The cell-wall structures of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) and other fruit are intimately linked with the nature of their polyuronides. Cell-wall polyuronides from unripe and ripe tomato fruit were isolated and purified and their molecular size and molecular-size distributions were compared. It was demonstrated that there is a considerable decrease in the weight-average Mr upon ripening ...

A comparative study of the spectral sensitivity of anthocyanin production in dark-grown and light-pretreated systems was carried out in Brassica oleracea L., Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., Secale cereale L. and Spirodela polyrrhiza L. Light pretreatments bring about an enhancement of the inductive, red-far red reversible response in all systems, a decrease of the continuous irradiation response...

A membrane-associated lipoxygenase from breaker-stage fruit of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) was purified and partially sequenced. Using degenerate oligonucleotides corresponding to portions of this sequence, a cDNA was amplified by PCR and used to screen a breaker fruit cDNA library. Two clones, tomloxA and tomloxB, were isolated and one of these (tomloxA) corresponded to the isolated...

Received for publication 15 July 1985. t Nematologist, Istituto Nematologia Agraria, CNR, via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy. Nematologist, Servicio Agricola y Ganadero, Division Protection Agricola, Ministerio de Agricultura, Santiago, Chile. s Nematologist, Division of Plant Industry, P.O. Box 1969, Gainesville, FL 32602. cliophora arenaria Raski, Longidorus spp., Paratrichodorus spp., Tri...

Peat replacement is an increasing demand in containerized and transplant production, due to the environmental constraints associated to peat use. However, despite the wide information concerning the use of alternative materials as substrates, it is very complex to establish the best materials and mixtures. This work evaluates the use of mixture design and surface response methodology in a peat ...

Bees often facilitate pollination of important greenhouse crops. Individual bumblebees Bombus terrestris were therefore tested in an indoor flight arena to evaluate whether or not search time to find flowers was influenced by the inclusion or exclusion of ultraviolet radiation. Plastic model flowers of similar spectral properties to flowers of tomato Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. were used to e...

Cell wall preparations from green pericarp of normal and mutant Neverripe (Nr) and ripening inhibitor (rin) tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit were all equally degraded in vitro by a cell wall-bound protein extract from ripe normal tomatoes.Similar cell wall-bound protein extracts from ripe Nr fruit were not as effective and those from ripe rin fruit gave no cell wall degradation at a...

Propionic acid (10(-3)m) increases ethylene production by about 30 to 60% in tissue from green and half-ripe tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. Homestead) but does not increase ethylene production in tissue from ripe fruit. Stimulation is not due to the conversion of propionic acid to ethylene but appears to be secondary in nature and to operate on the endogenous ethylene-forming syst...

Growth of cell suspension cultures of tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv VFNT-Cherry, in the presence of cadmium is inhibited by buthionine sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutathione synthesis. Cell growth and phytochelatin synthesis are restored to cells treated with buthionine sulfoximine by the addition of glutathione to the medium. Glutathione stimulates the accumulation of phytochelati...

Tomato seedlings (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv Vendor) were grown hydroponically with their root systems maintained at a constant temperature for a 2-week period commencing with the appearance of the first true leaf. Based on fresh and dry weight and leaf area, the optimal root-zone temperature for seedling growth was 30 degrees C. The carbon exchange rate of the leaves was also found to in...