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Functional Plant Biology Functional Plant Biology Society
Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Seasonal and multiannual effects of salinisation on tomato yield and fruit quality

Stefania De Pascale A , Francesco Orsini B , Rosanna Caputo A , Maria Antonella Palermo A , Giancarlo Barbieri A and Albino Maggio A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy (DIAAT), University of Naples, Via Università, 100, 80055, Portici, Napoli, Italy.

B Department of Agro-Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DISTA), University of Bologna, Viale Fanin, 44, 40127, Bologna, Italy.

C Corresponding author. Email: almaggio@unina.it

Functional Plant Biology 39(8) 689-698 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP12152
Submitted: 21 May 2012  Accepted: 12 July 2012   Published: 9 August 2012

Abstract

The effects of short- and long-term salinisation were studied by comparing tomato growth on a soil exposed to one-season salinisation (short term) vs growth on a soil exposed to >20 years salinisation (long term). Remarkable differences were associated to substantial modifications of the soil physical-chemical characteristics in the root zone, including deteriorated structure, reduced infiltration properties and increased pH. Fresh yield, fruit number and fruit weight were similarly affected by short- and long-term salinisation. In contrast, the marketable yield was significantly lower in the long-term salinised soil – a response that was also associated to nutritional imbalance (mainly referred to P and K). As reported for plants growing under oxygen deprivation stress, the antioxidant capacity of the water soluble fraction of salinised tomato fruits was enhanced by short-term salinisation, also. Overall, long-term salinisation may cause physiological imbalances and yield reductions that cannot be solely attributed to hyperosmotic stress and ionic toxicity. Therefore, the ability of plants to cope with nutritional deficiency and withstand high pH and anoxia may be important traits that should be considered to improve plant tolerance to long-term salinised soils.

Additional keywords: fruit ions concentration, fruit lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities, leaf water potentials, leaf stomatal conductance, short- and long-term salinisation.


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