A survey of tomato blossom and flower drop to the influence of environmental phenomena (solanum lycopersicum L.)

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important vegetable crop. At present, about 160 million tons of fresh tomatoes are the production from 4.7 million hectares in India (FAOSTAT, 2011). S. lycopersicum are native to South America but were brought to Europe sometime in the 15th century, where they soon became popular and were exported around the world. Pollination is an important ecological interaction and the first step for the sexual reproduction of most plant species (Murcia, 1996). The ecosystem service for sustainable crop production is the mutualistic interaction between plant pollination. Tomatoes Blossom drop and reduced fruit set in a tomato can seriously impact yields. S. lycopersicum plants are self-pollinated at the rate of 98% or more. Pollination occurs primarily between 10 am to 4 pm (Levy et al., 1978). Insect pollinators are not important for pollination of tomatoes grown in open field production (Levy et al., 1978). The primary causes of blossom drop tomatoes are environmental factors (e.g., Temperature and Relative Humidity), secondary causes can include lack of water, reduced or extended light exposure, excessive wind, and heavy fruit set. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) reports an approximate temperature o st Material and Methods A study of the incidence areas of open field S.

The influence of acute water stresses on the biochemical composition of bell pepper (Capsicum annuumL.) berries

“…It has been reported that drought stress during the vegetative period can prime plants to subsequent water stress without lowering yield 33 . Conversely, drought episodes at the plant flowering stage can lead to flower abscission due to defects on gynoecium development as well as hormonal impairment and signalling, 34,35 with a consequent reduction in berry yield 35,36 . We estimated the effects of water deprivation at three stages of plant development by quantifying the number of floral buds, flowers and fruits in stressed/recovered plants in respect to plants regarded as well‐watered plants (Control).…”