Assessment of Fusarium wilt resistant Citrullus sp. rootstocks for yield and quality traits of grafted watermelon

•Vigour of the root system can be judged by the hypocotyl diameter of the rootstocks and can be used as selection index.•Rootstocks had a significant influence on the yield and quality of grafted watermelon.•Identified three Fusarium wilt resistant Citrullus sp. accessions that can be commercially adopted for watermelon grafting.