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Boron accumulation and tolerance in sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) with green or purple leaves

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Abstract

Background and aims

There is a wide variability in plant tolerance to boron (B) toxicity, which is often associated with the ability to limit B accumulation. This study was conducted on two cultivars of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) with different B tolerance: ‘Tigullio’, less tolerant and with green leaves; ‘Red Rubin’, more tolerant and with purple leaves. The main goal was to verify whether the greater B tolerance of ‘Red Rubin’ is attributable to an exclusion mechanism.

Methods

In three greenhouse experiments, plants were grown hydroponically with solution B concentration ranging from 0.25 (control) to 25 mg L−1.

Results

Tissue B concentration increased with increasing B supply. Boron concentrations in root and leaf tissues were comparable in ‘Tigullio’ and ‘Red Rubin’ or even higher in the purple cultivar. Boron supply did not affect the leaf concentration of total phenolic compounds and other nutrients. Leaf concentrations of total phenols and rosmarinic acid were remarkably higher in ‘Red Rubin’ than in ‘Tigullio’.

Conclusions

The greater B tolerance of ‘Red Rubin’ was associated with the ability to withstand higher concentrations of this element in plant tissues rather than to reduced B accumulation in the shoot. The high phenolic content was thought to contribute to the B tolerance of ‘Red Rubin’.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by MIUR-PRIN 2009 (Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, Italy, Project “Physiological response of vegetables crops to excess boron”). We thank the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    A. Pardossi, G. Carmassi, L. Guidi, M. Landi, L. Incrocci, R. Maggini, M. Puccinelli, W. Vacca & M. Ziliani

  2. Life Sciences Institute, Sant’Anna School, Pisa, Italy

    M. Romani

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  1. A. Pardossi
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  2. M. Romani
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  3. G. Carmassi
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  4. L. Guidi
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  5. M. Landi
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  6. L. Incrocci
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  7. R. Maggini
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  8. M. Puccinelli
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Correspondence to A. Pardossi.

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Pardossi, A., Romani, M., Carmassi, G. et al. Boron accumulation and tolerance in sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) with green or purple leaves. Plant Soil 395, 375–389 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2571-9

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