Internal Fruit Quality Is Maintained in Eggplant under Mild Long-Term Salt Treatment

Neus Ortega-Albero, Ana María Adalid-Martínez, Vicente Castell-Zeising, María Dolores Raigón, Adrián Rodríguez-Burruezo () and Ana Fita
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Neus Ortega-Albero: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Ana María Adalid-Martínez: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Vicente Castell-Zeising: Department of Plant Production, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, 46022 Valencia, Spain
María Dolores Raigón: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Adrián Rodríguez-Burruezo: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Ana Fita: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-12

Abstract: Modern Solanum melongena varieties have been developed to improve the content of phenolics, sugars, and nutritionally relevant minerals in fruit. However, fruit composition might be altered due to abiotic stresses like salinity. Physiological and fruit quality traits were evaluated in four eggplant landraces under usual irrigation and moderately salty irrigation conditions (80 mM NaCl). Growing parameters measured included root length, leaf surface, and fresh weight, while fruit composition traits included sugars, phenolics, and mineral content determinations. Few differences were observed for agronomic traits, probably due to the mild tolerance of eggplant to salinity. Some varieties showed signs of salt tolerance like an increase in primary root length to overcome salt stress. Glucose was the metabolite more affected by the salt treatment in the fruit, while phenolic compounds and other metabolites studied were not altered. Significant differences were observed in the main minerals Na, K, Ca, P, and Mg, both between genotypes and treatments. Although salinity produced changes in some physiological and developmental traits, the composition of the fruit was not significantly modified for the accessions tested. Mineral, sugar, and phenolic contents were not particularly altered in unripe fruits, indicating tolerance of eggplant varieties to salinity in terms of fruit quality.

Keywords: chlorogenic acid; minerals; phenolic compounds; salt stress; Solanum melongena; sugars (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: 2024
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