Effects of grafting and cytokinin-induced fruit setting on colour and sugar-content traits in glasshouse-grown triploid watermelon
Derechos de acceso
openAccessMetadades
Mostra el registre complet de l'elementAutor/a
Data
2004Cita bibliográfica
Lopez-Galarza, S., San Bautista, A., Perez, D. M., Miguel, A., Baixauli, C., Pascual, B., Maroto, J.V., Guardiola, J.L. (2004). Effects of grafting and cytokinin-induced fruit setting on colour and sugar-content traits in glasshouse-grown triploid watermelon. Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology, 79(6), 971-976.Resum
The effect on fruit quality of grafting and fruit set treatments, was determined in the triploid watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thun.) Matsum. and Nakai) cultivar ‘Reina de Corazones’ grown in a heated greenhouse. Grafting the scion onto ‘Shintoza’ (Cucurbita maxima × Cucurbita moschata) rootstock and setting fruit through application of the synthetic cytokinin CPPU [1-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)-3-phenylurea] retarded the accumulation of sugar and development of the flesh colour of the fruit, compared to fruit from non-grafted, pollinated plants. The effects of grafting and of CPPU application on sugar accumulation were additive. At commercial maturity, the fruit of grafted and/or CPPU-treated plants had lower total soluble solids and sugar concentrations, and lower sucrose to hexose ratios, than fruit from control plants. Fruit from CPPU-treated plants also had a weaker red colour than fruit set by pollination. Despite this loss of quality, fruit from grafted plants, set with CPPU and grown in a heated greenhouse, had a total soluble solids concentration similar to fruit from pollinated, non-grafted plants, grown outdoors.