Mitigation of High Solar Irradiance and Heat Stress in Kiwifruit during Summer via the Use of Alleviating Products with Different Modes of Action—Part 1 Effects on Leaf Physiology and Biochemistry

Efstathios Ntanos, Athanassios Tsafouros, Nikoleta-Kleio Denaxa, Anna Kosta, Pavlos Bouchagier and Peter Anargyrou Roussos ()
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Efstathios Ntanos: Laboratory of Pomology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Athanassios Tsafouros: Laboratory of Pomology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Nikoleta-Kleio Denaxa: Laboratory of Pomology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Anna Kosta: Laboratory of Pomology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Pavlos Bouchagier: Department of Food Science and Technology, Ionian University, Vergoti Street, 28100 Argostoli, Greece
Peter Anargyrou Roussos: Laboratory of Pomology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Kiwifruit is a significant fruit crop species for many countries around the world. Due to climate change, it undergoes significant heat stress during the summer months in the Mediterranean area. Heat stress, along with high irradiance, generally imposes significant reductions in leaf photosynthetic activity and changes in leaf antioxidant status. In order to ameliorate these impacts, three alleviating commercial products (the osmoprotectant glycine betaine—commercial product BlueStim SP, the antioxidant mixture of tocopherol and phenolic compounds—commercial product Sun Protect, and reflectance calcium carbonate—commercial product Pureshade) were tested. In a fully mature kiwifruit orchard (‘Hayward’ cultivar), the prementioned products were foliarly applied during the summer months, and three assessments took place (in early and late August and late September) to assess their effects on photosynthetic activity, leaf carbohydrate concentration, the leaf sclerophylly indexes, leaf phenolic compound concentration, and antioxidant capacity. The three products induced various effects on leaf physiology and biochemistry, alleviating stress impact to some extent. Glycine betaine proved to be more efficient in alleviating the negative effects on the photosynthetic machinery, while leaf relative water content and, therefore, succulence remained at high levels. The reflectance calcium carbonate product resulted in lower leaf temperatures during the August measurements and in relatively high leaf carbohydrate concentrations. The discriminant analysis, which took place regarding all the measured parameters per assessment, resulted in distinct differences among the treatments, revealing the different modes of action and the effects of the products used. The alleviating products ameliorated the effects of heat and high irradiance stress in the kiwifruit leaves in terms of photosynthetic activity and hydration status, with glycine betaine being more effective than the others, especially under unfavorable conditions in mid-summer.

Keywords: antioxidant capacity; carbohydrates; chlorophyll fluorescence; phenolic compounds; photosynthesis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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