Effect of crop load on tree growth, leaf characteristics, photosynthesis, and fruit quality of 5-year-old `Braeburn' apple [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] trees on Malling 26 (M.26) rootstock was examined during the 1994-95 growing season. Crop loads ranged from 0 to 57 kg/tree [0 to 1.6 kg fruit/cm2 trunk cross sectional area (TCA) or 0 to 8.7 fruit/cm2 TCA]. Fruit maturity as indicated by background color, starch/iodine score, and soluble solids was advanced significantly on low-cropping trees compared to high-cropping trees. Whole-canopy leaf area and percentage tree light interception increased linearly with a significant trend as crop load decreased. From midseason until fruit harvest, leaf photosynthesis decreased significantly on lighter cropping trees and similarly, a positive linear trend was found between whole-canopy gas exchange per unit area of leaf and crop load. Leaf starch concentration in midseason increased linearly as crop load decreased, providing some explanation for the increased down-regulation of photosynthesis on trees with lower crop loads. After fruit harvest, the previous crop loads had no effect on leaf photosynthesis and preharvest differences in whole-canopy gas exchange per unit area of leaf were less pronounced. At each measurement date, daily whole-canopy net carbon exchange and transpiration closely followed the diurnal pattern of incident photosynthetic photon flux. The photochemical yield and electron transport capacity depended on crop load. This was due mostly to reaction center closure before harvest and an increased nonphotochemical quenching after harvest.
To determine the cause of a characteristic zonal chlorosis of `Honeycrisp' apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) leaves, we compared CO2 assimilation, carbohydrate metabolism, the xanthophyll cycle and the antioxidant system between chlorotic leaves and normal leaves. Chlorotic leaves accumulated higher levels of nonstructural carbohydrates, particularly starch, sorbitol, sucrose, and fructose at both dusk and predawn, and no difference was found in total nonstructural carbohydrates between predawn and dusk. This indicates that carbon export was inhibited in chlorotic leaves. CO2 assimilation and the key enzymes in the Calvin cycle, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, NADP-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoribulokinase, stromal fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, and the key enzymes in starch and sorbitol synthesis, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, cytosolic fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, and aldose 6-phosphate reductase were significantly lower in chlorotic leaves than in normal leaves. However, sucrose phosphate synthase activity was higher in chlorotic leaves. In response to a reduced demand for photosynthetic electron transport, thermal dissipation of excitation energy (measured as nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence) was enhanced in chlorotic leaves under full sun, lowering the efficiency of excitation energy transfer to PSII reaction centers. This was accompanied by a corresponding increase in both xanthophyll cycle pool size (on a chlorophyll basis) and conversion of violaxanthin to antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin. The antioxidant system, including superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase and the ascorbate pool and glutathione pool, was up-regulated in chlorotic leaves in response to the increased generation of reactive oxygen species via photoreduction of oxygen. These findings support the hypothesis that phloem loading and/or transport is partially or completely blocked in chlorotic leaves, and that excessive accumulation of nonstructural carbohydrates may cause feedback suppression of CO2 assimilation via direct interference with chloroplast function and/or indirect repression of photosynthetic enzymes.
Growing tomato and pepper plants under continuous light causes negative effects such as leaf chlorosis and deformities, and decreased growth and yield. Such effects are more pronounced on tomato plants. Our general objectives are to identify the physiological process(es) responsible for these negative effects and to explain the difference in sensitivity of tomato and pepper plants to continuous light. The specific objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of continuous light and light spectral composition on photosynthesis and related processes of tomato and pepper plants. Tomato and pepper plants were place on 7 June 1994 in growth chambers under photoperiod treatments of 12 h [high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps], 24 h (HPS lamps), and 24 h [metal halide (MH) lamps]. For all treatments, FPP was 350 μmol·m–2·s–1, temperatures were 21C (day) and 17C (night), and RH was 70%. Every 2 weeks (7 June until 2 Aug.), tomato and pepper leaf samples were harvested and frozen in liquid nitrogen for subsequent measurements of starch content (Robinson et al, 1988, Plant Physiol.), sucrose phosphate synthase activities (Dali et al., 1992, Plant Physiol.) and chlorophyll and carotenoid content (determination on HPLC). A system that measured gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence of fresh leaf samples was used to determine the photosynthetic rate and quantum yield of CO2 fixation and electron transport. Development of the negative effects of continuous light on plants was monitored. Light spectral composition of the two types of lamps was measured using a spectroradiometer. Results show that, under continuous light, pepper plants were less-efficient than tomato plants in using light for CO2 fixation, but were more efficient in dissipating the extra energy received. This may explain why pepper plants are less sensitive to continuous light than tomato plants. MH lamps caused more-severe chloroses on tomato leaves than HPS plants. We believe that the higher proportion of UV-light provided by MH lamps may be related to this effect. Detailed results will be presented.
Tolerance to high solar irradiation is an important aspect of stress tolerance for landscape plants, particularly for species native to understory conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate differential tolerance to high solar irradiation and underlying photosynthetic characteristics of diverse taxa of Illicium L. grown under full sun or 50% shade. Eleven commercially available taxa of Illicium were evaluated for light tolerance by measuring light-saturated photosynthetic capacity (Amax), dark-adapted quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), and relative chlorophyll content using a SPAD chlorophyll meter. Comparisons of Amax indicated that three of the 11 taxa (I. anisatum L., I. parviflorum Michx. ex Vent., and I. parviflorum `Forest Green') maintained similar rates of light-saturated carbon assimilation when grown in either shade or full sun. All other taxa experienced a significant reduction in Amax when grown in full sun. Chlorophyll fluorescence analysis demonstrated that Fv/Fm was similar between sun and shade plants for the same three taxa that were able to maintain Amax. These taxa appeared to experience less photoinhibition than the others and maintained greater maximum photochemical efficiency of absorbed light. SPAD readings were not significantly reduced in these three taxa either, whereas most other taxa experienced a significant reduction. In fact, SPAD readings were significantly higher in I. parviflorum `Forest Green' when grown under full sun, which also maintained the highest Amax of all the taxa. These results suggest that there is considerable variation in light tolerance among these taxa, with I. parviflorum `Forest Green' demonstrating superior tolerance to high light among the plants compared. A more rigorous examination of I. parviflorum `Forest Green' (high light tolerance) and I. floridanum Ellis (low-light tolerance) demonstrated that I. parviflorum `Forest Green' had a considerably higher Amax, a higher light saturation point, greater potential photosynthetic capacity, reduced susceptibility to photoinhibition as indicated by superior PSII efficiency following light exposure, greater capacity for thermal de-excitation as indicated by a higher rate of nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) under full sun, greater apparent electron transport rate (ETR) at mid-day, and higher concentrations of the free-radical scavenger myo-inositol. All of these factors contribute potentially to a greater capacity to use light energy for carbon fixation while minimizing photodamage.
are affected by the mode of action of mesotrione. Chlorophyll content and quantum yield of photosynthesis system II (PSII)–mediated electron transport are often measured for this purpose in physiological studies ( Ounis et al., 2001 ). The objective of
and electron transport chain, and por, HEMH, PAO, and HEME in the porphyrin and chlorophyll synthesis pathways. The expression of nine differential genes in CK and salt stress groups was verified by qPCR. According to the selected coding sequences of
strategy of the species in question ( Huner et al., 1998 ). The primary photochemical reactions of photosystem II (PSII) and PSI occur on a much faster time scale than electron transport and metabolism, and the exposure of plants to light energy in excess
; Weaver and van Iersel, 2019 ). The decrease in photosynthetic light use efficiency at higher PPFD s is due in part to photoprotective processes that convert absorbed light energy to heat, rather than allowing it to be used for electron transport in the
similar compared with 0.747 in WT. The Chl fluorescence from PSII showed that ΦII in hy was lower than WT. Moreover, the fraction of the photochemical electron transport energy from PSII represented by qP was decreased in hy compared with WT. The
primary photochemical reactions of photosynthesis during senescence, photosynthetic electron transport and photophosphorylation were investigated using thylakoids isolated from ginkgo leaves. Approximately 2 g of leaves, without petioles (n = 5), were