The formation of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
fruits of good nutritional quality depends on the
adequate supply of water, minerals and photosynthates
from the roots and leaves (Davies and
Hobson, 1981) and on their storage or transformation
by fruit metabolism during development.
Development itself is controlled by the supply of
nutrients (Joubes et al., 2001) and by growth
substances produced by the seeds or imported
from other plant parts, including the roots (Srivastava
and Handa, 2005). Carbohydrate partitioning
towards the fruits is influenced by the competition
with the roots, young leaves or flowers, which may
result in carbohydrate limitations (Ho, 1996). In
tomato under carbon starvation, carbohydrates are
essentially accumulated by the fruits that act as
high-priority organs, thus strongly decreasing the
availability of sugars for the roots