Sink strength as a determinant of dry matter partitioning in the whole plant.

Dry matter partitioning is the end result of the flow of assimilates from source organs via a transport path to the sink organs. The dry matter partitioning among the sinks of a plant is primarily regulated by the sinks themselves. The effect of source strength on dry matter partitioning is often not a direct one, but indirect via the formation of sink organs. Although the translocation rate of assimilates may depend on the transport path, the transport path is only of minor importance for the regulation of dry matter partitioning at the whole plant level. To understand the regulation of dry matter partitioning by the sinks, a parameter like sink strength is needed that describes a sink's ability to influence assimilate import and is independent of the rest of the plant. The term sink strength can be defined as the competitive ability of an organ to attract assimilates. However, there is much debate and confusion about the term sink strength because this term is often not clearly defined. Sink strength has been proposed to be the product of sink size and sink activity. Although cell number is often considered as a suitable measure of sink size, it appears not always to be an important determinant of sink size. Moreover, sink strength may depend on sink age rather than sink size. A model for dry matter partitioning into generative plant parts, which is based on sink strengths of the organs, is described. The potential growth rate (potential capacity to accumulate assimilates) has been shown to be an important parameter that quantitatively reflects the sink strength of an organ. The potential growth rates of the plant's organs are not static but change dynamically. The potential growth rate of a fruit is a function of both its age and temperature. For several crops it has been shown that the dry matter partitioning into an organ can be quantitatively described as a function of its potential growth rate relative to that of the other plant organs.

[1]  John W. Patrick,et al.  Sink strength: Whole plant considerations , 1993 .

[2]  L C Ho,et al.  Metabolism and Compartmentation of Imported Sugars in Sink Organs in Relation to Sink Strength , 1988 .

[3]  L. Marcelis.  Non-destructive measurements and growth analysis of the cucumber fruit , 1992 .

[4]  H. M. Dekhuijzen,et al.  The Effect of Temperature on Development and Dry-matter Accumulation of Vicia faba Seeds , 1986 .

[5]  L. Marcelis,et al.  Effect of temperature on the growth of individual cucumber fruits , 1993 .

[6]  D. Egli,et al.  Temperature Response of Seed Growth Characteristics of Soybeans1 , 1980 .

[7]  J. Moorby.  The Influence of Carbohydrate and Mineral Nutrient Supply on the Growth of Potato Tubers , 1968 .

[8]  H. Lambers.  Respiration in Intact Plants and Tissues: Its Regulation and Dependence on Environmental Factors, Metabolism and Invaded Organisms , 1985 .

[9]  H. Düring,et al.  Partitioning Control by Water Potential Gradient: Evidence for Compartmentation Breakdown in Grape Berries , 1991 .

[10]  B. Auld,et al.  A Description of Leaf Growth in Vicia faba L. , 1978 .

[11]  J. Landsberg,et al.  Eco-Physiology of Apple Trees: Dry Matter Production and Partitioning by Young Golden Delicious Trees in France and England , 1979 .

[12]  Leo F. M. Marcelis,et al.  SIMULATION OF BIOMASS ALLOCATION IN GREENHOUSE CROPS - A REVIEW , 1993 .

[13]  T. Dejong,et al.  Estimating the photosynthetic contribution of developing peach {Prunus persica) fruits to their growth and maintenance carbohydrate requirements , 1993 .

[14]  M. E. Patterson,et al.  Factors Accounting for the Within-tree Variation of Fruit Quality in Sweet Cherries , 1986, Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science.

[15]  D. Baker,et al.  Transport of photoassimilates , 1989 .

[16]  T. Nielsen,et al.  Distribution of dry matter in sweet pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.) during the juvenile and generative growth phases , 1988 .

[17]  J. P. Cooper.  Crop processes in controlled environments: A. R. Rees, K. E. Cockshull, D. W. Hand and R. G. Hurd (Editors). Academic Press, London and New York, 1972, xiii + 391 pp., £6.50 , 1973 .

[18]  J. Moorby,et al.  Vascular Transport and its Significance in Plant Growth , 1969 .

[19]  J. Lieth,et al.  A simulation model for the growth and development of flowering rose shoots , 1991 .

[20]  Leo F. M. Marcelis,et al.  The Dynamics of Growth and Dry Matter Distribution in Cucumber , 1992 .

[21]  J. Patrick.  Vascular System of the Stem of the Wheat Plant. I. Mature State , 1972 .

[22]  E. Heuvelink,et al.  Dry matter distribution in tomato and cucumber. , 1989 .

[23]  E. Walton,et al.  Estimating the bioenergetic cost of a developing kiwifruit berry and its growth and maintenance respiration components. , 1990 .

[24]  M. R. Thorpe,et al.  Short-term control of root: shoot partitioning , 1994 .

[25]  J. Milford,et al.  The Effect of Temperature on the Growth of Individual Leaves of Vicia faba L. in the Field , 1979 .

[26]  A. Ashford,et al.  Rapid Translocation in the Phloem of Wheat Roots , 1974 .

[27]  P. Wolswinkel.  Phloem unloading and turgor‐sensitive transport: Factors involved in sink control of assimilate partitioning , 1985 .

[28]  L. Evans,et al.  The Roles of Sink Size and Location in the Partitioning of Assimilates in Wheat Ears , 1983 .

[29]  J. Thornley,et al.  Respiration, Growth and Maintenance in Plants , 1970, Nature.

[30]  E. Heuvelink.  Effect of plant density on biomass allocation to the fruits in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) , 1995 .

[31]  I. Wardlaw.  The early stages of grain development in wheat: response to light and temperature in a single variety. , 1970 .

[32]  Ep Heuvelink,et al.  Dry matter partitioning in a tomato plant: one common assimilate pool? , 1995 .

[33]  H. H. Laar,et al.  Products, requirements and efficiency of biosynthesis: a quantitative approach. , 1974, Journal of theoretical biology.

[34]  L. Marcelis.  Fruit growth and biomass allocation to the fruits in cucumber. 1. Effect of fruit load and temperature , 1993 .

[35]  E. M. Nederhoff,et al.  Effects of CO2 concentration on photosynthesis, transpiration and production of greenhouse fruit vegetable crops. , 1994 .

[36]  A. Schapendonk,et al.  FRUIT GROWTH OF CUCUMBER IN RELATION TO ASSIMILATE SUPPLY AND SINK ACTIVITY , 1984 .

[37]  K. E. Cockshull,et al.  The influence of shading on yield of glasshouse tomatoes , 1992 .

[38]  Ep Heuvelink,et al.  Dry-matter partitioning in a tomato crop: Comparison of two simulation models , 1994 .

[39]  Farrar Jf.  Temperature and the partitioning and translocation of carbon. , 1988 .

[40]  J. Wilson.  A review of evidence on the control of shoot: root ratio , 1988 .

[41]  M. R. Thorpe,et al.  A Simple Mechanistic Model of Phloem Transport which Explains Sink Priority , 1993 .

[42]  Ep Heuvelink,et al.  Influence of Sink-Source Interaction on Dry Matter Production in Tomato , 1995 .

[43]  John Philip Cooper,et al.  Photosynthesis and productivity in different environments , 1976 .

[44]  H. Lambers.  THE FUNCTIONAL EQUILIBRIUM, NIBBLING ON THE EDGES OF A PARADIGM , 1983 .

[45]  B. Coombe.  The Development of Fleshy Fruits , 1976 .

[46]  L. Ho.  Regulation of Assimilate Translocation Between Leaves and Fruits in the Tomato , 1979 .

[47]  B. Auld,et al.  The Effect of Temperature Changes on the Expansion of Individual Leaves of Vicia faba L , 1978 .

[48]  L. Ho.  Fruit and Seed Production: Fruit growth and sink strength , 1992 .

[49]  F.W.T. Penning de Vries,et al.  A rapid method for determining the efficiency of biosynthesis of plant biomass , 1987 .

[50]  J. Amthor,et al.  The role of maintenance respiration in plant growth , 1984 .

[51]  C. Pollock,et al.  Carbon partitioning: within and between organisms. , 1992 .

[52]  P. Jansen.  Vicia faba L. , 1989 .

[53]  W. Frommer,et al.  Molecular analysis of carbon partitioning in solanaceous species , 1995 .

[54]  P. Hocking,et al.  The Distribution and Identity of Assimilates in Tomato with Special Reference to Stem Reserves , 1994 .

[55]  K. Mcaneney,et al.  Influence of fruit number on fruit weight and yield of kiwifruit , 1990 .

[56]  P. Hansen.  3 – SOURCE/SINK EFFECTS IN FRUITS: AN EVALUATION OF VARIOUS ELEMENTS , 1989 .

[57]  B. Sattelmacher,et al.  Interrelation Between Growth Rate of Individual Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Tubers and Their Cell Number , 1991 .

[58]  J. Thornley,et al.  Response of Dry Matter Partitioning, Growth, and Carbon and Nitrogen Levels in the Tomato Plant to Changes in Root Temperature: Experiment and Theory , 1976 .

[59]  M. Gent.  Effect of Defoliation and Depodding on Long Distance Translocation and Yield in Y‐Shaped Soybean Plants 1 , 1982 .

[60]  Leo F. M. Marcelis,et al.  Fruit growth and biomass allocation to the fruits in cucumber. 2. Effect of irradiance , 1993 .

[61]  I. F. Wardlaw,et al.  Tansley Review No. 27 The control of carbon partitioning in plants. , 1990, The New phytologist.

[62]  L. T. Evans,et al.  PHOTOSYNTHESIS, CARBON PARTITIONING, AND YIELD , 1981 .

[63]  Leo F. M. Marcelis,et al.  Effect of assimilate supply on the growth of individual cucumber fruits , 1993 .

[64]  F. I. Woodward,et al.  Plants and temperature , 1988 .

[65]  W. Ruhland.  Encyclopedia of plant physiology. , 1958 .

[66]  J. Patrick.  Assimilate Partitioning in Relation to Crop Productivity , 1988, HortScience.

[67]  C. V. Cutting,et al.  Environmental Effects on Crop Physiology. , 1979 .

[68]  Y. L. Grossman,et al.  Maximum Fruit Growth Potential Following Resource Limitation During Peach Growth , 1995 .

[69]  A. C. Hulme.  The biochemistry of fruits and their products , 1970 .

[70]  J. Grace,et al.  Fruit and seed production : aspects of development, environmental physiology and ecology , 1992 .

[71]  F. Lenz.  Fruit Effects on Photosynthesis, Light- and Dark-Respiration , 1979 .

[72]  R. Rabbinge,et al.  Explanatory models in crop physiology , 1979 .

[73]  D. Egli.  Alterations in Plant Growth and Dry Matter Distribution in Soybean , 1988 .

[74]  L. Marcelis,et al.  A simulation model for dry matter partitioning in cucumber. , 1994, Annals of botany.

[75]  J. Farrar.  Sink strength: What is it and how do we measure it? A summary , 1993 .

[76]  K. Oparka,et al.  Translocation of assimilates within and between potato stems , 1985 .

[77]  M. L. Williams,et al.  The effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature on carbon partitioning, source‐sink relations and respiration , 1991 .

[78]  F.W.T. Penning de Vries,et al.  Simulation of growth processes and the model BACROS , 1982 .

[79]  J. Farrar.  Sink strength: What is it and how do we measure it? Introduction , 1993 .

[80]  J. Farrar.  The whole plant Carbon partitioning during development , 1992 .

[81]  F.W.T. Penning de Vries,et al.  Simulation of plant growth and crop production. , 1983 .

[82]  J. Kallarackal,et al.  Specific Mass Transfer and Sink-Controlled Phloem Translocation in Castor Bean , 1984 .

[83]  Rf Williams.  The Physiology of Growth in the Wheat Plant , 1965 .

[84]  M. Peet,et al.  CO2-Enhanced Yield and Foliar Deformation among Tomato Genotypes in Elevated CO2 Environments , 1991 .

[85]  C. R. Russell,et al.  Patterns of Assimilate Distribution and Source—sink Relationships in the Young Reproductive Tomato Plant (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) , 1983 .

[86]  Rf Williams.  The Physiology of Growth in the Wheat Plant I. Seedling Growth and the Pattern of Growth at the Shoot Apex , 1960 .

[87]  M. R. Thorpe,et al.  Water Potential, Translocation and Assimilate Partitioning , 1986 .

[88]  A. Mäkelä,et al.  Comparison of Two Shoot—Root Partitioning Models with Respect to Substrate Utilization and Functional Balance , 1987 .

[89]  E. F. Walton,et al.  Carbohydrate requirements of peach fruit growth and respiration. , 1989, Tree physiology.

[90]  Andrew Paul Gutierrez,et al.  A demographic model of assimilation and allocation of carbon and nitrogen in grapevines , 1991 .

[91]  N. Bertin,et al.  Competition for assimilates and fruit position affect fruit set in indeterminate greenhouse tomato. , 1995, Annals of botany.

[92]  H. Challa,et al.  Modelling tomato growth for optimizing greenhouse temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations. , 1989 .

[93]  L. Marcelis,et al.  Growth and maintenance respiratory costs of cucumber fruits as affected by temperature, and ontogeny and size of the fruits , 1995 .