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Summary: Mango is a nutritious fruit but susceptible to the development of black spots on its skin, which can significantly reduce the post‐harvest fruit quality. In response to this challenge, this study focused on preparing and characterising two inclusion complexes (ICs) by combining cinnamon essential oil (CEO) and lemongrass essential oil (LEO) with β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD), named CEO‐β‐CD and LEO‐β‐CD. Their effectiveness in preserving mango fruit were evaluated. The findings demonstrated the successful encapsulation of essential oils by β‐CD, forming two distinct ICs. Moreover, these ICs notably extended the shelf‐life of mangoes by 40% and 25%, respectively, while reducing black spot occurrence on the fruit skin. Additionally, analysis of physicochemical parameters revealed that the CEO‐β‐CD IC, at a dosage of 2.5 mg per gram of mango, could notably enhance the overall fruit quality. In conclusion, the application of CEO‐β‐CD, at an appropriate concentration, exhibits promising potential as an effective preservative for mangoes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sheep are the main source of wool and its fiber characteristics, such as diameter, length, and color, which are determined by genetics and environmental factors, are key features in the economic value of sheep wool. In sheep, white wool has the highest economic value due to its dyeability, thus, the identification of mechanisms responsible for coating color determination is very important from an economic point of view. In general, the coat color is determined based on the amounts and types of melanin produced and released by the melanocytes in the skin tissue (Ito et al., 2000). The genetic basis and genes involved in coat color are well understood in rodents, although many of these genes are incorporated in coat color regulation in other species; including Sheep also have a common role. In Iran, the Lori Bakhtiari sheep is one of the most important breeds of sheep in terms of the use of its wool in the textile and carpet industries. In his breed, the dominant coat of the wool is white, although sometimes a percentage of dark brown and pale brown is also observed (Saadat Nouri, M. & Siah Mansour, 1368). However, in this breed, some animals have black spots on their coat, which leads to a decrease in wool quality. Since MC1R, ASIP, KLF4 and MITF genes play an important role in controlling and determining coat color in mammals, the purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of these genes in two phenotypes of white and black spots in the skin tissue of Lori Bakhtiari sheep.Materials and Methods: Skin samples were obtained from both white and dark parts of 14 white-coated sheep with black spots and total RNA was extracted. The quality and quantity of extracted RNAs were evaluated by agarose gel electrophoresis and spectrophotometer. Extracted RNA samples were exposed to DNase1 enzyme digestion to remove the possible contamination of genomic DNA. Also, the quality of synthesized cDNA was evaluated using 1% agarose gel. In this research, in order to amplify a fragment of the studied genes, using the mRNA sequence of these genes in the GenBank database, appropriate primers were designed by Primer3plus software. To evaluate the relative expression of the target genes, β-actin and GAPDH genes were used as reference genes to normalize the data. Finally, BestKeeper and REST 2009 V2.0.13 software were used for the analysis of gene expression data.Results and Discussion: Based on the descriptive results of Ct values, MC1R and MITF genes revealed minimum and maximum expression stability among the target genes in skin samples with standard deviations of 1.34 and 3.62, respectively. In addition, the reference genes (β-actin and GAPDH) showed the highest stability among all the studied genes. No significant differences were observed in mRNA levels of MC1R, ASIP, KLF4, and MITF genes in the spotted skin tissue compared to the white part of the skin (p>0.05). However, the expression of the ASIP gene was more than 2 times in the spotted part compared to the white skin, but this difference was not significant (p=0.21). In addition, the MC1R gene showed minimum expression differences in black spots and white parts of the skin tissue. In addition, the MITF and MC1R genes showed the highest and lowest levels of expression in skin samples of Lori Bakhtiari breed sheep with average Ct of 25.86 and 30.42, respectively. However, among all the studied genes, the lowest mRNA level was observed for the GAPDH gene with an average Ct of 35.96.Conclusion: Mammalian coat color results from various factors such as the degree and distribution of melanin pigment and the interaction between genotype and environment (B. Li et al., 2018). In addition, melanogenesis is a complex process that includes melanocyte growth, melanosome formation, melanin synthesis, melanin transport, and melanosome release (Ito & Wakamatsu, 2011). According to the conducted studies, a large number of genes are involved in the mechanism of coat color determination, but two genes, MC1R and ASIP, play an essential role in the regulation and control of coat color (Searle, 1968). In our study, no significant difference was observed in the expression of MC1R, ASIP, KFL4, and MITF genes in the spotted compared to the white part of the skin tissue in Lori Bakhtiari sheep. These results showed that the development of skin spots is not under the control of the studied genes in Lori Bakhtiari sheep, and genes or other factors can play roles in the creation of dark spots in this breed.

Introduction1: Sheep are the main source of wool and its fiber characteristics, such as diameter, length, and color, which are determined by genetics and environmental factors, are key features in the economic value of sheep wool. In sheep, white wool has the highest economic value due to its dyeability. Therefore, identifying the mechanisms responsible for coat color determination is very important from an economic perspective. In general, the coat color is determined based on the amounts and types of melanin produced and released by the melanocytes in the skin tissue (Ito et al., 2000). The genetic basis and genes involved in coat color are well understood in rodents, although many of these genes are incorporated in coat color regulation in other species; including Sheep also have a common role. In Iran, the Lori Bakhtiari sheep is one of the most important breeds of sheep in terms of the use of its wool in the textile and carpet industries. In his breed, the dominant coat of the wool is white, although sometimes a percentage of dark brown and pale brown is also observed (Saadat Nouri, M. & Siah Mansour, 1368). However, in this breed, some animals have black spots on their coat, which leads to a decrease in wool quality. Since MC1R, ASIP, KLF4 and MITF genes play an important role in controlling and determining coat color in mammals, the purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of these genes in two phenotypes of white and black spots in the skin tissue of Lori Bakhtiari sheep. Materials and Methods: Skin samples were obtained from both white and dark parts of 14 white-coated sheep with black spots and total RNA was extracted. The quality and quantity of extracted RNAs were evaluated by agarose gel electrophoresis and spectrophotometer. Extracted RNA samples were exposed to DNase1 enzyme digestion to remove the possible contamination of genomic DNA. Also, the quality of synthesized cDNA was evaluated using 1% agarose gel. In this research, in order to amplify a fragment of the studied genes, using the mRNA sequence of these genes in the GenBank database, appropriate primers were designed by Primer3plus software. To evaluate the relative expression of the target genes, β-actin and GAPDH genes were used as reference genes to normalize the data. Finally, BestKeeper and REST 2009 V2.0.13 software were used for the analysis of gene expression data. Results and Discussion: Based on the descriptive results of Ct values, MC1R and MITF genes revealed minimum and maximum expression stability among the target genes in skin samples with standard deviations of 1.34 and 3.62, respectively. In addition, the reference genes (β-actin and GAPDH) showed the highest stability among all the studied genes. No significant differences were observed in mRNA levels of MC1R, ASIP, KLF4, and MITF genes in the spotted skin tissue compared to the white part of the skin (p>0.05). However, the expression of the ASIP gene was more than 2 times in the spotted part compared to the white skin, but this difference was not significant (p=0.21). In addition, the MC1R gene showed minimum expression differences in black spots and white parts of the skin tissue. In addition, the MITF and MC1R genes showed the highest and lowest levels of expression in skin samples of Lori Bakhtiari breed sheep with average Ct of 25.86 and 30.42, respectively. However, among all the studied genes, the lowest mRNA level was observed for the GAPDH gene with an average Ct of 35.96. Conclusion: Mammalian coat color results from various factors such as the degree and distribution of melanin pigment and the interaction between genotype and environment (B. Li et al., 2018). In addition, melanogenesis is a complex process that includes melanocyte growth, melanosome formation, melanin synthesis, melanin transport, and melanosome release (Ito & Wakamatsu, 2011). According to the conducted studies, a large number of genes are involved in the mechanism of coat color determination, but two genes, MC1R and ASIP, play an essential role in the regulation and control of coat color (Searle, 1968). In our study, no significant difference was observed in the expression of MC1R, ASIP, KFL4, and MITF genes in the spotted compared to the white part of the skin tissue in Lori Bakhtiari sheep. These results showed that the development of skin spots is not under the control of the studied genes in Lori Bakhtiari sheep, and genes or other factors can play roles in the creation of dark spots in this breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analytical approach to identifying the important characteristics of accident black spots on Moroccan rural roads. An association rule mining method is applied to extract road spatial characteristics associated with fatal accidents. The weighted severity index was calculated for each section, which was then used to determine the severity levels of black spots. The apriori algorithm is applied to find the correlation between road characteristics and the severity levels of black spots. Then, a general rule selection method is proposed to identify the rules strongly associated with each severity level. The results show that the proposed approach is effective in identifying the most important factors contributing to accidents. Furthermore, it shows that the combination of several road characteristics, such as road width, road surface, and bridge presence, may contribute to fatal accidents. The general rule selection found that wet, bad surfaces, and narrow shoulders were significantly associated with accidents on rural roads. The findings of the present study can help develop effective strategies to reduce road accidents and thus improve road safety in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citrus black spot (CBS), caused by Phyllosticta citricarpa, is an important disease of citrus, an economically important fruit crop worldwide and particularly in Tunisia. CBS was recently detected in Tunisia and this study revealed that it is widespread in the governorates of Nabeul and Sousse. The highest incidence of CBS was found in the Bouargoub region (73.7%), while the lowest was observed in Soliman (25.0%) in the Nabeul governorate. The surveys revealed that CBS affected mainly lemon (Citrus limon). The symptoms of CBS observed were hard spots on fruits, twigs, and leaves, as well as false melanose on fruits. Symptoms were observed in both mature and immature citrus fruits, but disease incidence was higher in mature (97.0%) than that in immature fruits (2.95%). In this study, morphological and molecular identifications confirmed the presence of P. citricarpa. This is the first time that the extent of CBS has been documented in a Mediterranean citrus area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of South China Agricultural University is the property of Gai Kan Bian Wei Hui 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.)

Copyright of Forest Research is the property of Forest Research Editorial Office 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.)

Abstract Pear (Pyrus bretschneideri), a valuable widely cultivated fruit, faces significant economic losses due to black spot disease caused by Alternaria alternate (Fr.) Keissl. Trihelix transcription factors (TFs) are crucial in regulating plant defense and autoimmunity. This study aimed to analyze the trihelix transcription factor (GT) genes within pear through genome-wide identification, phylogenetic, gene structure, synteny, and cis-acting elements analyses. Among the 31 trihelix genes, 28 were on 12 known chromosomes, while the remaining 3 were located on unknown chromosomes. These genes were categorized into five clades: SIP1, GTγ, GT1, GT2 and SH4, containing 7, 2, 9, 11 and 2 genes, respectively. Synteny analysis indicated eight duplicated gene pairs. Based on the expression pattern of PbGT genes in seven tissues from the database, the PbGT genes of the GT2 clade were selected for further investigation. The quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction confirmed that PbrGT5, PbrGT6, PbrGT15 and PbrGT16 correlated with black spot disease resistance. Notably, the salicylic acid (SA) treatment significantly upregulated the expression levels of PbrGT10, PbrGT13, PbrGT15 and PbrGT23. Among these, PbrGT15 showed the highest induction to both SA and black spot infection. Subcellular localization demonstrated that PbrGT15 functions as a nuclear protein. Virus-induced gene silencing of PbrGT15 increased pear plants' susceptibility to black spot disease, indicating its pivotal role in enhancing resistance. These results indicated that PbrGT15 positively regulated black spot disease resistance in pears.

Abstract Background Tar spot of corn is a significant and spreading disease in the continental U.S. and Canada caused by the obligate biotrophic fungus Phyllachora maydis. As of 2023, tar spot had been reported in 18 U.S. states and one Canadian Province. The symptoms of tar spot include chlorotic flecking followed by the formation of black stromata where conidia and ascospores are produced. Advancements in research and management for tar spot have been limited by a need for a reliable method to inoculate plants to enable the study of the disease. The goal of this study was to develop a reliable method to induce tar spot in controlled conditions. Results We induced infection of corn by P. maydis in 100% of inoculated plants with a new inoculation method. This method includes the use of vacuum-collection tools to extract ascospores from field-infected corn leaves, application of spores to leaves, and induction of the disease in the dark at high humidity and moderate temperatures. Infection and disease development were consistently achieved in four independent experiments on different corn hybrids and under different environmental conditions in a greenhouse and growth chamber. Disease induction was impacted by the source and storage conditions of spores, as tar spot was not induced with ascospores from leaves stored dry at 25 ºC for 5 months but was induced using ascospores from infected leaves stored at -20 ºC for 5 months. The time from inoculation to stromata formation was 10 to 12 days and ascospores were present 19 days after inoculation throughout our experiments. In addition to providing techniques that enable in-vitro experimentation, our research also provides fundamental insights into the conditions that favor tar spot epidemics. Conclusions We developed a method to reliably inoculate corn with P. maydis. The method was validated by multiple independent experiments in which infection was induced in 100% of the plants, demonstrating its consistency in controlled conditions. This new method facilitates research on tar spot and provides opportunities to study the biology of P. maydis, the epidemiology of tar spot, and for identifying host resistance.

ABSTRACT: In this study,the causative pathogen was isolated from Eucommia ulmoides,verified using Koch’s postulates, identified by morphology and molecular biology, and assessed the biological characteristics. The effects of agar media, pH, temperature, light, carbon sources, and nitrogen sources on hyphal growth of Pestalotiopsistrachicarpicola were under investigation, and the influences of time, liquid matrix, light, temperature on conidial germination were studied. The results showed that P. trachicarpicola was a new pathogen causing black spot disease of E. ulmoides, and the mycelial growth of P.trachicarpicola was the best in the potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium, pH 7.0, the temperature was 20~25 °C, light, and glucose and beef extract were the best for carbon and nitrogen, respectively. The germination rate of the conidia increased from the time, darkness, and a proper supply of sugar. The lethal temperatures of the hyphae and conidia were 52 °C and 72 °C, respectively.We can conclude that appropriate environmental conditions are more conducive to the growth of the pathogen and the germination of spores, which leads to the occurrence of disease. This study constituted the first report on the new causative pathogen in E. ulmoides black spot and the biological characteristics. Theis study provided a theoretical basis to prevent the occurrence of this disease.

Introduction: Deaths from road crashes form the leading cause of mortality in India. Streamlining road crash data systems are essential for building robust prevention strategies. This study explores objectivisation of fatal road crash data by spatiotemporal analysis (geographical information system [GIS] technology) in an urban setting in South India. Aim: To identify clusters of fatal road crash black spot clusters in an urban setting and to analyze crash‑related variables in clusters. Settings and Design: Secondary data analysis of fatal road crashes in Puducherry. Methods: Fatal road crash data from 2016 to 2018 were collected from South Traffic Police records. Spatiotemporal analysis was done using GIS to map high‑density locations (black spots); these were further grouped into clusters. Crash‑related variables in each cluster were studied to identify profiles of crash victims, alleged offenders, and risk factors. Results: Raw data accessed in descriptive format were converted to analyzable objective format using a self‑developed data extraction template. A total of 154 fatal road crashes occurred in Puducherry South during the study period. Total 11 black spots and 3 clusters were mapped. One particular stretch of National Highway witnessed maximum (59%) black spots. Clusters differed from each other for variables such as age (of both victims and causing persons), time of the crash, and causing vehicle type. Intercluster similarities were observed in the preponderance of males (82.3%), youth (mean age: 28.9 years), vulnerable road users (92.6%), rainy season (43.4%), and weekends (46.7%) witnessing most fatal crashes. Conclusion: Standardized, objective format for data capturing, and seamless mechanism for data processing are essential. The crash location is a key index variable for data systems, with the feasibility to superimpose other data layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diplocarpon rosae Wolf is the most common and damaging fungal pathogen in roses. Nationwide, the attack of this pathogenic fungus is very serious in most rose gardens due to rapid disease development that typically leads to leaf yellowing and defoliation. This study aimed to assess the way in which the fungus's attack affects the chemical composition of Rosa sp. leaves. The research was conducted in the summer of 2023 on ten cultivars of rose grown in the rosary in the 'Alexandru Buia' Botanical Garden in Craiova. The influence of the cultivar and harvest time was discussed. Leaf black spot on roses produced by the fungus Diplocarpon rosae Wolf affected plants in all cultivars and the differences between cultivars highlighted the sensitivity of the relationship between plants and pathogens when exposed to some microclimatic environment factors. The correlations of attack degree with tannins, chlorophyll, or alkaloids were significant, negative for tannins (r = −0.189 *) and chlorophyll (r = −0.517 ***) and positive for alkaloids (r = 0.510 ***). Between phenolic compounds, tannins, flavonoids, and chlorophyll, very significant positive correlations were found. Alkaloids established negative and also very significant correlations with phenolic compounds (r = −0.403 ***), tannins (r = −0.339 ***), flavonoids (r = −0.409 ***), and chlorophyll (r = −0.604 ***). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road transportation is considered one of the most essential factors for the growth of a country. Due to the exponential growth in population and fast urbanization, the existing roadway facilities are facing a huge surge in vehicle growth. But this development is also accompanied by the concerning growth of road crashes. To mitigate road crashes, one needs to identify the potential risk factors involved with them. This requires detailed accident data, which is sometimes difficult to acquire and in addition, there is a high probability of accidents in many places due to various hazardous situations, but there may not be an accident record yet. Road Safety Audit is an alternative approach that can overcome these obstacles. Hence, the present study has attempted to highlight various risk factors involved with road crashes for four different road facilities type, viz. Straight, intersection, curve, and road with culvert and flyovers (RCF) by conducting the Road Safety Audit for 216 black spots. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was performed on the data collected from the audit process to determine the weightage of involvement of each factor in road crashes and identify the most significant ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tar spot of corn is a significant and spreading disease in the continental U.S. and Canada caused by the obligate biotrophic fungus Phyllachora maydis. As of 2023, tar spot had been reported in 18 U.S. states and one Canadian Province. The symptoms of tar spot include chlorotic flecking followed by the formation of black stromata where conidia and ascospores are produced. Advancements in research and management for tar spot have been limited by a need for a reliable method to inoculate plants to enable the study of the disease. The goal of this study was to develop a reliable method to induce tar spot in controlled conditions. Results: We induced infection of corn by P. maydis in 100% of inoculated plants with a new inoculation method. This method includes the use of vacuum-collection tools to extract ascospores from field-infected corn leaves, application of spores to leaves, and induction of the disease in the dark at high humidity and moderate temperatures. Infection and disease development were consistently achieved in four independent experiments on different corn hybrids and under different environmental conditions in a greenhouse and growth chamber. Disease induction was impacted by the source and storage conditions of spores, as tar spot was not induced with ascospores from leaves stored dry at 25 ºC for 5 months but was induced using ascospores from infected leaves stored at -20 ºC for 5 months. The time from inoculation to stromata formation was 10 to 12 days and ascospores were present 19 days after inoculation throughout our experiments. In addition to providing techniques that enable in-vitro experimentation, our research also provides fundamental insights into the conditions that favor tar spot epidemics. Conclusions: We developed a method to reliably inoculate corn with P. maydis. The method was validated by multiple independent experiments in which infection was induced in 100% of the plants, demonstrating its consistency in controlled conditions. This new method facilitates research on tar spot and provides opportunities to study the biology of P. maydis, the epidemiology of tar spot, and for identifying host resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Garden roses are an economically important horticultural crop worldwide, and two major fungal pathogens, black spot (Diplocarpon rosae F.A. Wolf) and cercospora leaf spot of rose (Rosisphaerella rosicola Pass.), affect both the health and ornamental value of the plant. Most studies on black spot disease resistance have focused on diploid germplasm, and little work has been performed on cercospora leaf spot resistance. With the use of newly developed software tools for autopolyploid genetics, two interconnected tetraploid garden rose F1 populations (phenotyped over the course of 3 years) were used for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of black spot and cercospora leaf spot resistance as well as plant defoliation. QTLs for black spot resistance were mapped to linkage groups (LGs) 1–6. QTLs for cercospora resistance and susceptibility were found in LGs 1, 4, and 5 and for defoliation in LGs 1, 3, and 5. The major locus on LG 5 for black spot resistance coincides with the previously discovered Rdr4 locus inherited from Rosa L. ‘Radbrite’ (Brite Eyes™), the common parent used in these mapping populations. This work is the first report of any QTL for cercospora resistance/susceptibility in tetraploid rose germplasm and the first report of defoliation QTL in roses. A major QTL for cercospora susceptibility coincides with the black spot resistance QTL on LG 5 (Rdr4). A major cercospora resistance QTL was found on LG 1. These populations provide a genetic resource that will further the knowledge base of rose genetics as more traits are studied. Studying more traits from these populations will allow for the stacking of various QTLs for desirable traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flax black spot was found in Ordos City in 2022, mainly infecting leaves and the exocarps, causing leaves turn yellow and brownish with black leaf tips before drying and damage, and exocarps became brown or black with a layer of black mould which significantly affected the yield and quality. The Y3 and K1 strains from infected leaves and the exocarps were the same pathogen of flax black spot which was identified as Alternaria alternata by morphological characteristics and molecular identification. In the pathogenicity test, A. alternata caused severe black spot on leaves and brown or black exocarps with mould of flax consistent with those observed in the field. The study for pathogenic identification ascertained a new disease of flax in China which lays the foundation for subsequent studies on disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to determine the effects of chitosan, sodium metabisulfite, and citric acid against melanosis, which causes significant economic losses during the storage of shrimps. For this purpose, two different types of chitosan were extracted from tiger prawn shell wastes. The extracted chitosan was characterized by viscosity, FT-IR, XRD, SEM imaging, and color analyses. Prevention of melanosis formation was investigated by testing chitosan, sodium metabisulfite, and citric acid. To achieve this, fresh deep-water pink shrimp samples immersed in different solutions were stored for 12 days at 4. Melanosis formation in the samples was observed via color measurement, sensory evaluation, and image analysis. According to the results of the research, the deacetylation degrees of chitosans were found to be 99.50 and 89.51% and 76.31 and 78.24% by two different methods, respectively. Viscosities were measured as 0.34 and 4.17 cSt, respectively. Regarding the color parameters, the L* values were 83.68 and 78.94, a* values were 0.55 and 2.71, and b* values were 10.33 and 13.85, respectively. According to the sensory evaluation conducted throughout the study, melanosis formation was observed in all groups starting from the 6th day. On the 8th day, the control groups exceeded the acceptability threshold, and on the 12th day, melanosis formation spread throughout the body in all groups. The sensory evaluation results were supported by the color measurement and image analysis implemented for the first time in this study. The present study's results showed that chitosan obtained from shellfish wastes decelerates melanosis formation as an alternative to commercially used chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research carried out to evaluate the effects of quince rootstocks [Quince Province BA29 (BA29), Quince A (QA), Quince C (MC)], pear cultivars, and research years on fruit quality and yield efficiency in the years 2020-2021. The highest fruit weight was obtained from BA29 (196.02 g), and the lowest was from MC (158.09 g). In the cultivars, the highest fruit weight was obtained from ‘Abate Fetel’ (210.85 g), the lowest from Santa Maria (156.73 g). The highest number of fruits (17.06 pieces tree-1 ), yield per tree (3.13 kg tree-1 ), yield per hectare (5982.8 kg ha-1 ), and yield per trunk cross sectional area (0.30 kg cm-2 ) obtained from BA29 followed by QA. In the cultivars, the highest number of fruits (19.60 pieces tree-1 ), yield per tree (2.98 kg tree-1 ), and yield per hectare (5685.00 kg ha-1 ) were obtained from ‘Santa Maria’. In the research years, the pre-harvest fruit drop rate (PHFDR 11.04%) and black spotted fruit rate (BSFR 13.79%) were observed to be higher in 2021, while the marketable fruit rate (MFR 77.03%) was observed to be higher in 2020. In the rootstocks, the highest PHFDR (11.24%) was observed on BA29 rootstocks, while the highest MFR (73.72%) was recorded on QA. In terms of cultivars, the highest PHFDR (10.73%) was observed in ‘Williams’, while the highest BSFR (16.41%) was in ‘Deveci’, and the highest MFR (76.31%) in ‘Santa Maria’. As a conclusion, the highest yield and marketable fruit rate were obtained from the ‘Santa Maria’ cultivar and yield from BA29 rootstock. It could be suggested that semi-dwarf cultivars and rootstocks for suitably perform under high density pear orchards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black spot identification, a spatiotemporal phenomenon, involves analysing the geographical location and time-based occurrence of road accidents. Typically, this analysis examines specific locations on road networks during set time periods to pinpoint areas with a higher concentration of accidents, known as black spots. By evaluating these problem areas, researchers can uncover the underlying causes and reasons for increased collision rates, such as road design, traffic volume, driver behaviour, weather, and infrastructure. However, challenges in identifying black spots include limited data availability, data quality, and assessing contributing factors. Additionally, evolving road design, infrastructure, and vehicle safety technology can affect black spot analysis and determination. This study focused on traffic accidents in Greek road networks to recognize black spots, utilizing data from police and government-issued car crash reports. The study produced a publicly available dataset called Black Spots of North Greece (BSNG) and a highly accurate identification method. Dataset:  https://github.com/iokarama/BSNG-dataset (accessed on 15 June 2023). Dataset License: CC-BY-NC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in the number of cars in Lithuania and abroad every year (Statistics of traffic accidents in Lithuania), ensuring road safety is becoming an increasingly important and relevant aspect for road users and other responsible institutions. In the statistics of traffic accidents in Lithuania, no information is provided according to the nature of the vehicle collision, nor is there any information on the damage caused by the vehicle to the victim according to the type of collision. The work analyzes the security situation and emergency factors based on statistics. Factors determining the occurrence of traffic accidents are analyzed. A visual analysis of "black spots" was performed to determine the main factors of higher accidents. Statistical data and comparative analysis methods are used for the research. Calculated traffic incidents and the amount of damage caused by them are analyzed according to the type of collision.

Xinjiang 'Saimaiti' apricot fruit were used as the material to study the inhibitory effects of postharvest treatment with melatonin on black spot and its influence on reactive oxygen species metabolism. Fruit were vacuum impregnated into different concentrations of melatonin (50, 100, 200 μmol/L) under pressure of 0.05 MPa for 2 min, then atmospheric pressure was restored, and the fruit was maintained in the same solution for 8 min. The distilled water treatment was used as blank control. After naturally drying, the fruit were refrigerated (0±1℃, RH 90%~95%) for 48 h. After that, apricot fruits were inoculated with Alternaria alternata and stored at the same conditions.The lesion diameter and disease incidence of apricot fruit inoculated with A.alternata, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide anion radical (O2−·) production rate, cell membrane permeability, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were measured regularly. Results showed that compared with the control group, different concentrations of exogenous melatonin treatment significantly delayed the increase of apricot fruit morbidity and inhibited the increase of apricot fruit the lesion diameter. At the end of storage, the spot diameters of apricot fruit were significantly lower in the 50, 100, and 200 μmol/L melatonin-treated groups by 11.92%, 28.49%, and 19.67% (P

Dandong has become the largest strawberry production and export base in China. Strawberry black spot disease is widespread and causes significant economic losses to strawberry growers in both the growing and harvest seasons. Until now, no study has reported the presence of the Alternaria species, the pathogen of strawberry black spot disease, in Dandong, Liaoning province, China. In 2020–2022, 108 isolates were obtained from strawberry leaves with typical symptoms of strawberry black spot disease from 56 major professional growing operations. Combined with morphological and molecular characteristics, the majority of isolates were identified as A. tenuissima (78 isolates, 72.2%), which had established total supremacy, followed by A. alternata (30 isolates, 27.8%). The pathogenicity results show that A. tenuissima and A. alternata are the two main pathogenic factors of strawberry black spot disease, the disease indexes of which were designated as 49.6–100.0% and 20.4–59.5%. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to identify A. tenuissima and A. alternata as causing black spot disease in strawberries in Dandong, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electroplating & Finishing is the property of Electroplating & Finishing Editorial Office 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.)

Accuracy of predicted breeding values (PBV) for low heritability traits may be increased in early generations by exploiting the information available in correlated traits. We compared the accuracy of PBV for 10 correlated traits with low to medium narrow-sense heritability ( h 2) in a genetically diverse field pea (Pisum sativum L.) population after univariate or multivariate linear mixed model (MLMM) analysis with pedigree information. In the contra-season, we crossed and selfed S1 parent plants, and in the main season we evaluated spaced plants of S0 cross progeny and S2+ (S2 or higher) self progeny of parent plants for the 10 traits. Stem strength traits included stem buckling (SB) ( h 2 = 0.05), compressed stem thickness (CST) ( h 2 = 0.12), internode length (IL) ( h 2 = 0.61) and angle of the main stem above horizontal at first flower (EAngle) ( h 2 = 0.46). Significant genetic correlations of the additive effects occurred between SB and CST (0.61), IL and EAngle (−0.90) and IL and CST (−0.36). The average accuracy of PBVs in S0 progeny increased from 0.799 to 0.841 and in S2+ progeny increased from 0.835 to 0.875 in univariate vs MLMM, respectively. An optimized mating design was constructed with optimal contribution selection based on an index of PBV for the 10 traits, and predicted genetic gain in the next cycle ranged from 1.4% (SB), 5.0% (CST), 10.5% (EAngle) and −10.5% (IL), with low achieved parental coancestry of 0.12. MLMM improved the potential genetic gain in annual cycles of early generation selection in field pea by increasing the accuracy of PBV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Garden roses are an economically important horticultural crop worldwide, and two major fungal pathogens, black spot (Diplocarpon rosae F.A. Wolf) and cercospora leaf spot of rose (Rosisphaerella rosicola Pass.), affect both the health and ornamental value of the plant. Most studies on black spot disease resistance have focused on diploid germplasm, and little work has been performed on cercospora leaf spot resistance. With the use of newly developed software tools for autopolyploid genetics, two interconnected tetraploid garden rose F1 populations (phenotyped over the course of 3 years) were used for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of black spot and cercospora leaf spot resistance as well as plant defoliation. QTLs for black spot resistance were mapped to linkage groups (LGs) 1–6. QTLs for cercospora resistance and susceptibility were found in LGs 1, 4, and 5 and for defoliation in LGs 1, 3, and 5. The major locus on LG 5 for black spot resistance coincides with the previously discovered Rdr4 locus inherited from Rosa L. ‘Radbrite’ (Brite Eyes™), the common parent used in these mapping populations. This work is the first report of any QTL for cercospora resistance/susceptibility in tetraploid rose germplasm and the first report of defoliation QTL in roses. A major QTL for cercospora susceptibility coincides with the black spot resistance QTL on LG 5 (Rdr4). A major cercospora resistance QTL was found on LG 1. These populations provide a genetic resource that will further the knowledge base of rose genetics as more traits are studied. Studying more traits from these populations will allow for the stacking of various QTLs for desirable traits.

In this paper, we studied the influence of ETL (electron transporting layer)and cathode material type as well as their interface on the performance of QLED (quantum dot light emitting devices). Through our research, we found that the black spot phenomenon of QLED device is strongly related to ETL material, and the number of black spots can be greatly reduced by improve ETL. In addition, the cathode material such as Ag and Al, also show their impact on black spots; Finally, one novel double‐layer ETL structure device was developed to avoid black spot, which manifest that the interaction between ETL and the electrode interface also play an important role. The absence of black spots in inverted devices also proves this conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring spatiotemporal patterns of traffic accidents from historic crash databases is one essential prerequisite for road safety management and traffic risk prevention. Presently, with the emergence of GIS and data mining technologies, numerous geospatial analysis methods have been successfully adopted for traffic accident analysis. As characterized by high driving speeds, diverse vehicle types, and isolated traffic environments, expressways are confronted with more serious accident risks than urban roads. In this paper, we propose a combined method based on improved density clustering and the Bayesian inference network to explore spatiotemporal patterns of expressway accidents. Firstly, the spatiotemporal accident neighborhood is integrated into the DBSCAN clustering algorithm to discover multi-scale expressway black spots. Secondly, the Bayesian network model is separately employed in both local-scale black spots and regional-scale expressway networks to fully explore spatially heterogenous accident factors in various black spots and expressways. The experimental results show that the proposed method can correctly extract spatiotemporal aggregation patterns of multi-scale expressway black spots and meanwhile efficiently discover diverse causal factors for various black spots and expressways, providing a comprehensive analysis of accident prevention and safety management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brown and black spots, caused by Stemphylium and Alternaria species, are important fungal diseases affecting European pear (Pyrus communis) in orchards. Both fungal genera cause similar symptoms, which could favor misidentification, but Alternaria spp. are increasingly reported due to the changing climatic conditions. In this study, Alternaria spp. were isolated from symptomatic leaves and fruits of European pear, and their pathogenicity was evaluated on pear fruits from cultivar Abate Fétel, and molecular and chemical characterization were performed. Based on maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis, 15 of 46 isolates were identified as A. arborescens species complex (AASC), 27 as A. alternata, and four as Alternaria sp. Both species were isolated from mature fruits and leaves. In pathogenicity assays on pear fruits, all isolates reproduced the symptoms observed in the field, by both wound inoculation and direct penetration. All but one isolate produced Alternaria toxins on European pears, including tenuazonic acid and alternariol (89.1% of the isolates), alternariol monomethyl ether (89.1%), altertoxin I (80.4%), altenuene (50.0%), and tentoxin (2.2%). These isolates also produced at least two mycotoxins, and 43.5% produced four mycotoxins, with an average total concentration of the Alternaria toxins exceeding 7.58 × 106 ng/kg. Our data underline the potential risks for human health related to the high mycotoxin content found on fruits affected by black spot. This study also represents the first report of AASC as an agent of black spot on European pear in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese kale (Brassica alboglabra) is commonly grown and consumed throughout Asia and is often treated with chemicals to control pests and diseases. In Thailand, public standards, Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) programs were introduced for the cultivation of Chinese kale with minimum input of chemical treatments. Black spot caused by the fungus Sphaerobolus has been affecting the plants grown under IFOAM standards in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for several years. Strongly adhering glebal spore masses of the fungus on leaf and stem surfaces have adversely affected postharvest management, especially in the quality classification of the product. Both morphological and phylogenetic (combined ITS, mtSSU, and EF 1-α dataset) studies confirmed a novel species, S. cuprophilus. Pathogenicity tests involving inoculation of Chinese kale by non-wound and mulch inoculation bioassays resulted in the production of symptoms of black spot and the re-isolation of S. cuprophilus, indicating that the new fungal species is the causal agent of black spots. Inhibitory effects of antagonistic bacteria and chemical fungicides, both allowed for use in plant cultivation under either IFOAM or GAP standards, indicated that Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strains (PBT2 and YMB7), chlorothalonil (20 and 500 ppm) and thiophanate-methyl (500 and 1500 ppm) were the most effective in controlling the growth of the causal fungus by 83 to 93%. However, copper oxychloride (5 to 20 ppm), a recommended chemical in control of downy mildew of Chinese kale, showed hormetic effects on S. cuprophilus by promoting the growth and sporulation of the fungus. The findings of this study provide vital information regarding the association of S. cuprophilus and Chinese kale and will support decisions to manage fungal diseases of this vegetable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in the number of cars in Lithuania and abroad every year (Statistics of traffic accidents in Lithuania), ensuring road safety is becoming an increasingly important and relevant aspect for road users and other responsible institutions. In the statistics of traffic accidents in Lithuania, no information is provided according to the nature of the vehicle collision, nor is there any information on the damage caused by the vehicle to the victim according to the type of collision. The work analyzes the security situation and emergency factors based on statistics. Factors determining the occurrence of traffic accidents are analyzed. A visual analysis of "black spots" was performed to determine the main factors of higher accidents. Statistical data and comparative analysis methods are used for the research. Calculated traffic incidents and the amount of damage caused by them are analyzed according to the type of collision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need of developing systems that address traffic matters such as traffic control and accidents has led to the development of a number of techniques, methods and tools to address road usability issues. Many automated models have been proposed and applied in different scenarios such as road oddities. Despite of the advantages of these models the major problem of road accidents continue to pose problem globally. This has created the need to come up with more user-effective approaches to address road accidents. Main objective of this research therefore is to identify and address the gap in Location Based Services (LBS). A model that combines RFID and GPS technology to provide Location Based Services via audio alerts to drivers as they approach black spots is presented. The model provides location based services to drivers as they approach black spots causing them to adjust their driving accordingly (i.e. speeding, overtaking). Since LBS technologies have different limitations, most researchers have focused on addressing accuracy limitation by proposing hybrid technologies. Accuracy requirement varies depending on application area. The analysis of the different technologies revealed that in vehicle transportation medium accuracy is effective. This research focused on availability aspect which is a key requirement in LBS. To achieve this a model made up of RFID & GPS is formulated. Higher availability of significant alerts at black spots is registered through simulation as compared to alerts when the technologies are applied separately. Black spot accidents are therefore managed due to safer driving around black spots. This can lead to reduction in exposure to accidents, likelihood of occurrence and impact in the event of an incident. Usability metrics is used to determine effectiveness of the model.

Microstructures of monolithic high purity SiC and SiC with sintering additives after neutron irradiation to a fluence of 2.0–2.5 × 1024 n/m2 (E > 0.1 MeV) at 333–363 K and after post-irradiation annealing up to 1673 K were observed using a transmission electron microscopy. Results showed that no black spot defects or dislocation loops in SiC grains were found after the neutron irradiation for all of the specimens owing to the moderate fluence at low irradiation temperature. Thus, it is confirmed that these specimens were swelled mostly by the formation of point defects. Black spots and small dislocation loops were discovered only after the annealing process in PureBeta-SiC and CVD-SiC, where the swelling almost diminished. Anomalous-shaped YAG grains were found in SiC ceramics containing sintering additives. These grains contained dense black spots defects and might lose crystallinity after the neutron irradiation, while these defects may annihilate by recrystallization during annealing up to 1673 K. Amorphous grain boundary phase was also presented in this ceramic, and a large part of it was crystallized through post-irradiation annealing and could affect their recovery behavior.

Diplocarpon rosae Wolf is the most common and damaging fungal pathogen in roses. Nationwide, the attack of this pathogenic fungus is very serious in most rose gardens due to rapid disease development that typically leads to leaf yellowing and defoliation. This study aimed to assess the way in which the fungus’s attack affects the chemical composition of Rosa sp. leaves. The research was conducted in the summer of 2023 on ten cultivars of rose grown in the rosary in the ‘Alexandru Buia’ Botanical Garden in Craiova. The influence of the cultivar and harvest time was discussed. Leaf black spot on roses produced by the fungus Diplocarpon rosae Wolf affected plants in all cultivars and the differences between cultivars highlighted the sensitivity of the relationship between plants and pathogens when exposed to some microclimatic environment factors. The correlations of attack degree with tannins, chlorophyll, or alkaloids were significant, negative for tannins (r = −0.189 *) and chlorophyll (r = −0.517 ***) and positive for alkaloids (r = 0.510 ***). Between phenolic compounds, tannins, flavonoids, and chlorophyll, very significant positive correlations were found. Alkaloids established negative and also very significant correlations with phenolic compounds (r = −0.403 ***), tannins (r = −0.339 ***), flavonoids (r = −0.409 ***), and chlorophyll (r = −0.604 ***).

The Department of Rural Roads (DRR) is one of the highway authorities in Thailand responsible for over 48 000 kilometres of rural roads and highway networks. One of its responsibilities is to provide better road safety management. In road safety procedures, black spots are usually identified by observing the frequency of accidents at a particular road section. This research aims to develop a model that includes levels of accident severity in the black spot identification process. The classification of severity levels includes fatalities, serious injuries, minor injuries, and damaged property only. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is employed to derive the weight of each severity level. The identification model is developed using Equivalent Accident Number (EAN) and Upper Control Limit (UCL). The data applied in the model are obtained from the road accident investigation of DRR. Five roads — Nakhon Ratchasima 3052, Chonburi 1032, Nonthaburi 3021, Samutprakarn 2001 and Chiangmai 3029 — have been selected based on the top frequency accident recorded in the last three years. Based on the results of black spots identified in the study, most accidents occurred from frontal and rear-ended impacts due to exceeded speed limits. The article discusses recommendations.

Mild brown and black spot diseases symptoms were detected on citrus varieties, Valencia and Navel fruits during season 2018 in some citrus orchards at North Egypt. Collected diseased fruit samples revealed isolation of Alternaria alternata and Phyllosticta citricarpa (McAlpine) van der Aa. Some organic acids, salts and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were evaluated against the diseases incidents in vitro and in vivo. Complete growth inhibition was recorded for fungi tested at 2g/L of salicylic acid, Potassium dihydrogen phosphate, Tri-Sodium polyphosphate and 2.5 g/L of S. cerevisiae. All pre-harvest treated Valencia trees, inoculated fruits revealed no diseases symptoms up to 10 days of storage period. Meanwhile, S. cerevisiae and salicylic acid treatments had extended protective effect up to 20 days. Control strategy through spraying Valencia orange trees with yeast or some organic acids and salts as pre-harvest approaches should be taken in consideration especially these diseases began to occur in North region of Egypt.

Copyright of Xinjiang Agricultural Sciences is the property of Xinjiang Agricultural Sciences Editorial Department 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.)

Black spot identification, a spatiotemporal phenomenon, involves analysing the geographical location and time-based occurrence of road accidents. Typically, this analysis examines specific locations on road networks during set time periods to pinpoint areas with a higher concentration of accidents, known as black spots. By evaluating these problem areas, researchers can uncover the underlying causes and reasons for increased collision rates, such as road design, traffic volume, driver behaviour, weather, and infrastructure. However, challenges in identifying black spots include limited data availability, data quality, and assessing contributing factors. Additionally, evolving road design, infrastructure, and vehicle safety technology can affect black spot analysis and determination. This study focused on traffic accidents in Greek road networks to recognize black spots, utilizing data from police and government-issued car crash reports. The study produced a publicly available dataset called Black Spots of North Greece (BSNG) and a highly accurate identification method.

This work concentrated on the improvement of the surface roughness of a magnetic head, through the use of an ultrafine nanodiamond slurry, and a novel floating grinding process, which optimize different experimental factors required for the fine grinding of a magnetic head. The preparation of the grinding plate was confirmed by the observation of the surface change, depth detection, and flatness after ultrafine nanodiamonds were embedded into it by a Keyence high-power microscope at a 20 K magnification. The flatness was measured by a TOTO instrument. The optimum conditions were found to be a pit ratio reach of 30:70 and a plate flatness (average) of 1.8 μm. The rotation speed and vibration frequency were 0.3 and 10 rpm, respectively, for the grinding process. The morphology, size, and elemental composition of blackspots were investigated by SEM, AES, AFM, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, which showed that the diameter of the diamonds in the slurry was important for grinding surface improvement. A novel method was proposed in this study to fine grind a magnetic head using a small-sized diamond slurry (100 nm) in conjunction with a novel float lapping method. Comparison experiments were performed under both normal conditions and improved conditions. The results show that by using the novel float lapping method with a small-sized diamond slurry, the minimum roughness was obtained. The finest roughness obtained for the slider surface reached 0.165 nm without blackspots or scratches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various analytic methods have been proposed to determine sections with the highest crash risk. Each method has unique specifications and tries to model the crash risk from a different viewpoint. The main objective of this article is to benefit the strengths of three methods that rely on accident data, road safety inspection, and traffic conflict technique to determine black spots for two-lane highways simultaneously. Fuzzy inference system (FIS) is considered as the method to combine the results of these methods and report one number (RMI) as the crash risk for each section. For comparative evaluations, a case study with 20 sections for two consecutive periods was considered in the roads of southeast of Iran. We have tried to select sections with various conditions from crash data, road condition, and surrogate safety measures viewpoint. First, the black spots are determined with the help of previous criteria such as crash frequency (CF), crash rate (CR), empirical Bayes (EB), and equivalent property damage only (EPDO). Then the black spots are specified by the new proposed criteria (RMI). Three tests are applied to compare the efficiency of these five methods. The results indicate that the proposed method is a powerful tool to identify black spots. RMI considers the frequency and severity of observed crashes and at the same time frequency and severity of predicted crashes based on road deficiencies and near crashes. Therefore, it has a more realistic attitude in black spot identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alternaria panax is the causative agent of black spot disease in Panax notoginseng, which causes significant yield loss. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its pathogenicity remain mostly unknown. Objective: We sequenced the transcriptome of A. panax during infecting P. notoginseng leaves using next-generation RNA-seq to understand the molecular aspects of black spot disease. Methods: In this study, we sequenced the A. panax transcriptome during infecting P. notoginseng leaves through next-generation sequencing to explore the pathogenesis genes that may be responsible for black spot disease on P. notoginseng. Result: The de novo transcriptome assembly of A. panax produced 23,036 unigenes, of which 18,096 genes were functionally annotated by at least one protein database. GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathways of differentially up-regulated genes suggest that most genes are associated with metabolic processes, catalytic activity, starch, and sucrose metabolism during infection. Many pathogenesis-associated genes, including genes encoding secreted proteins, candidate secreted effectors, cell wall degrading enzymes, transcription factors, and transporters, were up-regulated in A. panax during infection. In addition, the secondary metabolite biosynthesis genes, including cytochrome P450, and nonribosomal peptide synthetases, were also identified in this study. Conclusions: Differential gene expression analysis has confirmed that A. panax infection was mainly present in the middle and final stages. The findings show that these pathogenesis-associated genes in A. panax may be critical for the P. notoginseng black spots disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the results of the organic diseases management strategy applied to the climbing edible rose plantation. The research was carried out on the Experimental Field of the Faculty of Horticulture - USAMV Bucharest established in 2015 with three climbing cultivars from the David Austin collection: Crown Princess Margareta, Falstaff, and Brother Cadfael. Two main pathogens which affect susceptible rose cultivars worldwide were detected: Podosphaera pannosa var. rosae (powdery mildew) and Diplocarpon rosae (black spot). Our management protection scheme was based on environmentally friendly practices and organic products to prevent the pathogens severity and/or as natural resistance inducers. Both black spot and powdery mildew were present with a very low degree of attack (below 1%). These results could be explained by the efficacy of our organic scheme in preventing and limiting both pathogens incidence and severity. The influence of varieties and their position in the field on disease occurrence were analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red Guava is widely grown in numerous parts of southern China and is a favorite fruit among Chinese consumers due to its imperative nutritional value, high medicine value and excellent economic value. Black spot is one of the serious diseases that causes fruits rot. In July 2023, 25–30% of postharvest red guava fruits rot exhibiting disease symptoms were observed in surrounding markets of Haikou city, Hainan province, China. The purpose of this study was to isolate and identify the pathogenic fungi of red guava black spot. A total of 26 pathogenic fungal strains were isolated from the rotten red guava fruits with typical characteristics. One representative isolate, FSL2, was selected for subsequent experiments. Combining morphological analysis with phylogenetic analysis (internal transcribed spacer regions 4 and 5, translation elongation factor1, and β-tubulin genes), the pathogens should be identified as Neopestalotiopsis saprophytica. Pathogenic tests indicated that the symptoms of red guava fruit decay caused by N. saprophytica isolated from the sample were almost the same. The fungal species has been previously reported in China on Persimmon related with fruits rot. Thus, this study concluded that the pathogen of red guava black spot may be N. saprophytica. To best of our knowledge, this is the first report of red guava black spot caused by N. saprophytica. • Postharvest fruits rot of red guava fruits was observed in Hainan Province, China. • The pathogen associated with postharvest fruits rot was identified as Neopestalotiopsis saprophytica. • This is the first report of N. saprophytica as a causal agent of postharvest fruits rot on red guava fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field winterhardiness is a critical trait in rose cultivars (Rosa ×hybrida) grown in northern climates. Although the molecular basis of cold hardiness has been well documented in model organisms such as Arabidopsis thaliana, little is known about the genetics and mechanisms underlying winterhardiness in roses. This research aims to explore the genetic control of winterhardiness for application in breeding programs using quantitative trail loci (QTL) analysis in two biparental rose populations derived from cold-hardy roses of the Canadian Explorer Series Collection. Field winterhardiness was assessed as a complex trait with winter damage and regrowth recorded in multiyear and multilocation trials in Ontario and Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition, this research explored the relationship between field measurements and electrolyte leakage recorded under artificial conditions. Electrolyte leakage had limited utility for application in rose breeding programs as a substitute for field evaluation, but did enable identification of QTL associated with potential cold hardiness candidate genes. A QTL for electrolyte leakage mapped to a genomic region that harbors a CBF1-like transcription factor. A total of 14 QTLs associated with field winter damage and regrowth were discovered, and they explained between 11% and 37% of the observed phenotypic variance. Two QTL associated with winter damage and regrowth overlapped with a known QTL for black spot (Diplocarpon rosae) disease resistance, Rdr1, in an environment under high disease pressure. Due to the complexity of field winterhardiness and its direct reliance on intertwined factors, such as overall plant health, moisture status, snow cover, and period of prolonged sub-zero temperatures, field trials are the ultimate measurement of field winterhardiness. Transgressive segregation was observed for all traits, and it was most likely due to complementary gene action. Field winter damage and regrowth were highly heritable in single environments, but they were subject to genotype × environment interaction resulting from pest pressure and severe climatic conditions.