Bioestimulants, a potential tool for increasing tomato production under high temperature conditions

High temperature is one of the factors that may largely affect productivity and quality of tomato and modify sensorial and nutritional quality of fruit. Elicitors are molecules which, at low concentrations, induce plant defence systems by promoting the synthesis of biologically active metabolites. The plant response induced by the application of an elicitor, can affect tolerance to other non-related abiotic or biotic stresses. In this research, the effect of the application of two bioestimulants, chitosan (CH) and 2,4-epibrassinolide (BRs) on the productivity and carotenoids concentration of tomato cultivated under high temperature conditions was examined. Plants were grown in south-eastern Spain under greenhouse conditions in the winter to summer season. Fruits from the 2nd and 7th trusses were sprayed 4, 7 and 15 days before harvesting with a suspension of CH at different doses (0.1 g L-1 and 1 g L-1) or BRs (10 ?M and 30 ?M). Control plants for each bioestimulants treatment were sprayed with the same wetting agent as treated plants. Treatment with BRs increased the total fruit yield as a result of an increase in fruit weight. In addition, at the highest dose (30 ?M) an increase in the number of fruits compared with control plants was observed. For the CH treatment, only the highest dose (1 g/L) led to an increase in production that was related to an increase in the number of fruits. Regards carotenoids, BRs treatments had no significant effect on the concentration of health-related carotenoids (phytoene, phytofluene, ?-carotene and lycopene) except for lutein that decreased by the treatment with 30 ?M. Finally, treatments with CH had no effect on phytoene, phytofluene and lycopene but it decreased those of lutein and ?-carotene at the highest dose. In view of the results, the application of bioestimulants could be considered a potential tool for increasing tomato production under high temperature conditions without altering the nutritional quality. ? SourcesThe use of biostimulants can mitigate the effect of high temperature on productivity and quality of tomatoVirginia Hern?ndez, M. Pilar Hell?n-Garc?a, Jos? Fenoll, Juana Cava, Inmaculada Garrido, M. Virtudes Molina, M. Pilar FloresSost. y Calidad de Productos Hortofrut?colas, IMIDA, C/ Mayor s/n, La Alberca, 30150 Murcia, SpainVIII International Postharvest Symposium, Cartagena, Spain, 21-24 June 2016 Photo:?Wikimedia.org