Journal Article

Model-assisted analysis of tomato fruit growth in relation to carbon and water fluxes

Guichard, Soraya, Liu, Huai-Feng, Génard, Michel, Bertin, Nadia

2007

Overview

This work proposed a model of tomato growth adapted from the Fishman and Génard model developed to predict carbon and water accumulation in peach fruit. The main adaptations relied on the literature on tomato and mainly concerned: (i) the decrease in cell wall extensibility coefficient during fruit development; (ii) the increase in the membrane reflection coefficient to solute from 0 to 1, which accounted for the switch from symplasmic to apoplasmic phloem unloading, and (iii) the negative influence of the initial fruit weight on the maximum rate of active carbon uptake based on the assumption of higher competition for carbon among cells in large fruits containing more cells. A sensitivity analysis was performed and the model was calibrated and evaluated with satisfaction on 17 experimental datasets obtained under contrasting environmental (temperature, air vapour pressure deficit) and plant (plant fruit load and fruit position) conditions. Then the model was used to analyse the variations in the main fluxes involved in tomato fruit growth and accumulation of carbon in response to virtual carbon and water stresses. The conclusions are that this model, integrating simple biophysical laws, was able to simulate the complex fruit behaviour in response to external or internal factors and thus it may be a powerful tool for managing fruit growth and quality.

• Publisher: Oxford University Press,Oxford Publishing Limited (England),Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Subject: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions / atmospheric pressure / Biological and medical sciences / Botanics / Carbon / Carbon - metabolism / Carbon flux / cell expansion / Cell growth / cell walls / Datasets / Economic plant physiology / extensibility / Fructification, ripening. Postharvest physiology / Fruit / Fruit - growth & development / Fruit - metabolism / fruit growth / fruit quality / fruiting / Fruits / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / growth & development / Growth and development / growth models / Humidity / Life Sciences / Lycopersicon esculentum / Lycopersicon esculentum - metabolism / metabolism / Modeling / Models, Biological / peaches / Phloem / Plant growth / Research Papers / Sensitivity analysis / Sensitivity and Specificity / Simulations / Solanum lycopersicum / solutes / Sugars / temperature / Time Factors / tomato / Tomatoes / Vapor pressure / Vegetal Biology / Water / Water - metabolism / water flux / water stress