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JXB Advance Access originally published online on July 13, 2007
Journal of Experimental Botany 2007 58(11):2917-2928; doi:10.1093/jxb/erm149
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© 2007 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This paper is available online free of all access charges (see http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/open_access.html for further details)

RESEARCH PAPER

Depression of sink activity precedes the inhibition of biomass production in tomato plants subjected to potassium deficiency stress

S. Kanai1, K. Ohkura2, J. J. Adu-Gyamfi3, P. K. Mohapatra4, N. T. Nguyen1, H. Saneoka1 and K. Fujita1,*

1Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi-hiroshima, 739-8528, Japan
2Faculty of Environmental and Information Sciences, Yokkaichi University, 1200 Kayoucho, Yokkaichi, 512-8512, Japan
3International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Wagramer Strasse 5, A-400, Vienna, Austria
4School of Life Science, Sambalpur University, Jyoti vihar, Sambalpur 768019, India

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: fujiko{at}hiroshima-u.ac.jp

Tomato [Solanum lycopersicum (formerly Lycopersicon esculentum) L. cv. Momotarou] plants were grown hydroponically inside the greenhouse of Hiroshima University, Japan. The adverse effects of potassium (K) deficiency stress on the source–sink relationship during the early reproductive period was examined by withdrawing K from the rooting medium for a period of 21 d. Fruits and stem were the major sink organs for the carbon assimilates from the source. A simple non-destructive micro-morphometric technique was used to measure growth of these organs. The effect of K deficiency was studied on the apparent photosynthesis (source activity), leaf area, partitioning 13C, sugar concentration, K content, and fruit and stem diameters of the plant. Compared with the control, K deficiency treatment severely decreased biomass of all organs. The treatment also depressed leaf photosynthesis and transport of 13C assimilates, but the impact of stress on these activities became evident only after fruit and stem diameter expansions were down-regulated. These results suggested that K deficiency diminished sink activity in tomato plants prior to its effect on the source activity because of a direct effect on the water status of the former. The lack of demand in growth led to the accumulation of sugars in leaves and concomitant fall in photosynthetic activity. Since accumulation of K and sugars in the fruit was not affected, low K levels of the growing medium might not have affected the fruit quality. The micro-morphometric technique can be used as a reliable tool for monitoring K deficiency during fruiting of tomato. K deficiency directly hindered assimilate partitioning, and the symptoms were considered more detrimental compared with P deficiency.

Key words: Fruit and stem diameter, partitioning, potassium, tomato, micro-morphometry

Received 20 February 2007; Revised 30 May 2007 Accepted 1 June 2007


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