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Hazelnut propagation has been done over the centuries through suckers, layers and later by grafting. The development and modernization of hazelnut cultivation as a result of the need to increase nut production and quality directly involves the mechanization in the orchard, but also improving the propagation of cultivars. Present study had the aim to evaluate the bench grafting behavior of several Romanian cultivars alongside with Tonda Gentile dele Langhe, on two rootstocks (C. avellana and C. colurna) using different grafting methods. Grafting was performed in March and was followed by callus stimulation in a hot – callusing device, ensuring a temperature of 26 - 27°C at the grafting point. Grafting on C. avellana rootstock using the whip and tongue method proved to be superior (82.34% symbionts with callus formation; 75.3% grafting success rate and 70.2% survival rate of grafted plants after one year), to other grafting methods (cleft and lateral grafting). On C. colurna rootstock, 56.6% of the symbionts had callus formation; the grafting success rate was 52.0% while and the survival rate of grafted plants after one year was 45.1%. The grafting success rates using whip and tongue method on C. avellana of Romanian cultivars ranged between 66.5 and 82.25%, while for TGDL was 78.4% and on C. colurna varied between 42.85 and 64.0%, compared with 46.7% for TGDL. The average growth of the hazelnut scions in the first year of vegetation after grafting was 35.2 cm on the C. avellana rootstock and 18.1 cm on C. colurna.

Paclitaxel.sup.® (PC) is one of the most effective and profitable anti-cancer drugs. The most promising sources of this compound are natural materials such as tissue cultures of Taxus species and, more recently, hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.). A large part of the PC biosynthetic pathway in the yew tree and a few steps in the hazelnut have been identified. Since understanding the biosynthetic pathway of plant-based medicinal metabolites is an effective step toward their development and engineering, this paper aimed to identify taxadiene-5[alpha]-ol-O-acetyltransferase (TDAT) in hazelnut. TDAT is one of the key genes involved in the third step of the PC biosynthetic pathway. In this study, the TDAT gene was isolated using the nested-PCR method and then characterized. The cotyledon-derived cell mass induced with 150 [mu]M of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) was utilized to isolate RNA and synthesize the first-strand cDNA. The full-length cDNA of TDAT is 1423 bp long and contains a 1302 bp ORF encoding 433 amino acids. The phylogenetic analysis of this gene revealed high homology with its ortholog genes in Quercus suber and Juglans regia. Bioinformatics analyses were used to predict the secondary and tertiary structures of the protein. Due to the lack of signal peptide, protein structure prediction suggested that this protein may operate at the cytoplasm. The homologous superfamily of the T5AT protein, encoded by TDAT, has two domains. The highest and lowest hydrophobicity of amino acids were found in proline 142 and lysine 56, respectively. T5AT protein fragment had 24 hydrophobic regions. The tertiary structure of this protein was designed using Modeler software (V.9.20), and its structure was verified based on the results of the Verify3D (89.46%) and ERRAT (90.3061) programs. The T5AT enzyme belongs to the superfamily of the transferase, and the amino acids histidine 164, cysteine 165, leucine 166, histidine 167, and Aspartic acid 168 resided at its active site. More characteristics of TDAT, which would aid PC engineering programs and maximize its production in hazelnut, were discussed.

Paclitaxel.sup.® (PC) is one of the most effective and profitable anti-cancer drugs. The most promising sources of this compound are natural materials such as tissue cultures of Taxus species and, more recently, hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.). A large part of the PC biosynthetic pathway in the yew tree and a few steps in the hazelnut have been identified. Since understanding the biosynthetic pathway of plant-based medicinal metabolites is an effective step toward their development and engineering, this paper aimed to identify taxadiene-5[alpha]-ol-O-acetyltransferase (TDAT) in hazelnut. TDAT is one of the key genes involved in the third step of the PC biosynthetic pathway. In this study, the TDAT gene was isolated using the nested-PCR method and then characterized. The cotyledon-derived cell mass induced with 150 [mu]M of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) was utilized to isolate RNA and synthesize the first-strand cDNA. The full-length cDNA of TDAT is 1423 bp long and contains a 1302 bp ORF encoding 433 amino acids. The phylogenetic analysis of this gene revealed high homology with its ortholog genes in Quercus suber and Juglans regia. Bioinformatics analyses were used to predict the secondary and tertiary structures of the protein. Due to the lack of signal peptide, protein structure prediction suggested that this protein may operate at the cytoplasm. The homologous superfamily of the T5AT protein, encoded by TDAT, has two domains. The highest and lowest hydrophobicity of amino acids were found in proline 142 and lysine 56, respectively. T5AT protein fragment had 24 hydrophobic regions. The tertiary structure of this protein was designed using Modeler software (V.9.20), and its structure was verified based on the results of the Verify3D (89.46%) and ERRAT (90.3061) programs. The T5AT enzyme belongs to the superfamily of the transferase, and the amino acids histidine 164, cysteine 165, leucine 166, histidine 167, and Aspartic acid 168 resided at its active site. More characteristics of TDAT, which would aid PC engineering programs and maximize its production in hazelnut, were discussed.

Background The ascomycete fungus Anisogramma anomala causes Eastern Filbert Blight (EFB) on hazelnut ( Corylus spp.) trees. It is a minor disease on its native host, the American hazelnut ( C. americana ), but is highly destructive on the commercially important European hazelnut ( C. avellana ). In North America, EFB has historically limited commercial production of hazelnut to west of the Rocky Mountains. A. anomala is an obligately biotrophic fungus that has not been grown in continuous culture, rendering its study challenging. There is a 15-month latency before symptoms appear on infected hazelnut trees, and only a sexual reproductive stage has been observed. Here we report the sequencing, annotation, and characterization of its genome. Results The genome of A. anomala was assembled into 108 scaffolds totaling 342,498,352 nt with a GC content of 34.46%. Scaffold N50 was 33.3 Mb and L50 was 5. Nineteen scaffolds with lengths over 1 Mb constituted 99% of the assembly. Telomere sequences were identified on both ends of two scaffolds and on one end of another 10 scaffolds. Flow cytometry estimated the genome size of A. anomala at 370 Mb. The genome exhibits two-speed evolution, with 93% of the assembly as AT-rich regions (32.9% GC) and the other 7% as GC-rich (57.1% GC). The AT-rich regions consist predominantly of repeats with low gene content, while 90% of predicted protein coding genes were identified in GC-rich regions. Copia-like retrotransposons accounted for more than half of the genome. Evidence of repeat-induced point mutation (RIP) was identified throughout the AT-rich regions, and two copies of the rid gene and one of dim-2 , the key genes in the RIP mutation pathway, were identified in the genome. Consistent with its homothallic sexual reproduction cycle, both MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 idiomorphs were found. We identified a large suite of genes likely involved in pathogenicity, including 614 carbohydrate active enzymes, 762 secreted proteins and 165 effectors. Conclusions This study reveals the genomic structure, composition, and putative gene function of the important pathogen A. anomala . It provides insight into the molecular basis of the pathogen’s life cycle and a solid foundation for studying EFB.

Carabidae, or carabids, commonly known as “ground beetles”, are found in numerous natural and cultivated habitats and are recognized for their beneficial role in controlling phytophagous pests in various temperate agroecosystems. However, the crop type and agricultural practices used in management areas significantly affect the structure of the carabid communities. The aim of this study was to investigate the abundance and diversity of ground beetles in hazelnut agroecosystems characterized by different agricultural methods in Calabria, Southern Italy. The carabids were collected from 2017 to 2018 in three hazelnut groves referred to in this study as AZ1, AZ2 and AZ3. Carabids were sampled using pitfall traps inspected every two weeks over a period of 24 months. A total of 4665 specimens belonging to 48 taxa were collected within the sampled sites. Many taxa were found to be widely distributed across the three selected hazelnut groves. Among these, Calathus spp., Harpalus dimidiatus (P. Rossi, 1790), Nebria spp., Platyderus neapolitanus jannonei (Binaghi in Magistretti, 1955), Poecilus cupreus (Linnaeus, 1758), Pterostichus melas italicus (Dejean, 1828), and Syntomus obscuroguttatus (Duftschmid, 1812) were the most abundant ones associated with all sampled areas. Concerning trophic preference, among the collected taxa, the most abundant ones were zoophagous and zoospermophagous. Additionally, taxa uncommon in agroecosystems but with ecological relevance, such as Carabus lefebvrei lefebvrei Dejean, 1826, Carabus preslii neumeyeri Schaum, 1856, and Carabus rossii Dejean, 1826, were also collected.

Background Paclitaxel is a well-known chemotherapeutic agent widely applied as a therapy for various types of cancers. In vitro culture of Corylus avellana has been named as a promising and low-cost strategy for paclitaxel production. Fungal elicitors have been reported as an impressive strategy for improving paclitaxel biosynthesis in cell suspension culture (CSC) of C. avellana . The objectives of this research were to forecast and optimize growth and paclitaxel biosynthesis based on four input variables including cell extract (CE) and culture filtrate (CF) concentration levels, elicitor adding day and CSC harvesting time in C. avellana cell culture, as a case study, using general regression neural network-fruit fly optimization algorithm (GRNN-FOA) via data mining approach for the first time. Results GRNN-FOA models (0.88–0.97) showed the superior prediction performances as compared to regression models (0.57–0.86). Comparative analysis of multilayer perceptron-genetic algorithm (MLP-GA) and GRNN-FOA showed very slight difference between two models for dry weight (DW), intracellular and extracellular paclitaxel in testing subset, the unseen data. However, MLP-GA was slightly more accurate as compared to GRNN-FOA for total paclitaxel and extracellular paclitaxel portion in testing subset. The slight difference was observed in maximum growth and paclitaxel biosynthesis optimized by FOA and GA. The optimization analysis using FOA on developed GRNN-FOA models showed that optimal CE [4.29% (v/v)] and CF [5.38% (v/v)] concentration levels, elicitor adding day (17) and harvesting time (88 h and 19 min) can lead to highest paclitaxel biosynthesis (372.89 µg l −1 ). Conclusions Great accordance between the predicted and observed values of DW, intracellular, extracellular and total yield of paclitaxel, and also extracellular paclitaxel portion support excellent performance of developed GRNN-FOA models. Overall, GRNN-FOA as new mathematical tool may pave the way for forecasting and optimizing secondary metabolite production in plant in vitro culture.

Background The present study aimed to comparatively analyze phytochemical compounds and quality characteristics of hazelnut cultivars from Italy (‘Tonda Gentile Romana’, ‘Tonda di Giffoni’, ‘Nocchione’, and ‘Mortarella’) and Türkiye (‘Tombul’, ‘Foşa’, and ‘Çakıldak’), cultivated under identical ecological conditions. In this scope, a comprehensive evaluation of the physical characteristics of the nuts and kernels, biochemical properties (total phenolics, total flavonoids, antioxidant activity), protein, oil, ash contents, and fatty acid composition were conducted in cultivars. Results A wide variation was observed in the characteristics investigated among hazelnut cultivars. In the study, physical characteristics were determined as nut weight between 1.82 and 3.31 g, kernel weight between 0.96 and 1.49 g, shell thickness between 1.10 and 1.96 mm, and kernel percentage between 39.61 and 52.87%. The biochemical properties included total phenolics, total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity (according to DPPH and FRAP assays), which ranged from 21.84 to 50.86 g GAE kg − 1 , 3.11 to 6.09 g QE kg − 1 , 13.15 to 37.51 mmol TE kg − 1 , and 57.22 to 102.13 mmol TE kg − 1 , respectively. The oil content was found to vary from 52.46 to 65.74%. Also, palmitic acid (C 16:0 ) varied between 4.66 and 5.79%, stearic acid (C 18:0 ) varied between 1.71 and 2.76%, oleic acid (C 18:1 ) varied between 83.21 and 87.37%, and linoleic acid (C 18:2 ) varied between 4.25 and 8.77%. Principal component analysis indicated that the examined characteristics were highly effective in describing the variation among cultivars, with the first three principal components accounting for 84.9% of the overall variability. Conclusions This comparative study demonstrates considerable variation in physical and biochemical characteristics among Italian and Turkish hazelnut cultivars. Results provide important information for future cultivar selection and breeding programs, highlighting characteristics desirable for specific commercial and industrial treatments.

Diaporthe eres has been recently reported as the causal agent of hazelnut defects, with characteristic brown spots on the kernels surface and internal fruit discoloration. Knowledge regarding the ecology of this fungus is poor but, is critical to support a rationale and effective hazelnut crop protection strategy. Therefore, a study was performed to describe and model the effect of different abiotic factors such as temperature (T, 5–35°C, step 5°C) and water activity (a w 0.83–0.99, step 0.03) regimes on D . eres mycelial growth, pycnidial conidiomata development and asexual spore production during a 60-day incubation period. Alpha conidia germination was tested in the same T range and at different relative humidities (RH = 94, 97 and 100%) over 48 h incubation period. Fungal growth was observed from the first visual observation; regarding pycnidia and cirrhi, their development started after 8 and 19 days of incubation, respectively and increased over time. The optimum T for growth was 20–25°C and for pycnidia and cirrhi development was 30°C; a w ≥ 0.98 was optimal for the tested steps of the fungal cycle. The best condition for conidial germination of D . eres was at 25°C with RH = 100%. Quantitative data obtained were fitted using non- linear regression functions (Bete, logistic and polynomial), which provided a very good fit of the biological process (R 2 = 0.793–0.987). These functions could be the basis for the development of a predictive model for the infection of D . eres of hazelnuts.

Incorporating data-driven technologies into agriculture presents a promising approach to optimizing crop production, especially in regions dependent on irrigation, where escalating heat waves and droughts driven by climate change pose increasing challenges. Recent advancements in sensor technology have introduced diverse methods for assessing irrigation needs, including meteorological sensors for calculating reference evapotranspiration, belowground sensors for measuring plant available water, and plant sensors for direct water status measurements. Among these, infrared thermometry stands out as a non-destructive remote sensing method for monitoring transpiration, with significant potential for integration into drone- or satellite-based models. This study applies infrared thermometry to develop a crop water stress index (CWSI) model for European hazelnuts (Corylus avellana), a key crop in Oregon, the leading hazelnut-producing state in the United States. Utilizing low-cost, open-source infrared thermometers and data loggers, we aim to provide hazelnut farmers with a practical tool for improving irrigation efficiency and enhancing yields. The CWSI model was validated against plant water status metrics such as stem water potential and gas exchange measurements. Our results show that when stem water potential is below −6 bar, the CWSI remains under 0.2, indicating low plant stress, with corresponding leaf conductance rates ranging between 0.1 and 0.4 mol m2 s−1. Additionally, un-irrigated hazelnuts were stressed (CWSI > 0.2) from mid-July through the end of the season, while irrigated plants remained unstressed. The findings suggest that farmers can adopt a leaf conductance threshold of 0.2 mol m2 s−1 or a water potential threshold of −6 bar for irrigation management. This research introduces a new CWSI model for hazelnuts and highlights the potential of low-cost technology to improve agricultural monitoring and decision-making.