Effects of water deficit on leaves and fruit quality during the development period in tomato plant.

In nature, plants are often exposed to a multitude of environmental constraints that severely limit crop productivity. Water deficit is one of the factors that most affects agricultural production. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of water deficit on morphology, development, nutritional behavior, as well as chlorophyll fluorescence and certain important metabolic parameters (soluble sugars, organic acids, starch, carotenoid, and vitamin C) of the cultivated tomato ( cv Plovdiv).

Juvenile Coffee Leaves Acclimated to Low Light Are Unable to Cope with a Moderate Light Increase.

The understorey origin of coffee trees and the strong plasticity of leaves in relation to contrasting light environments have been largely shown. The adaptability of coffee leaves to changes in light was tested under controlled conditions by increasing the illumination rate on var. Naryelis seedlings acclimated to low light conditions and observing leaf responses at three different developmental stages (juvenile, growing and mature).

A User's View of the Parameters Derived from the Induction Curves of Maximal Chlorophyll Fluorescence: Perspectives for Analyzing Stress.

Analysis of the fast kinetics of the induction curve of maximal fluorescence represents a relatively recent development for chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. The parameters of the so-called JIP-test are exploited by an increasingly large community of users to assess plant stress and its consequences. We provide here evidence that these parameters are capable to distinguish between stresses of different natures or intensities, and between stressed plants of different genetic background or at different developmental stages at the time of stress.

Water deficit effects on tomato quality depend on fruit developmental stage and genotype.

Many studies have advocated that water deficit (WD) may exert beneficial effects on fruit quality. However, the fruit response to WD at specific developmental stages was seldom investigated, although different mechanisms could be involved at each stage and lead to different effects on final fruit quality. In the present study, a moderate WD (-60% of water supply compared to control) was applied during each of the three major phases of fruit development, namely cell division (CD), cell expansion (CE) and maturation (MT).

Water shortage and quality of fleshy fruits--making the most of the unavoidable.

Extreme climatic events, including drought, are predicted to increase in intensity, frequency, and geographic extent as a consequence of global climate change. In general, to grow crops successfully in the future, growers will need to adapt to less available water and to take better advantage of the positive effects of drought. Fortunately, there are positive effects associated with drought.