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Summary: Hemicycliophora species are migratory root ectoparasites of higher plants, commonly known as sheath nematodes. The present study describes a new species, Hemicycliophora geraerti n. sp., recovered from the rhizosphere of peach tree (Prunus persica) in Zhejiang Province, China. This species is characterised by a cuticular sheath loosely fitting to the body, a lip region slightly set-off with body contour bearing 3-4 annuli, oral plate narrow, ovate, and non-protruding, amphidial apertures plugged, dorsoventrally flanked in the first lip annulus, stylet 110 (103-116) μ m long and flexible, excretory pore located 4-7 annuli posterior to the base of the pharyngeal bulb; vulval lips modified with a small vulval sleeve, anus located 16 (13-21) annuli posterior to vulva, tail elongated, having a narrowly rounded slightly offset spike. The molecular characterisation and phylogenetic analyses based on D2-D3 expansion segments of the 28S rRNA, ITS rRNA, and COI mtDNA gene indicated the unique status and support the novelty of this population of Hemicycliophora , therefore herein described as H. geraerti n. sp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild peach is an important resource for improving existing peach varieties. However, the extant populations of wild peach show fragmented distribution due to human disturbance and geographic isolation. In this study, we used natural populations (or wild populations) of Prunus persica (Rosaceae) to assess the genetic effects of habitat fragmentation. A total of 368 individuals sampled from 16 natural populations were analyzed using 23 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Prunus persica maintained low within-population genetic variation and high level of genetic differentiation. Two genetic clusters were revealed based on three different methods (UPGMA, PCoA, and STRUCTURE). All populations showed a significant heterozygosity deficiency and most extant populations experienced recent reduction in population size. A significant isolation by distance (IBD) was observed with Mantel's test. Compared to historical gene flow, contemporary gene flow was restricted among the studied populations, suggesting a decrease in gene flow due to habitat fragmentation. Habitat fragmentation has impacted population genetic variation and genetic structure of P. persica. For breeding and conservation purpose, collecting as many individuals as possible from multiple populations to maximize genetic diversity was recommended during the process of germplasm collection. In addition, populations from central China had higher genetic diversity, suggesting these populations should be given priority for conservation and germplasm collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prunus persica is considered one of the most hypoxia-intolerant stone fruits. However, waterlogging, which causes hypoxia, occurs frequently in southern China where peaches are commercially important. As useful waterlogging-tolerant rootstock for peaches is limited, effective emergency strategies are urgent to identify solutions for this problem. In this study, we assessed the effect of exogenous melatonin application at different concentrations on the physiological, metabolic, and molecular properties of peach seedlings during waterlogging. The results revealed that melatonin markedly enhanced the waterlogging tolerance of peach seedlings, especially using a 200-μM solution of melatonin, as evidenced by the tolerant phenotype including new leaves and root activity, as well as by the higher levels of relative chlorophyll content and stomatal aperture, compared with waterlogging-stressed plants. In addition, higher levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) and peroxidase (POD, EC 1.11.1.7) activity and lower levels of lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as well as ethylene content in melatonin-treated plants suggest that melatonin acts as an antioxidant in the context of waterlogging stress. Anaerobic respiration was controlled by melatonin through the enhanced aerenchyma and the suppressed regulation of metabolic enzymes (ADH: EC 1.1.1.1, PDC: EC 4.1.1.1, and LDH: EC 1.1.1.27) and the enzymatic and/or transcript level. Moreover, the expression levels of Ca2+ signalling and hypoxia-related ERF VII transcription factor genes were elevated by melatonin against waterlogging stress. Taken together, these results highlight that melatonin was an effective molecule for enhancement of hypoxia tolerance, particularly in peach plants, through the regulation of antioxidant enzymes and anaerobic respiration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species of Diaporthe infect a wide range of plants and live in vivo as endophytes, saprobes or pathogens. However, those in peach plants are poorly characterized. In this study, 52 Diaporthe strains were isolated from peach branches with buds, showing constriction canker symptoms. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using five gene regions: internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-a (TEF), ß-tubulin (TUB), histone (HIS), and calmodulin (CAL). These results coupled with morphology revealed seven species of Diaporthe, including five known species (D. caryae, D. cercidis, D. eres, D. hongkongensis, and D. unshiuensis). In addition, two novel species D. jinxiu and D. zaofenghuang are introduced. Except for the previously reported D. eres, this study represents the first characterization of Diaporthe species associated with peach constriction canker in China, and contributes useful data for practicable disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vascular system is affected by diseases that can seriously damage plant health by inducing browning and death of branches. This study aimed to identify and analyze the pathogenicity of Fusarium spp. isolates obtained from diseased peach branches in several peach-producing areas of China., Results: We obtained and confirmed nine Fusarium isolates based on morphological and molecular characteristics. Phylogenetic relationships using a combination of rDNA-internal transcribed spacer (ITS), elongation factor (EF)-1α, and mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU) gene sequences were analyzed. GJH-Z1, GJH-6, and GJH-1 were identified as F. avenaceum; HYR-Z3, and ZLZT-6 as F. concentricum, HH-2020-G2, and HYTZ-4 as F. solani, GG-2020-1 as F. asiaticum, SYGZ-1 as F. equiseti. Through acupuncture comparison, the pathogenicity of F. equiseti (SYGZ-1) was highest amongst nine strains. Meanwhile, F. concentricum (HYR-Z3 and ZLZT-6), and F. solaini (HYTZ-4) had a higher level of pathogenicity as revealed by impregnation., Conclusions: Our study shed light on the findings that Fusarium spp. can inflict vascular bundle browning of peach plants. Our results will extend the understanding of pathogenic diseases in China's peach industry., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

The shadow price of carbon emissions can measure the marginal output effect under the carbon emission regulation and is also one of the key indicators to construct a low-carbon development path for production units. Currently, international research on shadow price is focused on the industrial and energy sectors. However, in the context of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets in China, the use of shadow price to study the cost of reducing emissions from agricultural production, especially forestry fruit industries, is significant. In this paper, we use a parametric approach to construct the quadratic ambient directional distance function. Using the input-output data of peach, we then calculate the environmental technical efficiency and shadow price of carbon emissions from peach production in Guangxi, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Sichuan provinces, and further estimate the values of green output in each province. The results show that (i) the environmental technology efficiency of peach production in Jiangsu province, located in the coastal plain area of eastern China, is the highest among the four provinces, while that in Guangxi province, located in the hilly area of southeast China, is the lowest. (ii) Guangxi province has the smallest carbon shadow price of peach production among the four provinces, while Sichuan province, located in the mountainous area of southwest China, has the largest. (iii) The green output value of the peach production in Jiangsu province is the highest among the four provinces, and that in Guangxi province is the lowest. In order to effectively reduce carbon emissions in peach production without affecting economic benefits, the paper puts forward the following suggestions: for peach-producing areas in the southeast hills of China, it is necessary to increase the application of green environmental technology while reducing the input of production factors in peach production. For peach-producing areas in the northern plains of China, the input of production factors should be reduced. It is not easy for peach-producing areas in the southwest mountains of China to reduce the input of production factors while increasing the application of green technologies. Finally, for peach-producing areas in China's eastern coastal plain, the implementation of environmental regulations for peach production should be gradual., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Botryosphaeria dothidea is a worldwide pathogenic fungus that causes stem canker, leaf dieback, and fruit rot on a large number of crops and trees. Gummosis caused by B. dothidea is one of the most prevalent and devastating diseases on peach in southern China. This study reported a high-quality and well-annotated genome sequence of B. dothidea strain XNHG241. The findings can be used as a reference for studying fungal biology, pathogenic mechanism of B. dothidea , and the interaction between B. dothidea and host, and eventually facilitate peach gummosis management., Competing Interests: The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.

The impact of the operation scale on the pesticide use intensity of farmers may be related to different crop types and production factors constraints over different operation scales. This study uses the survey data of 522 peach farmers in China in 2018 to investigate the impact of the operation scale on pesticide use intensity and discusses the influence of labor costs constraint on the pesticide use intensity of different operation scales of cash crop. Empirical analysis results reveal that the operation scale shows a U-shaped relationship with pesticide use intensity; as the labor costs of pesticide use increases, the pesticide use intensity decreases. After classifying peach farmers into large-scale and small-scale farmers, significant differences were found between them. Large-scale farmers are more inclined to use pesticides scientifically because of the dual constraints of pesticide costs and labor costs, while small-scale farmers are more inclined to overuse pesticides because of a lower constraint of labor costs. Further, as labor costs of pesticide use rise, the negative influence of scale expansion on pesticide use intensity decreases. Therefore, the formulation and implementation of relevant policies need to distinguish different crop types and different operation scales and need to understand the actual needs and constraints of farmers, so as to truly reduce pesticide use intensity and increase pesticide use efficiency., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Free amino acids (FAAs) are essential for fruit flavor and function. In this study, mature fruits of 129 germplasms grown in China were employed to fully comprehend the variability in the FAA composition of peaches (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch). A brief sample preparation process, based on formic acid/water/methanol extraction, was performed. Using the HSS T3 column, 24 FAAs were successfully separated. These FAAs were analyzed using LC-MS/MS without derivatization. A total of 20 FAAs were detected in peaches. Asparagine was the most abundant FAA (368.04–6090.79 μg/g FW) in peach fruit, followed by aspartic acid (29.00–409.51 μg/g FW), glutamic acid (45.33–290.13 μg/g FW), alanine (22.39–805.21 μg/g FW), glutamine (12.05–322.62 μg/g FW), serine (17.81–323.35 μg/g FW), and threonine (10.9–109.04 μg/g FW). Other proteinaceous amino acids, including arginine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, proline, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, cis-4-hydroxy-proline, and a specialized non-proteinaceous amino acid, γ-aminobutyric acid, were identified and quantified in the peach germplasm. By comparing the FAA content of various germplasms, middle- and late- maturing peaches were found to possess more asparagine, proline, and cis-4-hydroxy-proline than early-maturing peaches. These essential results could markedly augment peach breeding programs and provide a comprehensive understanding of the peach germplasm resources. • Analytical procedure without derivatization step using RPLC–MS/MS was developed. • FAA samples were easily prepared with formic acid/water/methanol solution. • There are significant differences in the FAA content of the 129 peach germplasm resources. • Mid- and late-maturing peaches has higher levels of Asn, Pro, and 4-OH-Pro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is an important centre of diversity for Prunus persica. In the present study, 17 Chinese peach cultivars were evaluated for phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Neochlorogenic acid (NCHA), chlorogenic acid (CHA), procyanidin B1 (B1), catechin (CAT), cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), quercetin-3-O-galactoside (Q3GAL), quercetin-3-O-glucoside (Q3GLU), quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (Q3R), and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside (K3R) were identified and quantified. CHA and CAT were the predominant components in both the peel and pulp of this fruit. In general, peel extracts showed higher antioxidant activities than the pulp counterparts, consistent with the observed higher phenolic content. The melting peach cultivar "Xinyu" showed the highest antioxidant potency composite (APC) index. The principal component analysis (PCA) of peel phenolics showed a clear distinction between the melting peach and nectarine. Overall, peach cultivars rich in hydroxycinnamates and flavan-3-ols showed relatively higher antioxidant activities and might be excellent sources of phytochemicals and natural antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soil is the part of the biosphere where heavy metal pollution is most common. Heavy metals pose a threat to animal and human health through plants. This study aimed to evaluate heavy metal concentrations in the soil of orchards of Bilecik Province and possible human health risks. In 2016, 42 soil samples were taken from peach orchards of Bilecik Province, and Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb analyzed. Pollution indices (Enrichment Factor, Geoaccumalation Index, Contamination Factor, Ecological Risk Factor) were used to determine heavy metal pollution, and the effects on human health were determined by the hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI). The study area is moderate contaminated by Cd (3.64), Ni (2.38) and Cu (2.24) in terms of enrichment factor. Similarly, the study area soils were moderately contaminated by Cd (1.72), Ni (1.40) and Cu (1.38) in terms of the contamination factor. Besides, soils had moderate potential ecological risk by Cd (51.54). The principal component and correlation analysis showed Cd and Cu are anthropogenic and Ni is the lithogenic origin. Although soil pollution indexes show moderate pollution, there is no non-carcinogenic health risk for children (0.56) and adults (0.061).

The seed of Prunus persica is a kind of commonly used Chinese herbal medicine in orthopedics at China. In this study, we assembled and annotated the complete chloroplast genome of P. persica. The chloroplast genome size was 157,704 bp as a circle, which contained a large single-copy region (LSC, 85,883 bp), a small single-copy region (SSC, 19,061 bp) and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IR, 26,380 bp). The overall nucleotide composition is: 31.1% of A (49,092 bp), 32.1% T (50,709 bp), 18.8% C (29,625 bp) and 18.0% G (28,278 bp), with a total G + C content of the chloroplast genome 36.8% and A + T of 63.2%. The chloroplast genome of P. persica contains 123 genes, which included 78 protein-coding genes (PCG), 37 transfer RNA (tRNAs) and 8 ribosome RNA (rRNAs). Furthermore, the phylogenetic analysis based on 14 plants species confirmed the position of P. persica closely related to Prunus mongolica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term composting of raw materials for preparing oyster mushroom cultivation media is widely used in China, and its microbial mechanism needs to be further studied. 11-days' peach sawdust-based composting was performed to evaluate material conversion and microbial succession using physicochemical analysis and 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing. Composting bacteria demonstrated much higher abundance than fungi. Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, and Proteobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla, while most of fungal species belonged to Ascomycota. Moisture was the key factor at the beginning, while total nitrogen, temperature, and lignin became main influencing factors for composting maturity. Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria of bacterial phyla, Eurotiomycetes and Sordariomycetes of fungal classes involved in lignocellulosic degradation. Bacterial function prediction analysis showed that carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism were the main metabolic pathways. These results confer a better understanding of material and microbial succession during short-term composting and also provide valuable utilization in mushroom industry., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)