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Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw. (Cucurbitaceae) is a species native to Mexico and Central America. The collection, characterization, and evaluation of accessions maintained in genebanks is essential for the conservation of this species. However, there are no specific varietal descriptors that differ from those used in a phenetic approach and are adapted to international registration guidelines to help distinguish, improve, cluster, and protect intraspecific variants of common use and those obtained by breeding. Therefore, 65 morphological descriptors (qualitative and quantitative) were evaluated in 133 accessions obtained from Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica located in the National Germplasm Bank of S. edule in Mexico. These characteristics were observed to be phenetically stable for five generations under the same agroclimatic conditions. In addition, an analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was applied to 133 samples from a set of 245 accessions. According to the multivariate analysis, 26 of the 65 descriptors evaluated (qualitative and quantitative) enabled differentiation of varieties of S. edule. The AFLP analysis showed a high level of polymorphism and genetic distance between cultivated accessions and their corresponding wild ancestor. The variations in S. edule suggest that the morphological characteristics have differentiated from an essentially derived initial edible variety (ancestral original variety), but unlike other cucurbits, there is no evidence of the ancestral edible for Sechium since the seed is unorthodox and there are no relicts.

Insect dependency of apple crop for pollination vary in different cultivars. The cv. ‘Delicious Pilafa Tripoleos’, is a Protected Designation of Origin apple of Greece, which lacks information on self-compatibility and needs for insect pollination for commercial fruit production. Here, the effect of wind, free (wind and insects), honeybee, free with at least one visit from a bumblebee and hand pollination was examined on fruit set and fruit characteristics. Also, the effect of flowering patches as a practice to attract pollinators in the apple orchards, on fruit quality characteristics was studied. A pollinizer apple variety and insect pollinators are necessary for successful pollination of ‘Delicious Pilafa Tripoleos’ since hand pollination with pollen of the same cv., and wind pollination resulted in very low fruit set. Single flower visits by honeybees could give fruit set, however, free pollination with at least one visit of B. terrestris resulted in higher fruit set compared to the other pollination treatments. Free pollination resulted in more fruits with higher number of seeds than wind pollination (only one fruit obtained). Apples produced from flowers adjacent to the flowering mixture patches had significantly higher skin firmness and lower total soluble solids at harvest (both desirable traits for ‘Delicious Pilafa Tripoleos’), compared to fruits from trees in naturally occurring groundcover.

Not only leaves but also other plant organs and structures typically considered as carbon sinks, including stems, roots, flowers, fruits and seeds, may exhibit photosynthetic activity. There is still a lack of a coherent and systematized body of knowledge and consensus on the role(s) of photosynthesis in these “sink” organs. With regard to fruits, their actual photosynthetic activity is influenced by a range of properties, including fruit anatomy, histology, physiology, development and the surrounding microclimate. At early stages of development fruits generally contain high levels of chlorophylls, a high density of functional stomata and thin cuticles. While some plant species retain functional chloroplasts in their fruits upon subsequent development or ripening, most species undergo a disintegration of the fruit chloroplast grana and reduction in stomata functionality, thus limiting gas exchange. In addition, the increase in fruit volume hinders light penetration and access to CO2, also reducing photosynthetic activity. This review aimed to compile information on aspects related to fruit photosynthesis, from fruit characteristics to ecological drivers, and to address the following challenging biological questions: why does a fruit show photosynthetic activity and what could be its functions? Overall, there is a body of evidence to support the hypothesis that photosynthesis in fruits is key to locally providing: ATP and NADPH, which are both fundamental for several demanding biosynthetic pathways (e.g., synthesis of fatty acids); O2, to prevent hypoxia in its inner tissues including seeds; and carbon skeletons, which can fuel the biosynthesis of primary and secondary metabolites important for the growth of fruits and for spreading, survival and germination of their seed (e.g., sugars, flavonoids, tannins, lipids). At the same time, both primary and secondary metabolites present in fruits and seeds are key to human life, for instance as sources for nutrition, bioactives, oils and other economically important compounds or components. Understanding the functions of photosynthesis in fruits is pivotal to crop management, providing a rationale for manipulating microenvironmental conditions and the expression of key photosynthetic genes, which may help growers or breeders to optimize development, composition, yield or other economically important fruit quality aspects.

Pomegranate variety properties are important not only to demonstrate their diversity but also to satisfy the current market need for high-quality fruits. This study aims to characterize pomological and physico-chemical features as well as the antioxidant capacity of Moroccan local cultivars (Djeibi, Mersi, Sefri 1 and Sefri 2) compared to the imported ones (Mollar de Elche and Hicaz). The pomological characteristics of varieties were relatively diverse. The juice varieties (PJ) displayed a marketed variability in organoleptic and quality properties, such as the flavor, juice yield, and micro/macronutrients contents. Interrelationships among the analyzed properties and PJ varieties were investigated by principal component analysis (PCA). Dimension of the data set was reduced to two components by PCA accounting for 64.53% of the variability observed. The rinds varieties (PR) were studied for their total phenolics, flavonoids, and condensed tannins quantifications. PR varieties extracts exhibited different levels of free radical scavenging activity and local varieties revealed a greater potential with stability over time. The HPLC-DAD analyses of PR extracts revealed (+) catechin as the major compound, where the highest content was found for the local varieties. The SEC analysis showed the molecular weight distribution of phenolic compounds with a high size of condensed tannins formed by the polymerization of the catechin monomer. Given these properties, this research provides an easy selection of high-quality fruits as potential candidates for local market needs.

[...]the unique fatty acid composition of the fruit pulp oil, especially the high content of omega-7 monounsaturated palmitoleic acid, which is rare in plants, contributes to the nutritional benefits of its products (Sola Marsinach and Cuenca, 2019). In addition to cultivation for fruit production, sea buckthorn is also used for ecological restoration due to its high resistance to extreme conditions (Ruan et al., 2013). [...]90% of sea buckthorn resources are located in China (Singh, 2022). In recent years, high-quality genome assemblies of H. rhamnoides (with sizes of 849, 730, and 919 Mb) (Wu et al., 2022;Yu et al., 2022;Yang et al., 2024), Hippophae tibetana (957 and 1453 Mb) (Wang et al., 2022b;Zhang et al., 2024), and Hippophae gyantsensis (716 Mb) (Chen et al., 2024) were obtained. [...]there is a lack of genomic data for varieties of sea buckthorn. Genome sequencing was performed on a NovaSeq 6000 (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) with a read length of 150 + 150 bp. 2.4 Sequencing data analysis The obtained Illumina reads were processed with Trimmomatic 0.39 (TRAILING:28, SLIDINGWINDOW:4:17, MINLEN:40) (Bolger et al., 2014).

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of treatment conditions of plant growth regulators on the marketability of ‘Red Dream’, a triploid grape. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, gibberellic acid 3 (GA3) 100 ppm single use treatment group was set as a control group. In addition, the fruit characteristics expressed when cytokinins such as thidiazuron (TDZ) or forchlorfenuron (CPPU) 2.5 ppm or 5.0 ppm mixed with GA3 100 ppm were compared with the control group. Cluster weight was commonly higher in the mixed treatment of TDZ or CPPU than in the GA3 single use treatment, and it was found that the cytokinin mixed treatment could effectively induce the enlargement of ‘Red Dream’ berries. Although the harvesting period was slightly delayed compared to GA3 single use treatment in the case of mixed treatment of GA3 and TDZ or CPPU, there was no inhibition of coloration, soluble solid sugar content and functionality, which are important indicators of marketability. In particular, in the GA3 100 ppm + TDZ 5 ppm treatment group, where the enlargement of fruits was the largest, the occurrence rate of non-commercial berry was also found to be the lowest. Therefore, it is expected to contribute to strengthening the marketability of ‘Red Dream’ if such plant growth regulator treatment condition is applied during cultivation.

Salinity in soil or water is a serious threat to global agriculture; the expected acreage affected by salinity is about 20% of the global irrigated lands. Improving salt tolerance of plants through breeding is a complex undertaking due to the number of traits involved. Grafting, a surgical mean of joining a scion and rootstock of two different genotypes with the desired traits, offers an alternative to breeding and biotechnological approaches to salt tolerance. Grafting can also be used to circumvent other biotic and abiotic stresses. Increasing salinity tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopresicum L.), a highly nutritious and economical vegetable, will have greater impact on the vegetable industry, especially in (semi) arid regions where salinity in soil and water are more prevalent. Besides, plants also experience salt stress when water in hydroponic system is recycled for tomato production. Grafting high yielding but salt-susceptible tomato cultivars onto salt-resistant/tolerant rootstocks is a sustainable strategy to overcome saline stress. Selection of salt-tolerant rootstocks though screening of available commercial and wild relatives of tomato under salt stress conditions is a pre-requisite for grafting. The positive response of grafting exerted by tolerant rootstocks or scion-rootstock interactions on yield and fruit characteristics of tomato under saline conditions is attributed to several physiological and biochemical changes. In this review, the importance of tomato grafting, strategies to select appropriate rootstocks, scion-rootstock interaction for growth, yield and quality characteristics, as well as the tolerance mechanisms that (grafted) plants deploy to circumvent or minimize the effects of salt stress in root zones are discussed. The future challenges of grafting tomato are also highlighted.

With the expansion of the mango consumer market, exports of the product have increased. The harvest time effects quality characteristics, which identify the quality and consequently the price of the product. Greece is very close to the European markets, so mango fruits can be transferred at a ready-to-eat stage and minimize the distance between harvest maturity and edibility. On this research we studied the characteristics of twelve mango cultivars (‘Carrie’, ‘Keitt’, ‘Kensington’, ‘Kent’, ‘Lippens’, ‘Osteen’, ‘Palmer’, ‘Sabre’, ‘Sensation’, ‘Tommy Atkins’, ‘Van Dyke’ and ‘Zill’) in Greece. The parameters measured were the harvest time, fruit weight and size, fruit firmness, juice pH, soluble solid components, dry matter, ascorbic acid, total sugars and acidity. The first fruits were harvested ready-to-eat, at the first days of August. Fruit firmness was from 4.28 K/cm2 (‘Sensation’), to 1.55 (‘Lippens’). The pH level ranged from 3.64 (‘Van Dyke’) to 4.52 (‘Osteen’). Total soluble solids were 19.84% Brix in ‘Kent’, different from ‘Osteen’ (16.33%). ‘Kent’ had the highest dry matter concentration (25.3%). The higher amount of ascorbic acid (Vit C) was measured in ‘Palmer’ (82.79 mg/100 g juice). Total sugar was the highest in ‘Tommy Atkins’ (24.82 g glucose/100 g juice) and the lowest in ‘Palmer’ (6.51 g glucose/100 g juice). The lowest acidity was observed in ‘Lippens’ (0.16%). Our results indicate that Greece can offer fruit production of high quality, at the ready-to-eat stage. Our results are the first data of mango cultivation in Greece, a region of Europe where mango crop is gaining ground on the market.

Given the dioecious nature of date palms, selecting an effective pollinizer bearing a substantial quantity of high-quality pollen is imperative. In this study, we investigated the effects of 11 male date palm cultivars from Tunisia on the production of female trees, fruit sets, and the characteristics of 'Deglet Nour' cultivar dates. The comparison of pollen germination rates showed that ABD1 and P169 pollens exhibited outstanding viability, with 98.7% and 98.3%, respectively. On the other hand, P169 pollen had the highest germination rate, at 86.3%. The most remarkable fruit set (90.7%) and retention rate (69.7%) were observed in response to P13 pollen. In response to the P165 pollinator, the fruit stood out among the resulting fruits for their notable weight, averaging 11.6 g. In addition, pollination with P90 increased total soluble solids (measured at 74.4°Brix in the Tamr stage), whereas P7-pollinated fruits recorded the highest levels of reducing sugars, reaching 41%. Notably, the highest acidity levels were found in P7-pollinated fruits (0.29%), and pollen sources significantly influenced the fruits' mineral content. Moreover, regarding pomological characteristics, fruits pollinated with P4 attained maximum size, measuring 4.10 cm. Conversely, P7-pollinated fruits had a notable width of 2.02 cm. These findings illustrate the possibility of the selective application of high-value pollinizers and emphasize the direct influence of pollen sources on fruit quantity and quality.

Background Camellia oleifera , an essential woody oil tree in China, propagates through grafting. However, in production, it has been found that the interaction between rootstocks and scions may affect fruit characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to predict fruit characteristics after grafting to identify suitable rootstock types. Methods This study used Deep Neural Network (DNN) methods to analyze the impact of 106 6-year-old grafting combinations on the characteristics of C.oleifera , including fruit and seed characteristics, and fatty acids. The prediction of characteristics changes after grafting was explored to provide technical support for the cultivation and screening of specialized rootstocks. After determining the unsaturated fat acids, palmitoleic acid C16:1, cis-11 eicosenoic acid C20:1, oleic acid C18:1, linoleic acid C18:2, linolenic acid C18:3, kernel oil content, fruit height, fruit diameter, fresh fruit weight, pericarp thickness, fresh seed weight, and the number of fresh seeds, the DNN method was used to calculate and analyze the model. The model was screened using the comprehensive evaluation index of Mean Absolute Error (MAPE), determinate correlation R 2 and and time consumption. Results When using 36 neurons in 3 hidden layers, the deep neural network model had a MAPE of less than or equal to 16.39% on the verification set and less than or equal to 13.40% on the test set. Compared with traditional machine learning methods such as support vector machines and random forests, the DNN method demonstrated more accurate predictions for fruit phenotypic characteristics, with MAPE improvement rates of 7.27 and 3.28 for the 12 characteristics on the test set and maximum R 2 improvement values of 0.19 and 0.33. In conclusion, the DNN method developed in this study can effectively predict the oil content and fruit phenotypic characteristics of C. oleifera , providing a valuable tool for predicting the impact of grafting combinations on the fruit of C. oleifera .