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Abstract

Two laboratory techniques for estimating genotypic differences in response to heat stress—the electrical conductivity and the 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride reduction tests—were compared in tests with 26 cultivars of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) previously evaluated for heat tolerance. After heat acclimation of plants, leaf disks were subjected to heat stress over a range of temperatures. The temperature causing 50% injury above the control, considered as the killing temperature, was estimated by fitting the data to a sigmoidal model. Although cultivar killing temperatures were correlated between tests, only killing temperatures for the conductivity test were correlated with yield performance under stress in the field.

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Ivy geranium ( Pelargonium peltatum L.) is an important floriculture crop but it does not tolerate the high temperatures of southeastern U.S. summers. Under heat stress, the newly developing leaves of ivy geranium are partially or completely white

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and the environment ( Jenni and Yan, 2009 ). Tipburn is one of the physiological disorders associated with heat stress and the symptom appears as brown necrosis around the margin of the affected leaves. This disorder is also believed to be associated

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Mature green `Sunbeam' tomato fruit (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were treated in water for 1 hr at 27 (ambient), 39, 42, 45, or 48°C, and then either ripened at 20°C (nonchilled) or stored at 2°C (chilled) for 14 days before ripening at 20°C. The most-effective heat treatment was 42°C, which reduced decay 67% in chilled fruit and 53% in nonchilled fruit. Heat treatment had no effect on time required to ripen the fruit. Red-ripe tomatoes had higher respiration rates and evolved more ethylene following nonchilling storage, but heat treatment had no effect on respiration or ethylene evolution. Red color development was enhanced by heat treatment, and inhibited by chilling. At red ripe, fruit were firmer as a result of storage at the chilling temperature, while heat treatment had no effect on firmness. Heat-treated fruit were preferred in terms of taste and texture over nontreated fruit in informal taste tests, with the exception of the 45°C treatment. With increasing temperature of heat treatment, there was increased electrolyte leakage following chilling storage. Of the 15 flavor volatiles analyzed, the levels of five were decreased with increasing temperature of heat treatment. Storage at the chilling temperature reduced the levels of six flavor volatiles. Prestorage heat treatments can reduce decay with only minimal adverse effects on tomato fruit quality.

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Pepper (Capsicum annuum L. `Early Calwonder') and corn (Zea mays L. `Jubilee') leaf disks exposed to high temperature stress produced ethylene, ethane, methanol, acetaldehyde, and ethanol based on comparison of retention times during gas chromatography to authentic standards. Methanol, ethanol, and acetaldehyde were also identified by mass spectroscopy. Corn leaf disks produced lower levels of ethylene, ethane and methanol, but more acetaldehyde and ethanol than pepper. Production of ethane, a by-product of lipid peroxidation, coincided with an increase in electrolyte leakage (EL) in pepper but not in corn. Compared with controls, pepper leaf disks infiltrated with linolenic acid evolved significantly greater amounts of ethane, acetaldehyde and methanol, and similar levels of ethanol. Introduction of linoleic acid did not significantly affect volatile hydrocarbon production in pepper. Electrolyte leakage and volatile hydrocarbon production were not affected by fatty acid infiltration in corn.

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When plants experience high temperature stress, they respond by synthesizing a discrete set of proteins called heat shock proteins (HSPs). This response is not unique to plants, but is observed in all other eukaryotes. It is now known that the HSPs are evolutionarily conserved proteins, and furthermore, that HSPs function not only during stress, but also during normal growth and development. My laboratory has characterized several of the major groups of HSPs in higher plants. We have cloned genes encoding plant HSP70 proteins and low molecular weight (LMW) HSPs (17-23 kDa). Using this information we have investigated the expression of HSPs both in the field, and under laboratory conditions which mimic field situations. We have determined the temperature limits for expression of HSPs in vegetative tissues, and have also found that HSPs are frequently produced in plant reproductive structures, even in the absence of stress. As a first step toward understanding HSP function, we have characterized the intracellular localization of HSPs. Results show that there are unique HSPs in the cytoplasm, chloroplast and endomembrane system. These ubiquitous proteins appear to play essential roles in many cellular processes.

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Pod yield of `Kentucky Wonder' green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) decreased at high temperatures due to a reduction of pod set. A highly positive correlation was observed between pod set and pollen stainability in flowers that were affected by heat stress about 10 days before anthesis. Pollen stainability was decreased by heat stress applied 8 to 11 days before flowering under controlled environment conditions. When mean air temperature during this period exceeded 28 °C, pollen stainability decreased under field conditions. Low pollen stainability indicated sensitivity to high temperatures about 10 days before flowering. A heat-tolerant cultivar showed higher pollen stainability than did heat-sensitive cultivars under high temperatures. These results demonstrated that heat tolerance at an early reproductive stage could be evaluated by analyzing pollen stainability using flowers developed under high temperatures.

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Heat stress imposed on roots of container-grown plants is an important problem in the nursery industry. In a number of nursery-grown species, substrate temperatures over 30 °C may cause root growth to slow considerably ( Johnson and Ingram, 1984

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fruit set in other crops. For instance, the delivery of abundant, viable pollen was not sufficient to ensure adequate fruit set in heat-stressed tomatoes ( Peet et al., 1997 ). When Brassica napus (L.) plants were exposed to short periods of high

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microclimate in the summer by decreasing leaf temperature and leaf transpiration rate, thus alleviating heat stress ( Aberkani et al., 2008 ). The cultivation area under shade is constantly increasing in Mediterranean countries such as Israel, Morocco, and

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