
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Chen, Guoxiong 
A1  - Lips, S. Herman 
A1  - Sagi, Moshe 
T1  - Biomass production, transpiration rate and endogenous abscisic acid levels in grafts of <emph type="2">flacca </emph>and wild-type tomato (<emph type="2">Lycopersicon</emph> <emph type="2">esculentum</emph>)
JF  - Functional Plant Biology
JO  - Functional Plant Biol.
Y1  - 2002
VL  - 29
IS  - 11
SP  - 1329
EP  - 1335
KW  - ABA concentration, rootstock, scion, tomato graft, vegetative growth.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/PP01263 
N2  - ABA is a plant signalling-molecule that plays a key role in regulating stomatal response, stress-tolerance responses, and coordinated growth of roots and shoots. Knowledge of the relationship between endogenous ABA level and plant growth is essential for improving plant growth and productivity. The wild-type tomato Rheinlands Ruhm (RR) and its flacca mutant were grafted in order to determine the relationship between endogenous ABA levels and biomass production. The flacca genotype is an ABA-deficient mutant, characterized by high stomatal conductance during the day or the night, high transpiration rate, marked tendency to wilt, and smaller size. Flacca scions grafted on to wild-type rootstock (Fs/Wr) exhibited higher ABA levels, lower transpiration rate, and higher water content than those of a control graft of flacca scion on flacca rootstock (Fs/Fr). Fs/Wr exhibited a lower ABA concentration, xylem exudate rate, ABA xylem-loading rate, and dry weight biomass in wild-type rootstock than in control grafts of wild-type scion on wild-type rootstock (Ws/Wr). Flacca rootstock grafted to wild-type scion (Ws/Fr) showed a higher ABA level, xylem exudation rate, ABA xylem-loading rate, dry weight biomass and length than grafts to flacca scion (Fs/Fr). Ws/Fr did not induce significant changes in wild-type scion as compared with Ws/Wr. In double grafts, flacca shoot fresh weight was significantly increased in flacca scion and wild-type scion grafted on to flacca rootstock (Fs + Ws/Fr) or wild-type rootstock (Fs + Ws/Wr). There was a significant linear relationship between biomass and ABA in scions (r=0.997, P=0.001). These results support the notion that ABA increases growth of tomato seedlings via improved stomatal control. 
ER  -

