Articles
A first look at non-structural carbohydrate dynamics in hazelnuts
Article number
1379_37
Pages
265 – 270
Language
English
Abstract
Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are important macromolecules in plant tissues that are products of photosynthesis.
Soluble sugars are a form of NSC that are immediately available to the plant to perform important functions, while starch is a non-soluble form of NSC used for storage, providing a means for the plant to function when photosynthetic activity is reduced or does not occur because of dormancy or environmental stress.
Important functional roles for NSC include drought and freeze tolerance, defense, and reproductive processes.
For nut crops such as walnut, almond, and pistachio, NSC content in tissues can be linked to bloom timing, nut set, and kernel fill.
Thus, while knowledge of NSC dynamics can be very valuable to the basic understanding of plant physiology, in nut crops NSC has applied value, can be linked to orchard productivity, and may be manipulated through agronomic practices.
The objective of this research is to observe NSC dynamics in hazelnut orchards in relation to the nutritional status of trees, irrigation regimes, cultivar, and orchard productivity as determined by reproductive bud density and nut yields.
Briefly, orchards throughout the Willamette Valley were visited monthly to collect current-year shoots, which were separated into two samples; one including the soft outer tissues (bark + phloem) and the other was the inner woody tissue (xylem). These were submitted to the Carbohydrate Observatory at UC Davis for NSC analysis.
Preliminary data on seasonal dynamics of total NSC in hazelnuts reveals a unique pattern compared with other nut crops.
Instead of a seasonal parabolic trend with declining NSC after bloom and recovery after harvest, we see three periods of decline in total NSC, followed by rapid recovery periods.
These seasonal NSC dynamics are discussed in the context of the unique phenology of Corylus avellana grown in a moderate climate.
Soluble sugars are a form of NSC that are immediately available to the plant to perform important functions, while starch is a non-soluble form of NSC used for storage, providing a means for the plant to function when photosynthetic activity is reduced or does not occur because of dormancy or environmental stress.
Important functional roles for NSC include drought and freeze tolerance, defense, and reproductive processes.
For nut crops such as walnut, almond, and pistachio, NSC content in tissues can be linked to bloom timing, nut set, and kernel fill.
Thus, while knowledge of NSC dynamics can be very valuable to the basic understanding of plant physiology, in nut crops NSC has applied value, can be linked to orchard productivity, and may be manipulated through agronomic practices.
The objective of this research is to observe NSC dynamics in hazelnut orchards in relation to the nutritional status of trees, irrigation regimes, cultivar, and orchard productivity as determined by reproductive bud density and nut yields.
Briefly, orchards throughout the Willamette Valley were visited monthly to collect current-year shoots, which were separated into two samples; one including the soft outer tissues (bark + phloem) and the other was the inner woody tissue (xylem). These were submitted to the Carbohydrate Observatory at UC Davis for NSC analysis.
Preliminary data on seasonal dynamics of total NSC in hazelnuts reveals a unique pattern compared with other nut crops.
Instead of a seasonal parabolic trend with declining NSC after bloom and recovery after harvest, we see three periods of decline in total NSC, followed by rapid recovery periods.
These seasonal NSC dynamics are discussed in the context of the unique phenology of Corylus avellana grown in a moderate climate.
Publication
Authors
M. Zwieniecki, P. Guzmán-Delgado, H. Andrews, K. Transue, N.G. Wiman
Keywords
Corylus avellana, filbert, starch, sugar, reserves, phenology
Groups involved
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