Characterization of calcium foliar absorption and its translocation by tomato plants using strontium as a physiological tracer

• Grant number: 22/10718-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: May 30, 2023
• End date: May 14, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Principal Investigator: José Lavres Junior
• Grantee: Eduardo Santos
• Supervisor: Chithra Karunakaran
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Canadian Light Source, Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/11546-8 - Efficiency of foliar application of different sources of calcium in tomatoes: understanding and bypassing low phloem mobility, BP.DR

Abstract

The poor efficiency of calcium-based foliar fertilization is mainly associated with the low Ca2+ mobility in the phloem of plants. Since most of the Ca reaches upper plants tissues through root-to-shoot uptake, its supply is strongly reduced as the xylem loses its functionality in sink regions, e.g., fruits, thereby inducing several Ca-related physiological disorders, such as blossom end-rot, as well as a significant reduction in productivity, quality, and shelf-life. Therefore, unravelling how Ca2+ is absorbed by leaves and exported towards fruits might be a useful strategy for developing more efficient fertilizers. In this scenario, the present proposal aims at employing microprobe X-ray fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy (XRF and XAS) to determine the absorption and translocation of Ca/Sr formulations applied to foliar tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L., cv. Micro-Tom). In this regard, we plan to employ the BioXAS Imaging beamline for mapping the Ca2+ and Sr2+ movements in leaves and petiole. It is important highlights, that strontium will be used as a physiological tracer for Ca2+. From a plant physiological standpoint, the generated results will contribute to understanding the limitations of Ca2+ transport through the xylem and enable the establishment of Ca formulations reaching the fruits more easily. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SANTOS, EDUARDO; MONTANHA, GABRIEL SGARBIERO; AGOSTINHO, LUIS FERNANDO; POLEZI, SAMIRA; MARQUES, JOAO PAULO RODRIGUES; DE CARVALHO, HUDSON WALLACE PEREIRA. Foliar Calcium Absorption by Tomato Plants: Comparing the Effects of Calcium Sources and Adjuvant Usage. PLANTS-BASEL, v. 12, n. 14, p. 15-pg., 2023-07-01. (22/10718-5)