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Fruit colour is a crucial factor influencing both the marketability and quality of pepper (Capsicum annuum), particularly ornamental varieties. Fruit colour is a complex multigenic trait in plant species. Previously, the Arabidopsis pseudo-response regulator 2 (APRR2) gene, one of the regulators that control fruit chlorophyll content and chloroplast development, thereby influencing fruit colour at the green immature stage in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and pepper, was reported. Functional molecular markers associated with this homologous gene in pepper could be employed to discern fruit colour at the seedling stage, thus improving the efficiency of green/white-fruited pepper breeding. In this study, a derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (dCAPS) marker was developed based on the mutation site in the sequence of a CaAPRR2-like gene that was cloned from the inbred line B1-2, which exhibits milky white fruit at the green immature stage. The marker was subsequently validated in a CaAPRR2-like progeny segregation population. After digestion with the restriction endonuclease TaqI, the amplification product exhibited evident polymorphic bands, enabling it to distinguish between peppers with milky white and green fruit colours. The developed molecular marker displayed remarkable stability and repeatability, thus offering a straightforward and effective tool for enhancing fruit colour in pepper breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The study aimed to explore different extraction methods, extraction solvents, as well as solvent/water mixtures that could potentially yield(s) the best growth-enhancing, yield- and qualitypromoting effects of Moringa oleifera leaf extracts (MLEs), when applied foliarly to tomatoes and peppers. Research Method: This study was laid out following a complete randomized design with three replications. Foliar application of MLEs tested included: control, aqueous (hot water, MLE HW), aqueous (cold water, MLE CW), ethanolic (MLE ETH) and methanolic (MLE METH) extracts. These treatments were repeatedly sprayed onto the leaves of selected plants, from two weeks after transplanting in weekly intervals until fruit set. Findings: Foliar application of all MLEs significantly enhanced growth of both pepper and tomato plants compared with the control. MLE HW application positively affected yield parameters, followed by MLE ETH and MLE METH. All MLEs significantly enhanced the colour coordinate a* and TSS, excluding MLE CW. Carotenoids in red peppers were significantly higher, following all MLE treatments, excluding the MLE CW, while in red tomatoes MLEs enhanced lycopene and ß-carotene content. The concentration of Vitamin C was also significantly enhanced by MLE application to peppers, while in tomatoes, only MLE METH and MLE ETH positively altered the fruit Vit C concentration. These results generally prove that MLE application could potentially be used to improve crop production and their nutritive value. Research limitations: There were no limitations identified. Originality/Value: The results obtained in this study highlight the potential MLEs, particularly hot water MLE, to enhance growth, yield and nutritional quality of pepper and tomato, without compromising human health and environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Azotobacter species exhibit high tolerance to drought stress and could alleviate the negative effects exerted by stress on plants. In order to enhance the growth of tomato and chilli plants under drought stress, this study sought to isolate and characterize drought-tolerant Azotobacter strains isolated from uncharted environments exhibiting a variety of plant growth promotion qualities. Total 7 soil samples were collected from different drought prone areas to isolate the Azotobacter species out of which 22 stains were isolated. Initial screening for drought resistance revealed that 6 isolates exhibited maximum tolerance for PEG concentration (25g/100ml). Selected stains were further characterized for plant growth promotional activities (Phohphate solubilization, synthesis of siderophores and indole-3-acetic acid) and induction of drought tolerance in tomato and chilli plants. The bacterized seeds of tomato and chilli were evaluated in the pot soil irrigated 30% of field capacity wherein the isolates showed 15 and 20% higher shoot length respectively, compared with control. Overall results demonstrated that the drought resistant Azotobacter isolates could be used as bio-effector in sustainable agricultural systems under stressful conditions in perspective to improved economic and environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In daily life, nutrition is crucial in maintaining health in all parts of the world. Utilizing foods with medicinal characteristics simultaneously can change the body's pathological and physiological processes. Inflammation is a consequence of a pathophysiological process that leads to cellular damage with the release of inflammatory mediators. Several foods containing bioactive constituents such as phenolics, flavanoids, catechins, tannins, vitamins and non-sodium minerals were reported to possess pharmacological activity that improves the health status of an individual. A range of plant-derived foods such as turmeric (Curcuma longa), green tea (Camellia sinensis), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), chili pepper (Capsicum annum) and nuts such as almond (Prunus dulcis) and hazelnuts (Corylus avellana) showed the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. In this review article, the knowledge regarding food-derived plants are compiled and systematically presented in terms of morphological characters, major active constituents, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity because bioactive constituents show low bioavailability, emphasising nanotechnology in the administration has been made in the past to improve targeted drug delivery. These foods may be consumed in a routine balanced diet and also be a good choice that may lead to our healthiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase (GGP) is a key rate-limiting enzyme in plant ascorbic acid synthesis, which plays an important role in plant growth and development as well as stress response. However, the presence of GGP and its function in potato and pepper are not known. In this study, we first identified two GGP genes in each potato and pepper genomes using a genome-wide search approach. We then analyzed their physicochemical properties, conserved domains, protein structures and phylogenetic relationships. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that members of the potato and pepper GGP gene families are related to eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana L.), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), with tomato being the most closely related. The promoter sequences mainly contain homeopathic elements such as light-responsive, hormone-responsive and stress-responsive, with light-responsive elements being the most abundant. By analyzing the structure of the genes, it was found that there is no transmembrane structure or signal peptide in the GGP gene family of potatoes and peppers, and that all of its members are hydrophilic proteins. The expression profiles of different tissues show that StGGP1 has the highest expression levels in leaves, StGGP2 has the highest expression levels in stamens, and CaGGPs have the highest expression levels in the early stages of fruit development (Dev1). It was found that StGGPs and CaGGPs genes showed different response to phytohormones and abiotic stresses. Abscisic acid (ABA) treatment induced the most significant change in the expression of StGGPs, while the expression of CaGGPs showed the most pronounced change under methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatment. StGGPs responded mainly to dark treatment, whereas CaGGPs responded mainly to NaCl stress. These results provide an important basis for a detailed study about the functions of GGP homologous genes in potato and pepper in response to abiotic stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crops of the Solanaceae family are essential crops in the human diet and are grown worldwide. They are infected by many pathogens, which can cause various diseases, the most important of which is bacterial soft rot, which is considered among the most critical and complex diseases due to its economic importance in the field and storage. Pantoea agglomerans, formerly Enterobacter agglomerans, are among the most common bacterial pathogens. It infects a wide range of crops and plants with various diseases, including bacterial soft rot of onion, Chinese cabbage, and Chinese yam and wilt, gall, and blight diseases in other crops. Pathogenicity tests were conducted on samples collected from greenhouse crops of tomato and pepper. In addition to those obtained from local markets, which showed soft rot symptoms, five isolates were identified to cause soft rot disease. Isolate Pa3 outperformed the rest of the isolates in terms of speed of symptom appearance and severity of virulence. The isolate tested negative for Gram stain but tested positive for KOH, catalase, gelatin liquefaction, oxidation-fermentation, and motility tests. It was negative for indole production and oxidation tests based on biochemical analyses. Nucleotide sequence analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA result confirmed a 100% similarity rate and was registered in NCBI under the accession number (OR690734). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of mycorrhiza and seaweed are becoming significant and complementary applications in different production systems because organisms increased quality of seedlings and crop yield. This study has been conducted under growth chamber conditions to determine some of the seedling growth parameters (length (cm), stem diameter (mm), fresh weight (g plant −1), dry weight (g plant −1), root fresh weight (g plant −1), root dry weight (g plant −1), leaf area (cm2 plant−1), SPAD, photosynthesis rate (%) and color parameters). As a plant material, Cuma F1 and Mert F1 genotype seeds were sown. Endo Roots Soluble (Mycorrhiza (ERS)) and MC-Extra (Seaweed) were applied in different doses (0, 250 and 500 mg kg−1) to seedling growing vessels at a rate of 10 ml per plant. Treatment effects in tomato were found statistically significant (p ≤.01**) on stem diameter, fresh weight, dry weight. Seedling length, leaf area and SPAD results were also statistically significant (p ≤.01**), and the results of these parameters were higher in ERS. ERS increases the leaf area and SPAD measurements in tomato seedlings. The results of pepper measurements were found to be statistically significant at p ≤.05* on root fresh weight, SPAD and photosynthesis rate. The highest values of root fresh weight, SPAD were obtained from 250 mg kg−1 doses of ERS; the highest value of photosynthesis rate was measured from 500 mg kg−1 doses of ERS on pepper. The effect of 500 mg kg−1 ERS on seedling growth was found statistically significant in pepper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd; genus Pospiviroid) was detected from pepper (Capsicum annuum) seeds produced in Vietnam during an export inspection. The PSTVd isolate (PSTVd-VN) maintained its viability. The phylogenetic relationship between PSTVd-VN and other PSTVd variants that were isolated from other plants and was classified into lethal and severe strains. PSTVd-VN in tomatoes (cv. Rutgers) caused severe stunting and necrosis of the stems and leaf veins, but no symptoms in inoculated pepper plants except that the fruits were smaller than the control peppers. To our knowledge, this is the first report of PSTVd from pepper seeds produced in Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the most important vegetable and fruit crop in the family Solanaceae worldwide. Numerous pests and pathogens, especially viruses, severely affect tomato production, causing immeasurable market losses. In Taiwan, the cultivation of tomato crops is mainly threatened by insect-borne viruses, among which pepper veinal mottle virus (PVMV) is one of the most prevalent. PVMV is a member of the genus Potyvirus of the family Potyviridae and is non-persistently transmitted by aphids. Its infection significantly reduces tomato fruit yield and quality. So far, no PVMV-resistant tomato lines are available. In this study, we performed nitrite-induced mutagenesis of the PVMV tomato isolate Tn to generate attenuated PVMV mutants. PVMV Tn causes necrotic lesions in Chenopodium quinoa leaves and severe mosaic and wilting in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. After nitrite treatment, three attenuated PVMV mutants, m4-8, m10-1, and m10-11, were selected while inducing milder responses to C. quinoa and N. benthamiana with lower accumulation in tomato plants. In greenhouse tests, the three mutants showed different degrees of cross-protection against wild-type PVMV Tn. m4-8 showed the highest protective efficacy against PVMV Tn in N. benthamiana and tomato plants, 100% and 97.9%, respectively. A whole-genome sequence comparison of PVMV Tn and m4-8 revealed that 20 nucleotide substitutions occurred in the m4-8 genome, resulting in 18 amino acid changes. Our results suggest that m4-8 has excellent potential to protect tomato crops from PVMV. The application of m4-8 in protecting other Solanaceae crops, such as peppers, will be studied in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The competitive colonization of bacteria on similar ecological niches has a significant impact during their establishment. The synthesis speeds of different chemical classes of molecules during early competitive colonization can reduce the number of competitors through metabolic effects. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time that Kosakonia cowanii Cp1 previously isolated from the seeds of Capsicum pubescens R. P. produced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during competitive colonization against Pectobacterium aroidearum SM2, affecting soft rot symptoms in serrano chili (Capsicum annuum L.). The pathogen P. aroidearum SM2 was isolated from the fruits of C. annuum var. Serrano with soft rot symptoms. The genome of the SM2 strain carries a 5,037,920 bp chromosome with 51.46% G + C content and 4925 predicted protein-coding genes. It presents 12 genes encoding plant-cell-wall-degrading enzymes (PCDEWs), 139 genes involved in five types of secretion systems, and 16 genes related to invasion motility. Pathogenic essays showed soft rot symptoms in the fruits of C. annuum L., Solanum lycopersicum, and Physalis philadelphica and the tubers of Solanum tuberosum. During the growth phases of K. cowanii Cp1, a mix of VOCs was identified by means of HS-SPME-GC-MS. Of these compounds, 2,5-dimethyl-pyrazine showed bactericidal effects and synergy with acetoin during the competitive colonization of K. cowanii Cp1 to completely reduce soft rot symptoms. This work provides novel evidence grounding a better understanding of bacterial interactions during competitive colonization on plant tissue, where VOC synthesis is essential and has a high potential capacity to control pathogenic microorganisms in agricultural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is considered one of the most threatening viruses worldwide for different economically important agricultural crops. In this scenario, it is important to perform an early detection by laboratory tests to prevent TSWV spread. A rapid and sensitive TSWV detection protocol based on real time reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed in this work, also using cost-effective and simplified sample preparation procedure, to assess the suitability of the RT-LAMP assay in field conditions on tomato and pepper samples. A set of six primers was designed within the nucleotide sequence region coding for the nucleocapsid protein (N) of segment S, targeting a 220-nucleotide sequence. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and in-field application of the real-time RT-LAMP assay were evaluated. The developed real-time RT-LAMP assay proved to be one thousand and one hundred times more sensitive than end-point RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR methods, respectively, detecting a total of 9.191 × 101 genome copies as minimum target, and no cross-reactivity were detected with other viruses belonging to Tospoviridae and Bromoviridae families used as outgroup. In addition, the in-field application of the assay using the rapid sample preparation gave adequate and reliable results within 60 minutes, with an acceptable reaction delay when compared to canonical RNA extraction. The in-field analyses showed an increase of TSWV-positive samples (37%) detection compared with end-point RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR (32% and 29%, respectively), particularly on asymptomatic samples, confirming that the real-time RT-LAMP assay can be implemented as a routine test both in-field and laboratory conditions as a rapid and sensitive technique for TSWV detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim An extensive survey was done to clarify the prevalent Stemphylium species on Solanaceae plants across Brazil, and their host ranges. Methods and Results Eighty nine (89) Stemphylium isolates were obtained from naturally infected tomatoes as well as S. paniculatum , potato, eggplant, scarlet eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum var. gilo), Physalis angulata , and Capsicum species. Phylogenetic analyses encompassing the ITS-5.8S rDNA and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase genomic regions placed the isolates into two distinct groupings with either Stemphylium lycopersici or S. solani. Isolates of S. lycopersici (n  = 81) were obtained infecting tomato, potato, eggplant, S. paniculatum , and P. angulata. Isolates of S. solani (n  = 8) were detected in natural association with scarlet eggplant and tomato. Two isolates of S. lycopersici displayed a wide experimental host range in greenhouse bioassays, infecting accessions of 12 out of 18 species. Ocimum basilicum (Lamiaceae) was the only experimental host outside the Solanaceae family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global food security is constantly threatened by emerging plant viruses, which cause outbreaks that reduce the yield and the quality of crops that sustain food chains. Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) (genus Tobamovirus, family Virgaviridae) is an emerging plant virus which, since first being reported in Jordan in 2015, has spread to many countries in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe causing high losses in tomato and pepper crops. We have carried out a survey of ToBRFV in Iran and performed the biological and molecular characterization of a pepper ToBRFV isolate from Yazd province. Our results show that ToBRFV was distributed in nine provinces of Iran during 2021–22. ToBRFV–Yazd induces mild-to-severe mosaic symptoms on tomato, deformation and stunting in infected pepper, necrotic lesions on pepper fruit, systemic symptoms on Datura metel, necrotic local lesions on Gompherena globosa, and chlorotic local lesions on Chenopodium amaranticolor. No symptoms were observed on cucumber, melon, and cowpea. The complete genome sequence of ToBRFV–Yazd was determined, the first complete genome sequence for a ToBRFV isolate from Iran. The sequence is 6,392 nucleotides long and includes four open reading frames encoding the typical tobamovirus proteins. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis with ToBRFV isolates from different countries indicated a very high degree of genetic uniformity among ToBRFV isolates, suggesting a short evolutionary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the research is to reveal the biological removal, balance and coefficient rates of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium use from soil, organo-mineral fertilizers and microbiological concentrates by tomato and sweet pepper in the conditions of Ararat Plain of Armenia. Field experiments were carried out in 2017-2019, on typical irrigated meadow brown soils in triplicate. It has been established that at tomato yields of 50-75 t ha-1, the biological removal of nitrogen ranges from 110 (without fertilizers) to 178 kg ha-1 (N150P80), P2O5: 61-89, K2O5: 166-289 kg ha-1, and at pepper yields of 23-32 t ha-1, respectively - 55-76, 38-49 and 77-106 kg ha-1. Tomato utilization rates from the soil (unfertilized version) are: N: 118, P2O5: 37, K2O: 8%, and the negative balances are respectively: 107, 67 and 109 kg ha-1, similar data for pepper were recorded at: N: 59, P2O5: 23, K2O: 4% and 52, 44, 20 kg ha-1. From fertilizers, tomato absorbs 27-45% nitrogen, 11-48% P2O5 and 48-72% K2O with negative balances (N: 15-55, P2O5: 14-76, K2O: 34-79 kg ha-1), in poultry litter the balance P2O5 = + 94.2 kg ha-1. For pepper, however, these data were respectively amounted to: N: 6-14, P2O5: 10-15, K2O: 9-20%, and the balances were positive. Microbiological concentrates (Azoto + phosphate Barvar) showed poor effectiveness as compared to organo-mineral fertilizers. It was also found that the lower the amount of a mobile element in the soil, or in the fertilizer dose, the higher its utilization rate and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A medium-term assessment of soil fertility of continuously cultivated fields for vegetable production is an important factor for long-term soil sustainability. This study investigates the potentials and limitations of ten-year nutrient management on the fertility of soils under semi-commercial cultivation of four different vegetables [fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), red, and green pepper (Capsicum annuum)] in Nsukka, Southeastern Nigeria. Topsoil samples (0-30 cm) were collected in triplicate from the different vegetable fields and characterized. The results showed that the soils were sandy loam, loamy sand and sandy clay loam (SCL) with similar bulk density, total porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity. However, the soils under red and green peppers had the lowest percentage of the 0.50-1.00 mm water-stable aggregate (WSA), but the highest percentage of aggregate stability (AS) than the other soils. The soils differed significantly in pH, organic matter (OM), available phosphorus (Av.P), exchangeable magnesium (Mg2+), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), hydrogen (H+) and effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC). The moderately acid pH soils under red pepper and tomato cultivation had the highest values for OM, Na+, K+ and H+, as well as ECEC, while the slightly acid pH soil under fluted pumpkin cultivation had the highest Mg2+ content. The soils had low N but high Av.P reserves, indicating low P use efficiency. While the favourable pH, organic matter, and Av.P represent the potential of the soils for vegetable cultivation, N and K are the main potentially limiting nutrients in the studied soils. Overall, the soils under red pepper and tomato cultivation had a better fertility status due to their SCL texture and the application of organic and inorganic fertilizers, which contributed to better soil structure and greater nutrient retention compared to the soils under fluted pumpkin and green pepper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV, Orthotospovirus tomatomaculae) resistance genes (Tsw, Sw5) have been identified in pepper and tomato plants. The development of resistant cultivars is one of the popular management strategies for overcoming viral infections. However, the breakdown of resistance genes has been documented from many places where resistant cultivars have been developed. This has mainly been due to the emergence of resistance-breaking (RB) lines because of the consecutive use of these cultivars. The development of these isolates may cause great losses in both tomato and pepper plants in Türkiye. To investigate the incidence of TSWV, 150 symptomatic samples were collected from widespread locations of tomato and pepper growing provinces in Türkiye. Samples were inoculated to enhance the virus titer and further confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ELISA positive samples were confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) and CAPS markers were used to screen resistance genes in tomato and pepper plants. Positive TSWV-isolates were partially sequenced to determine whether they had the previously reported mutations in NSs or NSm genes for RB isolates. As per the virus characterization, NSm and NSs amino acid sequences showed no previously identified mutations. Resistance gene-carrying isolates were amplified for partial genome sequences. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that both NSs and NSm were distributed in the same genetic pool. The N gene sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis showed that the Turkish isolates were clustered in a separate clade. These findings provide insight into TSWV infections and resistance genes of pepper and tomato by phylogenetic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fruits and vegetables processing produces significant amounts of by-products rich in valuable bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and dietary fiber. Food by-product re-use promotes the eco-sustainability of several crops. This study aimed to apply green extractions of bioactive compounds from by-products of basil, tomato, and red bell pepper production. Tests were performed by applying extraction procedures both at laboratory scale and using the Timatic® extractor. Water and ethanol 10% and 20% were used for extraction of red bell pepper and tomato, testing different temperatures (30, 50, and 90 °C; water at 90 °C and ethanol 20% were applied for basil. The obtained phenolic extracts were analyzed by HPLC-DAD-MS. Polysaccharides of tomato and red bell pepper were extracted at laboratory scale and chemically characterized using 1H-NMR to define the methylation and acylation degree, and DLS to estimate the hydrodynamic volume. Laboratory extraction tests allowed efficient scaling-up of the process on the Timatic® extractor. Phenolic content in the dried extracts (DE) ranged 8.0–11.2 mg/g for tomato and red bell pepper and reached 240 mg/g for basil extracts. Polysaccharide yields (w/w on DM) reached 6.0 and 10.4% for dried tomato and red bell pepper, respectively. Dry extracts obtained using the Timatic® extractor and water can be useful sources of bioactive phenols. The study provided new data on tomato and red bell pepper polysaccharides that may be useful for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Begomoviruses (Geminiviridae family) are characterized by their high recombination rate and a wide range of hosts, making their control difficult. In Costa Rica, various species of bipartite begomoviruses have been reported, which are Pepper golden mosaic virus (PepGMV), Tomato yellow mottle virus (ToYMoV), Tomato leaf curl Sinaloa virus (ToLCSiV) and the monopartite begomovirus Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). Since the TYLCV first report in Costa Rica, neither additional knowledge has been produced on how this begomovirus has spread in the country's territory nor on the distribution of the other bipartite species. A total of 429 tomato samples collected during the years 2015–2016 were used to study these aspects. Each sample was georeferenced and analysed with various techniques such as nucleic acid hybridization, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing for the begomoviruses previously reported in Costa Rica. It was found that the presence/absence of the different species can vary, depending on the province. TYLCV is present in the six provinces analysed in this work, with a proportion from 3.7 to 86.6 per cent. Alajuela, Cartago, and Heredia are the provinces most affected by tomato‐infecting begomoviruses. Fourteen different haplotypes of TYLCV were detected, but all were identified as TYLCV‐IL. The distribution of TYLCV was related to the presence of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci MED, especially in the country's main tomato production areas. This information allows the phytosanitary surveillance services to develop strategies for the integrated management of the disease and to contribute data to the genetic improvement programmes of the crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant diseases induced by various phytopathogens pose a significant threat to contemporary agricultural systems around the world. In modern agriculture, the use of pesticides is still a valuable and effective method to control plant diseases. However, agrochemicals are becoming less popular because of the accretion of toxic compounds perilous and potentially hazardous to humans and the environment. Taking into consideration these aspects, the present study was conducted to explore the biocontrol potential of an endophytic Streptomyces sp. SP5 bioformulations against Fusarium wilt. Three bioformulations were prepared using cell biomass and different carriers, i.e., B1 (talc-kaolin), B2 (MgSO4/glycerol/Na-alginate/talc/Ca-lignosulfonate), and B3 (calcium carbonate/CMC/talc). Apart from antagonistic action against Fusarium wilt, the influence of bioformulations on plant growth and systemic resistance was investigated by analyzing morphological parameters (root length, shoot length, root weight, shoot weight), biochemical parameters (photosynthetic pigments, non-enzymatic antioxidants), and induction of antioxidative enzymes, e.g., catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), in S. lycopersicum and C. annum seedlings. The results revealed that Streptomyces bioformulations effectively controlled Fusarium wilt in S. lycopersicum and C. annum (82.6–83.4% and 81.8–100%, respectively). Besides reducing disease prevalence, bioformulations significantly increased all the morphological parameters and increased the activity of antioxidative enzymes, i.e., CAT, APX, GPX, and SOD, in plants. The current findings display that bioformulations can be utilized as environment-friendly biocontrol agents against Fusarium wilt and also as plant growth promoters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disease outbreaks of bacterial leaf spot and blight of pepper and tomato often occur in both transplant- and field-production systems worldwide. In some cases, the outbreaks are caused by novel bacterial species. Characterization of these novel bacterial species are critical in developing diagnostic assays and identifying management options for pathogen monitoring and sustainable production, respectively. We characterized strains belonging to novel Pseudomonas species that are responsible for outbreaks in pepper and tomato both in transplant-houses and in production fields in Georgia, USA. Phylogenomic analyses and whole genome sequence indices demonstrated that the pepper and tomato strains belonged to P. capsici. The whole-genome comparison revealed that 13 Pseudomonas strains from diverse isolation sources that were curated in NCBI were indeed P. capsici indicating a potential wide-host range for this bacterial species. Our greenhouse-based host-range assay also indicated that P. capsici strains were pathogenic on pepper, tomato, eggplant, cabbage, lettuce, and watermelon corroborating a wide-host-range. A phylogenetic tree inferred from the whole genome sequence data showed that the P. capsici strains from Georgia (pepper and tomato) were genetically diverse, and were closely related to tomato P. capsici strains from Florida. Genomic presence of traditional bacterial virulence factors in P. capsici strains was also determined. Pseudomonas capsici strains encode one set of type I secretion system, two sets of type II secretion systems, one set of type III secretion system, two sets of type V secretion systems, three sets of type VI secretion systems, and various secondary metabolite gene clusters including lipopeptides. In in-vitro assays, it was demonstrated that six out of seven P. capsici strains (pepper and tomato strains from Georgia) were not sensitive to 0.8 mM CuSO4. When the genomes of copper-tolerant strains were compared with the copper-sensitive strains, it was observed that the former strains encode a cluster of genes related to copper tolerance, which were absent in the genomes of copper-sensitive strains. Considering the ability of P. capsici strains to infect a range of vegetable hosts and possession of a wide range of bacterial virulence factors, secondary metabolites, and copper-tolerance genes, we envision that the management of this pathogen might potentially be a challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The symptomatic samples were taken from five districts in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces of Indonesia to survey the genetic diversity of Begomovirus, α and β satellites. Fourteen samples tested positive by PCR for infections of tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus, pepper yellow leaf curl Indonesia virus, mungbean yellow mosaic India virus, and ageratum yellow vein China virus. For the first time, the Ageratum yellow vein alpha satellite (AYVA) was identified in Indonesia and the tomato leaf curl Java beta satellite (ToLCJaB) was detected in different hosts. The partial genome sequences of begomoviruses and complete sequences of the α and β satellites were obtained and deposited in NCBI GenBank (OP846592-OP846615). The phylogenetic study revealed that AYVA and ToLCJaB each had two separate lineages. Coherent with the other reports, the polymorphism and diversity analyses confirmed that the βC1 coding region of the ToLCJaB genome is highly conserved. The comparison of phylogroups 1 and 2 of ToLCJaB produced a high Fixation index (FST) value, indicating genetic isolation between them. This report could serve as a basis for future work on the poorly studied genetic variation of α and β satellites in Indonesia and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since, according to many scientific studies, price is a very important factor when buying fruits and vegetables, it is interesting to study whether price differences between them occur in retail markets. Because of the discussion regarding sustainability, we performed an observational, orienting study on the retail prices of frequently bought packaged and unpackaged fruits and vegetables (apples, tomatoes, and bell peppers) in the Munich area in February and March 2022. We also differentiated between organic and non-organic produce. The relationship between the type of packaging (packaged versus unpackaged) and the retail price (EUR/kg) was determined by means of correlation coefficients, and we examined whether unpackaged products were more expensive than the packaged variants. The results differed for the organic and non-organic variants of the products, as well as among the individual fruit and vegetable varieties. We found a tendency towards unpackaged products being more expensive than packaged fruits and vegetables, in three out of four cases for the non-organic and two out of three cases for the organic products. For all cases, single products and single cost values were observed where the opposite was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that applying specific solutions to the leaves of tomato and pepper plants can boost their output by enhancing nutrient absorption. The factorial analysis of two factors was used in data collection and statistical analysis in this experiment. The first factor was the cultivar (Mobil, Korall, and Tyking F1 for tomatoes, and while cultivars of Carma, Fokusz, and Bobita F1 for sweet pepper), and the second was the spray treatment. Sprays used were sodium bicarbonate (0.52%), 50 mg·L−1 salicylic acid, and distilled water. The parameters collected were the SPAD index of chlorophyll and the plant sap's content of calcium, potassium, and nitrates, with five observations for each record. Salicylic acid 50 mg·L−1 caused the highest multiple contents, particularly in the tomato cultivar Korall. The lowest multiple contents were for the Mobil cultivar. Spraying Mobil with salicylic acid (50 mg·L−1) and sodium bicarbonate (0.52%) produced the lowest chlorophyll and ionic content. Salicylic acid 50 mg·L−1 also led to the highest multiple values, particularly in the Carma pepper cultivar. The results revealed the multiple lowest contents of measured parameters were for the Bobita F1 cultivar. Finally, gardeners should consider growing Korall tomato and Carma pepper with a supportive spraying application of salicylic acid 50 mg·L−1 before seedlings are transferred to an open-air garden. Gardeners should consider the additional production-improving aspects described in existing research and seed manufacturer recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial spot of tomato and chili pepper, caused by four species of Xanthomonas and various races, is one of the diseases with the greatest impact on horticulture worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify the species and physiological races of Xanthomonas present in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) crops in Sinaloa, Mexico. For this purpose, samples with typical symptoms of bacterial spot were collected in commercial fields of the different municipalities in the state of Sinaloa. Ninety-three bacteria were isolated on semi-selective medium as nutrient agar and yeast extract-dextrose. A total of 47 bacteria were identified as Xanthomonas by a combination of morphological, pathogenic, biochemical, physiological, and molecular tests. In addition, to characterize the morphological race of each strain, differential tomato (four) and chili pepper (six) lines were used. Molecular diagnostic using specific primers indicated that 83% corresponded to X. euvesicatoria, 10.6% to X. perforans, and 6.4% to X. vesicatoria. At the physiological race level, races T1, T2, T3, and T5 were detected in tomato; while the Xanthomonas races detected in chili pepper were P0, P3, P6, P8 and P10. This information updates previous data on the distribution of races of Xanthomonas that infect chili peppers in Sinaloa, since races P6 and P10 are reported for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mustafa Kemal University Journal of Agricultural Sciences / Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Tarım Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Agriculture and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Gray mold is a destructive plant disease caused by a fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. The use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) has proven to be a promising method to control this disease. Bacillus velezensis K01 was isolated from the rhizosphere of planting tomatoes. Strain K01 has a range of roles, including the ability to solubilize phytate phosphorus, stimulate resistant response, and produce indoleacetic acid (IAA), protease, cellulase, and antimicrobial substances. Strain K01 was found to inhibit 12 phytopathogenic fungi and 5 phytopathogenic bacteria. Specially, strain K01 demonstrated a biocontrol efficiency of over 78% against gray mold caused by B. cinerea on the leaves and fruits of tomato and pepper. Additionally, K01 was found to promote the growth of maize seedlings. Further genomic analysis revealed that K01 belongs to B. velezensis, which is consistent with phylogenetic analysis, average nucleotide polymorphism (ANI), and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH). The genome of strain K01 had a size of 3,927,799 bp and deduced 3866 predicted genes, with an average guanine-cytosine (GC) content of 46.5%. Based on the analyses of genomic secondary metabolites, over 18.4% of the genome was annotated to 12 gene clusters related to antimicrobial metabolite synthesis. Additionally, genome annotation and comparative genomics identified several genes associated with plant growth promotion and environmental adaption. These findings suggest that B. velezensis K01 has the potential to serve as a new biocontrol agent for management of gray mold on tomato and pepper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interspecies grafting is an economically relevant technique that allows beneficial shoot and root combinations from separate species to be combined. One hypothesis for the basis of graft compatibility revolves around taxonomic relatedness. To test how phylogenetic distance affects interspecific graft compatibility within the economically important Solanaceae subfamily, Solanoideae, we characterized the anatomical and biophysical integrity of graft junctions between four species: tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), eggplant (Solanum melongena), pepper (Capsicum annuum), and groundcherry (Physalis pubescens). We analyzed the survival, growth, integrity, and cellular composition of the graft junctions. Utilizing various techniques, we were able to quantitatively assess compatibility among the interspecific grafts. Even though most of our graft combinations could survive, we show that only intrageneric combinations between tomato and eggplant are compatible. Unlike incompatible grafts, the formation of substantial vascular reconnections between tomato and eggplant in the intrageneric heterografts likely contributed to biophysically stable grafts. Furthermore, we identified 10 graft combinations that show delayed incompatibility, providing a useful system to pursue deeper work into graft compatibility. This work provides new evidence that graft compatibility may be limited to intrageneric combinations within the Solanoideae subfamily. Further research amongst additional Solanaceous species can be used to test the extent to which our hypothesis applies to this family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, there is a significant amount of food waste, highlighting the need to reduce waste throughout the production process. This study investigated the impact of incorporating vegetable processing waste from tomatoes (TP) and bell peppers (PB) on dough characteristics and bread quality, with concentrations of TP and PB ranging from 3% to 12% based on flour weight. The addition of TP and PB influenced the farinograph characteristics, increasing water absorption, dough development, and softening while reducing stability time. However, the changes in bread quality, including baking yield, loss, volume, and crumb porosity, were not significant. The texture properties, such as hardness, chewiness, and cohesiveness of the crumb, showed no significant changes within the supplemented levels up to 9%. Additionally, the TP and PB had a significant impact on the color of the bread crumb, increasing redness and yellowness, particularly with PB. Fortification with TP and PB up to 9% resulted in baking characteristics comparable to 100% wheat bread. The addition of TP and PB changed nutrient content, particularly dietary fiber, without significantly altering the caloric value of the bread. However, semi-consumer sensory evaluation indicated a decrease in aroma and taste when PB exceeded 9%, and a similar effect on taste was indicated when TP exceeded 9%. In conclusion, TP and PB at supplementation levels up to 9% can enhance the nutritional profile of bread and maintain its baking quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial spot is a significant disease of tomato and pepper crops caused by members of four Xanthomonas pathogens from three species, namely Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. euvesicatoria, Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. perforans, Xanthomonas vesicatoria and Xanthomonas hortorum pv. gardneri. These Gram‐negative bacterial plant pathogens are recommended for regulation as quarantine pests by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization and are currently regulated on tomato and pepper seeds in many regions of the world. Tomato and pepper seeds are a transmission pathway for all three species. Real‐time PCR TaqMan tests were developed and validated for specific identification of isolates from tomato and pepper seeds of these pathogens. These tests are designed to be used in seed health tests after isolation on semiselective media to reduce the number of isolates that need testing in follow‐up pathogenicity tests. A second set of real‐time TaqMan PCR tests was subsequently developed targeting two markers for each taxonomic group of strains. The analytical specificity of all developed tests was evaluated with in vitro and in silico analyses. Diagnostic specificity and sensitivity were also validated on collections of isolates in several laboratories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the response of five tomato and five pepper varieties to native arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal inoculation in an organic farming system. The field experiment was conducted across a growing season at a working organic farm in Lawrence, KS, USA. The researchers hypothesized that native AM fungi inoculation would improve crop biomass production for both crop species, but that the magnitude of response would depend on crop cultivar. The results showed that both crops were significantly positively affected by inoculation. AM fungal inoculation consistently improved total pepper biomass throughout the experiment (range of +2% to +8% depending on the harvest date), with a +3.7% improvement at the final harvest for inoculated plants. An interaction between pepper variety and inoculation treatment was sometimes observed, indicating that some pepper varieties were more responsive to AM fungi than others. Beginning at the first harvest, tomatoes showed a consistent positive response to AM fungal inoculation among varieties. Across the experiment, AM fungi-inoculated tomatoes had +10% greater fruit biomass, which was driven by a +20% increase in fruit number. The study highlights the potential benefits of using native AM fungi as a soil amendment in organic farmed soils to improve pepper and tomato productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a greenhouse complex located in the northwest of Iran, yellow-colored spots and deformation were observed on the fruit of bell pepper plants. Analysis of ten collected fruits showed the presence of both tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) and tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) viruses, indicating mixed-infection in three of the ten sampled pepper fruits. The S segment of TSWV was amplified using specific primers for the nonstructural protein (NSs), intergenic regions (IGR), and nucleocapsid protein (NP) gene. Sequence comparison of the coat protein (CP) gene of the ToBRFV isolate revealed that the new ToBRFV isolate formed a sister group with the previously reported Iran-1 isolate from Iran. Phylogenetic analysis of the S segment and its two ORFs (NSs and N) resulted in three groups. The analysis based on NSs and N protein sequences in RNA S showed that the Iranian TSWV isolate clustered in cluster I and formed a sister group with isolates from France and Iran. On the other hand, the analysis of RNA S segments revealed that the Iranian TSWV isolate clustered together with isolates from the USA, Turkey, and Italy. Transmission ability of the mixed virus sample was confirmed by mechanical inoculation of pepper and tomato plants. The plants showed a range of symptoms 15–25 days post inoculation (dpi). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PLAC8 is a cysteine-rich protein that serves as a central mediator of tumor evolution in mammals. PLAC8 motif-containing proteins widely distribute in fungi, algae, higher plants and animals that have been described to be implicated in fruit size, cell number and the transport of heavy metals such as cadmium or zinc. In tomatoes, FW2.2 is a PLAC8 motif-containing gene that negatively controls fruit size by regulating cell division and expansion in the carpel ovary during fruit development. However, despite FW2.2, other FWL (FW2.2-Like) genes in tomatoes have not been investigated. In this study, we identified the 21 SlFWL genes, including FW2.2, examined their expression profiles under various abiotic adversity-related conditions. The SlFWL gene structures and motif compositions are conserved, indicating that tomato SlFWL genes may have similar roles. Cis-acting element analysis revealed that the SlFWL genes may participate in light and abiotic stress responses, and they also interacted with a variety of phytohormone-responsive proteins and plant development elements. Phylogenetic analyses were performed on five additional plant species, including Arabidopsis, pepper, soybean, rice and maize, these genes were classified into five subfamilies. Based on the results of collinearity analyses, the SlFWL genes have a tighter homologous evolutionary relationship with soybean, and these orthologous FWL gene pairs might have the common ancestor. Expression profiling of SlFWL genes show that they were all responsive to abiotic stresses, each subgroup of genes exhibited a different expression trend. Our findings provide a strong foundation for investigating the function and abiotic stress responses of the SlFWL family genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When plant diseases appear, they have an adverse effect on agricultural output. Food insecurity would worsen if plant diseases were not identified accurately in time. Without early identification of plant diseases, agricultural production management and decision-making would not be feasible. Now a days deep learning model is widely used for image classification to get more accurate result. But machine learning based classifier also produces good result if good feature selection technique is used. In this paper, we have used hybrid machine learning techniques for classifying leaf diseases present in species such as tomato, potato and pepper bell. We have used bag-of- feature for visually representing diseased leaf features. SURF technique is used to extract strongest number of features and for classification task SVM is used. The proposed method gives good result in terms of precision, accuracy, recall, F1-score, FPR, FNR, and MCC on all the three employed datasets. The classification accuracy obtained in our proposed model on dataset1, dataset2 and dataset3 are 97%, 97% and 93% respectively. We have also calculated percentage feature reduction for all three types of species which are approximately 45.21%, 40.65% and 34.73% for tomato, potato and pepper bell respectively. We have compared disease classification accuracy of several previous work done by various authors on tomato leaf dataset using various machine learning and deep learning technique with our proposed work and find that our method is performing better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xanthomonas vesicatoria is one of the causal agents of bacterial spot, a disease that seriously affects the production of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and pepper (Capsicum annum) worldwide. In Argentina, bacterial spot is found in all tomato producing areas, with X. vesicatoria being one of the main species detected in the fields. Previously, we isolated three X. vesicatoria strains BNM 208, BNM 214, and BNM 216 from tomato plants with bacterial spot, and found they differed in their ability to form biofilm and in their degree of aggressiveness. Here, the likely causes of those differences were explored through genotypic and phenotypic studies. The genomes of the three strains were sequenced and assembled, and then compared with each other and also with 12 other publicly available X. vesicatoria genomes. Phenotypic characteristics (mainly linked to biofilm formation and virulence) were studied in vitro. Our results show that the differences observed earlier between BNM 208, BNM 214, and BNM 216 may be related to the structural characteristics of the xanthan gum produced by each strain, their repertoire of type III effectors (T3Es), the presence of certain genes associated with c-di-GMP metabolism and type IV pili (T4P). These findings on the pathogenicity mechanisms of X. vesicatoria could be useful for developing bacterial spot control strategies aimed at interfering with the infection processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomatoes are a widely consumed fruit, important economically and in terms of food security. Despite this importance, tomato crops are confronted with constraints, including begomoviruses, such as the Pepper yellow vein Mali virus (PepYVMLV). Responsible for leaf deformation and yellowing in cultivated Solanaceae, it is the most virulent begomovirus infecting tomatoes in Burkina Faso. The use of resistant/tolerant accessions would be of great help in finding suitable solutions. This study aims to contribute to the appropriate and effective management of tomato diseases due to PepYVMLV. To achieve this objective, an inventory of tomato accessions sold and produced in the central region of Burkina Faso and a screening of the preferred accessions of tomatoes in semi-control conditions were conducted. Our results showed that sixteen varieties are sold in shops, with Mongal F1, Emerald F1, and Cobra 26 F1 reported to be the most preferred by farmers. Monitoring of the tomato plants inoculated using whitefly-mediated transmission during 32 days showed that Diva F1, a newly introduced accession, was the least susceptible to PepYVMLV, followed by Emerald F1, Cobra 26 F1, and Mongal F1, with yield losses ranging from 25.38 to 359.9 g/plant. Our results suggest that even if the productivity of Diva F1 seems to be slightly impacted by the virus, it is unsuitable for farmers because of its lower yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is worldwide wastage of 1.3 billion tons of food annually. It is recommended that food waste should be reduced at every phase of production. By-products from food processing have high nutritional value so their use in new products is advisable. The aim of the study was to enrich the nutritional value of pasta using waste from the food industry. By-products from tomato processing (tomato waste—TW) and pepper (defatted pepper seeds—DPS, pepper placenta—PP) were used at a level of 10–30% to produce pasta. The farinographic characteristics, chemical composition, cooking quality, and colour of the pasta were studied. The results show a significant (p < 0.05), up to 27%, increase in the protein content of the TW30 samples, compared with the control (16.16% d.m. vs. 20.61% d.m.). The TDF content increased over five times in DPS30 and TW30 (27.99% d.m. and 25.44% d.m.). The amino acid composition of the pasta improved with the fortification but failed to achieve complete protein by FAO. The DPS30, PP20, PP30 and all TW samples can be considered high-protein products according to the EU definition (a minimum of 20% energy from protein). Vegetable waste can be a valuable additive for the improvement of the nutritional value of food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foliar fertilisation is an application technique that is increasingly being used in agriculture and offers the possibility of providing nutrients directly to the site of highest demand. Especially for phosphorus (P), foliar application is an interesting alternative to soil fertilisation, but foliar uptake mechanisms are poorly understood. To gain a better understanding of the importance of leaf surface features for foliar P uptake, we conducted a study with tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants, which have different leaf surface traits. For this purpose, drops of 200 mM KH2PO4 without surfactant were applied onto the adaxial or abaxial leaf side or to the leaf veins and the rate of foliar P absorption was evaluated after one day. Additionally, leaf surfaces were characterised in detail by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), estimating also leaf surface wettability and free energy, among other parameters. While the leaves of pepper hardly contained any trichomes, the abaxial side and the leaf veins of tomato leaves were densely covered with trichomes. The cuticle of tomato leaves was thin (approximately 50 nm), while that of pepper was thick (approximately 150–200 nm) and impregnated with lignin. Due to the fact that trichomes were most abundant in the leaf veins of tomato, dry foliar fertiliser drop residues were observed to be anchored there, and the highest P uptake occurred via tomato leaf veins, resulting in 62% increased P concentration. However, in pepper, the highest rate of P absorption was recorded after abaxial-side P treatment (+66% P). Our results provide evidence that different leaf parts contribute unequally to the absorption of foliar-applied agrochemicals, which could potentially be useful for optimising foliar spray treatments in different crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many herbivorous insects rely on plant volatiles to locate their host plants. Vector-borne viral infections induce changes in plant volatiles, which render infected plants more attractive to insect vectors. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying the olfactory responses of insect vectors induced by the volatiles produced by virus-infected plants are poorly understood. Here, we show that volatiles emitted by pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants infected with tomato zonate spot virus (TZSV), particularly the volatile cis-3-hexenal, which is recognized by chemosensory protein 1 of the thrips Frankliniella intonsa (FintCSP1), are more attractive to F. intonsa than the volatiles emitted by non-infected pepper plants. FintCSP1 is highly abundant in the antenna of F. intonsa. Silencing of FintCSP1 significantly decreased electroantennogram responses of F. intonsa antennae to cis-3-hexenal and impaired thrips' responses to TZSV-infected pepper plants and cis-3-hexenal, as assessed using a Y-tube olfactometer. Three-dimensional model predictions indicated that FintCSP1 consists of seven α-helixes and two disulfide bridges. Molecular docking analysis suggested that cis-3-hexenal is positioned deep inside the binding pocket of FintCSP1 and binds to residues of the protein. We combined site-directed mutagenesis and fluorescence binding assays and identified three hydrophilic residues, Lys26, Thr28, and Glu67, of FintCSP1 as being critical for cis-3-hexenal binding. Furthermore, CSP of F. occidentalis (FoccCSP) is also a key olfactory protein involved in modulating the behaviour of F. occidentalis to TZSV-infected pepper. This study revealed the specific binding characteristics of CSPs to cis-3-hexenal and confirmed the general hypothesis that virus infections induce changes in host volatiles, which can be recognized by the olfactory proteins of the insect vector to enhance vector attraction and this may facilitate viral spread and transmission. Author summary: Arboviruses rely on insect vectors for their transmission, and promote disease transmission by influencing insect behaviour after infecting plant hosts. However, the detailed olfactory responses involved in this process are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that a persistent plant virus induces the production of a unique volatile in its host plant that is recognized by a key olfactory protein in its insect vector. Furthermore, this unique volatile induced by virus infection fits deep inside the binding pocket of its cognate olfactory protein, where it interacts with several hydrophilic residues. This work reveals that a plant virus can manipulate the behaviour of its insect vectors, suggesting the modification of insect behaviour by chemicals as a management program to control the spread of plant viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences is the property of Editorial Board of Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A novel tobamovirus was identified in a fruit of Solanum macrocarpon imported into the Netherlands in 2018. This virus was further characterized in terms of host range, pathotype and genomic properties, because many tobamoviruses have the potential to cause severe damage in important crops. In the original fruit, two different genotypes of the novel virus were present. The virus was able to infect multiple plant species from the Solanaceae family after mechanical inoculation, as well as a member of the Apiaceae family. These species included economically important crops such as tomato and pepper, as well as eggplant and petunia. Both tomato and pepper germplasm were shown to harbor resistance against the novel virus. Since most commercial tomato and pepper varieties grown in European greenhouses harbor these relevant resistances, the risk of infection and subsequent impact on these crops is likely to be low in Europe. Assessment of the potential threat to eggplant, petunia, and other susceptible species needs further work. In conclusion, this study provides a first assessment of the potential phytosanitary risks of a newly discovered tobamovirus, which was tentatively named African eggplant-associated virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) promotes photosynthesis and mitigates heat stress‐induced deleterious effects on plants, but the regulatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we found that tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plants treated with high atmospheric CO2 concentrations (600, 800, and 1000 µmol mol−1) accumulated increased levels of melatonin (N‐acetyl‐5‐methoxy tryptamine) in their leaves and this response is conserved across many plant species, including Arabidopsis, rice, wheat, mustard, cucumber, watermelon, melon, and hot pepper. Elevated CO2 (eCO2; 800 µmol mol−1) caused a 6.8‐fold increase in leaf melatonin content, and eCO2‐induced melatonin biosynthesis preferentially occurred through chloroplast biosynthetic pathways in tomato plants. Crucially, manipulation of endogenous melatonin levels by genetic means affected the eCO2‐induced accumulation of sugar and starch in tomato leaves. Furthermore, net photosynthetic rate, maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II, and transcript levels of chloroplast‐ and nuclear‐encoded photosynthetic genes, such as rbcL, rbcS, rbcA, psaD, petB, and atpA, significantly increased in COMT1 overexpressing (COMT1‐OE) tomato plants, but not in melatonin‐deficient comt1 mutants at eCO2 conditions. While eCO2 enhanced plant tolerance to heat stress (42°C) in wild‐type and COMT1‐OE, melatonin deficiency compromised eCO2‐induced thermotolerance in comt1 plants. The expression of heat shock proteins genes increased in COMT1‐OE but not in comt1 plants in response to eCO2 under heat stress. Further analysis revealed that eCO2‐induced thermotolerance was closely linked to the melatonin‐dependent regulation of reactive oxygen species, redox homeostasis, cellular protein protection, and phytohormone metabolism. This study unveiled a crucial mechanism of elevated CO2‐induced thermotolerance in which melatonin acts as an essential endogenous signaling molecule in tomato plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed lots of tomato and capsicum (Solanum lycopersicon and Capsicum annuum, respectively) are required to be free of quarantine pests before their entry to Australia is permitted. Testing of samples from 118 larger seed lots in the period 2019–2021 revealed that 31 (26.3%) carried one or more of four Tobamovirus species, including tomato mottle mosaic virus (ToMMV), which is a quarantine pest for Australia. Testing of samples from a further 659 smaller seed lots showed that 123 (18.7%) carried a total of five Tobamovirus species, including ToMMV and tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), which is also a quarantine pest for Australia. Estimated prevalence of contamination by tobamoviruses ranged from 0.388% to 0.004% in contaminated larger seed lots. Analyses of these data allow us to estimate probabilities of detection of contamination under different regulatory settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ashfall from volcanic eruptions endangers crop production and food security while jeopardising agricultural livelihoods. As populations in the vicinity of volcanoes continue to grow, strategies to reduce volcanic risks to and impacts on crops are increasingly needed. Current models of crop vulnerability to ash are limited. They also rely solely on ash thickness (or loading) as the hazard intensity metric and fail to reproduce the complex interplay of other volcanic and non-volcanic factors that drive impact. Amongst these, ash retention on crop leaves affects photosynthesis and is ultimately responsible for widespread damage to crops. In this context, we carried out greenhouse experiments to assess how ash grain size, leaf pubescence, and humidity conditions at leaf surfaces influence the retention of ash (defined as the percentage of foliar cover coated with ash) in tomato and chilli pepper plants, two crop types commonly grown in volcanic regions. For a fixed ash mass load (∼570 gm-2), we found that ash retention decreases exponentially with increasing grain size and is enhanced when leaves are pubescent (such as in tomato plants) or when their surfaces are wet. Assuming that leaf area index (LAI) diminishes with ash retention in tomato and chilli pepper plants, we derived a new expression for predicting potential crop yield loss after an ashfall event. We suggest that the measurement of crop LAI in ash-affected areas may serve as an impact metric. Our study demonstrates that quantitative insights into crop vulnerability can be gained rapidly from controlled experiments. We advocate this approach to broaden our understanding of ash–plant interactions and to validate the use of remote sensing methods for assessing crop damage and recovery at various spatial and time scales after an eruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) represents a threat to economically important horticultural crops. A real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for in-field ToLCNDV detection was developed, coupled to a rapid sample preparation method, and tested both in field and laboratory conditions on zucchini squash, tomato, and pepper samples. A set of six LAMP primers was designed for specific ToCLNDV detection, targeting a 218-nucleotide sequence within the AV1 gene. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the real-time LAMP assay and comparison with canonical PCR were evaluated. The real-time LAMP assay developed was about one-thousand times more sensitive than the conventional PCR method, detecting a total of 4.41 × 102 genome copies as minimum target; no cross-reactivity was detected with the other geminiviruses used as the outgroup. The rapid sample preparation method allows for a reliable detection with a low reaction delay (≈2–3 min) compared to canonical DNA extraction, providing results in less than 45 min. Lastly, an increase in ToLCNDV-positive sample detection was observed compared to PCR, in particular for asymptomatic plants (85% and 71.6%, respectively). The real-time LAMP assay developed is a rapid, simple, specific, and sensitive technique for ToLCNDV detection, and it can be adopted as a routine test, for both in-field and laboratory conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenolic acids and flavonoids are large groups of secondary metabolites ubiquitous in the plant kingdom. They are currently in the spotlight due to the numerous health benefits associated with their consumption, as well as for their vital roles in plant biological processes and in plant-environment interaction. Tomato, eggplant and pepper are in the top ten most consumed vegetables in the world, and their fruit accumulation profiles have been extensively characterized, showing substantial differences. A broad array of genetic and genomic tools has helped to identify QTLs and candidate genes associated with the fruit biosynthesis of phenolic acids and flavonoids. The aim of this review was to synthesize the available information making it easily available for researchers and breeders. The phenylpropanoid pathway is tightly regulated by structural genes, which are conserved across species, along with a complex network of regulatory elements like transcription factors, especially of MYB family, and cellular transporters. Moreover, phenolic compounds accumulate in tissuespecific and developmental-dependent ways, as different paths of the metabolic pathway are activated/deactivated along with fruit development. We retrieved 104 annotated putative orthologues encoding for key enzymes of the phenylpropanoid pathway in tomato (37), eggplant (29) and pepper (38) and compiled 267 QTLs (217 for tomato, 16 for eggplant and 34 for pepper) linked to fruit phenolic acids, flavonoids and total phenolics content. Combining molecular tools and genetic variability, through both conventional and genetic engineering strategies, is a feasible approach to improve phenolics content in tomato, eggplant and pepper. Finally, although the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway has been well-studied in the Solanaceae, more research is needed on the identification of the candidate genes behind many QTLs, as well as their interactions with other QTLs and genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lawn grass (Axonopus compressus) is a widely distributed grass species from the family Poaceae that is ubiquitous in Malaysia. We isolated endophytic fungi from the leaves of A. compressus and molecularly identified them as Fusarium parceramosum, Colletotrichum siamense, C. gigasporum, C. endophyticum, Curvularia lunata, Stagonospora bicolor, Calonectria gracilis, and Albifimbria verrucari. These fungal endophytes are considered host generalists, as they have been isolated from other plants and have also been reported to be latent plant pathogens. We tested the pathogenicity of selected endophytic fungal isolates on A. compressus leaves, chili (Capsicum annum), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and found that they were pathogenic to wounded A. compressus leaves with low to moderate virulence, and several were pathogenic to wounded and unwounded chili and tomato fruits. This indicated that the endophytes could infect both vegetable fruits with low to very high virulence. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that endophytic fungi from the leaves of A. compressus can become pathogenic and infect the host and other plant species. The findings also indicated that leaves of A. compressus may harbor pathogens with latent ability that can become active due to changes in environmental conditions, thereby disrupting the balance between host-endophyte antagonism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]