Anatomical changes in cherry tomato plants caused by boron deficiency

Abstract

Boron is one of the micronutrients that mostly limits crop yield in Brazil, especially for tomato. When boron is deficient, there is initially growth reduction in meristematic tissues (root ends and branches), although for tomato, this behavior has not yet been characterized. The aim of this work was to characterize the effects of boron deficiency on biometric characteristics, anatomical changes and deficiency symptoms in cherry tomato plants. For this, cherry tomato plants of cultivar Sindy were cultivated in nutrient solution and submitted to two treatments: (1) complete nutrient solution; and (2) nutrient solution without boron. Sixty days after seedling transplanting, phytotechnical and anatomical characteristics of leaves, stems and roots were evaluated. Drastic anatomical changes were observed in plants deficient in boron, both in leaves and stems. Disorganized vascular bundle, as well as xylem and phloem, with atypical cellular composition was observed. The root development was also affected by boron deficiency showing elongation restriction and apical meristematic necrosis, which compromised the long distance transport in the plant. This affected mainly the inflorescence formation and consequently reduce the fruit production.