There are many different types of systems used to grow food that are distinguished by ideology or the technology used. It is often difficult to directly compare yield and quality in different growth systems due to the complicated interactions between genotype, physiology and environment. Many published comparisons do not identify and acknowledge confounding factors. However, there is urgency to undertake

Plant WRKY transcriptional factors play an important role in responses to biotic and abiotic stresses and are involved in a wide range of resistance strategies against pathogen attacks. The present study investigated the functional role of FaWRKY11 in the regulation of defense responses to B. cinerea in strawberry fruit (Fragaria ananassa Duch. cv. Benihoppe). As strawberry fruits ripened and developed

The existing version of the VegSyst model (V2) simulates daily dry matter production (DMP), crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop N uptake of tomato and other vegetable crops grown in greenhouse in SE Spain. In this study with greenhouse tomato, (i) the VegSyst model was adapted to simulate daily values of seasonal (i.e. throughout the crop) uptake of K, P, Ca and Mg, (ii) the simulation of seasonal

Saffron is one of the most appreciated and expensive spices in the world and serves as a traditional Chinese medicine in China. Shanghai Chongming Island, as the main production area of saffron in China, has formed a unique "two-segment" cultivation mode since the 1980s. The study evaluated the effects of different temperatures and incubation periods on flower initiation and flowering of saffron. From

This study was conducted in order to determine the effects of exogenous selenium (Se) supply (10 and 30 mg L−1 Na2SeO4) on the resistance to salt stress (NaCl 200 mM) of olive (Olea europaea L.) cv. Arbequina grown in hydroponic culture. Vegetative indices were monitored: plant growth, photosynthesis, leaf gas exchange and relative water and chlorophyll content. The bio-molecular parameters relative

Peach orchards are usually hand-thinned at around 40–60 days after bloom, but this practice is labor-intensive and costly. Ethylene plays a key role in peach fruitlet abscission and foliar applications of ethephon have been reported to be effective in some cultivars to induce fruit abscission. However, results are inconsistent and there are no experiences about its application in flat peaches and/or

To investigate the dwarfing effect of candidate rootstocks on persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.), we compared the growth of ‘Fuyu’ scions grafted onto ‘Hourakudai’ and S22 clone dwarfing rootstocks with that on a standard D. kaki rootstock, ‘Aogaki’ seedlings, in unpruned and non-bearing trees. In addition, we compared the growth, fruit quality, and yield efficiency of ‘Fuyu’ scions grafted onto three

Organoleptic properties play a pivotal role in determining peach fruit quality, affecting both consumers’ and market acceptance. In spite of a narrow genetic diversity, peach [Prunus persica L. (Batsch.)] has a remarkable range of fruit taste, mainly driven by the relative amount of sugars and acids. Characterization and exploitation of such variability is a major objective of fruit-quality orientated

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp., Vc) plants are highly susceptible to Fe deficiency stress. An understanding of the mechanisms involved in Fe as well as other mineral ions uptake and transportation is critical for the improvement of mineral ions use efficiency in the field practices. The functional roles of the VcZIPs in mineral ions uptake and transportation were not well understood. To elucidate the functions

Predawn leaf water potential (Ψpd) is widely used to assess plant water status. Also, pigments concentration work as proxy of canopy’s water status. Spectral data methods have been applied to monitor and assess crop’s biophysical variables. This work developed two models to estimate Ψpd using a hand-held spectroradiometer (400−1010 nm) to obtain canopy and foliar reflectance in four dates of 2018 and

The benefits of silicon for different plant species have been described in many studies in both soilless and traditional soil culture systems. The aim of this work was to quantify the effect of Si on leaf cuticles under different fertigation regimes and the relationship of this effect to water, potassium and nitrate absorption, vegetative growth and plant protection. Cucumber, melon and pepper plants

The rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium virgatum Aiton) is a promising new fruit crop in the subtropical lowland. However, mid-day temporary wilting of young shoot tips often occurs in the high summer heat and strong irradiance, warranting breeding for heat tolerance. Differences in leaf color among rabbiteye blueberry genotypes are visually distinguishable. To test the hypothesis that leaf color can be

This study evaluated the phenotypic variation in Total Soluble Solid (TSS) quantified in different environments, together with allelic diversity and genetic-population structure based on 18 microsatellites loci (SSR) in QTLs (Quantitative Trait Loci). The phenotypic characterization in 41 Brazilian accessions of melon and three commercial cultivars revealed a wide variation in TSS, with values higher

Plant use efficiency of applied N is estimated to be around 50 % for most crops. In coastal plain sandy soils particularly, leaching along with volatilization in warmer climates may be a predominant pathway for N loss to the environment. A replicated field study to determine both crop N requirement and recovery efficiency of N (REN) in tomatoes (var. BHN 602) grown on sandy soils under a plastic-mulched

Rocket (Eruca sativa L.) is an old native plant well adapted to diverse climates in Iran. It’s known for the ability to grow and produce seeds rich in protein and oil as well as edible foliage under marginal conditions and has a potential as a promising oil seed. Nonetheless, little is known about its response to salt stress. This study aimed to evaluate possible genetic diversity of local landraces

Depletion of water resources, high water costs and increased demand require improvements in the efficient use of water. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) on pear fruit quality (Pyrus communis cv Triunfo of Viena), which was compared to control irrigated plants at 100 % crop evapotranspiration (ETc) under tropical conditions. The irrigation

While the ethylene-auxin interactions are well documented in model dicots such as tomato (climacteric fruit) during mature fruit abscission, the process is not clearly understood in citrus (non-climacteric fruit). The mature fruit produces very little ethylene but is sensitive to ethylene treatments to induce abscission. By contrast, auxin treatments delay fruit abscission, but the particular role

Seeds of ten different pea genotypes were sown in styrofoam transplant trays filled with vermiculite and kept in two different growth chambers, respectively at air temperatures of 10 °C and 15 °C. In both chambers the relative humidity was maintained at 90%, PPFD 180 μmol m−2 s−1and the photoperiod 12 h. At DAS 15 and 31, ten plant of each treatment were selected randomly, dissected and separated into

This study reports an induced physical mutation by gamma irradiation on a local sweet orange variety in order to develop new seedless varieties. Mature autumn shoots of seedy ‘Kozan’ common orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osb.) trees were irradiated with gamma rays from 60Co. The survival rate was 65 % for the dose of 60 Gy irradiation treatment of ‘Kozan’ common orange. In order to stabilize the mutation

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been reported as a significant gasotransmitter, which involved in a range of physiological processes in plant, including growth, development and abiotic stresses resistence. Enzymatic activity assays showed that L-cysteine desulfhydrase (L-CD) was primarily responsible for the generation of endogenous H2S in plant. In this work, we identified two activated L-CDs from cucumber

MADS-box proteins have been shown to regulate fruit coloration, however, no information is available on MADS-box proteins in fig (Ficus carica L.). In this study, a full-length MADS-box gene was cloned from fig peels, namely FcMADS9, and its open reading frame was 759 bp, encoding 252 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that it belonged to MIKCC family and SEPALLATA subfamily. Multiple sequence

Heavy metal pollution is a severe global issue as it threatens the future food security by altering the growth and development of plants, thereby reducing the production yield. Therefore, our aim was to explore the plants that possess resistance to heavy metals and investigate their potential to neutralize the toxic effects of heavy metals without translocating into their edible parts. Chicory is one

Raw and roasted kernels of ‘A4’ and ‘Beaumont’ macadamia cultivars were assessed for biochemical and sensory quality during the accelerated storage of 70 days. Kernels were roasted at 125 °C for 15 min using a hot air oven dryer. Roasted kernels had significantly (p < 0.001) high concentration of phenols, antioxidants and good sensory properties: aroma, taste and overall appearance, validated by low

Organs classification and fruit counting on pomegranate trees are of great significance for horticulture works and robotic picking. However, there are still some challenges: (1) illumination is uncontrollable in the natural environment; (2) traditional 2D image-based methods for classification and recognition are limited by occlusion on pomegranate trees. In this paper, a method for organs classification

The genetic analysis of five haploid plants (BX1-BX5) of ‘Banpeiyu’ pummelo (BP), [Citrus maxima (Burm.) Merr.] using 32 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers carried out for the purpose of confirming their gynogenetic origin and genetic differences. As the results, all the haploid plants possessed only either one of the BP alleles, confirming that they are gynogenetic origin. We also confirmed that

The genus Lachenalia J. Jacq. ex Js. Murray (Asparagaceae) comprises 136 species endemic to South Africa and Namibia. These bulbous geophytes are considered to have excellent horticultural potential due to their morphological and genetic diversity, and thus have been chosen for the initiation of a breeding program to develop new cultivars that suitable for commercial use. From breeding perspective

Straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) is economically important in China, but after harvest, it can be stored for only 1–2 d, because it rapidly deteriorates. The role of the ethylene signal transduction pathway in the regulation of these processes in higher fungi is unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify and analyze the acs genes in the genome of V. volvacea. Bioinformatic analyses were performed

Melons exhibit huge diversity of morphology and fruit quality traits, and these traits are still being investigated in worldwide breeding studies. Due to the fabulous advantages, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based genetic markers are widely being used for dissection of putative QTLs/genes. In this study, we reported genetic linkage mapping and QTLs detection for ovary, fruit and seed traits

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is an important crop worldwide and its growth is highly susceptible to waterlogging. However, it remains unknown how tolerant and intolerant genotypes may respond to waterlogging. To address this issue, we examined a waterlogging tolerant cultivar ‘YL’ in the field and compared it with a sensitive cultivar ‘Zaojia8424’ under waterlogging. ‘YL’ exhibited higher activity

The characterization of tree canopy traits represents a key step to identify potential cultivars adaptable to a specific growing system. Developing methodologies to rapidly evaluate canopy traits allows to classify cultivars in germplasm banks and facilitates selections in breeding programs. In the present work, the ability of low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was compared with on-ground traditional

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) yield and quality are affected by many pre and post-harvest activities. Therefore, four separate experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of some agronomic (irrigation, fertilization, and organic/ conventional cultivation) and post-harvest practices on color parameters (L, a, b, h°, and C) and apocarotenoid content (crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal) in stigmata

Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) is one of the smallest pathogenic RNAs infecting plants. It harbors a circular single-stranded RNA genome, which, owing to its considerable self-complementarity, can adopt a specific rod-shaped secondary structure. PSTVd pathogenicity is a complex phenomenon mediated by the sequence- and structure-specific characteristics of the viroid strain, host species-specific

Nitric oxide (NO) is a signal molecule that can regulate fruit physiology. Several studies have indicated that NO can inhibit the ripening of kiwifruit, but the mechanism underlying this process is unresolved. This study used transcriptome analysis to identify the essential genes related to NO regulation during kiwifruit softening. NO gas fumigation (15 μl L-1) significantly delayed kiwifruit softening

Currently, stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) seeds are available to growers from many sources, but the origin of these populations is often unknown. Since stevia is a natural outcrosser, populations are heterozygous and heterogeneous. We were interested to characterize germplasm from 16 sources of stevia seeds for traits including yield, glycosides, and plant morphology, and then identify trait correlations

The ease of peeling is an important fruit quality trait for fresh-eating citrus, particularly mandarins. In the practice of hand peeling of citrus fruits, both the peel-pulp adherence and peel resistance to penetration are relevant to the ease of peeling. In this study, we first elaborated an easy apparatus that facilitated precise quantification of peel-pulp adherence and peel resistance to penetration

Soil acidification is a worldwide problem and adoption of acid-tolerant rootstocks is an essential strategy to face this challenge in order to maintain the production of citrus. In the present study, seedlings of five genotypes of citrus rootstocks including KPJ-020 (Citrus depressa Hayata ‘Shiikuwasha’), KPJ-007 (C. reticulata Blanco), KPJ-010 (C. daoxinensis Blanco), Carrizo (C. sinensis × Poncirus

Date palm is a dioecious tree that bearing male and female inflorescence on separate trees. Although pollination of date palm occurs naturally, in order to guarantee productivity, the artificial pollination can be carried out in commercial date farms. Up to now, an efficient mechanical pollinator has not been developed, and pollination is still carried out manually in most date farms. In this regard

Mulching management have been proposed for protecting the soil surface in farmland. This study was a three-year field experiment to evaluate the effects of rice-straw mat mulching (RSMM) on the soil integrated fertility index (IFI). We measured the soil total organic carbon (TOC) and labile carbon fractions, and soil microbial community functional diversity in cinnamon soil and fluvo-aquic soil orchards

In the present study, tomatoes were grown under control conditions (CT), a moderate (MT, up to 2 °C) or a higher rise in temperature (HT, up to 5 °C), and a moderate rise followed by a lower air temperature at the end of the day (ED), in order to analyze the effects of increased temperature as well as management system impact on fruit quality. Rising temperatures up to 5 °C reduced the fruit growth

The major limiting factor in the production of pears in the tropics are the reduced number of pears cultivars adapted and the lack of knowledge of potential pollinisers among the existing cultivars. The pear tree has gametophytic incompatibility requiring a polliniser cultivar. For commercial pear tree growing, in addition to flowering synchrony and gametophytic compatibility, the metaxenia effect

Cathepsin B-like protease 2 (CathB2) genes have been shown to participate in programmed cell death (PCD) that is a crucial component of development and defense mechanisms in plants at biotic and abiotic stresses. However, little is known regarding CathB2 genes in tomato. In this study, we reported the analysis of two SlCathB2 genes named SlCathB2−1 and SlCathB2−2. Promoter analysis found some elements

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is the most commercialized and studied fruit due to its nutritional contribution to human diet. Compared to other taxa of agricultural interest, tomato has a relatively high genetic variation, withholding a significant amount of diversity in its wild accessions. One of the most valued cultivars is known as "cherry type". Cherry excels in flavor and aroma traits as compared

Sunki Maravilha' and 'Sunki Tropical' are citrus plants with different drought tolerance strategies. `Sunki Tropical' is considered as another rootstock alternative for use in drought prone areas, however, its genetic expression profiles regarding response to water deficit, are still unknown. In this study, the transcriptome of the ‘Sunki Maravilha’ and ‘Sunki Tropical’ rootstocks under control were

Color change is the main factor limiting quality and shelf-life of broccoli florets. The aim of this recent work was to investigate the effectiveness of anoxia treatment on appearance and the contents of chlorophylls and ascorbic acid of broccoli florets during storage at ambient temperature. In preliminary experiment, the broccoli florets were treated in anoxia condition for 24 h. It was found that

Artificially induced polyploid crops are generally associated with improved agronomic characteristics. Triploids and tetraploids previously created from the diploid carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) cultivar 'B17′ (2n = 22) were used as experimental materials. The plody level of this new genetic material was checked by the combination of flow cytometry and by chromosome counting. The morphological

Low temperature stress negatively affects both the growth and development of plants through damage to photosynthetic components and the inhibition activity of antioxidant enzymes. Glutamic acid has recently been demonstrated to protect plants from various abiotic stresses such as cold, salt, osmosis and nitrogen deficiency. However, little molecular information explaining the effect of glutamic acid

Citrus plants heavily depend on soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), while the application of AMF in citrus is limited because of no propagation in vitro. The present work tried to apply a culturable (in vitro) endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica into trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata) and to compare the role of P. indica in plant growth and nutrient acquisition especially phosphorus (P)

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) is an important wild aromatic plant of the Mediterranean region which also has wide-ranging therapeutic properties. Its growth and chemical properties can be modified by agricultural practices especially mineral nutrition and irrigation. An experiment was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of exogenous foliar application of potassium and calcium against the adverse

Pollen grains of 92 Bougainvillea genotypes were examined using a light microscope (LM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to identify taxonomic characteristics and the relationship between pollen morphology and germination capacity. The shapes of fresh pollen grains of Bougainvillea genotypes are spheroidal to prolate-spheroidal or suboblate after infolding. The sexine of Bougainvillea pollen

Citrus breeders have made numerous hybridizations that included Poncirus trifoliata L.Raf. (P. trifoliata), a relative of the genus Citrus, in their pedigree to produce hybrids that are cold- and disease-resistant. Initial hybrids of Citrus × P. trifoliata typically produce fruit that have unacceptable flavor, but more advanced hybrids with greater proportions of Citrus in their pedigrees have various

The planting density of broccoli can directly affect the yield and overall health of plants. Nonetheless, studies on the genetic base of planting density in broccoli are rather limited. In this study, the important planting density-dependent factors of broccoli, plant height (PH), maximum outer petiole length (PL) and leaf width (LW), were investigated during 2017 and 2018. In this study, mapping of