Abscisic acid triggers whole-plant and fruit-specific mechanisms to increase fruit calcium uptake and prevent blossom end rot development in tomato fruit

Abstract

Calcium (Ca) uptake into fruit and leaves is dependent on xylemic water movement, and hence presumably driven by transpiration and growth. High leaf transpiration is thought to restrict Ca movement to low-transpiring tomato fruit, which may increase fruit susceptibility to the Ca-deficiency disorder, blossom end rot (BER). The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of reduced leaf transpiration in abscisic acid (ABA)-treated plants on fruit and leaf Ca uptake and BER development. Tomato cultivars Ace 55 (Vf) and AB2 were grown in a greenhouse environment under Ca-deficit conditions and plants were treated weekly after pollination with water (control) or 500 mg l(-1) ABA. BER incidence was completely prevented in the ABA-treated plants and reached values of 30-45% in the water-treated controls. ABA-treated plants had higher stem water potential, lower leaf stomatal conductance, and lower whole-plant water loss than water-treated plants. ABA treatment increased total tissue and apoplastic water-soluble Ca concentrations in the fruit, and decreased Ca concentrations in leaves. In ABA-treated plants, fruit had a higher number of Safranin-O-stained xylem vessels at early stages of growth and development. ABA treatment reduced the phloem/xylem ratio of fruit sap uptake. The results indicate that ABA prevents BER development by increasing fruit Ca uptake, possibly by a combination of whole-plant and fruit-specific mechanisms.

Effect of Organo-mineral Fertilizer on Tomato Fruit Production and Incidence of Blossom-end Rot under Salinity

“…ABA completely prevented BER development (de Freitas et al, 2011). In the present experiments, the plants grown in OMF were smaller than those in CF, even if the amount of OMF was increased (Exp.…”

“…There are many reports concerning BER, and the cause is considered to be Ca deficiency in the fruit, especially the distal part (de Freitas et al, 2011;Ho and White, 2005;Taylor and Locascio, 2004;Terabayashi et al, 1988;Yoshida et al, 2013Yoshida et al, , 2014. Ca is considered to play an important role in maintaining the integrity of plant cells (Ho and White, 2005) and exists in variable chemical forms.…”

Mechanisms regulating apple cultivar susceptibility to bitter pit

“…Recent studies suggest that mechanisms regulating cellular Ca 2+ partitioning are the final control level to determine fruit susceptibility to Ca 2+ deficiency disorders (De Freitas et al, 2010, 2011Amarante et al, 2013). These mechanisms are known to be genetically controlled and in many cases are also influenced by environmental conditions (Ho and White, 2005;Amarante et al, 2006a, b;De Freitas and Mitcham, 2012).…”

Growth, yield, and calcium and boron uptake of tomato(Lycopersicon esculentum L.) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) asaffected by calcium and boron humate application in greenhouse conditions

“…Visual symptoms include deformed, strap-like leaves; chlorosis; and leaves that develop yellow-to-tan margins, eventually becoming necrotic (Nelson, 2003). Low levels of Ca in fruit tissues can also cause blossom end rot, which is a physiological disorder that reduces the yield of many vegetables such as tomato (Tonetto de Freitas et al, 2011). B and Ca are important micro-and macronutrients required for plant growth and development.…”