A New Calcium Vectoring Technology: Concentration and Distribution of Ca and Agronomic Efficiency in Pepper Plants

Eloy Navarro-León,Miguel Angel Fernández,Juan Jesús Maldonado,Jose Yánez,Francisco Javier López-Moreno,Juan Manuel Ruiz,Begoña Blasco

doi:10.3390/agronomy12020410

Abstract

Calcium (Ca) is an important macronutrient for plants, although its low mobility through the phloem makes more difficult the translocation to growing tissues, including fruits. The blossom end rot (BER) physiopathy occurs mainly in fruits and is associated with water stress, and especially with low Ca levels, which has a very negative effect on the production of many crops. Currently, through the vectoring process, it is possible to increase the transport of immobile elements to the fruits. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of BRANDT® MANNI-PLEX® Ca, which contains Ca with a vector (polyalcohols), provided by the company BRANDT EUROPE S.L. (Carmona, Spain), on Ca accumulation and the production and quality of pepper fruits, both at harvest and post-harvest stage. Pepper plants were grown in a shaded greenhouse and supplied with BRANDT® MANNI-PLEX® Ca and parameters related to biomass, production, and fruit quality were analyzed. The results showed that the product increased shoot biomass, photosynthesis performance, Ca accumulation and quality of pepper fruits both at harvest and post-harvest, while reducing the incidence of Ca physiopathies by 70%. Therefore, this study proves the BRANDT® MANNI-PLEX® Ca efficacy in a crop with a high incidence of Ca physiopathies, such as pepper.

Highlights

For 150 years, scientists have studied plant nutrition to understand the processes of absorption, accumulation, transport, and functionality of the different chemical elements necessary for plant growth
Pectins are secreted from cells as methyl esters, which are subsequently de-esterified by pectin methylesterase, providing carboxyl groups that bind to Ca2+ through covalent and ionic bonds
The product based on Ca vectorization tested in this study represent a valid and effective strategy to increase Ca uptake via the foliage, its concentration, and its distribution through the phloem to the different parts of the plant, including active growth areas such as the young leaves and fruits

Summary

Introduction

For 150 years, scientists have studied plant nutrition to understand the processes of absorption, accumulation, transport, and functionality of the different chemical elements necessary for plant growth. Most of the Ca is present in cell walls and membranes, as well as inside cell organelles, especially the vacuole. Another characteristic of Ca is its immobility in the phloem, which implies that there is a very limited translocation of Ca from the mature leaves of plants (source organs) to young leaves, shoots, and fruits (sink organs) [1,2]. Ca2+ stabilizes cell membranes through the formation of bridges with phosphate and carboxyl groups between lipids and proteins [3]

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