Visualization of water movement in crops and the analysis of their physiological disorders by using high performance imaging techniques

1.对甜瓜果实“水心”的发生机理进行了研究，阐明了乙烯释放是引起“水心”的关键因素，细胞壁聚合物降解加速了相邻细胞的分裂，水进入细胞间隙形成“水心”.“水心”的形成不是由于无氧呼吸加速而积累乙醇、乙醛等发酵产物的结果，而是细胞间隙扩大的结果.细胞壁结合钙离子的缺乏并不是瓜类果实“水心”形成的必然条件。这种疾病通常是由于共价结合的果胶聚合物的降解而发生的。我们可视化了水在切花、园艺产品和农作物中的运动。研究结果可为植物水分亏缺的诊断提供参考。并提出了一种新的储藏技术.通过本研究，完善了近红外、中子成像、激光多普勒等无损分析农作物内部结构的技术，为实时跟踪作物内部水分运动奠定了基础。

1. The mechanism of 'water-core', an important physiological disorder of melon fruits, was investigated and clarified the followings : 1) ethylene evolution was a key factor for inducing the disorder, 2) the cleavage of adjacent cells was accelerated as the result of degradation of the cell wall polymers, and 3) 'water-core' was formed by the incorporation of water into the enlarged intercellular spaces.2. 'Water-core' was not developed as the result of accumulation of fermentative products such as ethanol and acetaldehyde by the accelerated anaerobic respirations but by the enlargement of intercellular spaces.3. The shortage of cell-wall-binding-calcium-ions is not necessarily needed for the development of 'water-core' in melon fruit. The disorder is rather often developed as the result of the degradation of covalently-bound pectin polymers.4. We visualized the movement of water in cut flowers, horticultural products, and crops. The results were useful for diagnosing the water-deficit of the plants. We also advocated a new technique of storage method of those crops.5. The techniques of non-destructive analysis in the internal structures of crops by using Near Infra Red, Neutron Imaging, Laser Doppler etc were improved by our studies, which were also useful for the real-time-chasing of water-movement in the plants.