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Somaclonal quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) variants IE-1 and IE-2 (Dolcet-Sanjuan et al., 1992) were more tolerant to Fe-deficient conditions in vitro than the original clone Quince A. The tolerance was evidenced by higher chlorophyll concentrations in leaves, higher Fe(III) reduction in roots, and increased acidification of the medium. In Summers 1993 and 1994, the two variants and Quince A were compared in the greenhouse, grown in normal potting soil (pH 5) and in soil obtained from an Fe-deficient orchard, with and without the addition of lime and KHCO3 solution to increase the pH (up to pH 8.3) and intensify Fe stress. In both years, the variants had significantly higher leaf chlorophyll concentrations than Quince A when grown in high-pH soils. The Fe+2 concentrations in leaves were also higher in the variants. Under field conditions at IRTA Reus, Spain, IE-1 and IE-2 had higher chlorophyll concentrations than the controls at some, but not all, analysis dates. These results suggest that IE-1 and IE-2, when grown as young plants in the greenhouse, have higher tolerance to Fe deficiency than Quince A, as observed in vitro, but that the tolerance is more variable under uncontrolled conditions in the field.

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