Abstract
The translocation of calcium (Ca) within the tomato plant and the causes of Ca deficiency, a factor associated with blossom-end rot (BER) in fruit, are still a matter of conjecture. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of defoliation on BER incidence and Ca transport into different size tomato fruit cultivars. Four experiments were conducted. The start and end dates for each experiment were; 14 March–2 May, 22 July–23 August, 30 August–7 October 2017, and 20 May–25 June 2018, for experiments 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Five tomato cultivars including one large (‘Momotaro fight (MF)’, ≥ 200 g), three medium (‘Lui 60 (L60)’, ‘Tio cook (TC)’, and ‘Cindy sweet (CS)’, 30–80 g), and one small (‘Pepe (PP)’, ≤ 20 g) fruit cultivars, respectively, were grown under moderate water stress controlled by a combination of root zone restriction and solar mediated fertigation. Leaf area of plants was reduced by 20–30% by removing alternate leaflets on all leaves. Defoliation significantly reduced BER in all experiments. In experiment 4, no BER was observed in defoliated plants of L60 and PP, and in MF and TC, BER incidence decreased to a quarter of the control. Defoliation increased the fruit growth rate (FGR) in experiment 1, in which the temperature was the lowest, by a ratio of 1.42 and by 1.39 in experiment 4, in which the radiation was strongest and day length longest. Defoliation increased the rate of daily Ca transport into fruit (CTR) in MF, L60, TC, CS, and PP by average ratios of 1.64, 1.55, 1.35, 1.30, and 1.13, respectively. The increase in CTR in defoliated plants was highest in experiment 4 with a ratio of 1.68 followed by 1.37, 1.33, and 1.28 in experiments 1, 3, and 2, respectively. Defoliation increased both FGR and CTR and there were significant linear relationships between them. However, the degree of increase was larger in CTR than that in FGR, especially in the BER-sensitive large fruit cultivar MF, and defoliation increased the total Ca concentration in fruit accordingly. We conclude that under moderate water stress by root zone restriction and certain other BER inductive conditions, defoliation could be a promising approach to reduce BER incidence by improving Ca nutrition in susceptible large fruit cultivars.
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Claims 20
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation significantly reduced blossom-end rot across all experiments.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicume1 - Treatment
- Defoliatione0
- Outcome
- BERe0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Defoliation significantly reduced BER in all experiments”
e1“tomato plant”
Claim · model-written summary
In experiment 4, defoliated L60 plants had no blossom-end rot.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- L60e0
- Treatment
- defoliatede0
- Outcome
- no BERe0
- Qualifier
- experiment 4e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In experiment 4, no BER was observed in defoliated plants of L60 and PP”
e1“tomato cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
In experiment 4, defoliated PP plants had no blossom-end rot.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- PPe0
- Treatment
- defoliatede0
- Outcome
- no BERe0
- Qualifier
- experiment 4e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In experiment 4, no BER was observed in defoliated plants of L60 and PP”
e1“tomato cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
In experiment 4, defoliation reduced BER incidence in MF to one-quarter of control.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- MFe0
- Treatment
- Defoliatione2
- Outcome
- BER incidencee0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- a quartere0
- Comparator
- the controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“in MF and TC, BER incidence decreased to a quarter of the control”
e1“tomato cultivars”
e2“Defoliation increased the fruit growth rate (FGR)”
Claim · model-written summary
In experiment 4, defoliation reduced BER incidence in TC to one-quarter of control.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- TCe0
- Treatment
- Defoliatione2
- Outcome
- BER incidencee0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- a quartere0
- Comparator
- the controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“in MF and TC, BER incidence decreased to a quarter of the control”
e1“tomato cultivars”
e2“Defoliation increased the fruit growth rate (FGR)”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation increased fruit growth rate 1.42-fold in experiment 1.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- Defoliatione0
- Outcome
- fruit growth ratee0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 1.42e0
- Qualifier
- experiment 1e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Defoliation increased the fruit growth rate (FGR) in experiment 1, in which the temperature was the lowest, by a ratio of 1.42”
e1“tomato plant”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation increased fruit growth rate 1.39-fold in experiment 4.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume2
- Treatment
- Defoliatione1
- Outcome
- fruit growth ratee1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 1.39e0
- Qualifier
- experiment 4e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“by 1.39 in experiment 4, in which the radiation was strongest and day length longest”
e1“Defoliation increased the fruit growth rate (FGR)”
e2“tomato plant”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation increased fruit calcium transport rate in MF by an average ratio of 1.64.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- MFe0
- Treatment
- Defoliatione0
- Outcome
- rate of daily Ca transport into fruite0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 1.64e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Defoliation increased the rate of daily Ca transport into fruit (CTR) in MF, L60, TC, CS, and PP by average ratios of 1.64, 1.55, 1.35, 1.30, and 1.13, respectively”
e1“tomato cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation increased fruit calcium transport rate in L60 by an average ratio of 1.55.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- L60e0
- Treatment
- Defoliatione0
- Outcome
- rate of daily Ca transport into fruite0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 1.55e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Defoliation increased the rate of daily Ca transport into fruit (CTR) in MF, L60, TC, CS, and PP by average ratios of 1.64, 1.55, 1.35, 1.30, and 1.13, respectively”
e1“tomato cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation increased fruit calcium transport rate in TC by an average ratio of 1.35.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- TCe0
- Treatment
- Defoliatione0
- Outcome
- rate of daily Ca transport into fruite0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 1.35e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Defoliation increased the rate of daily Ca transport into fruit (CTR) in MF, L60, TC, CS, and PP by average ratios of 1.64, 1.55, 1.35, 1.30, and 1.13, respectively”
e1“tomato cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation increased fruit calcium transport rate in CS by an average ratio of 1.30.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- CSe0
- Treatment
- Defoliatione0
- Outcome
- rate of daily Ca transport into fruite0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 1.30e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Defoliation increased the rate of daily Ca transport into fruit (CTR) in MF, L60, TC, CS, and PP by average ratios of 1.64, 1.55, 1.35, 1.30, and 1.13, respectively”
e1“tomato cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation increased fruit calcium transport rate in PP by an average ratio of 1.13.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- PPe0
- Treatment
- Defoliatione0
- Outcome
- rate of daily Ca transport into fruite0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 1.13e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Defoliation increased the rate of daily Ca transport into fruit (CTR) in MF, L60, TC, CS, and PP by average ratios of 1.64, 1.55, 1.35, 1.30, and 1.13, respectively”
e1“tomato cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
The defoliation-associated calcium transport increase was highest in experiment 4, at a ratio of 1.68.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- defoliatede0
- Outcome
- increase in CTRe0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Value
- 1.68e0
- Qualifier
- experiment 4e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The increase in CTR in defoliated plants was highest in experiment 4 with a ratio of 1.68”
e1“tomato plant”
Claim · model-written summary
The defoliation-associated calcium transport increase was 1.37 in experiment 1.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- defoliatede0
- Outcome
- increase in CTRe0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 1.37e0
- Qualifier
- experiments 1, 3, and 2e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The increase in CTR in defoliated plants was highest in experiment 4 with a ratio of 1.68 followed by 1.37, 1.33, and 1.28 in experiments 1, 3, and 2, respectively”
e1“tomato plant”
Claim · model-written summary
The defoliation-associated calcium transport increase was 1.33 in experiment 3.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- defoliatede0
- Outcome
- increase in CTRe0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 1.33e0
- Qualifier
- experiments 1, 3, and 2e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The increase in CTR in defoliated plants was highest in experiment 4 with a ratio of 1.68 followed by 1.37, 1.33, and 1.28 in experiments 1, 3, and 2, respectively”
e1“tomato plant”
Claim · model-written summary
The defoliation-associated calcium transport increase was 1.28 in experiment 2.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- defoliatede0
- Outcome
- increase in CTRe0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 1.28e0
- Qualifier
- experiments 1, 3, and 2e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The increase in CTR in defoliated plants was highest in experiment 4 with a ratio of 1.68 followed by 1.37, 1.33, and 1.28 in experiments 1, 3, and 2, respectively”
e1“tomato plant”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit growth rate and calcium transport rate were significantly linearly related.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume2
- Treatment
- Defoliatione1
- Outcome
- FGR and CTRe1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“there were significant linear relationships between them”
e1“Defoliation increased both FGR and CTR”
e2“tomato plant”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation increased calcium transport more than fruit growth rate, especially in MF.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Material
- MFe0
- Outcome
- degree of increasee0
- Direction
- largere0
- Comparator
- FGRe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the degree of increase was larger in CTR than that in FGR, especially in the BER-sensitive large fruit cultivar MF”
e1“tomato cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation increased total fruit calcium concentration.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- defoliatione0
- Outcome
- total Ca concentration in fruite0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“defoliation increased the total Ca concentration in fruit accordingly”
e1“tomato plant”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors propose defoliation to reduce BER in susceptible large-fruit cultivars under moderate water stress.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- defoliatione0
- Outcome
- reduce BER incidencee0
- Qualifier
- under moderate water stress by root zone restrictione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“under moderate water stress by root zone restriction and certain other BER inductive conditions, defoliation could be a promising approach to reduce BER incidence by improving Ca nutrition in susceptible large fruit cultivars”
e1“tomato cultivars”
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