences.
Most current day grape rootstocks were and are originally imported from Texas. These were taken from the native wild mustang grapes that grow across Texas.
This rootstock also saved France's grape industry in the early 1900s when phylloxera decimated
Great French Wine Blight
The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid to waste the wine industry...
the wine and vineyards of Europe.
External links
- Rootstocks as an Element of Terroir, in Sommelier JournalSommelier JournalSommelier Journal is a subscription-based magazine publication, founded in 2008 for sommeliers and others in the restaurant and wine business. The magazine summarizes consumer, restaurant, and wine trends and news for wine professionals.-History:...