Carbohydrate Level and Growth of Tomato Plants

Abstract

Plants in all growth regimens grew faster than in January.Over all plantings and growth regimens, relative growth rates were more highly correlated to total nonstructural carbohydrate levels than they were to irrdiance, C02, or temperature.The rate of growth of tomato in a greenhouse varies with the daily integrated irradiance (12), the CO2 level (2, 24), and the diurnal variation in temperature (1,6 The effect of diurnally fluctuating temperature on growth of tomato plants has also been explained in terms of a whole plant model of CO2 assimilation and carbohydrate metabolism (5). In this case the diurnal fluctuation in TNC was defined explicitly since the instantaneous rate of growth was assumed to depend exponentially on temperature (15, 19) as well as linearly on TNC. Although models based on whole plant CO2 assimilation and carbohydrate metabolism did predict the effects of irradiance and CO2 level (23) and diurnal temperature fluctuations (5, 16) on vegetative growth, they may not simulate accurately the carbohydrate status of the plant. This is because these models were based largely on observations relating the rates ofphotosynthesis and respiration to growth (15, 17, 22 and references therein) rather than on observations relating TNC to growth.Is the influence of the environment on the growth of greenhouse tomato plants accounted for by a linear response of RGR to the level of carbohydrate? To test this hypotheis, tomato plants were grown for 1-month intervals in a greenhouse in winter and spring with or without CO2 emichment and with or without diurnal temperature fluctuation, and their carbohydrate levels were measured. The observed diurnal variation in TNC was compared to predictions of a whole plant model of carbohydrate metabolism based on this hypothesis (5).The

Continuous light increases growth, daily carbon gain, antioxidants, and alters carbohydrate metabolism in a cultivated and a wild tomato species

“…Low temperature increases the SPS and invertase enzyme activities leading to sucrose and hexose accumulation in spinach and potato ( Richardson et al, 1990 ; Guy et al, 1992 ). Tomato plants grown under fluctuating diurnal temperature had total non-structural carbohydrate levels on average 8 mg g -1 greater than plants grown under a more constant temperature ( Gent, 1984 ) which was 18 mg g -1 compared to our data (mean values of day 12). As the CL conditions were associated with a higher carbon gain and a higher shoot DW, it is most likely that the extra assimilates were directly invested in new biomass of both shoot and roots.…”

Effects of day and night air temperature on growth, productivity and energy use of long English cucumber

“…Total dry weight of vegetative tomato plants, as well as leaf and truss number were more affected by DT than NT (Hussey 1965;Heuvelink 1989). In the reproductive phase, tomato dry matter accumulation, stem elongation and fruit setting increased when DT was higher than NT (Went 1944;Gent 1984Gent , 1988. However, final tomato yield was higher and average fruit size was larger at higher NT even if the MT was kept the same (de Koning 1988).…”

Mineral Nutrition of Tomato under Diurnal Temperature Variation of Root and Shoot

“…A lthough growth and development of tomato responds primarily to temperature averaged over 24 h, the effect of the difference in temperature from day to night (DIF) cannot be ignored (Wolf et al, 1986) In a greenhouse in the northeast USA, a difference in temperature from day to night of +9°C compared with +4°C increased dry matter of tomato seedlings in winter but not in spring (Gent, 1984) A DIF of +14°C compared with +5°C in early spring increased the yield and fruit size of greenhouse tomatoes ripening in late spring and summer (Gent and Ma, 1998) In Holland, the primary effect on greenhouse tomato of a +4°C air DIF compared with a 0 to +1°C DIF was increased stem elongation (de Koning, 1988) Increased stem elongation is the most obvious physiological response of floricultural crops to a positive DIF (Erwin and Heins, 1995) Few studies have examined the effect of DIF on metabolism or plant nutrition. A positive DIF may lead to greater dry matter accumulation due to less respiration at night and increased non‐structural carbohydrate (Gent and Enoch, 1983) Erwin and Heins (1995) cited studies in which increasing air DIF lowered Ca and Mg in leaves of Euphorbia , but increased chlorophyll per unit leaf weight in Chrysanthemum Soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.]…”