Antioxidant response resides in the shoot in reciprocal grafts of drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive cultivars in tomato under water stress

Recently grafted plants have been used to induce resistance to different abiotic stresses. In our work, grafted plants of tomato cultivars differing in water stress tolerance (Zarina and Josefina) were grown under moderate stress, to test the roles of roots and shoots in production of foliar biomass and antioxidant response. Stress indicators and activities of selected enzymes related to antioxidant response were determined. Our results showed that when shoots are of the drought tolerant genotype Zarina, the changes in antioxidant enzyme activities were large and consistent. However, when shoots are of the drought-sensitive genotype Josefina, the antioxidant enzyme activities were more limited and the oxidative stress was evident. These results reflect that the technique of grafting using Zarina as scion can be useful and effective for improving the antioxidant response in tomato under water stress.

► Use of drought-tolerant cultivar as rootstock improves the response to this stress.
► Use of drought-tolerant cultivar as scion played a role in antioxidant response.
► Technique of grafting can be useful for improving tomato-crop under water stress.