**Mariateresa Cardarelli 1, Youssef Rouphael 2, Marios C. Kyriacou 3, Giuseppe Colla <sup>4</sup> and Catello Pane 1,\***


Received: 30 June 2020; Accepted: 11 August 2020; Published: 13 August 2020

**Abstract:** Herbaceous grafting is a propagation method largely used in solanaceous and cucurbit crops for enhancing their agronomic performances especially under (a)biotic stress conditions. Besides these grafting-mediated benefits, recent advances about microbial networking in the soil/root interface, indicated further grafting potentialities to act as soil environment conditioner by modulating microbial communities in the rhizosphere. By selecting a suitable rootstock, grafting can modify the way of interacting root system with the soil environment regulating the plant ecological functions able to moderate soilborne pathogen populations and to decrease the risk of diseases. Genetic resistance(s) to soilborne pathogen(s), root-mediate recruiting of microbial antagonists and exudation of antifungal molecules in the rhizosphere are some defense mechanisms that grafted plants may upgrade, making the cultivation less prone to the use of synthetic fungicides and therefore more sustainable. In the current review, new perspectives offered by the available literature concerning the potential benefits of grafting, in enhancing soilborne disease resistance through modulation of indigenous suppressive microbial communities are presented and discussed.

**Keywords:** solanaceae; cucurbitaceae; defense mechanisms; soilborne pathogen; genetic resistance; microbial communities; grafting; soil/root interface
