The impact of enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide on yield, proximate composition, elemental concentration, fatty acid and vitamin C contents of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 185; no. 1; pp. 205 - 214
• Main Authors: Khan, Ikhtiar, Azam, Andaleeb, Mahmood, Abid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.01.2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollutants - toxicity; Analytical chemistry; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Ascorbic Acid - metabolism; Atmosphere; Atmosphere - chemistry; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biological and medical sciences; Carbohydrates; Carbon dioxide; Carbon Dioxide - analysis; Carbon Dioxide - toxicity; Chemicals; Climate change; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Fruits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Global temperatures; Global warming; Greenhouse gases; Greenhouses; Hypotheses; Indoor air quality; Lycopersicon esculentum; Lycopersicon esculentum - drug effects; Lycopersicon esculentum - metabolism; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Nutrition; Nutritive value; Soil testing; Solvents; Statistical analysis; Tomatoes; Vitamin C; Pakistan; Chemical analysis; Tomato; Nutritional values; Atmospheric carbon dioxide; Elementary analysis; Environmental assessment; Ascorbic acid; Nutritive value; Proximate analysis; Carbon dioxide; Fatty acids; Vegetable crop; Dicotyledones; Atmosphere; Greenhouse gas; Environment impact; Angiospermae; Lycopersicon esculentum; Spermatophyta; Yield; Solanaceae; Environmental monitoring; Organic compounds
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-012-2544-x

The global average temperature has witnessed a steady increase during the second half of the twentieth century and the trend is continuing. Carbon dioxide, a major green house gas is piling up in the atmosphere and besides causing global warming, is expected to alter the physico-chemical composition of plants. The objective of this work was to evaluate the hypothesis that increased CO 2 in the air is causing undesirable changes in the nutritional composition of tomato fruits. Two varieties of tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum ) were grown in ambient (400 μmol mol −1 ) and elevated (1,000 μmol mol −1 ) concentration of CO 2 under controlled conditions. The fruits were harvested at premature and fully matured stages and analyzed for yield, proximate composition, elemental concentration, fatty acid, and vitamin C contents. The amount of carbohydrates increased significantly under the enhanced CO 2 conditions. The amount of crude protein and vitamin C, two important nutritional parameters, decreased substantially. Fatty acid content showed a mild decrease with a slight increase in crude fiber. Understandably, the effect of enhanced atmospheric CO 2 was more pronounced at the fully matured stage. Mineral contents of the fruit samples changed in an irregular fashion. Tomato fruit has been traditionally a source of vitamin C, under the experimental conditions, a negative impact of enhanced CO 2 on this source of vitamin C was observed. The nutritional quality of both varieties of tomato has altered under the CO 2 enriched atmosphere.