Relative stability of peach plants to acid stress

Y. Plugatar, O. Klimenko, N. Klimenko
Oxides of sulfur and nitrogen cause air contamination and have a strong oxidation effect. There is a possibility to oppose this effect on a plant. It connects with the activity of the antioxidant system. It is an ability to inhibit the process of free radical oxidation. Ascorbic acid and glutathione are important components of this system in the plant as they are able to support redox reactions. But the role of these substances and degree of their changes in fruit plant tissues in condition of air contamination lack investigation. We studied the growth of plant and changes in contents of ascorbic acid (AA), glutathione (GT) and total reductive activity (TRA) in peach plant leaves in conditions of simulated acid stress. Acid stress was modeled with the use of simulated acid rain (SAR) sulfate and nitrate composition with different pH values with its periodic short-term acute effects during four vegetation periods in a field experiment. It was established the concentration of H2SO4 (pH 3) is toxic for peach tree cultivars. It was displayed as damage of leaves; depression of growth was up to 50% in comparison with control (pH≈6). The investigation included 11 cultivars of peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) on almond stock (Prunus dulcis Mill.). Strong changes in elements of antioxidant system were found under the influence of acid stress. Different reactions of the cultivars in these conditions were discovered, as more early ripening cultivars were more sensitive to acid stress. Relative indexes of plant antioxidant system conditions were calculated to evaluate the relative sensitivity evaluation of the studied cultivars to the acid stress. We used the index of redox activity of tissue as a test index for the estimation of different peach cultivars' stability to acid stress.
Plugatar, Y., Klimenko, O. and Klimenko, N. (2020). Relative stability of peach plants to acid stress. Acta Hortic. 1281, 593-600
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1281.78
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1281.78
acid stress, peach plants, antioxidants, index of redox activity
English

Acta Horticulturae