Effect of Calcium on Tuberization in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Abstract

Tuberization response of single-node leaf cuttings from induced potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L.) was reversed when pretreated with 5 millimolar ethyleneglycol-bis-(β-aminoethyl ether)N,N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) + 50 micromolar calcium ionophore (A23187) and resumed when transferred to a CaCl₂-containing medium. Tuberization was inhibited by LaCl₃, chlorpromazine, and trifluoperazine at 5 to 10 micromolar. These results suggest a role for calcium in the tuberization process.