Effect of abscisic acid and 24-epibrasinolide on the nutritional status of tomato under calcium deficiency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a13n2.5053Keywords:
Growth regulators, abiotic stress, physiological disordersAbstract
The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is the second most cultivated vegetable worldwide, and its production faces challenges due to climate change. Calcium deficiency, a recurring abiotic stress, causes physiological alterations that compromise the crop's nutritional status and, consequently, its yield. To counteract this problem, the use of plant growth regulators has been proposed. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of abscisic acid (ABA) and 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) on the nutritional status of tomatoes under calcium deficiency (45 mg L-1). A completely randomized 4 x 4 factorial experiment was established. Four concentrations of ABA (0, 60, 100 and 140 mg L⁻¹) and four of EBL (0, 0.0024, 0.0048 and 0.0096 mg L⁻¹) were evaluated as factors. The foliar concentration of nitrogen, magnesium, sulfur, and boron increased significantly with ABA2EBL1, while for phosphorus and manganese, ABA2EBL0 showed the best results. In the fruit, treatments ABA1EBL0 and ABA3EBL0 resulted in the highest nutrient concentrations in the first evaluation. In the second evaluation, ABA3EBL0 produced the highest concentrations of phosphorus, magnesium, and boron, while ABA2EBL0 stood out for its manganese content. In the third evaluation, the positive effect of most treatments was less pronounced. The results demonstrate that the application of ABA and EBL increases the concentration of macro and micronutrients in tomato fruits during the intermediate production phase, specifically in plants with calcium deficiency.
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