How Do I Graft a Tomato in a Tissue Culture?

Pick the plant you will be fusing with the tomato. One of the most common choices for grafting tomato is wild tobacco, although there are some other plants, such as potato, that have also produced good results. The plant that will provide the crop, in this case tomato, is called the scion and the base plant is called rootstock. Pick up a healthy scion and a healthy rootstock as well. Make sure to choose a tomato and wild tobacco with the same stem diameter. Remember that you want to join two stems together, so it is advisable that they have the same size.

Remove all bottom leaves from the tomato, leaving only a small number at the top.

Cut the tomato plant under its cotyledons, to remove it from its root. Use a sharp knife or a similar garden tool and make sure to cut under a 60-degree angle. As soon as you cut the plant, put it into water to avoid an embolism or drying up.

Repeat the same procedure in Step 3 with the rootstock plant. You can make a V-shaped cut on the tomato and then the negative of that cut on the tobacco. This way, the surface of the joint tissue will be bigger and increase the chances for success.

Place a grafting sleeve on the rootstock, by sliding it on.

Wiggle the scion and the rootstock inside the sleeve to make their cut surfaces touch. You can also make a firm connection between the tomato and the tobacco by wrapping electrical tape around the joint.

Put the plants in a pot and continue to care for them as you would for any other plant. Start by regularly watering and make sure to check on the plant often.