Vol. 72 No: 6

Title:
Temperature Effects on Satsuma Mandarin Fruit Development

Authors:
ANNETTE C. RICHARDSON, K.B. MARSH and E.A. MACRAE

pp: 919-930

Abstract:
Satsuma mandarin fruit growth and the accumulation of sugars and acids during development was studied under two environments. Trees covered with plastic tunnel houses from anthesis until fruit harvest were compared with those grown under ambient temperatures. A 2–4 K increase in maximum temperatures soon after anthesis increased the growth of fruit in tunnel houses and they continued to grow at an accelerated rate until at harvest they were 48% larger than those grown outdoors. From two weeks after anthesis, fruit from tunnel houses were significantly more spherical than those grown under ambient conditions and this difference persisted until harvest. Higher temperatures also increased the accumulation of sugars in tunnel house fruit during stage 1 growth. Total sugar levels in tunnel house fruit remained significantly higher than those in control fruit throughout development. Differences in total sugar levels between treatments were largely due to sucrose, with minor contributions from fructose and glucose. Higher sucrose synthase activity in the vascular tissue of tunnel house fruit during stage 1 was associated with higher sugar accumulation in these fruit. Between 8 and 14 weeks after anthesis, fruit in tunnel houses had higher citrate levels in the juice sacs compared with control fruit. However, the concentration of citrate in fruit from tunnel houses decreased more rapidly during fruit maturation, and was lower at harvest than that of fruit grown under ambient conditions. At harvest, fruit from tunnel houses had higher total soluble solid concentrations, lower titrable acidity and a significantly improved total soluble solids:titratable acidity ratio compared with fruit grown under ambient conditions.

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