The effect of water stress and salinity on growth and physiology of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mil.)

Abstract

Carotenoids like lycopene are important pigments found in photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes in plants. They are responsible for the bright colors of fruits and vegetables and perform various functions in photosynthesis. Our research has shown that the application of moderate salt stress on tomato plants can enhance lycopene and potentially other antioxidant concentrations in fruits. The increase in lycopene in response to salt stress in the tomato fruits varied from 20% to 80%. Although the specific biological mechanisms involved in increasing fruit lycopene deposition has not been clearly elucidated, evidence suggests that increasing antioxidant concentrations is a primary physiological response of the plant to salt stress. Additionally drought stress during cultivation increased the antioxidant capacity of tomato fruit while maintaining the lycopene concentration. In addition, the effects of silicium were investigated, added to the nutrient solution either at low concentration or at an increased concentration. The present study clearly indicates that an enhanced silicium supply to tomato increases markedly the lycopene contents, irrespective of the salinity status in the tomato fruit

Insights On the Impact of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis On Tomato Tolerance to Water Stress

“…Water deficit is one of the major limiting factors for crop production, and several studies have been performed to verify its effect on tomato growth, yield, secondary metabolite production, and gene expression (Nuruddin et al, 2003;Sánchez-Rodríguez et al, 2011;Giannakoula and Ilias, 2013;Sacco et al, 2013). Previous work also studied the relationship between tomato and AM fungi under WS (Dell'Amico et al, 2002;Subramanian et al, 2006;Aroca et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2014;Ruiz-Lozano et al, 2016).…”

Effects of Salt and Water Stress on Plant Growth and on Accumulation of Osmolytes and Antioxidant Compounds in Cherry Tomato

“…Proline is generally considered as a good indicator of environmental stress in tomato (Clausen, 2005) and there are many reports describing an increase in Pro contents as a response to water or salt stress in this species (Babu et al, 2012;Ghorbanli et al, 2013;Giannakoula and Ilias, 2013;Inal, 2002;Handa et al, 1986;Nahar and Gretzmacher, 2002;Umebese et al, 2009;Yokas et al, 2008), although it should be mentioned that data specific for cherry tomatoes are rather scarce (Maggio et al, 2007;Rosales et al, 2007). What is not so clear is the possible contribution of Pro accumulation to the (relative) resistance of tomato to salinity.…”

“…As for other osmolytes, besides their role in osmoregulation, both compounds can act as 'low-molecular-weight chaperons', contributing to maintain the active conformation of macromolecules in stressed plants, and participate in detoxification of ROS. Moreover, Pro and GB seem to be papers reporting the effects of both salinity and drought on the same plant material (Giannakoula and Ilias, 2013). These two adverse environmental conditions, which will worsen as a consequence of climate change, could seriously affect tomato production in Mediterranean countries in the coming years.…”

Photosynthetic Responses of Tomato Leaves to Salt and Cadmium Stresses: Growth and Chlorophyll a Fluorescence Kinetic Analyses

“…Environmental stresses such as salt [28][29][30][31] and cadmium [32][33][34][35] can also affect photosynthetic pigments and inhibit photosynthesis. It was shown that PSII efficiency depends on pigment concentration and structure [36].…”