Effect of Calcium Deficiency on Melon (Cucumis melo L.) Texture and Glassiness Incidence During Ripening

Abstract

The effects of calcium deficiency on the appearance of ``glassiness'' or ``watercore'' and texture evolution in cantaloupe muskmelon (Cucumis mélo L.) and on polygalacturonase (PG) and b-galactosidase activities and their relation to ethylene production were studied. Watercore increased in melons cultivated with calcium-deficient nutrient solutions, as did ripening, which could be related to their lower calcium content. Whole fruit firmness and flesh firmness decreased from 34 days after set (DAS) in control melons, while in calcium-deficient fruits, the softening process had begun before day 33 after fruit set, both parameters being significantly lower in these. The activity of b-galactosidase increased during melon ripening, reaching maximum values two days earlier in melons grown with calcium-deficient solutions than in control ones. However, no PG activity was detected in control melons, but this activity increased during ripening in melons grown with low and removed calcium solutions, a fact that positively correlated with decreased fruit firmness. Ethylene production rate increased sharply as fruit ripened, which could be responsible for the increase in b-galactosidase activity and so for fruit softening. However, the higher softening and glassiness incidence observed in melons irrigated with calcium-deficient solutions could be due to PG activity.

Se ha estudiado el efecto de la deficiencia de calcio en la aparición de vitrescencia y en la evolución de la firmeza en melon Cantalupe (Cucumis melo L.), así como en la actividad de los enzimas poligalacturonasa (PG) y β-galactosidasa y su relación con la producción de etileno. La aparición de vitrescencia aumentó durante la maduración en todos los melones cultivados con disoluciones nutritivas deficientes en calcio, lo que podría relacionarse con su menor contenido en calcio. La firmeza del fruto entero y de la pulpa disminuyó a partir de los 34 días desde el cuaje (DAS) en los melones control, mientras que en los frutos deficientes en calcio, el proceso de ablandamiento había comenzado antes de los 33 DAS, siendo ambos parámetros significativamente más bajos en estos frutos. La actividad β-galactosidasa aumentó durante la maduración del melón, alcanzando valores máximos dos días antes en los melones cultivados con disoluciones deficientes en calcio que en los controles. No se detectó actividad PG en los melones control, sin embargo esta actividad aumentó durante la maduración en los melones cultivados con disoluciones deficientes en calcio, lo que se correlacionó positivamente con el ablandamiento de los frutos. La tasa de producción de etileno aumentó rapidamente con la maduración, lo que pudo ser responsable del aumento en la actividad b-galactosidasa y del ablandamiento del fruto. Sin embargo, la incidencia de vitrescencia y el mayor ablandamiento de los melones cultivados con disoluciones deficientes en calcio podría deberse a la actividad poligalacturonasa.

Keywords

melon Cucumis mélo calcium deficiency ethylene glassiness softening polygalacturonase b-galactosidase

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