Chilling injury is reduced in cucumber and rice seedlings and in tomato pericarp discs by heat-shocks applied after chilling

A number of abiotic shocks (e.g. heat-shock) applied before chilling have previously been shown to increase the chilling tolerance of cucumber and rice seedlings and of tomato fruit. The subsequent rate of radicle growth after chilling of these seedlings is a sensitive measure of chilling injury as is the subsequent increase in ion leakage from chilled discs of tomato pericarp fruit tissue. Data is presented to show that a brief heat-shock applied after chilling also decreases the subsequent development of chilling injury symptoms in cucumber and rice seedlings and in tomato pericarp discs. Development of this post-chilling, heat-shock induced tolerance is optimal if applied 1 h after removal from chilling, so induced synthesis of heat-shock proteins is not excluded as a possible mechanism of action. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.