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The influence of the squash hybrid RS841 rootstock ( Cucurbita maxima x C. moschata ) on population dynamics of Meloidogyne incognita and yield of cucumber cv. Dasher II was assessed during 2013 and 2014 in a plastic greenhouse. In addition, the relationship between ecophysiological parameters (plant water status, gas exchange, and leaf reflectance) and Pi and cucumber yield were also estimated in 2013. Nematode densities were determined at the beginning ( Pi ) and at the end ( Pf ) of each crop, and the relationship between these parameters was used to estimate the maximum multiplication rate ( a ), the maximum population density ( M ) and the equilibrium density ( E ) per grafted and ungrafted cucumber and cropping season. Moreover, the relationship between the multiplication rate ( Pf / Pi ) and Pi was compared between grafted and ungrafted cucumber per cropping season. Finally, the relative yield of grafted or ungrafted cucumber was plotted against Pi to determine the tolerance limit ( T ) and the minimum relative yield ( m ) by the Seinhorst damage function model. Values of a, M and E in grafted cucumber were higher than in ungrafted one irrespective of the cropping season. These results were supported by comparing the relationship between Pf/Pi and Pi between grafted and ungrafted cucumber. The relationship between Pi and yield fitted the Seinhorst damage function. The values of T and m did not differ between grafted and ungrafted each year. Predawn water potential, net photosynthetic rate, and leaf chlorophyll index decreased with increasing Pi . In addition, relative yield was related to variation in net photosynthetic rate and the leaf chlorophyll index. Under the conditions of this study, RS841 rootstock was neither resistant nor tolerant to M. incognita .

Acrylamide formation in bread products poses health concerns, necessitating strategies to reduce its presence while maintaining nutritional value. This study investigated how different concentrations of pumpkin flour (Cucurbita maxima Plomo) and prolonged proofing times affect acrylamide content and bread characteristics. Composite bread samples were prepared with varying pumpkin flour shares (0–20%) to soft wheat flour using two proofing times (60 and 120 min). The study analyzed quality features, crust and crumb color, antioxidant activity, total polyphenolic content, reducing sugars, and acrylamide content of the resulting breads. Extended proofing (120 min) reduced acrylamide levels in the crust from 220 to 150 units in 20% pumpkin flour bread compared to 60 min proofing. Control bread showed the highest specific volume (2.40 ± 0.01 cm3/g) after 2 h of proofing, while 20% pumpkin flour addition decreased it to 1.69 ± 0.02 cm3/g. Initial hardness increased from 6.8 ± 1.5 N in the control to 14.3 ± 1.5 N in 20% pumpkin flour bread after 1-h of proofing. Water activity decreased from 0.966 ± 0.002 in the control to 0.945 ± 0.004 in 20% pumpkin flour samples with 2 h proofing. Optimal results were achieved with 5–10% pumpkin flour substitution combined with two-hour proofing, balancing improved nutritional properties and reduced acrylamide formation while maintaining acceptable bread quality parameters.

This study examined the effects of stem-pruning and fruit-thinning on the yield of marketable watermelon fruit (>5 kg) and watermelon quality after four days of postharvest storage at 22 °C (marketing simulation). We examined the fruits from non-grafted and grafted plants (TZ and Nurit rootstocks) for two consecutive years. Grafting increased the number of marketable fruit per m2. The weight of the average marketable fruit was increased by pruning, but was not affected by thinning or by the choice of rootstock. The level of total soluble solids was higher among fruits from Nurit rootstock. Flesh texture was improved by grafting, but was not affected by thinning or pruning. Thinning improved the taste of the fruit significantly better than stem-pruning did. Grafting (both rootstocks) was associated with crispier fruits. The fruits from Nurit-grafted plants tasted best. The combination of grafting + fruit-thinning increased the fruit lycopene content. The highest levels of vitamin C were found among the fruit from Nurit-grafted plants and the pruned + Nurit-grafted plants, in particular. Overall, fruit quality was affected mainly by grafting onto Nurit rootstock in combination with fruit-thinning and less by stem-pruning. However, not all internal and nutritional quality parameters were significantly affected by the grafting + fruit-thinning treatment.

Grafting has been used for controlling certain soilborne diseases and improving abiotic stress tolerance in muskmelon ( Cucumis melo ) production. Grafting methods may vary considerably among geographic regions and nurseries, while excision of rootstock roots before graft healing may also be practiced, which allows root regeneration of the grafted plants. In this greenhouse study, four grafting methods including hole insertion, one-cotyledon, noncotyledon, and tongue approach methods were examined for their impacts on plant growth and root characteristics of ‘Athena’ muskmelon grafted onto ‘Strong Tosa’ interspecific hybrid squash rootstock ( Cucurbita maxima × C. moschata ). Nongrafted rootstock and scion plants were included as controls. Both the grafted and nongrafted plants were examined with or without root excision. The practice of root excision was unsuccessful with the tongue approach method, while it did not exhibit significant effects on graft quality and growth of plants grafted with the one-cotyledon and hole insertion methods. Grafted plants with root excision started to show active and rapid root regeneration at 8 days after grafting (DAG) and reached similar root length and surface area as the root-intact plants at 16 DAG. Plants grafted with the noncotyledon method showed a different root growth pattern with decreased root length and surface area at 16 DAG. As a result, this method reduced the quality of grafted plants. No significant differences in plant growth characteristics were observed among the hole insertion, one-cotyledon, and tongue approach grafted plants.

Grafting is the main means of propagation for watermelon crops. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether light quality during graft healing variably affects different scion × rootstock genotype combinations. Two watermelon hybrid scions (Sunny Florida F1 and Celine F1) and two interspecific squash rootstocks (Radik and TZ-148) were used, and four scion × rootstock genotype combinations derived. After grafting, we tested seven light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which provided narrow-band red (R) and blue (B); R-B with 36% (36B), 24% (24B), and 12% (12B) blue; 12B with additional far-red (12B+FR); and white (W), in a healing chamber. In three genotype combinations, shoot length, leaf area, and shoot biomass were mainly enhanced under red-blue LEDs, while stem diameter was greater under R. In contrast, dry weight of roots, Dickson’s quality index, and ratio of shoot dry weight/length were variably affected in each genotype combination. From the results, it is concluded that light treatments differentially affected each genotype combination, but some parameters involving biomass production show genotypic dependency.

Three new multiflorane-type triterpene esters, i.e. 7α-hydroxymultiflor-8-ene-3α,29-diol 3-acetate-29-benzoate (1), 7α-methoxymultiflor-8-ene-3α,29-diol 3,29-dibenzoate (2), and 7β-methoxymultiflor-8-ene-3α,29-diol 3,29-dibenzoate (3), were isolated from seeds of Cucurbita maxima, along with the known compound, multiflora-7,9(11)-diene-3α,29-diol 3,29-dibenzoate (4). Compound 1 exhibited melanogenesis inhibitory activities comparable with those of arbutin. In cytotoxicity assays, compounds 1 and 3 exhibited weak cytotoxicity, with IC50 values of 34.5–93.7 μM against HL-60 and P388 cells.

Identifying crop genetic resources represent an important aspect of agricultural biodiversity conservation. However, conservation of landraces is challenging because they often cannot be properly identified, or have already suffered from genetic erosion, or have disappeared. Identification of landraces can be obtained using molecular markers or discriminating qualitative and quantitative morphological traits. The latter methodology is cheap and easily achievable, allowing the registration of landraces in national catalogues. In this study, we carried out a morphological characterisation of different accessions of Cucurbita maxima (Cucurbitaceae) cultivated in the Po Valley (N-Italy), locally known as Cappello da prete. The aim was to explore the morphological fruit variability among accessions and to identify potential distinct landraces within the Cappello da prete squash group. Differences between accessions were found indicating that morphological traits can be effectively used to identify these landraces and suggesting a diversification by isolation. Indeed, our morphological analysis shown the existence of two different landraces of Cappello da prete squashes. The adopted procedure can demonstrate that few low-cost traits are useful for the registration of local varieties in the official catalogue of landraces. Our study also demonstrates that morphological characterisation allows a rapid and cost-effective identification of diagnostic morphological traits that, together with historical and cultural information, are fundamental to recognise landraces.

Three new multiflorane-type triterpenes; 7a-methoxymultiflor-8-ene-3a,29-diol 3-acetate-29-benzoate (1), 7-oxomultiflor-8-ene-3a,29-diol 3-acetate-29-benzoate (2), and multiflora-7,9(11)-diene-3a,29-diol 3-p-hydroxybenzoate-29-benzoate (3), were isolated from seeds of Cucurbita maxima, along with three known compounds. Compound 3 and multiflora-7,9(11)-diene-3a-29-diol 3-benzoate (5) exhibited potent inhibitory effects on melanogenesis, with low cytotoxicities, and 2 exhibited single-digit micromolar cytotoxicity against HL-60 and P388 cells.

Summary The Cucurbita genus (squashes, pumpkins and gourds) includes important domesticated species such as C. pepo, C. maxima and C. moschata. In this study, we present a high‐quality draft of the zucchini (C. pepo) genome. The assembly has a size of 263 Mb, a scaffold N50 of 1.8 Mb and 34 240 gene models. It includes 92% of the conserved BUSCO core gene set, and it is estimated to cover 93.0% of the genome. The genome is organized in 20 pseudomolecules that represent 81.4% of the assembly, and it is integrated with a genetic map of 7718 SNPs. Despite the small genome size, three independent lines of evidence support that the C. pepo genome is the result of a whole‐genome duplication: the topology of the gene family phylogenies, the karyotype organization and the distribution of 4DTv distances. Additionally, 40 transcriptomes of 12 species of the genus were assembled and analysed together with all the other published genomes of the Cucurbitaceae family. The duplication was detected in all the Cucurbita species analysed, including C. maxima and C. moschata, but not in the more distant cucurbits belonging to the Cucumis and Citrullus genera, and it is likely to have occurred 30 ± 4 Mya in the ancestral species that gave rise to the genus.

Abstract The first record of the squash and pumpkin bee, Eucera (Peponapis) fervens (Smith 1879) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), is presented for Peru. Cucurbita maxima es la única especie que ha sido encontrada exclusivamente en Sudamérica con una antigüedad de casi 4000 años (Whitaker 1981). Las muestras de insectos fueron montadas en alfileres entomológicos y la identificación fue realizada por C. Rasmussen, y las muestras han sido depositadas en el Museo de Historia Natural Vera Alleman Haeghebaert de la Universidad Ricardo Palma. Eucera (Peponapis) citrulina (Cockerell, 1912) (Fig. 1, Tabla 1) Especie anteriormente reportada en Perú por Cockerell (1912) en la descripción original, colectado en el departamento de Piura por C.H.T. Townsend sobre las flores de sandía en el mes de mayo. Luego colectado por Soukup en Lima (24/12/1940) [material depositado en el Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú]. Esta especie ha sido encontrada en los departamentos de Huancavelica, Ica y Lima sobre C. maxima; en Lambayeque sobre C. moschata y en Huancavelica sobre C. ficifolia, en un rango altitudinal en Perú entre Hy3221mde altitud. Eucera (Peponapis) fervens (Smith, 1879) (Fig. 2, Tabla 1) Primer registro para el Perú. Esta especie ha sido encontrada en Perú en un rango altitudinal entre 2365 y 3337 m de altitud. Los adultos de Eucera (Peponapis) fervens (machos y hembras) fueron hallados y colectados de las mismas flores de las especies de Cucurbita, durante las primeras horas del día. Discusión El hallazgo de Eucera (Peponapis) fervens en diferentes altitudes y regiones sugiere una adaptación de esta especie a los diversos ecosistemas peruanos, lo cual podría favorecer la diversificación y estabilidad de los cultivos de Cucurbita en estas áreas.