Three-dimensional vasculature reconstruction in fruit and its relationship to bitter pit development in apple
EMSL Project ID
50016
Abstract
Mineral balance is a key factor that affects quality and storability and is especially important for fleshy crops such as apple, pear, tomato, pepper and potato (White & Broadley 2003). Many agricultural crops are especially susceptible to physiological disorders that stem from a low concentration of calcium in the tissue (de Freitas & Mitcham 2012), which reduces cell wall strength, resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, and necessary cell signalling (Ho & White 2005; Gilliham et al. 2011). Bitter pit is among these calcium-related disorders and renders 5-10% of harvested apples unmarketable each year (it is not uncommon to lose 30-40% of the popular ‘Honeycrisp’ apple)—the subsequent losses exceed $300 million in the U.S. alone. Current methods to restore calcium balance in fresh produce include the direct application of calcium to the soil, plant, and/or fruit in addition to post-harvest treatments. However, these low-tech, top-down approaches are only incremental improvements and the unpredictable incidence of calcium disorders still plagues the produce industry. Despite almost 100 years of research, the physiological mechanisms underlying the development of calcium-related disorders in agricultural crops are still poorly understood (de Freitas & Mitcham 2012; Hocking et al. 2016). A coordinated effort using new tools for analysis is required to provide the foundational knowledge to minimize this disorder in agricultural crops, provide guidance to plant breeders for the development of less susceptible cultivars, and for producers to develop mitigation strategies for existing cultivars, thus reducing losses to the industry. Honeycrisp apple is susceptible to the development of calcium-related disorders that can at times, lead to fruit losses of more than 50%. Here, we seek to determine whether Honeycrisp apple shows early breakdown of the vascular network during the growing season compared to an apple cultivar with less susceptibility to calcium-related disorders.
Project Details
Project type
Limited Scope
Start Date
2017-10-02
End Date
2017-12-02
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)