This year, commercial scion-rootstock combinations were screened and evaluated to enhance the production stability of cucurbitaceous vegetables under high-temperature stress and Fusarium wilt pressure during summer. In bitter gourd, comprehensive assessments of grafting survival rates, vegetative growth, fruit traits, and yield performance indicated that pumpkin rootstocks (‘T’ and ‘C’) and sponge gourd rootstock  exhibited superior performance. These preliminary findings will guide subsequent grafting comparisons and seasonal cultivation trials to identify the optimal scion-rootstock combinations. For cucumber, no significant differences were observed in grafting compatibility or major fruit traits among the tested combinations. Furthermore, standardized seedling-stage screening protocols for Fusarium wilt resistance and heat tolerance were established. Utilizing these protocols, four promising sponge gourd rootstock lines (111-2) were identified for wilt resistance, while specific sponge gourd (114A1, ‘Q’) and pumpkin lines were selected for their heat-tolerant phenotypes. These lines will undergo further in-depth evaluation.

▲Fig. 1. Fruit performance of 'Snow Leopard' bitter gourd grafted onto various rootstocks. From left to right, the rootstocks are 'Chunli', 'Zhuangshi', 'Tiejia', 'Shintosa', 'Shuanyi', and 'Qianshou'.

▲Fig. 2. Fruit performance of 'Rishun' bitter gourd grafted onto various rootstocks. From left to right, the rootstocks are 'Chunli', 'Zhuangshi', 'Tiejia', 'Shintosa', 'Shuanyi', and 'Qianshou'.

▲Fig. 3. Fruit performance of ' DaMeiZhu' bitter gourd grafted onto various rootstocks. From left to right, the rootstocks are 'Chunli', 'Zhuangshi', 'Tiejia', 'Shintosa', 'Shuanyi', and 'Qianshou'.