In Strawberries, Calcium Uptake and Water Soaking Are Negatively Related
Water soaking is a common disorder of field-grown strawberries, and its incidence can be severe. Calcium (Ca) sprays reduce susceptibility to water soaking. Vascular import of Ca to developing strawberry fruit decreases during development as a result of progressive xylem dysfunction. Calcium sprays...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.ashs.org/jashs/view/journals/jashs/150/3/article-p119.xml |
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| Summary: | Water soaking is a common disorder of field-grown strawberries, and its incidence can be severe. Calcium (Ca) sprays reduce susceptibility to water soaking. Vascular import of Ca to developing strawberry fruit decreases during development as a result of progressive xylem dysfunction. Calcium sprays can raise Ca levels in late-stage strawberry fruit. The objective of this study was to quantify Ca uptake through the fruit skin. Submerging fruit in calcium chloride (CaCl2) solutions increased both the mass of Ca per fruit and the mass of Ca per fruit dry mass. There was no effect of CaCl2 solution concentration on fruit water uptake. Fruit mass increases exponentially during development. When in a CaCl2 solution, water soaking was increased, but less severely, rather than when in pure water. Fruit Ca content and fruit size were related positively, but the Ca/dry mass ratio was independent of fruit size. Both were consistently higher for fruit incubated in CaCl2 than for control fruit incubated in water. There was no preferential Ca uptake through the calyx or through the abscission scars from petals or stamens. Both fruit Ca content and the fruit Ca/dry mass ratio were related positively to fruit CaCl2 concentration and were increased by incubation in solutions of Ca salts. There was no effect of temperature on fruit Ca content or the Ca/dry mass ratio. At all temperatures, fruit incubated in CaCl2 had greater Ca contents and Ca/dry mass ratios than fruit incubated in water. Inducing microcracking in the cuticle had no significant effect on the water uptake rate, on the Ca content, or on the Ca/dry mass ratio. Across all experiments, Ca content and the Ca/dry mass ratio correlated negatively with water soaking. In summary, Ca is taken up from a Ca salt solution in contact with the fruit skin, and fruit Ca content and susceptibility to water soaking are related negatively. |
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| ISSN: | 2327-9788 |