Blossom end rot: transport protein identified

Blossom end rot on tomatoes
(picture: Agroscope)

Poor calcium distribution in agricultural crops causes substantial loss of income every year. Now a Korean-Swiss research team under the co-leadership of plant physiologists at the University of Zurich identified a protein that regulates calcium transport in the plant root and up to the shoot. For plant breeding, the specific transport protein provides a first step toward correcting deficiency symptoms in food plants.

Blossom end rot on tomatoes and cucumbers, spotty apples – these unpleasant blemishes on fruits and vegetables not only compromises the flavor but also causes significant harvest losses every year. The characteristic blotches and spotting can be traced back to insufficient calcium uptake or faulty calcium transport within the plant. Consequently, the damage can occur even if the soil provides sufficient calcium. A team under the leadership of scientists from the University of Zurich and Pohang University of Science and Technology, Korea, has for the first time identified a protein which is responsible for the calcium transport from the root to the shoot. "Without this transport protein, plants exhibit stunted growth," explains Enrico Martinoia, Professor for Molecular Plant Physiology at the University of Zurich.

Read full press release: University of Zurich

It's Time To: Stop end rot

By Rhonda Stansberry

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

If the first tomatoes of the season have an ugly black spot on the bottom, don't despair. This season's crop isn't ruined.

Those tomatoes — which have blossom end rot — have to go, but later tomatoes should be fine with a few adjustments in watering and mulching.

Blossom end rot is also a common problem of peppers, eggplant, squash and watermelon. It occurs as a flat, dry, sunken, brown rot on the blossom end of the fruit, opposite the stem end.

The solution is to get water to the plant so that it can take up more calcium.

Read more: