S. Bunnag et al., RESPONSES OF 2 SOMACLONAL VARIANTS OF QUINCE (CYDONIA-OBLONGA) TO IRON-DEFICIENCY IN THE GREENHOUSE AND FIELD, Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 121(6), 1996, pp. 1054-1058
Somaclonal quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) variants IE-1 and IE-2 (Dolc
et-Sanjuan et al., 1992) were more tolerant to Fe-deficient renditions
in vitro than the original clone Quince A, The tolerance vies evidenc
ed by higher chlorophyll concentrations in leaves, higher Fe(III) redu
ction in roots, and increased acidification of the medium. In Summers
1993 and 1994, the two variants and Quince A were compared in the gree
nhouse, grown in normal potting soil (pH 5) and in soil obtained from
an Fe-deficient orchard, with and without the addition of lime and KHC
O3 solution to increase the pH (up to pH 8.3) and intensify Fe stress.
In both years, the variants had significantly higher leaf chlorophyll
concentrations than Quince A when grown in high-pH soils. The Fe+2 co
ncentrations in leaves were also higher in the variants, Under field c
onditions at IRTA Reus, Spain, IE-1 and IE-2 had higher chlorophyll co
ncentrations than the controls at some, but not all, analysis dates. T
hese results suggest that IE-1 and IE-2, when grown as young plants in
the greenhouse, have higher tolerance to Fe deficiency than Quince A,
as observed in vitro, but that the tolerance is more variable under u
ncontrolled conditions in the field.