Quality indices of tomato plant as affected by water stress conditions and chitosan application

Abstract

Plants show physiological, morphological and chemical responses to microbial, physical or chemical factors which are known as elicitors. Water deficit stress is one of the most important abiotic stresses that affects plant physiological and morphological traits. Chitosan is a natural, less toxic and economical compound that is biodegradable and eco-friendly with various applications in agriculture. The present experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of pre-harvest foliar application of chitosan on quality indices of tomato plant under different water stress conditions. Tomato (Cv. Rio Grande) plants were subjected chitosan concentrations (0, 50, 100,150 mg L-1) and water stress intervals (3, 6, 9 and 12 days) after 15 days of transplantation. Tomato plants treated with 6 days water stress interval recorded maximum fruit firmness, fruit juice content, total soluble solids, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid content and minimum of fruit juice pH. Similarly, chitosan application @ 100 mg L-1 attained highest fruit firmness, percent juice content, total soluble solid, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content and minimum fruit juice pH. It is concluded that 100 mg L-1 chitosan application along with 6 days water interval had positive impact on quality indices of tomato.

Managing the Growth and Flower Production of Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) through Benzyle Amino Purine (BAP) Application and Pinching

“…Flowers' persistency were taken on the base of initial flower opening up to their senescence. Flowers' fresh weight was taken through a digital weight balance (Model AY220, Shimadzu, Japan) (Basit et al, 2020). Whereas, dry weight of flowers was determined initially by drying the flowers at 40 o C for 24 hrs with circulated air until a constant weight was achieved.…”

Mitigation the adverse effect of salinity stress on the performance of the tomato crop by exogenous application of chitosan

“…Usage of a penetrometer (Model-Wagner FT-327, fruit firmness analyzer) to test the firmness of tomato fruits (Basit et al 2020). Five fruits from each plant in each treatment were randomly picked for determining firmness.…”

“…Chitosan is a natural, less toxic and economical compound that is biodegradable and environmentally safe with numerous agricultural applications (Basit et al 2020). It is healthy and nutritious for both animals and plants.…”

Chitosan-based foliar application modulated the yield and biochemical attributes of peach (Prunus persica L.) cv. Early Grand

“…The firmness of peach fruit was measured with the penetrometer (Model-Wagner FT-327, fruit firmness analyzer) with a capacity of 28 lb (Basit et al 2020). For this purpose, the instrument's probe was inserted into the pulp of peach fruit, and reading was noted.…”

“…In addition, the treatment of chitosan regulates several genes in plants, particularly the activation of plant defense signaling pathways (Sofy et al 2020a(Sofy et al , 2020b. Chitosan is a less toxic and economical compound that is biodegradable and environmentally friendly with a variety of applications in agriculture (Basit et al 2020) and is edible and safe for both animals and plants. Chitosan bears a negative charge due to the amino and hydroxyl groups responsible for its distinctive physiological, biological, and coating properties on the surface of fruit and vegetables which are positively charged due to the presence of organic acids.…”