Abstract
Many studies to date on the response of cherry flower buds to frost have focused on visual evaluations by observing tissue browning after frost event in the orchard and laboratory conditions but only little knowledge is available on the consequences of intracellular ice formation on cellular ultrastructure that underlies exothermic reactions during bud burst stages. In this study, the differential thermal analysis (DTA) method was used to investigate critical frost temperatures for the sweet cherry cultivars '0900-Ziraat', 'Erzincan Macar', 'Lambert', 'Vista', 'Stella', and 'Early Burlat' under laboratory-based freeze assays. In the course of our experimental study, frost tolerance or cell death points (CDPs) of flowers of six cherry cultivars were investigated in consecutive phenological stages from the start to the end of blooming, for 2 years. The frost tolerance of flower buds changed according to different developmental stages and cherry cultivars. Our results of frost tolerance tests performed on the cherry blooming stages are rather controversial. Our findings have shown that at the open cluster stage, the frost tolerance of the flower buds is very sensitive (mCDP = −1.18°C for 'Lambert'), while the first white stage has revealed an important increase (mCDP= −9.96°C for '0900-Ziraat') in the frost tolerance of those. Averaged over 2 years, the temperatures causing 50% frost damage for flower buds were −2.08 to −3.76°C at the side green stage, −1.49 to −3.22°C at the green tip stage, −1.18 to −1.98°C at the open cluster stage, −7.92 to −9.96°C at the first white stage, and −6.29 to −9.36°C at the full bloom stage in the range of six cultivars. Based on our test results, '0900-Ziraat' and 'Vista' were regularly classified as frost-tolerant cultivars. The flower buds of 'Lambert' and 'Early Burlat' have been regularly the most sensitive, while 'Erzincan Macar' and 'Stella' were ranked into the group of medium sensitivity. These results can help farmers to estimate possible frost damages on sweet cherry flower buds due to frost events at the investigated phenological stages.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alhamid JO, Mo C, Zhang X, Wang P, Whiting MD, Zhang Q (2018) Cellulose nanocrystals reduce cold damage to reproductive buds in fruit crops. Biosyst Eng 172:124–133
Ashworth EN, Rowse DJ, Billmyer LA (1983) The freezing of water in woody tissues of apricot and peach and the relationship to freezing injury. J Amer Soc Hort Sci. 108:299–303
Andrews PK, Proebsting EL, Gross DC (1983) Differential thermal analysis and freezing injury of deacclimating peach and sweet cherry reproductive organs. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 108:755–759
Asănică A, Tudor V, Țiu JV (2014) Frost resistance of some sweet cherry cultivars in the Bucharest area. Scientific Papers-Series B, Hortic Res 58:19–24
Balducci F, Capriotti L, Mazzoni L, Medori I, Albanesi A, Giovann B et al (2019) The rootstock effects on vigor, production and fruit quality in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.). J Berry Res 9:249–265
Ballard JK, Proebsting EL, Tukey RB (1997) Cherries: critical temperatures for blossom buds. Wash State Ext Cir 1128
Barfield BJ, Perry KB, Martsolf JD, Morrow CT (1990) Modifying the aerial environment. In: Hoffman GJ, Howel TA, Solomon KH (eds) Management of farm irrigation systems (Chapter 22). ASAE, St. Joseph, pp 827–867
Battany MC (2012) Vineyard frost protection with upward-blowing wind machines. Agric For Meteorol 157:39–48
Caprio JM, Quamme HA (2005) Influence of weather on apricot, peach and sweet cherry production in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Can J Plant Sci 86:65–82
Chinnusamy V, Zhu J, Zhu JK (2007) Cold stress regulation of gene expression in plants. Trends Plant Sc. 12:444–451
Cittadini ED, de Ridder N, Peri PL, van Keulen H (2006) A method for assessing frost damage risk in sweet cherry orchards of South Patagonia. Agric For Meteorol 141:235–243
Coleman MD, Hinckley TM, McNaughton G, Smit BA (1992) Root cold hardiness and native distribution of subalpine conifers. Can J For Re. 22:932–938
Dumanoglu H, Erdogan V, Kesik A, Dost SE, Delialioglu RA, Kocabas Z, Ernim C, Macit T, Bakir M (2019) Spring late frost resistance of selected wild apricot genotypes (Prunus armeniaca L.) from Cappadocia region, Turkey. Sci Hortic 246:347–353
FAO (2016). Sweet cherry production. http://www.fao.org/faostat.(20.07.2020)
Fennell A (2004) Freezing tolerance and injury in grapevines. J Crop Improv 10:201–235
Fiorino P, Mancuso S (2000) Differential thermal analysis, supercooling and cell viability in organs of Olea europaea at subzero temperatures. Adv Hortic Sci:23–27
Gale EJ, Moyer MM (2017) Cold hardiness of Vitis vinifera roots. Am J Enol Viticult 68:468–477
Gao Z, Li J, Zhu H, Sun L, Du Y, Zhai H (2014) Using differential thermal analysis to analyze cold hardiness in the roots of grape varieties. Sci Hortic 174:155–163
George MF (1982) Freezing avoidance by supercooling of tissue water in vegetative and reproductive structures of Juniperus virginiana. In Plant Cold Hardiness and Freezing Stress, Volume 2 (pp. 367-377)
Gil-Albert F (1998) Tratado de arboricultura frutal. Ecología del árbol frutal, vol. 2.Ediciones Mundi-Prensa, Madrid, 207p
Grant TN, Dami IE (2015) Physiological and biochemical seasonal changes in Vitis genotypes with contrasting freezing tolerance. Am J Enol Vitic 66:195–203
Gunes NT (2006) Frost hardiness of some Turkish apricot cultivars during the bloom period. HortSci 41:310–312
Guy CL (1990) Cold acclimation and freezing stress tolerance: role of protein metabolism. Annu Rev Plant Biol 41:187–223
Ishikawa M, Yamazaki H, Kishimoto T, Murakawa H, Stait-Gardner T, Kuchitsu K, Price WS (2018) Ice nucleation activity in plants: the distribution, characterization, and their roles in cold hardiness mechanisms. In: Survival Strategies in Extreme Cold and Desiccation. Springer, Singapore, pp 99–115
Jorgensen G, Escalera BM, Wineman DR, Striegler RK, Zoldoske D, Krauter C (1996) Microsprayer frost protection in Vineyards (p. 960803). CATI Publication
Kaya O, Kose C (2019) Cell death point in flower organs of some apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) cultivars at subzero temperatures. Sci Hortic 249:299–305
Kaya O, Kose C, Gecim T (2018) An exothermic process involved in the late spring frost injury to flower buds of some apricot cultivars (Prunus armenica L.). Sci Hortic 241:322–328
Kaya O, Kose C, Donderalp V, Gecim T, Taskın S (2020) Last updates on cell death point, bud death time and exothermic characteristics of flower buds for deciduous fruit species by using differential thermal analysis. Sci Hortic 270:109403
Kaya Ö, Köse C (2017) Determination of resistance to low temperatures of winter buds on lateral shoot present in Karaerik (Vitis vinifera L.) grape cultivar. Acta Physiol Plant 39:209
Köse C (2006) Temperature exotherms of dormant buds of rootstock genotypes. Vitis 45:145–146
Kuprian E, Tuong TD, Pfaller K, Wagner J, Livingston IIIDP, Neuner G (2016) Persistent supercooling of reproductive shoots is enabled by structural ice barriers being active despite an intact xylem connection. PloS one 11:e0163160
Longstroth M (2013) Assessing frost and freeze damage to flowers and buds of fruit trees. How to assess the impact of a freeze on early fruit development. Michigan State University Extension. Available in http://msue. anr. msu. edu/news/assessing frost and freeze damage to flowersand bud of fruit trees (09.04. 13)
Malone SR, Ashworth EN (1991) Freezing stress response in woody tissues observed using low-temperature scanning electron microscopy and freeze substitution techniques. Plant Physiol 95:871–881
Matzneller P, Götz KP, Chmielewski FM (2016) Spring frost vulnerability of sweet cherries under controlled conditions. Int J Biometeorol 60:123–130
Meng QR, Liang YQ, Wang WF, Du SH, Li YH, Yang JM (2007) Study on supercooling point and freezing point in floral organs of apricot. Agric Sci China 6:1330–1335
Mills LJ, Ferguson JC, Keller M (2006) Cold-hardiness evaluation of grapevine buds and cane tissues. Am J Enol Vitic 57:194–200
Miranda C, Santesteban LG, Royo JB (2005) Variability in the relationship between frost temperature and injury level for some cultivated Prunus species. HortSci 40:357–361
Moran RE, Sun Y, Geng F, Zhang D, Fazio G (2011) Cold temperature tolerance of trunk and root tissues in one-or two-year-old apple rootstocks. HortSci 46:1460–1464
Neuner G, Monitzer K, Kaplenig D, Ingruber J (2019) Frost survival mechanism of vegetative buds in temperate trees: deep supercooling and extraorgan freezing vs. ice tolerance. Front. Plant Sci 10:537
Nus JL, Weigle JL, Schradle JJ (1981) Superimposed amplified exotherm differential thermal analysis system [for detecting low-temperature exotherms of excised dormant flower buds, freezing]. HortSci 16:753–754
Osaer A, Vaysse P, Berthoumieu JF, Audubert A, Trillot M (1998) Gel de printemps: Spring frost, orchard protection
Poling EB (2008) Spring cold injury to winegrapes and protection strategies and methods. HortSci 43:1652–1662
Proebsting EL Jr, Mills HH (1978) Low temperature resistance of developing flower buds of six deciduous fruit species. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 103:192–198
Quamme HA (1991) Application of thermal analysis to breeding fruit crops for increased cold hardiness. HortSci 26:513–517
Quamme H, Stushnoff C, Weiser CJ (1972) The relationship of exotherms to cold injury in apple stem tissues. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 97:608–613
Reig G, Iglesias I, Mirand C, Gatius F, Alegre S (2013) How does simulated frost treatment affect peach [Prunus persica (L.)] flowers of different cultivars from worldwide breeding programmes? Sci Hortic 160:70–77
Rodrigo J (2000) Spring frosts in deciduous fruit trees morphological damage and flower hardiness. Sci Hortic 85:155–173
Salazar-Gutierrez MR, Chaves B, Anothai J, Whiting M, Hoogenboom G (2014) Variation in cold hardiness of sweet cherry flower buds through different phenological stages. Sci Hortic 172:161–167
Smith E, Redpath L (2018) Floral bud cold hardiness of southern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. interspecific hybrids) in response to late season fertilization. North American Blueberry Research and Extension Workers Conference. 12:1-10
Szalay L, György Z, Tóth M (2019) Frost hardiness of apple (Malus X domestica) flowers in different phenological phases. Sci Hortic 253:309–315
Todaro TM, Dami IE (2017) Cane morphology and anatomy influence freezing tolerance in Vitis vinifera Cabernet franc. Int J Fruit Sci 17:391–406
Tudela V, Santibáñez F (2016) Modelling impact of freezing temperatures on reproductive organs of deciduous fruit trees. Agric For Meteorol 226:28–36
Vávra R, Suran P, Nekvindová V, Žd’árská I, Skřivanová A, Blažková J, Litschmann T (2018) Sweet cherry resistance to spring frost damage at bloom stage. In 18th International Conference on Organic Fruit-Growing: Proceedings of the Conference, 19-21 February 2018, Hohenheim, Germany (pp. 183-187). Foerdergemeinschaft Oekologischer Obstbau e. V.(FOEKO)
Wample RL, Reisenauer G, Bary A, Schuetze F (1990) Microcomputer-controlled freezing, data acquisition and analysis system for cold hardiness evaluation. HortSci 25:973–976
Wisniewski M, Bassett C, Gusta LV (2003) An overview of cold hardiness in woody plants: seeing the forest through the trees. HortSci 38:952–959
Wisniewski M, Lindow SE, Ashworth EN (1997) Observations of ice nucleation and propagation in plants using infrared video thermography. Plant Physiol 113:327–334
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Erzincan Horticultural Research Institute for their support in providing sweet cherry cultivar samples for assessment.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
OK conceptualized the topic addressed in the paper and wrote the manuscript. CK and MS interpreted the results and data analysis.
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kaya, O., Kose, C. & Sahin, M. The use of differential thermal analysis in determining the critical temperatures of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) flower buds at different stages of bud burst. Int J Biometeorol 65, 1125–1135 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-021-02093-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-021-02093-1