AOBPreview originally published online on January 17, 2005
Annals of Botany 2005 95(4):673-683; doi:10.1093/aob/mci067
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Annals of Botany 95/4 © Annals of Botany Company 2005; all rights reserved
Modelling the Effect of Fruit Growth on Surface Conductance to Water Vapour Diffusion
1 INRA, Domaine Saint-Paul, Site Agroparc, Unité Plantes et Systèmes de culture Horticoles, 84914 AVIGNON Cedex 9, France and 2 Area de Producción Vegetal, Dpto de Producción vegetal, Escuela Técnica superior de Ingenería Agronómica, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XIII, 52, 30 203 Cartagena, Spain
* For correspondence. E-mail gibert{at}avignon.inra.fr
Received: 22 August 2004 Returned for revision: 12 October 2004 Accepted: 24 November 2004 Published electronically: 17 January 2005
• Background and Aims A model of fruit surface conductance to water vapour diffusion driven by fruit growth is proposed. It computes the total fruit conductance by integrating each of its components: stomata, cuticle and cracks.
• Methods The stomatal conductance is computed from the stomatal density per fruit and the specific stomatal conductance. The cuticular component is equal to the proportion of cuticle per fruit multiplied by its specific conductance. Cracks are assumed to be generated when pulp expansion rate exceeds cuticle expansion rate. A constant percentage of cracks is assumed to heal each day. The proportion of cracks to total fruit surface area multiplied by the specific crack conductance accounts for the crack component. The model was applied to peach fruit (Prunus persica) and its parameters were estimated from field experiments with various crop load and irrigation regimes.
• Key Results The predictions were in good agreement with the experimental measurements and for the different conditions (irrigation and crop load). Total fruit surface conductance decreased during early growth as stomatal density, and hence the contribution of the stomatal conductance, decreased from 80 to 20 % with fruit expansion. Cracks were generated for fruits exhibiting high growth rates during late growth and the crack component could account for up to 60 % of the total conductance during the rapid fruit growth. The cuticular contribution was slightly variable (around 20 %). Sensitivity analysis revealed that simulated conductance was highly affected by stomatal parameters during the early period of growth and by both crack and stomatal parameters during the late period. Large fruit growth rate leads to earlier and greater increase of conductance due to higher crack occurrence. Conversely, low fruit growth rate accounts for a delayed and lower increase of conductance.
• Conclusions By predicting crack occurrence during fruit growth, this model could be helpful in managing cropping practices for integrated plant protection.
Key words: Fruit surface conductance, stomata, cuticle, crack component, fruit growth
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