Effect of CO2enrichment on fruit growth and quality in Japanese pear (Pyrus serotinaReheder cv. Kosui)

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Six year-old Japanese pear (Pyrus seratina Reheder cv. Kosui) trees grafted on P. serotina cv. Nihonyamanashi were grown in containers filled with Granite Regosol under glasshouse conditions. At different stages of fruit growth, pear trees were exposed to an elevated CO2 concentration (130 Pa CO2 ) along with a control (35 Pa CO2). For one group of plants, CO2 enrichment was applied for 79 d from 52 d after full bloom (DAB) to fruit maturity (long-term CO2 enrichment) and for another group the same treatment was applied for 35 d from 96 DAB to fruit maturity (short-term CO2 enrichment). The effects of the elevated CO2 concentration on vegetative growth, mineral contents, and fruit production and quality were examined. Long-term CO2 enrichment enhanced vegetative growth, without any significant effect on the mineral contents in either flower bud or fruit except for a remarkable increase in the K content. Long-term CO2 enrichment increased the fruit size and fresh weight, but had no significant effect on the fruit quality. On the other hand, the short-term CO2 enrichment did not induce any significant change in the fruit size but increased the fruit sugar concentration. Along with the reduction of the sorbitol concentration in fruit, the fructose and sucrose concentrations increased and these changes occurred earlier at elevated CO2 than at ambient CO2 concentrations. From these results, we concluded that the effect of CO2 enrichment on fruit growth varies depending upon the growth stages of fruit: during the initial and fruitlet stages when fruit expansion occurs, CO2 enrichment increases the fruit size, whereas, during maturation when fruit expansion has slowed down and sugar accumulation in fruit is active, it increases the fruit sugar concentration.