Study of the ionome and uptake fluxes in cherry tomato plants under moderate water stress conditions

Nutritional imbalance under water-deficit conditions depresses plant growth by affecting nutrient uptake, transport, and distribution. The present work analyses the variations in the foliar concentrations of macro- and micronutrients as well as the transport of these nutrients in five cherry tomato cultivars under well-watered and moderately water-stressed conditions with the aim of establishing whether the ionome of the plants is related to the degree of sensitivity or tolerance to this type of stress. The results show a general reduction in growth together with a lower concentrations and uptake both of macro- as well as micronutrients in all the cultivars studied, except for cv. Zarina, which showed better growth and increased in concentrations and uptake nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and chloride with respect to control plants. In conclusion, in this work, our results suggest that a better understanding of the role of the mineral elements in plant resistance to drought could improve fertilization in arid and semi-arid regions in order to increase the tolerance of plants grown under these conditions.