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Fruit ripening in Vitis vinifera L.: possible relation of veraison to turgor and berry softening
Author(s) -
MATTHEWS M.A.,
THOMAS T.R.,
SHACKEL K.A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
australian journal of grape and wine research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1755-0238
pISSN - 1322-7130
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-0238.2009.00060.x
Subject(s) - veraison , ripening , turgor pressure , berry , softening , vitis vinifera , sugar , chemistry , horticulture , ripeness , preharvest , botany , biology , postharvest , food science , materials science , composite material
Background and Aims: Vitis vinifera L. berries exhibit dynamic changes in water relations during development, but the possible connections between water relations, particularly cell turgor pressure ( P ), and ripening have received little attention, and the water relations have been studied by mostly indirect methods. Methods and Results: The cell pressure probe was utilized to examine directly the in situ P of cells in the mesocarp. Mesocarp cell P demonstrated a consistent pattern of a high value early in development, followed by a decrease to less than 1.0 bar that was maintained during ripening. Sugar accumulation did not increase significantly until P had declined to less than 1.0 bar. Fruit ‘elasticity’ was used to evaluate fruit firmness during development. Fruit elasticity changed dynamically and synchronously with P . When growth was prevented with plastic boxes, the decline in cell P was delayed over 14 days, and the onset of skin colour and sugar accumulation was similarly delayed. Conclusions: The results show that when the decrease in P was delayed, the onset of ripening was delayed, and, therefore, are consistent with a central role of P in the onset of ripening. Significance of the Study: This study showed that boxing preveraison berries similarly delayed P decrease and colour increase in Cabernet Sauvignon berries. Thus, this system may be useful to study the relationship between P and gene expression in developing berries.