Post-grafting drought treatment

Drought poses a significant challenge to global potato production. Grafting, a classical horticultural technique, can enhance resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses, but its application for drought resistance in potatoes and its underlying genetic and regulatory changes have not been well-documented. In this study, we examined the drought phenotypes, metabolomic, and transcriptomic profiles of leaves and roots in self-grafted (drought-sensitive scion/ drought-sensitive rootstock, SS) and hetero-grafted (drought-sensitive scion/drought-tolerant rootstock, ST) potatoes. After 40 days, hetero-grafts showed higher drought resistance than self-grafts, indicating that grafting with drought-tolerant rootstocks promotes scion drought resistance.