Photosynthetica 2016, 54(2):251-258 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-015-0179-1

Effects of low irradiation on photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activities in cucumber during ripening stage

Z. Q. Yang1,*, C. H. Yuan1, W. Han1, Y. X. Li1, F. Xiao1
1 Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

In order to investigate the effects of low irradiation (LI) on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Jinyou 35) during a ripening stage, our experiment was carried out in a climate chamber. Two levels of PAR were set for plants: normal irradiation [NI, 600 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1] and low irradiation [LI, 100 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1], respectively. The experiments lasted for 9 d; then both groups of plants were transferred under NI to recover for 16 d. The plants showed severe chlorosis after the LI treatment. Chlorophyll (Chl) a, initial slope, photosynthetic rate at saturating irradiation (P max), light saturation point, maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), electron transport rate of PSII (ETR), soluble protein content, and catalase (CAT) activity in cucumber leaves decreased under LI stress, while Chl b, carotenoids, light compensation point, nonphotochemical quenching (qN), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) exhibited an increasing trend under LI. After 16 d of recovery, values of P max, Fv/Fm, ETR, qN, SOD, CAT, MDA, and soluble protein were close to those of the control after one, three, and five days of the LI treatment, while those kept under LI for 7 and 9 d could not return to the control level. Therefore, 7 d of LI stress was a meteorological disaster index for LI in cucumber at the fruit stage.

Keywords: chlorophyll fluorescence; lipid peroxidation; low light intensity; PN, PPFD response curve

Received: April 14, 2015; Accepted: September 11, 2015; Published: June 1, 2016Show citation

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Yang, Z.Q., Yuan, C.H., Han, W., Li, Y.X., & Xiao, F. (2016). Effects of low irradiation on photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activities in cucumber during ripening stage. Photosynthetica, 54(2), 251-258. doi: 10.1007/s11099-015-0179-1.
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