Effects of Ca Sprays on Fruit Ca Content and Yield of Tomato Variety Susceptible to Blossom-End Rot

Abstract

Several factors are involved in the incidence of blossom-end rot (BER) in tomato fruit, but the main one is insufficient Ca uptake and transport through the plant, resulting in Ca deficiency in the fruit. Sprays of Ca-containing products are considered to be a possible measure to overcome the local Ca deficiency in tomato fruit. Therefore, the main objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of additional Ca supply to tomato fruits for increasing Ca content and reducing fruit damage. Sprays of five different commercial preparations containing (Brexil Duo, Calmax Zero N, Ca(NO3)2, CaCl2) or promoting (Greenstim) Ca uptake were tested using BER-sensitive large-fruit variety ‘Beorange’. The experiment was conducted in the commercial greenhouse ‘Getlini EKO’, Latvia, during the autumn–spring season of 2020/2021 under controlled conditions, eliminating the adverse impact of external factors. The results revealed that none of the preparations were effective in increasing Ca content, preventing BER, and did not promote the tomato yield. As good agricultural practices were followed in the greenhouse to manage BER, we concluded that a non-marketable yield of around 15% should be expected for ‘Beorange’ when grown under artificial light, possibly due to the impact of abiotic stresses and genetically determined susceptibility.

Using Date Palm Waste as an Alternative for Rockwool: Sweet Pepper Performance under Both Soilless Culture Substrates

“…Of note, sweet pepper grown in DPW produced a 45.5% lower unmarketable yield and a 38.4% decrease in the number of Bloom End Rot (BER) fruits. Similar reports have confirmed that BER is a calcium-related physiological disorder influenced by the insufficient uptake and transport of calcium through the plant organs; this deficit of calcium in the fruit tissue affects the stabilization of the cell wall and pectin and plasma membranes, causing BER symptoms in fruits [55,56]. In this respect, it can be suggested that the water holding capacity, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and nutrient content change the accessibility of mineral nutrients in the root zone [10,57].…”

Effect of calcium on fruit quality: A review

“…Among the physiological disorders resulting from an insufficient Ca 2+ supply or alterations in the balance of Ca with other nutrients (Freitas & Mitcham, 2012), various conditions have been identified, including 'blossom end rot' in tomatoes (Karlsons et al, 2023), 'bitter pit' spots in apples (Griffith & Einhorn, 2023), cork spots in pears (Zhang & Cui, 2023), internal browning in pineapples (Zhang et al, 2022), 'tip burn' in strawberries, 'cracked cracking' in cape gooseberries (Fischer et al, 2021), nectarines (Zhu et al, 2023), grapevines (Yu et al, 2020), and melons (López-Zaplana et al, 2020), as well as the recently identified 'crease' skin wrinkling in citrus (Huai et al, 2022), and these conditions result in significant economic losses (Yu et al, 2020).…”