Search Results (3,040)

Strawberry wilt is a disease caused by Fusarium solani, which it provokes the death of the plant. Farmers mainly use chemical methods for its control, which has a negative impact on the environment and human health. Given the growing demand for organic agricultural products, compatible alternatives must be sought for disease management that can reduce the doses of fungicides. A combination of pesticides and biological control agents could be an alternative for the management of F. solani. Consequently, investigations on fungicide compatibility and synergistic effects are recommended in relation to the biological control of strawberry wilt. In this study, potential antagonism was calculated according to the class of mycoparasitism and the percentage inhibition of radial growth in order to later design a compatibility model of the different species of Trichoderma with three protective fungicides at different concentrations. The potential antagonism showed that Trichoderma asperellum presented high compatibility with the fungicides Captan and Mancozeb added in concentrations of 450, 900, and 1350 mg L⁻¹. The use of antagonistic strains together with the fungicide Chlorothalonil in its three concentrations showed a negative effect on the growth of Trichoderma species, which caused low and null compatibility against the MA-FC120 strain of F. solani in vitro. Full article

The gene encoding 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl-4-pyrophosphate reductase, a key enzyme at the end of the methylerythritol 4-phosphate pathway (MEP), was cloned from the petals of Narcissus tazetta var. Chinensis ‘Jinzhanyintai’ and named NtHDR (accession number OQ739816). NtHDR exhibits a full-length coding sequence spanning 1380 base pairs, encoding a total of 460 amino acids. Through phylogenetic-tree analysis, it has been determined that NtHDR shared the closest evolutionary relationship with monocotyledons, specifically Asparagus officinalis and Zingiber officinale. Utilizing quantitative real-time PCR analysis, it was observed that NtHDR exhibited significant expression in both petals and corona, with expression levels varying throughout the flowering process of Narcissus. Specifically, in petals, NtHDR expression demonstrated a pattern of initial increase followed by subsequent decrease, while in corona, it consistently increased. Subsequent subcellular-localization experiments indicated that NtHDR was localized within the chloroplasts. To investigate the functional impact of NtHDR, a stable transformation was performed, where NtHDR was introduced into Nicotiana benthamiana. The resulting transgenic N. benthamiana flowers were analyzed using solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) to characterize their volatile components. The analysis revealed the presence of the monoterpene compound linalool, as well as the phenylpropanoids benzyl alcohol and phenylethanol, within the floral fragrance components of the transgenic N. benthamiana plants. However, these compounds were absent in the floral fragrance components of wild-type tobacco plants, thus highlighting the impact of NtHDR transformation on the floral scent profile. Full article

Grass cultivation is widely used as an effective soil management method in pear orchards. A Korla fragrant pear orchard with clean cultivation (CK) and natural grass planting for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years was examined in this study. We analyzed the differences in soil fertility and shoot and leaf nutrient content under different grassing years. Compared with the clean cultivation, grass cultivation reduced the soil fertility and nutrient content of shoots and leaves at the early stage of natural grass planting (1–2 years). With the increase in grassing years, the overall level of the nutrient content of soil, shoots, and leaves gradually increased; the shallower the soil layer, the more significant the effect. Furthermore, grass cultivation significantly increased the contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium. The nutrient contents of shoots and leaves were also significantly increased after grass cultivation. The contents of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium in shoots were significantly increased by 7.32%, 154.84%, and 219.29% in 5, 4, and 5 years, respectively, and their contents were also increased by 69.57%, 22.86%, and 26.45% in leaves. The correlation analysis showed that there was a significant or extremely significant positive correlation among the shoots, leaves, and soil nutrient contents. In conclusion, continuous grass cultivation significantly improved the soil quality, health status, and nutritional status, and effectively solved the problem of harm to the pear orchard caused by long-term clean cultivation. This study will provide the scientific basis for the construction of a reasonable orchard soil management mode. Full article

Micropropagation has an important role in the large-scale production of blackberry plant material, given the high proliferation rates of this species. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the proliferative capacity of blackberry grown in vitro on wheat starch-gelled culture medium compared to classical agar-gelled medium and to assess the genetic fidelity between the proliferated shoots in starch-gelled culture medium and their mother plants. Six blackberry varieties (‘Čačanska Bestrna’, ‘Chester Thornless’, ‘Driscoll’s Victoria’, ‘Loch Ness’, ‘Polar’, and ‘Karaka Black’) were tested. For the in vitro shoots proliferation, Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.5 mg dm⁻³ 6-benzyladenine (BA) was used. The conventional medium was gelled with 0.5% plant agar, and wheat starch was used as an alternative gelling agent in a concentration of 5%. The results showed that for all blackberry cultivars, the highest number of shoots/inoculum was obtained in wheat starch-gelled culture medium, with a maximum value of 54.42 ± 4.18 presented by ‘Karaka Black’. Considering the length of the proliferated shoots, all tested cultivars presented outstanding results on the culture medium gelled with 5% wheat starch. The highest values regarding shoots length were observed on the ‘Chester Thornless’ followed by ‘Čačanska Bestrna’, and ‘Loch Ness’ with values of 5.55 ± 0.04 cm, 5.46 ± 0.06 cm, and 5.37 ± 0.09 cm, respectively. The genetic uniformity of the micropropagated shoots in relation to their mother plants was confirmed by sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) and start codon targeted (SCoT) molecular markers. Full article

Apple replant disease (ARD) is seriously hindering the development of the apple industry. This experiment assessed the effects of two different root-growth-promoting agents (Indoleacetic acid and nutrient elements) on the microbial environment of apple-replanted soil and the growth of apple rootstock Malus hupehensis Rehd. seedlings after fumigation with crystal lime sulfur. The results showed that the simultaneous application of crystal lime sulfur, indoleacetic acid, and nutrient elements (T4) improved the biomass of Malus hupehensis Rehd. seedlings. It also enhanced the activities of soil enzymes and root antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, CAT). Their activities were significantly higher than in the individual treatments and resulted in a decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) content. The T4 treatment significantly increased the net photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content of the plant, thus effectively increasing the plant growth status. After fumigation, the amount of soil microorganisms was reduced, and the amount of bacteria and actinomycetes was increased after mixed application with the root-growth-promoting agent. The abundance of different species such as Pseudallescheria, Guehomyces, Trichoderma, Bacillus, Gaiella, and Sphingomonas was effectively increased, and the amount of Fusarium oxysporum was reduced. Through correlation analysis between different species and plant and soil enzymes, we found that the different species were positively correlated with root respiration rate and SOD activity and negatively correlated with MDA content. The differentially accumulated microbial species may be the key microorganism that promotes plant growth. Therefore, the simultaneous application of crystal lime sulfur, indoleacetic acid, and nutrient elements can optimize the apple replant soil environment and promote the growth of Malus hupehensis Rehd. seedlings, and can be used to control apple replant disease. Full article

The great economic importance of sugar beet determines the ongoing biotechnological studies conducted worldwide to improve the technology of obtaining doubled haploids (DHs) using the method of unpollinated ovule culture in vitro. To improve the induction of gynogenesis, we tested the effect of thidiazuron (TDZ), temperature bud pretreatment, different concentrations of sucrose, and culturing on liquid or solid medium. Three genotypes were tested in this study. The use of TDZ at a concentration of 0.4 mg/L in solid IMB (induction medium for Beta vulgaris) induction nutrient medium with 3 g/L phytagel, 50 g/L sucrose, 200 mg/L ampicillin and cultivation at 28◦C in the dark produced up to 16.7% induced ovules. The liquid nutrient medium of the same composition induced up to 8% ovules. Increasing TDZ concentration to 0.8 mg/L resulted in reduction or total inhibition of gynogenesis, depending on the genotype. Reducing the sucrose concentration to 20 g/L or increasing it to 80 g/L was not effective. In all three genotypes, the absence of temperature pretreatment of buds (5–6 °C) showed the best results. The plant regeneration with MS nutrient medium of 20 g/L sucrose, 3 g/L phytagel, 1 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.1 mg/L gibberellic acid (GA₃) resulted in up to seven shoots from one induced ovule in the most responsive genotype. We showed by flow cytometry, chromosome counting and chloroplast number assessment that all regenerant plants were haploid (2n = x = 9). Full article

Spectral investigation of the canopy has an increasing importance in precision viticulture to monitor the effect of biotic and abiotic stress factors. In this study, RGB (color model, red, green, blue)-based vegetation indices were evaluated to find a correlation with grapevine leaf chlorophyll concentration. ‘Hárslevelű’ (Vitis vinifera L.) leaf samples were obtained from a commercial vineyard and digitalized. The chlorophyll concentration of the samples was determined with a portable chlorophyll meter. Image processing and color analyses were performed to determine the RGB average values of the digitized samples. According to the RGB values, 31 vegetation indices were calculated and evaluated with a correlation test and multivariate regression. The Pearson correlation between the chlorophyll concentration and most of the indices was significant (p < 0.01), with some exceptions. The same results were obtained with the Spearman correlation as the relationship had high significance (p < 0.01) for most of the indices. The highest Pearson correlation was obtained with the index PCA2 (Principal Component Analysis 2), while Spearman correlation was the highest for RMB (difference between red and blue) and GMB (difference between green and blue). The multivariate regression model also showed a high correlation with the pigmentation. We consider that our results would be applicable in the future to receive information about the canopy physiological status monitored with on-the-go sensors. Full article

Excessive nutrient loss from farmland located on the west bank of Erhai Lake has resulted in significant non-point source pollution within the Lake Erhai basin. However, mitigating this issue proves challenging due to the intricate nature of soil properties and environmental factors. Here, during the rainy season in the Lake Erhai basin, we collected and analyzed soil profile samples, 35 topsoil (0–20 cm) samples, and more than 300 field baseflow samples. Our objective was to explore the influences of soil properties, field baseflow, and agricultural management measures on the spatiotemporal migration of nutrients. The results indicated that the concentration of soil organic matter (SOM) has a significant impact on the spatial patterns of nutrient distribution in sandy soil. Consequently, this leads to a substantial reduction in the potential for nutrient loss in the Lake Erhai basin. The vegetable-field baseflow exhibited the highest concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus when subjected to high fertilization and flood irrigation. The concentrations of TN and TP in baseflow increase by a factor of 2 and 7.7, respectively, during rainfall compared to periods of no rainfall. Optimizing agricultural measures, such as replacing chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers and modifying irrigation methods to enhance the organic content of sandy soil and minimize baseflow elution, has a beneficial impact on mitigating agricultural non-point source pollution in the Erhai Lake basin. The research results can enable us to have a more systematic understanding of the problem of non-point source pollution in the Erhai River Basin, and provide a theoretical basis for developing targeted agricultural non-point source pollution mitigation plans. Simultaneously, optimizing agricultural management models to strike a balance between agricultural economic development and ecological protection issues holds significant practical significance for managers. Full article

Trewia nudiflora Linn. is a valuable forest resource due to its economic, ethnomedicinal, and ecological properties; however, its allelopathic potential is undocumented. Therefore, this research was designed to investigate the allelopathic impacts of T. nudiflora leaf extracts on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.) growth, as well as to isolate and to identify the active allelopathic substances responsible for these effects. A bioassay experiment with eight different treatments (0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10, 30, 100, and 300 mg dry weight (DW) equivalents of T. nudiflora extracts in mL⁻¹) was carried out. The results showed that the growth of both plants decreased with increasing contents of T. nudiflora extracts, with the effect depending on the plant species and reaching its peak at a concentration of a 300 mg DW equivalent of T. nudiflora extract in mL⁻¹. Active substances were isolated and identified using an HPLC system, which revealed the presences of methyl gallate and pinoresinol in aqueous methanol extracts of T. nudiflora. The shoot and root lengths of the alfalfa and the barnyard grass decreased significantly when they were treated with the methyl gallate and the pinoresinol. The allelopathic inhibition increased with increasing compound concentrations, with the root growth being more sensitive to the pinoresinol than to the methyl gallate, and it was significantly higher at the concentration of 10 mM. These results indicated that the T. nudiflora leaf extracts limited the growth of the treated plants, and the methyl gallate and pinoresinol in the extracts may have caused the inhibition of the T. nudiflora extracts. Thus, the leaf extracts of T. nudiflora and the substances methyl gallate and pinoresinol could be incorporated into sustainable agricultural practices or used to develop bioherbicides that would promote sustainable weed management practices. Full article

Successful management of the synthesis of secondary metabolites of essential oil plants is the basis for the economic growth of the essential oil industry. Against the backdrop of a growing global population and a decrease in land available for cultivation, simple and effective ways to increase the content of certain components in essential oils are becoming increasingly important. Selection is no longer keeping pace with market needs, which stimulates the search for faster methods to control the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. In this article, using the genera Lavandula and Mentha as examples, we consider the prospects for use of antisense oligonucleotides (ASO), oligoilators, to rapidly increase the concentration of valuable components in essential oil and its yield. This article discusses the use of unmodified ASOs as regulators of a plant’s secondary metabolism to increase the synthesis of individual valuable components, presenting a completely new way to increase the yield of valuable substances based on unique nucleotide sequences. The proposed approach is effective, affordable, safe, and significantly reduces the time needed to obtain plants that synthesize the required concentrations of target substances. Oligoilators can be used with oligonucleotide insecticides (olinscides) in complex formulations used for green agriculture. Further investigation is needed to determine maximum economic efficiency for this approach. Full article

Closed plant production systems are generally considered sustainable. Such systems are capable of minimizing externalities due to resource recycling. There are two systems, apparently diverging, recently considered as the counterparts of today’s conventional agricultural practice: organic farming (OF) and plant factories (PFs). With a strong regulatory background, OF integrates plant production into natural ecosystems by minimizing agrochemical use, while PFs create an artificial environment where all factors can be fine-tuned according to the needs of the crop. In this study, both systems are investigated based on their similarities and constraints; for this, three pillars of production were selected as indicators and reviewed for sustainability based on literature data: I. regulatory background, II. growing media use, III. species use, along with certain socio-economic factors. The reasons for co-existence were highlighted in every aspect. Alternatives for sustainable growing media use are introduced. PF-targeted species selection and variety breeding are necessary to maximize facility utilization. The main barriers to system interoperability are identified in growing media use and regulatory restrictions. The present global processes envisage the trends of the future, such as threats of living ecosystems, plant species allocation, urbanization impacts, agricultural intensification, economics of PFs, local supply chains, education about OF and PFs, consumer acceptance of OF and PF products, and discrepancies in global regulations. These aspects will certainly trigger further research in the scientific community. Full article

The application of organic amendments, biochar, and wood distillate (WD), as well as the exposure to UV-B radiation, are two sustainable ways to enhance soil fertility and increase plant nutraceutical quality, respectively. However, they have always been studied separately, without testing the eventual synergistic or antagonistic effect when applied together. The present study investigated the effects of biochar (2% w/w), WD (1:100), and their combination (BWD) on some biometric and biochemical parameters of basil plants (Ocimum basilicum L.) exposed to different doses of UV-B radiation (0, 1, 2 h d⁻¹; UV-B irradiance of 1.36 W m⁻²) in controlled conditions. Root and stem length and weight were not affected by soil amendments, while 1 h d⁻¹ UV-B increased the length (+28%) and weight (+62%) of the aerial part. When combining the above- and below-ground factors, a decrease in root length was observed in the 2 h d⁻¹ UV-B-treated plants in both WD (−36%) and BWD (−39%) treatments. The co-application of below- and above-ground treatments generally decreased phenolic and flavonoid concentration in both fully expanded leaves and vegetative shoot apices. This preliminary study highlights an antagonistic action of the combination of the investigated factors, at these doses, on the plant growth and metabolism that should be considered. Full article

The optimization of micropropagation for blueberries is crucial due to the growing blueberry industry and demand for plantlets. This study focused on four stages: explant sterilization, in vitro establishment, in vitro proliferation, and ex vitro rooting, aiming to establish an efficient in vitro propagation system for southern highbush blueberry cultivar ‘ZY09’. The most effective explant sterilization method was a 60 s treatment with 75% ethanol and a 5 min treatment with 4% NaClO. During the establishment of the in vitro culture, the modified woody plant medium was found to be suitable. The replacement of NH₄NO₃ in woody plant medium with (NH₄)₂SO₄ facilitated the proliferation of blueberry microshoots. The optimal combination of plant growth regulators for the in vitro proliferation of blueberry microshoots was indole-3-butyric acid (0.1 mg·L⁻¹), thidiazuron (0.0005 mg·L⁻¹), and zeatin (1 mg·L⁻¹). Perlite was the most suitable substrate for ex vitro rooting. The best ex vitro rooting performance was observed without immersion in growth regulators. Indole-3-butyric acid enhances root formation and suppresses root elongation in blueberries. The findings of this study can be applied to large-scale in vitro propagation of southern highbush blueberry and provide a reference for the genetic transformation of blueberries. Full article

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of sour cherries using SSR markers, correlate the data with phenotypic traits, and investigate the suitability of Prunus-specific microsatellite markers in this species. Nineteen sour cherry genotypes from the Fruit Research Institute in Érd, Hungary, were analyzed using twelve SSR primer pairs. The number of alleles ranged from two to ten, with a mean value of 4.67 per locus. The highest number of alleles was generated with BPPCT 007. All the primers displayed a polymorphic pattern. The most informative markers, based on the highest PIC values, were CPPCT022, BPPCT041, and BPPCT030. The genotypes were grouped based on flowering time, ripening time, and fruit weight. To determine the correlation, we have performed a regression analysis association with fruit traits and molecular markers. The marker PceGA025 appeared to have an allele size that statistically significantly correlates to flowering and ripening time. Also, BPPCT002, BPPCT007 and UCDCH17 have an allele that significantly correlates to ripening time. Additionally, one of the alleles of UDP 98 410 appeared to be correlated with fruit weight. Full article

Because of the vast information on health benefits and the urbanization impact changes in eating habits, the demand for ready-to-use shelled walnuts as a convenient, healthy, and nutritious snack food is increasing all over the world. However, shelled nuts sold as halves or pieces in ‘ready-to-use’ small packages are more susceptible to pellicle darkening and rancidity than their in-shell equivalents. Currently, about two-thirds of the USA crop is exported, and ~66% of these exports are sold as shelled ‘ready to use’, and its demand is increasing. Yet, this package style is generating quality challenges due to the darkening and rancidification of the kernel pellicle. Protection against kernel color quality loss and rancidity during postharvest handling, even at warm temperatures, can be accomplished at 6 kPa (%) oxygen or less for ‘Chandler’ and 3 kPa or less for ‘Howard’ and ‘Tulare’. The application of the ‘cold chain’ principle and/or low oxygen technology is unpractical for large cropping systems. Thus, a useful quality control system to rank the lots based on their potential visual and sensory quality is important. Then, the lots can be selected based on their potential quality, match market destinations, and are subjected to proper postharvest technologies. Full article