The Muck Crops School

Includes a presentation by grafting expert Dr. Richard Hassell of Clemson University. He will outline progress made in developing rootstock (RS) varieties resistant toPhytopthora capsici, a devastating disease of pepper, tomato, melon, and other major vegetable crops. In grafting, root systems of RS varieties are spliced to the shoots of scion varieties, creating physical hybrids that often out-perform ungrafted versions of the scion variety, especially under stressful conditions. Indeed, creating physical hybrids opens key opportunities in production, research, and education.