Abstract
Agriculture is among the sectors that will be impacted first and most by the adverse effects of climate change. Therefore, developing new high-temperature tolerant varieties is an essential economic measure in adaptation to near-future climate change. Likewise, there is a growing interest in increasing the antioxidant content of crops to improve food quality and produce crops with high-stress tolerance. Tomato is the most grown and consumed species in horticultural plants; however, it is vulnerable to 35°C and above high temperatures during cultivation. This study used twenty high-temperature tolerant, two susceptible genotypes, and two commercial tomato varieties in the open field. The experiment was applied under control and high-temperature stress conditions based on a randomized block design with 4 replications and 12 plants per repetition. The study investigated the fruit’s selected quality properties and antioxidant compounds, namely, total soluble solutes (Brix), titratable acidity, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), lycopene, β-carotene, and vitamin C, along with total phenols and total flavonoids under control and stress conditions. As a result, in general, total soluble solutes, titratable acidity, total phenol, and vitamin C contents under high-temperature conditions were determined to increase in tolerant tomato genotypes, while decreases were noted for pH, EC, total flavonoids, lycopene, and β-carotene. However, different specific responses on the basis of genotypes and useful information for breeding studies have been identified. These data on fruit nutrient content and antioxidants will be helpful when breeding tomato varieties to be grown in high-temperature conditions.
Highlights
Agriculture is predicted to be one of the sectors that are adversely affected by climate change, which is expected to be more pronounced in the upcoming years [1,2,3,4]. e agricultural sector has a fragile structure, directly dependent on climatic events. erefore, studies and measures taken to minimize the possible adverse effects of climate change in developed countries are regarded as “important economic concepts” [4, 5]
High-temperature stress may increase the antioxidant capacity of plants/fruits to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) products in tolerant genotypes. erefore, this study investigated tomato genotypes known to be tolerant to high-temperature stress, comparing them to commercial cultivars under stress and control conditions for variation in fruit nutrients and antioxidant contents in a region with the Mediterranean hot climate
While there was an increase of 5.98% in Hazera F1 and 3.77% in H-2274 from commercial cultivars regarding Total Soluble Solids (TSSs), a 10.93% increase in Tom-116 and 3.03% decrease in Tom-175 were determined in susceptible genotypes (Table 3, Figure 3(a))
Summary
Agriculture is predicted to be one of the sectors that are adversely affected by climate change, which is expected to be more pronounced in the upcoming years [1,2,3,4]. e agricultural sector has a fragile structure, directly dependent on climatic events. erefore, studies and measures taken to minimize the possible adverse effects of climate change in developed countries are regarded as “important economic concepts” [4, 5]. It is vital that countries, including Turkey, combat climate change, reduce uncertainties, avoid possible adverse effects, and create strategies in this direction In this sense, it is of paramount importance to choose plant genotypes tolerant to high-temperature stress, develop reliable and applicable methods and techniques, create and identify breeding materials, and cultivate new varieties for plant production. High-temperature stress may increase the antioxidant capacity of plants/fruits to scavenge ROS (reactive oxygen species) products in tolerant genotypes. Erefore, this study investigated tomato genotypes known to be tolerant to high-temperature stress, comparing them to commercial cultivars under stress and control conditions for variation in fruit nutrients and antioxidant contents in a region with the Mediterranean hot climate. 250 μl of the samples was collected, added to the spectrophotometer plates, and read at a wavelength of 415 nm according to the method developed by Quettier-Deleu et al [34]
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