Abstract
Grafting watermelon scions to interspecific squash hybrids has been found to increase fruit firmness. Triploid (seedless) watermelon are prone to hollow heart (HH), an internal fruit disorder characterized by a crack in the placental tissue expanding to a cavity. Although watermelon with lower tissue firmness tend to have a higher HH incidence, associated differences in cell wall polysaccharide composition are unknown. Grafting “Liberty” watermelon to “Carnivor” (interspecific hybrid rootstock, C. moschata × C. maxima) reduced HH 39% and increased tissue firmness by 3 N. Fruit with and without severe HH from both grafted and non-grafted plants were analyzed to determine differences in cell wall polysaccharides associated with grafting and HH. Alcohol insoluble residues (AIR) were sequentially extracted from placental tissue to yield water soluble (WSF), carbonate soluble (CSF), alkali soluble (ASF), or unextractable (UNX) pectic fractions. The CSF was lower in fruit with HH (24.5%) compared to those without HH (27.1%). AIRs were also reduced, hydrolyzed, and acetylated for GC-MS analysis of monosaccharide composition, and a portion of each AIR was methylated prior to hydrolysis and acetylation to produce partially methylated alditol acetates for polysaccharide linkage assembly. No differences in degree of methylation or galacturonic and glucuronic acid concentrations were found. Glucose and galactose were in highest abundance at 75.9 and 82.4 μg⋅mg –1 AIR, respectively, followed by xylose and arabinose (29.3 and 22.0 μg⋅mg –1 ). Mannose was higher in fruit with HH ( p < 0.05) and xylose was highest in fruit from grafted plants ( p < 0.05). Mannose is primarily found in heteromannan and rhamnogalacturonan I side chains, while xylose is found in xylogalacturonan or heteroxylan. In watermelon, 34 carbohydrate linkages were identified with galactose, glucose, and arabinose linkages in highest abundance. This represents the most comprehensive polysaccharide linkage analysis to date for watermelon, including the identification of several new linkages. However, total pectin and cell wall composition data could not explain the increased tissue firmness observed in fruit from grafted plants. Nonetheless, grafting onto the interspecific hybrid rootstock decreased the incidence of HH and can be a useful method for growers using HH susceptible cultivars.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
Grafting Liberty watermelon reduced hollow heart by 39%.
- Taxon
- Watermelon
Citrullus lanatust0 - Material
- Libertye1
- Treatment
- Graftinge1
- Outcome
- HHe1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Value
- 39%e1
- Qualifier
- Carnivore1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e1“Grafting “Liberty” watermelon to “Carnivor” (interspecific hybrid rootstock, C. moschata × C. maxima) reduced HH 39% and increased tissue firmness by 3 N”
Claim · model-written summary
Grafting Liberty watermelon increased tissue firmness by 3 N.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Material
- Libertye1
- Treatment
- Graftinge1
- Outcome
- tissue firmnesse1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 3 Ne1
- Qualifier
- Carnivore1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e1“Grafting “Liberty” watermelon to “Carnivor” (interspecific hybrid rootstock, C. moschata × C. maxima) reduced HH 39% and increased tissue firmness by 3 N”
Claim · model-written summary
Carbonate soluble fraction was lower in fruit with hollow heart than in fruit without it.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- CSFe2
- Direction
- lowere2
- Value
- 24.5%e2
- Comparator
- those without HHe2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e2“The CSF was lower in fruit with HH (24.5%) compared to those without HH (27.1%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Degree of methylation did not differ among the compared watermelon fruit groups.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- degree of methylatione3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e3“No differences in degree of methylation or galacturonic and glucuronic acid concentrations were found”
Claim · model-written summary
Galacturonic and glucuronic acid concentrations did not differ among the compared watermelon fruit groups.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- galacturonic and glucuronic acid concentrationse3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e3“No differences in degree of methylation or galacturonic and glucuronic acid concentrations were found”
Claim · model-written summary
Glucose and galactose were the most abundant monosaccharides in watermelon cell wall polysaccharides.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- Glucose and galactose were in highest abundancee4
- Value
- 75.9 and 82.4 μg⋅mg –1 AIRe4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e4“Glucose and galactose were in highest abundance at 75.9 and 82.4 μg⋅mg –1 AIR, respectively, followed by xylose and arabinose (29.3 and 22.0 μg⋅mg –1 )”
Claim · model-written summary
Xylose and arabinose followed glucose and galactose in abundance in watermelon cell wall polysaccharides.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- xylose and arabinosee4
- Value
- 29.3 and 22.0 μg⋅mg –1e4
- Qualifier
- followed bye4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e4“Glucose and galactose were in highest abundance at 75.9 and 82.4 μg⋅mg –1 AIR, respectively, followed by xylose and arabinose (29.3 and 22.0 μg⋅mg –1 )”
Claim · model-written summary
Mannose was higher in fruit with hollow heart.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- Mannosee5
- Direction
- highere5
- Qualifier
- in fruit with HHe5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e5“Mannose was higher in fruit with HH ( p < 0.05)”
Claim · model-written summary
Xylose was highest in fruit from grafted plants.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- xylosee6
- Direction
- higheste6
- Qualifier
- fruit from grafted plantse6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e6“xylose was highest in fruit from grafted plants ( p < 0.05)”
Claim · model-written summary
Thirty-four carbohydrate linkages were identified in watermelon.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- carbohydrate linkagese7
- Value
- 34e7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e7“In watermelon, 34 carbohydrate linkages were identified with galactose, glucose, and arabinose linkages in highest abundance”
Claim · model-written summary
Galactose, glucose and arabinose linkages were the most abundant in watermelon.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- linkages in highest abundancee7
- Qualifier
- galactose, glucose, and arabinosee7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e7“In watermelon, 34 carbohydrate linkages were identified with galactose, glucose, and arabinose linkages in highest abundance”
Claim · model-written summary
Several new carbohydrate linkages were identified in watermelon.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- identification of several new linkagese7
- Qualifier
- most comprehensive polysaccharide linkage analysis to datee7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e7“This represents the most comprehensive polysaccharide linkage analysis to date for watermelon, including the identification of several new linkages”
Claim · model-written summary
Total pectin and cell wall composition did not explain the tissue firmness increase in grafted fruit.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- grafted plantse6
- Outcome
- tissue firmnesse6
- Direction
- increasede6
- Qualifier
- total pectin and cell wall composition data could not explaine6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Watermelon With Reduced Incidence of Hollow Heart Defect”
e6“However, total pectin and cell wall composition data could not explain the increased tissue firmness observed in fruit from grafted plants”
The same questions in other papers
grafting · quality: postharvest · Citrullus lanatus (watermelon)Positive and negative results
21 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- no effect
19 papers more in this group
See all 23 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.