An investigation on the morphological, physiological, and biochemical reaction of the 'Viking' aronia cultivar to lime exposure

Approximately 30 % of the world's agricultural lands have calcareous soil conditions. These soil conditions play a restrictive role in the cultivation of fruit species. Although there is no definitive solution to this problem in the short term, the potential for growing fruit species suitable for such soils needs to be determined. In this study, the morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses of the black chokeberry 'Viking' cultivar in growing environments with different lime levels which ranged from 1.40 % to 15.10 % were determined. The application of 7 % CaCO3 and 3.5 % KHCO3 resulted in a significant reduction in both the height of the plant (41.2 %) and the length of the roots (31.3 %). An application of 5 % CaCO3 and 2.5 % KHCO3 resulted in a significant reduction in the fresh weight of the plant stem (37.4 %), the fresh weight of the root (37.7 %), and the root dry weight (23.7 %). While stomatal conductance was measured between 0.089 and 0.137 mol m−2 s−1, quantum efficiency ranged from 0.622 to 0.419. The proline content of the leaves increased between 1.40 % - 9.50 % lime levels and decreased between 9.50 % - 15.10 % lime levels. The highest GA (230.9 mg kg−1), IAA (0.831 mg kg−1), SA (2.694 mg kg−1) was determined in the control group, while the ABA (0.244 mg kg−1) was found in the 15 % CaCO3+ 7.5 % KHCO3. Recent findings indicate that the growth of aronia plants is unaffected within a lime content range of 0 to 5 % in the soil. Aronia plants' growth and development will be negatively affected when the soil has a lime content ranging from 5 % to 15 %. The increase in lime content in the soil by 15 % causes the growth of aronia plants to cease, potentially leading to their eventual demise.