Calcium is an essential element and an important ubiquitous messenger that participates or modulates many intracellular metabolic processes of plant growth and development ( Bush, 1995 ; Ge et al., 2007a ; Hepler and Wayne, 2005 ; Jones and Lunt
Calcium (Ca) is an important nutrient associated with fruit quality in kiwifruit. Considerable attention has been given to Ca application to kiwifruit since it was found to prolong storability ( Basiouny and Basiouny, 2000 ). Greater Ca contents
germplasm for this study. Special thanks is given to undergraduate student James W. Cutler for technical assistance in this study. Thanks also to Terri Kirk and Brian Whipker (Dept. of Horticulture) for assistance with the calcium analysis. Jonathan Frantz
Abstract
Calcium (Ca) moved rapidly into sweet cherry fruit (Prunus avium L.) flesh and reached a maximum in 7 days after a postharvest calcium chloride (CaCl2) dip. Flesh Ca content was increased by increasing the CaCl2 or thickener concentration or by prolonged immersion time in the dipping solution. After 21 days of 0°C storage, texture attributes of fruit firmness and bioyield were positively correlated with fresh Ca levels.
Effects of CaCl2 preharvest treatment on postharvest strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) ripening and gray mold development were assessed. Two experiments were carried out in 1987 on two sites. In the first experiment, the effects of rate of application of CaCl2 and degree of fruit maturity at treatment were studied with the conventional cultivar Kent. In the second experiment, the influence of concentration and frequency of application of CaCl2 was investigated with day-neutral `Tribute'. Calcium treatment caused a significant increase in fruit and leaf Ca contents, which were closely correlated. The degree of fruit maturity at application and the frequency of treatment did not affect Ca concentration in the tissues. Several maturity criteria were measured during fruit storage in air at 4C. Anthocyanin and free-sugar contents and tissue electrical conductivity increased, while titratable acidity and firmness decreased. In both experiments, Ca treatment delayed ripening and gray mold development. The delay increased with increasing Ca concentration.
Abstract
A hypothesis was tested that the cause of a damaging marginal bract necrosis common to ‘Gutbier V-14 Glory’ poinsettia is a deficiency of Ca that is expressed when the rapidly growing bract outdistances the current supply of Ca. Plants were grown in the greenhouse in a sedge peat-EauGallie sand mix with fertility adjustments designed to moderately enhance Ca deficiency. Twice-weekly foliar applications of Ca (432 ppm) were begun at the stage of first bract coloration to attempt to prevent necrosis. In addition to bract necrosis, puckering of bracts occurred on controls but not in Ca-treated plants. In another experiment, induced Ca deficiency symptomology included bract necrosis. Calcium chloride spray essentially prevented the necrosis. Necrotic bract marginal tissue had 0.07% Ca, whereas sprayed tissue contained more than three times this Ca concentration.
Field experiments were conducted to quantify the effect of Ca supplied as gypsum in factorial combination with watermelon [Citrullus launatus (Thumb) Matsum and Nakai] cultivars Charleston Gray, Crimson Sweet, and Tri-X Seedless on yield and the elemental concentration of leaf and rind tissue. Also, the effect that ontogenetic changes and sectional differences had on the elemental concentration in rind tissue was investigated. The experiments were conducted at two locations in Oklahoma. Yield was not affected by Ca; however, mean melon weight was reduced at 1120 kg Ca/ha. Leaf Ca concentration increased linearly in response to Ca rate. `Tri-X Seedless' had lower leaf Ca and higher K concentrations than did `Charleston Gray' or `Crimson Sweet'. Fruit ontogeny (days from anthesis) and melon section (blossom or stem-end) interacted to affect elemental concentrations in the rind tissue. There was also a significant genotypic effect on elemental concentration in rind tissue. Increasing rates of Ca applied to soil reduced the incidence of-blossom-end rot (BER) in `Charleston Gray' melons. Calcium treatment did not affect flesh redness or soluble solids concentration (SSC) of watermelon.
sweetpotato storage root mineral contents (especially trace minerals) are limited, particularly for African sweetpotato germplasm. Bradbury and Holloway (1988) reported storage root mineral content ranges of ≈75 to 740 ppm calcium, ≈180 to 350 ppm magnesium
Abbreviation: CaER, calcium efficiency ratio. 1 Assistant Professor. Technical Contribution no. 3132 of the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. The cost of publishing this paper was defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. Under
phytoremediation of strontium have become a hotspot in current plant research. Strontium and calcium belong to group II of the periodic table, which share similar chemical properties. The ionic radius of Sr 2+ and Ca 2+ are 2.00 and 1.80 Å, respectively