Effects of ABA Content on the Development of Abscission Zone and Berry Falling After Harvesting of Grapes

The commodity price of grape reduces as berry falling after harvest. It is crucial to prevent grape from berry falling during storage. In this article, the structure change of grape cells in the abscission zone was observed, the ABA content and the activities of cellulase and polygalacturonase (PG) were measured, and the relationship of ABA and berry falling was investigated. The results suggest that cells in the abscission zone grow into a separation layer soon after the grapes are cut off. According to the level of development, we designed 6 grades to sort the different development stages. The grade 3 plays an important role in berry falling. ABA enhances the activities of cellulase and polygalacturonase, and accelerates the decomposition of cellulose and pectin, which determines the level of development of abscission zone and berry falling. If ABA ratio is less than 20 ng g−1 fresh weight (FW), the abscission zone is not developed to the grade 3, and the berry falling is effectively stopped. We treated grape bunches with nine plant growth regulators and two chemicals. The results indicated that 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) can (a) inhibit the generation of ABA significantly, (b) inactivate the activities of cellulase and PG, (c) delay the development of the grade 3 of abscission zone, and (d) stop berry falling. Indole acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA3), naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA), calcium chloride (CaCl2), and potassium permanganate (KMnO4) caused similar results as TIBA. Chlorocholine chloride (CCC), dimethyl amino succinamic acid (B9), chloroethylphosphonic acid (CEPA) and exogenous ABA showed opposite effects.