Abstract
Chilling and freezing injuries are the major consequences of low temperature stress in plants. Chilling injury is incurred in susceptible species at temperatures above the freezing point but below a critical threshold temperature. Freezing injury is incurred as ice crystals form within the tissue although some species are more likely to recover from freezing and thawing than others. Acclimation is a developmental process in response to environmental conditions which leads to increased tolerance to low temperature stress. Chilling and freezing interfere with both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic processes in the cell. Chilling injury leads to reduced crop yields in the field and compromised quality of harvested products during storage and handling. Freezing injury can result in plant death and unmarketable product.
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Shewfelt, R.L. (1992). Response of plant membranes to chilling and freezing. In: Plant Membranes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2683-2_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2683-2_10
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