Nutritional features of physiologically disordered tomato fruits

In order to investigate the organic and inorganic nutritional features of physiologically disordered tomato fruits, the normal, hart-rot and puffy fruits harvested in a plastic green house in July were analyzed and the following results were obtained. 1) The dry matter ratios and concentrations of ascorbic acid and sugar were lower in puffy fruits and higher in hart-rot fruits compared to those in normal fruits. Calcium (Ca) concentrations were lower in both disordered fruits. Boron (B) concentrations were higher in heart-rot fruits but the concentration in puffy fruits was the same level as in normal fruits. Based on these results, it was inferred that the shortage of Ca was one of the inducement of both disorders. 2) Boron concentration correlated positively with dry matter ratio and concentrations of ascorbic acid and sugar, but negatively with Ca, therefore, it was inferred that B encouraged translocation of photosynthate to fruit, but participated in an outbreak of puffiness through antagonism toward Ca. 3) The correlation coefficients between Ca and B, and Ca and Mg were negative in fruits but positive in young shoots, and those between Mg and K were highly positive in fruits but negative in shoots. It was inferred that minerals in fruits were translocated through different systems from those in stems and leaves. In order to analyze the reasons that puffiness occurred more frequently in parthenogenetic fruits treated with auxin (Tomatotone) than in normally pollinated fruits, normal and parthenogenetic fruits harvested in open field and in plastic green house, respectively, were separated into berry in locule, placenta, pericarp, mesocarp and endocarp, and analyzed nutritionally for various constituents. 1) Calcium and K concentrations in berry of puffy fruits were extremely low compared to those in normal fruits. Calcium concentrations in pericarp were highest among 5 tissues, while K concentrations were lowest. It was inferred from these results that in the sarcocarp translocation of Ca depended mainly on transpiration but that of K depended on another process. 2) The berries in locales of normal and puffy fruits harvested in a plastic green house were separated into hot-ethanol soluble and insoluble fractions. The Ca concentrations in the soluble fraction of normal fruits were higher than those of puffy fruits, but the difference in insoluble fraction was not observed. Calcium concentration in the berries of normal fruits defective in seed was higher than in that of puffy fruits 3) In the berry of fuffy fruits, ammonia concentration was higher and fumaric and succinic acids concentration were lower than in that of normal fruits, It was inferred from the results that ammonia detoxication by aspartic acid-ammonialyase was functioned. 4) It was not concluded from the carbohydrate analysis that translocation of photosynthate into puffy fruits was repressed. However, hydrolysis of sucrose was accelerated, hydrolysis of starch was delayed and pectin content was decreased in puffy fruits. 5)The puffy fruits started earlier to evolute larger amount of ethylene than normal fruits. But the interaction between low Ca concentration and ethylene evolution was not clear because these evolution influenced by damage in sample preparation. Auxin-like substances were tried to separate from the berry, and 2 peaks which correlated with degree of puffiness were detected by HPLC. The peaks differed from those of IAA and p-chlorophenoxyacetic acid in UV spectrum and the physiological roles did not solved. Based on the results, one of the causes that puffiness occurred highly frequently in the parthenogenetic tomato fruits, the deficiency of seed repressed Ca supply to berry and placenta, and influenced the nmetabolisms of nitrogen, carbohydrate and plant hormone in fruits.