Pectinesterase in normal and abnormal tomato fruit

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Abstract
A progressive fall in total and insoluble pectic substances occurred as "mature" green tomato fruit ripened. A physiological disorder, "blotchy" ripening, resulted in an approximate doubling of the content of pectic substances in both apparently normal and the abnormal regions of affected fruit as compared with uniformly ripened fruit. A rise in the activity of pectinesterase occurred as "mature" green fruit became fully red. Areas showing "blotchy" ripening had activities close to those usually found in the early stages of normal ripening. It is concluded that the failure of areas of fruit to ripen normally is unlikely to be due primarily to the reduced activity of pectinesterase. Less pectinesterase activity was found in the fruit from plants grown in K-deficient soil.