Abstract
Blossom-end rot can cause serious yield and quality losses to processing tomato producers, fresh market growers, and home gardeners alike. Blossom-end rot is often associated with calcium deficiency, though salt stress and even high concentrations of calcium salts can also cause blossom-end rot. The goal of this study was to characterize the negative effects of excess calcium compared to inadequate calcium at the whole plant and cellular level. Four calcium chloride levels (0 ppm, 10 ppm, 100 ppm, and 500 ppm) were applied daily to highly blossom-end rot susceptible processing tomato plants, starting at first flowering. Fruit were harvested 21–22 days after pollination. Blossom-end rot incidence and severity were lowest in the 10 ppm treatment. Blossom-end rot incidence was highest in the 0 ppm treatment and blossom-end rot severity was significantly increased in 500 ppm and 0 ppm treatments compared to 10 ppm CaCl2. No significant difference was found in the calcium content of tomato fruit harvested from plants treated with various levels of calcium. The soil drainage solution from the 500 ppm treatment had the highest conductivity, which was nearly 10 times higher than that of the 0 ppm and 10 ppm treatments. Daily plant water use was reduced in the 500 ppm treatment. Application of moderate calcium to tomato plants effectively reduced blossom-end rot incidence and severity, but excess levels of calcium did not reduce incidence and further increased blossom-end rot severity compared to moderate calcium application. Calcium applied to immature tomato fruit pericarp discs also inhibited blossom-end rot symptom development; however, excess calcium did not induce blossom-end rot symptoms. These results indicate that excess calcium induces blossom-end rot development due to effects at the whole plant level, but not due to excess calcium in the fruit tissue.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Blossom-end rot incidence and severity were lowest with 10 ppm calcium chloride.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- 10 ppm treatmente0
- Outcome
- Blossom-end rot incidence and severitye0
- Direction
- loweste0
- Comparator
- 0 ppm, 10 ppm, 100 ppm, and 500 ppme1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Blossom-end rot incidence and severity were lowest in the 10 ppm treatment.”
e1“Four calcium chloride levels (0 ppm, 10 ppm, 100 ppm, and 500 ppm) were applied daily”
t0“tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Blossom-end rot incidence was highest at 0 ppm calcium chloride.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- 0 ppm treatmente0
- Outcome
- Blossom-end rot incidencee0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Comparator
- 10 ppm, 100 ppm, and 500 ppme1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Blossom-end rot incidence was highest in the 0 ppm treatment”
e1“Four calcium chloride levels (0 ppm, 10 ppm, 100 ppm, and 500 ppm) were applied daily”
t0“tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Blossom-end rot severity was significantly greater at 500 ppm than 10 ppm calcium chloride.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- 500 ppme0
- Outcome
- blossom-end rot severitye0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Comparator
- 10 ppm CaCl2e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“blossom-end rot severity was significantly increased in 500 ppm and 0 ppm treatments compared to 10 ppm CaCl2”
t0“tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Blossom-end rot severity was significantly greater at 0 ppm than 10 ppm calcium chloride.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- 0 ppme0
- Outcome
- blossom-end rot severitye0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Comparator
- 10 ppm CaCl2e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“blossom-end rot severity was significantly increased in 500 ppm and 0 ppm treatments compared to 10 ppm CaCl2”
t0“tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Tomato fruit calcium content did not differ significantly across plant calcium treatments.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- various levels of calciume0
- Outcome
- calcium content of tomato fruite0
- Direction
- No significant differencee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“No significant difference was found in the calcium content of tomato fruit harvested from plants treated with various levels of calcium.”
Claim · model-written summary
The 500 ppm treatment produced the highest soil drainage conductivity, nearly tenfold that at 0 and 10 ppm.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- 500 ppm treatmente0
- Outcome
- soil drainage solutione0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Value
- nearly 10 timese0
- Comparator
- 0 ppm and 10 ppm treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The soil drainage solution from the 500 ppm treatment had the highest conductivity, which was nearly 10 times higher than that of the 0 ppm and 10 ppm treatments.”
t0“tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Daily water use by tomato plants was reduced at 500 ppm calcium.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- 500 ppm treatmente0
- Outcome
- Daily plant water usee0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Daily plant water use was reduced in the 500 ppm treatment.”
t0“tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Calcium applied to immature tomato fruit pericarp discs inhibited blossom-end rot symptoms.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Organ / stage
- immature tomato fruit pericarp discse0
- Treatment
- Calcium applied to immature tomato fruit pericarp discse0
- Outcome
- blossom-end rot symptom developmente0
- Direction
- inhibitede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Calcium applied to immature tomato fruit pericarp discs also inhibited blossom-end rot symptom development”
t0“tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Excess calcium on immature tomato pericarp discs did not induce blossom-end rot symptoms.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Organ / stage
- immature tomato fruit pericarp discse1
- Treatment
- excess calciume0
- Outcome
- blossom-end rot symptomse0
- Direction
- did not inducee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“excess calcium did not induce blossom-end rot symptoms.”
e1“Calcium applied to immature tomato fruit pericarp discs”
t0“tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Authors attribute excess calcium induced blossom-end rot to whole-plant effects rather than excess calcium in fruit tissue.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- excess calciume0
- Outcome
- blossom-end rot developmente0
- Qualifier
- effects at the whole plant levele0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“excess calcium induces blossom-end rot development due to effects at the whole plant level, but not due to excess calcium in the fruit tissue.”
t0“tomato”
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calcium atom · disease · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Results differ
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See all 53 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.