Effect of Rootstocks on Grapevines

Grafting vines as a means of propagation was known as early as the 2 century B.C. (Cato in his treatise De agri cultua.). The use of rootstocks in Vitis, however, was not extensively used until 1880 because it was the only effective method to combat the devastating root louse phylloxera, Phylloxera vitifoliae (Fitch), (Coombe, 1999). In California, grape growers have been using rootstocks for over 100 years (Foott et al., 1989). Much of the world’s viticulture is based primarily on grafting, where the scion is a cultivar of Vitis vinifera and the rootstock is either a North American Vitis species or an interspecific Vitis hybrid (Weaver, 1976). The major reason to use rootstocks is in their resistance to some severe biotic problems such as phylloxera and nematodes. Reynolds and Wardle (2001) outlined seven major criteria for choosing rootstocks in the order of importance as phylloxera resistance, nematode resistance, adaptability to high pH soils, adaptability to saline soils, adaptability to low pH soils, adaptability to wet or poorly drained soils and adaptability to drought. Numerous reports have also proved that rootstocks affect vine growth, yield, fruit quality and wine quality. These effects take place in a more or less indirect manner and are consequences of interactions between environmental factors and the physiology of the scion and rootstock cultivars employed.