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Biochar modifications and fortifications are used to increase soil nutrient retention and increase crop yields, but the effects on phosphate (Pi) availability for plants are unknown for saline-alkaline soils. We used peanut shells (Peanut-S) as the starting material for biochar (Biochar) and MgO-modified biochar (MgO-Biochar) to study the Pi adsorption mechanisms under field conditions. Compared with Biochar and Peanut-S, MgO-Biochar adsorbed Pi in aqueous solution 20% better and reached equilibrium at twice the rate at twice the rate. MgO-Biochar also showed better Pi adsorption in saline soils and the maximum Pi adsorption capacity was 1.46 times higher than Biochar. We found that electrostatic attraction, precipitation and exchangeable anions contributed to the adsorption of phosphate and MgO-Biochar possessed the greatest adsorption capacity. MgO-Biochar application increased the soil available P content and resulted in higher rice yields in field experiments in the saline soil conditions found in the Yellow river delta region. Overall, our study offers a theoretical and practical foundation for the remediation of saline soil using MgO-modified biochar.

In order to study the effect of bagging on the aroma quality of mangoes, experiments were performed on “Tainong No.1” mangoes with 2 types of bags, namely white single-layer bags (WB) and yellow/black double-layer bag (BB). With non-bagging fruits as the control group, the aroma compounds in the mangoes in different postharvest stages were analyzed via solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). The results indicated that 19 aroma compounds were detected in testing fruits, which were mainly terpenoids. We observed that the effect of bagging on the synthesis of aroma compounds in the mangoes differed among different postharvest stages. Compared with the control group, bagging inhibited the aroma synthesis in the fruits in the early postharvest stages, but facilitated it in the later stages. Additionally, the white single-layer fruit bags had a better effect on the aroma synthesis in postharvest mangoes; hence, it is advisable to use white single-layer fruit bags for mango production.

Boron (B) is an important element for the plant. The aim of work was to study the effect of B on fruit quality of pineapple. The experiment was carried out with ‘Comte de paris’ variety in pots. The results demonstrated that B had positive effect on fruit weight, TSS, the ratio of TSS/acidity, Vitamin C, the content of aroma volatile compounds. The B had no effect on the content of the three sugars (sucrose, fructose and glucose) and titrable acidity. There was a positive effect on fruit quality by application of B fertilizer in production of pineapple.