Determination of Morphological and Biochemical Responses of Some Cherry Rootstocks to Calcium Stress under In Vitro Conditions

Abstract

High calcium content in the soil is an important abiotic stress factor that limits the yield and survival of plants. While calcareous soils cover more than 30% of the land worldwide, the soils in almost all regions of our country, except for the Black Sea region, have a high calcium content. Fruit species, including cherries, are generally highly sensitive to high calcium content. In this context, the presence of rootstocks that provide tolerance to high calcium content in fruit cultivation and the determination of the tolerance of existing rootstocks to calcium are of great importance. Therefore, this study aims to determine the morphological and biochemical responses of Mazzard, Mahaleb, MaxMa 14, CAP- 6P, and PHL-C rootstocks, which were propagated under in vitro conditions, to different levels of calcium (Control, 1.0%, 3.0%, and 5.0% CaCO3). Under stress conditions, in addition to morphological characteristics such as plant height, root development, leaf area, plant fresh and dry weight, leaf relative water content, and membrane permeability, biochemical characteristics such as catalase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, hydrogen peroxide, proline, and protein content, as well as iron activities (iron content in plants, active iron content, iron chelate reductase activity in plants, and iron chelate activity in roots) were determined in stressed plants. In the experiment, it was determined that as the CaCO3 level increased in the medium, the tolerance of the rootstocks decreased. However, measurements taken on the 15th day of the experiment revealed that the MaxMa-14 cherry rootstock showed better growth compared to other cherry rootstocks.