Photosynthetica 2012, 50(1):35-48 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-012-0003-0

Effects of shoot girdling on photosynthetic capacity, leaf carbohydrate, and bud abscission in pistachio (Pistacia vera L.)

S. N. Vemmos1,*, A. Papagiannopoulou1, S. Coward1
1 Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece

The effects of shoot girdling on stomatal conductance (g s), leaf photosynthesis (P N), concentrations of carbohydrates, nitrogen and chlorophyll (Chl) in leaves, areal leaf mass (ALM), the diameter and length of shoots, and bud abscission in pistachio were investigated. Girdling individual shoots at the base of the current year's shoot (girdle I), separating inflorescent buds on the terminal current year's shoot from the developing fruits on the previous year's shoot, reduced inflorescent bud abscission by 70% in comparison to nongirdled controls. Girdle I significantly reduced concentrations of nitrogen in leaves but increased those of nonstructural carbohydrates particularly of starch. Shoot diameter increased by 13.1% and 26.4% at 33 and 81 days after girdling (DAG), respectively, compared to 1% and 3.4% in the control, respectively. Both the leaf dry mass/fresh mass ratio and ALM were increased significantly by girdle I from 12 DAG. The concentrations of Chl a, Chl b, Chl (a+b), as well as the ratio of Chl a/b, all decreased with girdle I. The greatest negative effect of girdle I was on g s and P N. P N was reduced by 55% of its initial value and was 44% less than in the control leaves at 10 DAG, and fell to approximately 30% that of the control from 21 DAG. In contrast, girdling at the base of one-year-old shoots (girdle II), thus not separating fruits from the inflorescent buds, did not significantly affect g s or P N. The effect of girdling on P N and the possible factors that are involved in the reduction of photosynthesis in pistachio are discussed.

Additional key words: areal leaf mass; biennial bearing; chlorophyll; net photosynthetic rate; nitrogen; starch; stomatal conductance; sugars

Received: February 24, 2011; Accepted: September 9, 2011; Published: March 1, 2012  Show citation

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Vemmos, S.N., Papagiannopoulou, A., & Coward, S. (2012). Effects of shoot girdling on photosynthetic capacity, leaf carbohydrate, and bud abscission in pistachio (Pistacia vera L.). Photosynthetica, 50(1), 35-48. doi: 10.1007/s11099-012-0003-0
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