Role of calcium nutrition on product quality and disorder susceptibility of horticultural crops: processes and strategies for biofortification

Calcium (Ca) is an essential macronutrient for plants, performing important structural and signaling roles. Ca is usually acquired from the soil solution in the form of Ca2+ and is delivered to the shoot through the xylem. Since Ca2+ mobility is limited, deficiency symptoms generally appear in tissues/organs that have low transpiration rates such as young leaves and fruits leading to diminished yield and product quality. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms of Ca2+ uptake, transport, and accumulation as well as Ca role in fruit development for addressing tissue localized Ca2+ deficiencies, ripening disorders, and biofortification strategies. This chapter provides a general overview of the current knowledge on those mechanisms and analyzes the implications of Ca nutrition and fertilization regimes on product quality and disorder susceptibility of horticultural crops. Moreover, it describes the edaphoclimatic conditions that influence Ca availability and discusses possible strategies for Ca crop biofortification.