Skip Navigation



JXB Advance Access published online on August 13, 2004
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erh220
© 2004 by Oxford University Press
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
55/405/2075    most recent
erh220v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Urban, L.
Right arrow Articles by Lu, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Urban, L.
Right arrow Articles by Lu, P.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Urban, L.
Right arrow Articles by Lu, P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received January 6, 2004
Accepted June 1, 2004

RESEARCH PAPER

Effect of fruit load and girdling on leaf photosynthesis in Mangifera indica L

Laurent Urban 1*, Mathieu Léchaudel 2, Ping Lu 3

1 INRA/CIRAD-Flhor, Station de Bassin-Plat, BP 180, F-97455 Saint-Pierre, France
2 CIRAD-Flhor, Station de Bassin-Plat, BP 180, F-97455 Saint-Pierre, France
3 CSIRO Plant Industry, Darwin Laboratory, PMB 44, Winnellie, NT 0822, Australia

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: urban{at}cirad.fr.


  Abstract

Leaf nitrogen concentration (Nm), mass-to-area ratio, amount of nitrogen per unit leaf area (Na), non-structural carbohydrate concentration (TNCa), maximal rate of carboxylation (Vcmax), light-saturated rate of photosynthetic electron transport (Jmax), dark respiration (Rd), net photosynthetic assimilation (Anet), quantum yield of photosystem II ({Phi}PSII), and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) were measured in Mangifera indica L. leaves on three types of fruit-bearing branches (non-girdled, NG; girdled with high (HFL) and low (LFL) fruit load), experiencing similar light exposure. TNCa, Vcmax/Na, Jmax/Na, Rd/Na, Ci, and the initial quantum yield of photosynthetic electron transport ({alpha}) were similar in both HFL and NG treatments, but Nm, Na, and photosynthetic capacity parameters (Vcmax and Jmax) were lower in the HFL than in the NG treatment. The strong depressing effect of girdling on leaf nitrogen concentration cannot therefore be attributed to a change in TNCa. By contrast, Na and TNCa were lower and higher, respectively, in the LFL than in the HFL treatment, suggesting that carbohydrate content may become the driving force behind photosynthetic acclimation to changing source-sink relationships, like the ones resulting from the presence of developing fruits. Vcmax/Na and Jmax/Na were lower in the LFL than in the HFL treatment, while Rd/Na, Ci, and {alpha} were not affected by fruit load. It is concluded that girdling and high fruit load affect photosynthesis permanently by decreasing and increasing, respectively, leaf nitrogen concentration. Fruit load, moreover, may have an additional effect on photosynthetic capacity by affecting the relationship between Vcmax and Jmax, and Na.

Keywords: Fruit load; girdling; leaf nitrogen; Mangifera indica L.; non-structural carbohydrates; photosynthesis; photosynthetic capacity; starch; stomatal conductance.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Enol. Vitic.Home page
M. Keller, L. J. Mills, R. L. Wample, and S. E. Spayd
Cluster Thinning Effects on Three Deficit-Irrigated Vitis vinifera Cultivars
Am. J. Enol. Vitic., June 1, 2005; 56(2): 91 - 103.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.