Search

Three gummy stem blight (GSB) resistant watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides) genotypes (IIHR-82, IIHR-617 and BIL-53), two resistant bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) genotypes (BG-95, BG-77-6-1) and three hybrid combinations based on watermelon genotypes (IIHR-617 × Arka Manik, IIHR-82 × Arka Manik and IIHR-82 × IIHR-617) were evaluated as rootstocks for yield, quality and GSB incidence in a sick plot during spring 2019, spring 2020 and spring 2021 at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore. The commercial watermelon hybrid NS-295 was used as a scion for grafting onto these rootstocks. Significant differences were observed among the grafted entries and checks in terms of disease incidence (PDI). Among agronomic traits, grafting significantly affected plant growth, earliness and yield in a desirable direction. The grafted scion onto the hybrid rootstocks and BG-95 could maintain its oblong fruit shape compared to those onto IIHR-82 and BIL-53, whereas BG-77-6-1 produced spherical fruits. Quality traits showed an improvement in terms of total soluble solids (TSS), flesh colour, total carotenoids and lycopene content among the grafted entries as compared to non-grafted controls. Overall, the use of hybrid rootstocks i.e. IIHR-82 × IIHR-617 and IIHR-82 × Arka Manik was found to be advantageous in managing GSB apart from imparting desirable agronomic and fruit quality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Low temperature has a major influence on survival and geographical distribution of plants and as an important environmental factor, it affects plant productivity. Physalis (Physalis peruviana L.) belongs to the Solanaceae family and is a tropical and subtropical plant that is affected by low temperatures at beginning and end of the growing season. These fruits are highly beneficial to human health due to their nutritional and bioactive compounds (antioxidants, vitamins A, B, C, E and K1, flavonoids and carotenoids), so it has gained attention for cultivation worldwide. Amino acids (L-Phenylalanine and cysteine) or selenium play important roles in plant resistance to low temperature. However, the role of L-phenylalanine (Phe) and cysteine (Cys) or selenium (Se) in regulating chilling tolerance and improve fruit quality of physalis is still unknown. In this study, the effects of Phe, Cys and Se on quality and antioxidant capacity of physalis fruit under low-temperature stress were investigated. Materials and Methods: The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The seeds of physalis (Physalis peruviana L.) were sown in seedling trays containing peat moss under optimal conditions of 25±2 °C during the day and 20±2 °C at night. Different concentrations of L-phenylalanine (0.75, 1.5, and 2.5 mM, Phe), L-cysteine (0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 mM, Cys), or sodium selenate (0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg L-1, Se) were sprayed on the seedlings at the 4-5th true leaf stage. Distilled water was used as the control treatment. To induce chilling stress, plants with the basically same growth were transferred to a 4 °C climate chamber for 48 hours. The control group was grown under optimal conditions. After applying the chilling stress, the plants were returned to optimal growth conditions for 24 hours. Plants transplanted to the field and foliar sprayed three times (growth stage, flowering and fruit set stages) with amino acids and Se. After exposed plants to autumn chilling, fruits harvested during calix and fruit color change from green to orange stage, and plant height, yield and the quality characteristics of the fruit including carotenoid content, membrane stability index, titratable acidity, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were evaluated. Results: The results showed that low temperature stress significantly decreased fruit yield, carotenoids content and membrane stability index (MSI), and increased titratable acidity, phenols and flavonoids content and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities. Foliar spray of Physalis plants with Phe, Cys and Se under cold stress significantly increased plant height, fruit yield, antioxidant enzymes activity, MSI, carotenoids, phenolic compound and TA. The highest value of MSI (38.46 and 36.1) was obtained in fruit of plants treated with Se 0.25 and 0.5 mg L-1 under low temperature condition. The maximum phenol content (8.08 and 7.83 mg L-1) of fruit was observed with application of Phe 0.75 mM and Cys 0.25 mM in plants exposed to cold stress. Also, the highest antioxidant capacity was obtained in plant fruits treated with Phe 0.75 and 1.5 mM (60.8%), Cys 0.25 mM (60.26%) and Se 0.5 mg L-1, respectively under low temperature condition, and the lowest antioxidant capacity (50.5%) was observed in control plant fruits. Conclusion: The results of research showed that the foliar application of Phe, Cys or Se treatments, especially the levels of Phe 0.75 and 1.5 mM and Se 0.5 mg L-1 during seedling and field growing periods caused a significant increase in fruit yield, also increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes, phenolic compounds and the membrane stability index of fruits exposed to autumn cold and led to improvement of fruit quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of root system directly affects the absorption and utilization of soil water and nitrogen, and understanding the responses of root characteristics to water and nitrogen regimes is thus crucial for optimizing water and nitrogen management. The root characteristics of each soil layer, i.e., root length, root surface area, and root volume, as well as fruit yield and water use efficiency of greenhouse tomato under drip fertigation in response to different irrigation levels and nitrogen rates were explored in northwest China. There were four irrigation levels, i.e., 50% ETC (W1), 75% ETC (W2), 100% ETC (W3), and 125% ETC (W4), where ETC is the crop evapotranspiration, and four nitrogen rates, i.e., 0 kg ha−1 (N1), 150 kg ha−1 (N2), 250 kg ha−1 (N3), and 350 kg ha−1 (N4). The results showed that reasonable irrigation and nitrogen regimes (W3N3) significantly increased fruit yield by 31.64% and root length, root surface area, and root volume by 45.03%, 61.24%, and 148.21% compare to W3N1, respectively. The promoting effect of increasing irrigation level on root characteristics increased with soil depth and had the greatest increases in root volume by 27.07%, 123.43%, and 211.47% for the 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm soil layers, respectively. In addition, reducing irrigation level significantly increased the percentages of roots in the top soil by 29.71%, 26.77%, and 18.53% for root length, root surface area, and root volume, respectively. The reasonable nitrogen rate (N3) significantly increased fruit yield by 41.11%, water use efficiency by 34.42%, and root length, root surface area, and root volume by 40.42%, 41.44%, and 112.76%, respectively. The over-application of nitrogen (N4) reduced root characteristics of all soil layers, fruit yield, and water use efficiency. The promoting effect of increasing nitrogen rate on root length of each soil layer decreased with soil depth, by 71.01%, 48.96%, and 15.71% for 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm soil layers, respectively. Irrigation level was the main factor dominating the root growth of each soil layer. The correlation analysis showed that fruit yield had significantly positive correlations with root characteristics in all soil layers, while water use efficiency had significantly positive correlations with the percentages of root length and root surface area in the 0–10 cm soil layer. In conclusion, rational water and nitrogen regimes achieved better fruit yield by promoting root growth of greenhouse tomato, and the water use efficiency of greenhouse tomato was improved by increasing the root percentage in the topsoil layer to alleviate the adverse effects under water stress conditions. This study reveals how irrigation volume and nitrogen application can enhance tomato yield and water use efficiency by regulating root characteristics and vertical root distribution, providing support for understanding the response of root systems to changes in soil water and nitrogen conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To seek the optimal combination of water–air for drip irrigation processing tomatoes in Northern Xinjiang, China, field experiments consisted of four irrigation levels, and two types of gas-filling methods were proposed. Throughout the whole growth period, the water consumption by physical aeration and chemical aeration increased by 13.65% and 9.27%, respectively compared with the nonaerated treatment. Under the conditions of physical aeration, the processing tomato fruit yield and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) increased by 8.14% and 4.74%; while by chemical aeration, they increased by 7.91% and 4.61%, respectively. Physical aeration had the most prominent role in increasing the contents of organic acid, soluble solids, soluble sugar, lycopene, and VC in processing tomatoes. The presented indicators show that the effect of physical aeration was better than that of chemical aeration. Physical aeration in combination with different irrigation levels, the 4,950 m3·hm−2 irrigation level gave the highest yield of processing tomato, whereas the highest IWUE was obtained in the 4,500 m3·hm−2 irrigation treatment, and the quality parameters of processing tomatoes at the 4,500 m3·hm−2 irrigation level performed better than those at the 4,950 m3·hm−2 irrigation level. To take into account the requirements of processing tomatoes for maximum IWUE and fruit yield and quality, the entropy weight method was used to determine that the irrigation water volume of 4,500 m3·hm−2 under the conditions of physical aeration can be used as a suitable water and air combination pattern for processing tomatoes in drip irrigation in Northern Xinjiang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Watermelon is an important horticultural crop which is grown in warm climate worldwide. However, its production and productivity is low owing to lack of high yielding improved varieties and poor knowledge of using mulches. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted in west Dembia district under irrigation from January to April 2021 to investigate the effect of mulches on growth and fruit yield of watermelon varieties. Factorial combinations of two varieties of watermelon (Crimson Sweet and Sugar Baby) and four types of mulches (black plastic, white plastic, grass mulch and no mulch as control) were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The remaining necessary agronomic practices and crop management activities were undertaken uniformly. The data presented under this dataset article includes phenological parameters (i.e. Days to 50 % germination, Days to 50 % flowering, and Days to 50 % maturity), growth parameters (i.e. main vine length, number of lateral branches per vine, number of nodes on main vine, and number of leaves on the main vine) and yield and yield component parameters (i.e. Number of total fruit plant−1, number of marketable fruit plant−1,number of unmarketable fruit plant−1, fruit length, fruit diameter, average fruit weight, marketable fruit yield, unmarketable fruit yield and total fruit yield). All the collected data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the analysis was carried out using the SAS version 9.4 software computer program's General Linear Model (GLM) procedure [1]. As described in Montgomery [2], the residuals were examined to verify the normal distribution and homogeneous variance model assumptions on the error terms for each response variable. Because the eight treatment combinations were randomized within each block, the independence assumption is valid. When a treatment effect was significant, multiple means comparison was performed at a 5 % level of significance using the least significant difference (Fisher's LSD) method to generate letter groupings and correlation analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation procedure found in SAS. This dataset article, therefore gives information about the effects mulching on productivity of watermelon varieties. Additionally, it provides the appropriate and economically feasible type of mulching material for maximized fruit yield of watermelon varieties in the study area or other areas having similar agro ecology. Hence, this information can allow other researchers to review the supplement data, methods, and make detailed analysis, which possibly giving rise to new lines of inquiry. This can also give rise to new collaborations and boost the reputation of the present research data within the scientific community and to make it available to everyone around the subject matter to use as they wish.

Background: Capsicum chinense Jacq. (Ghost Pepper) is well-known for its high pungency and pleasant aroma. The recent years witnessed a significant decline in popularity of this important crop due to the use of inferior planting material and lack of elite lines. To maintain constant performance across a variety of settings, it is crucial to choose stable lines with high yield and capsaicin content, as these are the most promising traits of Ghost Pepper. Method: In this study, 120 high-capsaicin genotypes were subjected to a 3-year (kharif 2017, 2018 and 2019) stability investigation utilizing two well-known stability methods: Eberhart-Russell (ER) and additive main effects and multiple interaction (AMMI). Three replications were used following Randomized Complete Block Design for 11 traits. The experiment soil was sandy loam with pH 4.9. Minimum and maximum temperature of 18.5 °C, 17.5 °C, 17.4 °C and 32.2 °C, 31.3 °C, 32.7 °C and rainfall of 1,781, 2,099, 1,972 mm respectively was recorded for the study period. Result: The genotype-environment linear interaction (G×E Lin.) was highly significant for days to 50% flowering, capsaicin content, fruit length and girth, fruit yield per plant and number of fruits per plant at p < 0.005. G×E interaction for fruit yield and capsaicin content in AMMI-analysis of variance reported 67.07% and 71.51% contribution by IPCA-1 (interactive principal component axis) and 32.76% and 28.49% by IPCA-2, respectively. Eight genotypes were identified to be stable with high yield and capsaicin content. The identified stable lines can be opted for cultivation to reduce the impact of crop failure when grown in different macro-environments. Moreover, the pharmaceutical and spice sectors will also be benefitted from the lines with high capsaicin content. Further research assessing the lines' performance across various regions of India can provide a solid foundation for the crop's evaluation at national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity is the main natural limitation for agricultural production in arid and semi-arid regions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mycorrhizal fungi and salicylic acid on yield and quality of watermelon under water stress. For this purpose, a split factorial experiment was conducted with three replications based on a randomized complete block design in two years. Irrigation treatment at three levels of receiving 100%, 80% and 60% of water requirement were placed as the main factor in the main plots. Mycorrhizal fungus in two levels (including no inoculation and soil inoculation by 20 g m-2) along with spraying of salicylic acid in three levels (including 0, 50 and 100 mg L-1) were designated to the subplots. The highest amounts of proline concentration, peroxidase and catalase enzymes activities were recorded in 60% irrigation treatment. Electrolyte leakage decreased by salicylic acid application, though in each irrigation treatment the lowest electrolyte leakage was recorded in 100 mg L-1 treatment of salicylic acid. Electrolyte leakage was significantly reduced by mycorrhizal fungi application. The highest (9.12%) and the lowest (8.08%) level of total soluble solids were recorded respectively in 80% and 100% irrigation treatments. The highest amount of TSS (9.07%) was obtained with mycorrhizal fungi. TSS was significantly increased by 6.70% and 11.20% with 50 and 100 mg L-1 salicylic acid treatments, respectively, compared to the control. The lowest fruit yield (34.76 t ha-1) was obtained when the plants were exposed to 60% irrigation treatment and no mycorrhizal fungus inoculation conditions. Fruit yield increased significantly in the presence of mycorrhizal fungi inoculation across all irrigation treatment levels, with the highest fruit yield (68.82 t ha-1) being obtained when plants were grown under 100% irrigation treatment and mycorrhizal fungi inoculation conditions. It may be concluded that using mycorrhizal fungus as a biofertilizer and salicylic acid as a plant growth regulator can reduce the harmful effects of drought stress and, hence, it can be recommended to increase the fruit yield and quality of watermelon at least in arid-semiarid conditions.

Purpose This study evaluated the response of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum var. Red chili) towards cow vermicompost application under field conditions.Method Cow vermicompost was supplied in four levels (0, 5, 10, and 15 t ha-1) across the two growing seasons in 2017 and 2018. Results Vermicompost application significantly increased the plant height, internode distance, and the number of lateral branches in both seasons. It was noticed that manuring with 15 t ha-1 of cow vermicompost resulted with enhanced chlorophyll contents, fruit yield, and fruit number in both years. In both seasons, the highest leaf number, fruit weight, and total soluble solids are related to the third treatment (10 t ha-1 of cow vermicompost). The results showed that 1000-seed weight and vitamin C content were affected by cow vermicompost. Data showed that manuring with vermicompost (5 t ha-1) caused the best quality components in 2017 and 2018.Conclusion It was concluded that the application of vermicompost had a significant impact on vegetative and reproductive growth and fruit quality of hot pepper.

Background: Snake gourd is a monoecious crop that prefers cross pollination. Snake gourd has a lot of potential for genetic improvement. A large variation can be produced when genetically diverse and geographically distant lines are combined. To examine the genetic diversity and connection between essential agronomic features in snake gourd, multivariate methods such as principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used. This study will use multivariate analysis to determine the genetic diversity and link between critical agronomic aspects of snake gourd. Methods: A total of sixteen genotypes and two varieties of snake gourd genotypes were subjected to boxplot, principal component analysis and cluster analysis based on eleven quantitative traits. Boxplot analysis, Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were performed using R version of 4.2.1. Result: Boxplot analysis depicted the frequency distribution of eleven quantitative traits among 18 snake gourd accessions. The overall variation was split into eleven principal components, out of which five major principal components contributed for variability of snake gourd genotypes by exhibiting 90.05 per cent of variability. The squared cosine variables inferred that the traits viz., days to first male flowering, days to first female flowering and days to first harvest contributed more for variability in the first component. The ward D2 method of hierarchical clustering cluster the 16 genotypes and 2 varieties in two clusters based on cluster sum of squares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Girdling is an important means of improving the yield and quality of jujube trees, but this measure can easily cause injury, or even death, to jujube trees. A technology for increasing yield and improving quality, based on local thermal damage of jujube bark, is proposed to address a series of issues in current jujube-tree-girdling technology. First, we measured the thermophysical parameters of jujube bark and established a heat-transfer model for jujube bark. Then, in order to investigate the impact of local thermal damage on jujube-tree yield and fruit quality, local heating experiments were conducted on jujube-tree bark, using the heat-transfer model. The experimental results indicated that heating the jujube bark at a certain temperature for an appropriate time can effectively improve the yield and quality of jujube fruit. Compared with traditional girdling techniques, this method has less impact on the health of jujube trees and does not form permanent wounds on them. The research results provide new ideas for exploring sustainable yield-increase methods for fruit trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fourteen genetically diverse inbred lines comprising of four genic male sterile lines and 10 often pollinated lines as testers were crossed following 'line × tester' mating design to generate 40 F1s. These F1s, parents and check 'CH‐27' were evaluated in α‐lattice square design, replicated thrice during summer seasons of 2020 and 2021. The male sterile line DPChMS 9‐2 was good general combiner for marketable fruit yield and eight other component traits while testers namely, DPCh 10, PBC 535, VVG, Him Palam Mirch‐2 and DPCh 40 showed significant GCA for majority of yield related traits. The hybrids DPChMS 9‐2 × HPM‐2, DPChMS 9‐2 × DPCh 40, DPChMS 9‐2 × DPCh 101, DPChMS 9‐2× VVG and DPChMS 26‐1× HPM‐1 were the most desirable based on specific combining ability (SCA) and economic heterosis for fruit yield and other important traits. Heterosis was positively correlated with SCA indicating prediction of potential hybrids can be made based on both these parameters simultaneously. Present study provides an opportunity to exploit top hybrids for stability and commercial cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, such as Funneliformis mosseae, are essential components of the soil microbiome that can facilitate plant growth and enhance abiotic and biotic stress resistances. However, the mechanisms via which F. mosseae inoculation influences Capsicum annuum L. plant growth and fruit yield remain unclear. Here, we conducted pot experiments to investigate bacterial and fungal community structures in the rhizosphere of C. annuum plants inoculated with F. mosseae based on 16S ribosomal RNA and internal transcribed spacer gene sequencing. The α‐diversity of bacteria increased significantly following F. mosseae inoculation (p < 0.01); however, there was no significant difference in fungal diversity indices between treatments. The relative abundances of major bacterial phyla, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Gemmatimonadetes, together with the fungal phylum Ascomycota, were all higher in inoculated samples than in uninoculated controls. F. mosseae inoculation led to a remarkable enrichment of potentially beneficial genera (e.g., Streptomyces, Sphingomonas, Lysobacter, and Trichoderma), in stark contrast to the depletion of fungal pathogens (e.g., Botryotrichum, Acremonium, Fusarium, and Plectosphaerella). Rhizosphere pathways related to amino acid metabolism and antibiotic biosynthesis were upregulated by F. mosseae inoculation, whereas pathways involved in infectious diseases were downregulated. Thus, F. mosseae inoculation appears to reshape the rhizosphere microbiome, thereby augmenting C. annuum plant growth and fruit yield. Core Ideas: Funneliformis mosseae can enhance Capsicum annuum L. plant growth and fruit yield.F. mosseae can lead to the enrichment of beneficial rhizosphere microbiota.F. mosseae inoculation contributes to the depletion of fungal pathogens.F. mosseae can mediate the beneficial functions of rhizosphere microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microbial biofertilizers and algae-based biostimulants have been recognized for supporting sustainable agriculture. Field experiments were conducted in 2022 and 2023 growing seasons in an organic farm located in Ferrara (Italy) with the aim of evaluating plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) and algae-based biostimulants (Biost) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The experimental treatments were: (i) two microbial biofertilizers (PGPM&#95;1, PGPM&#95;2) and no inoculated plants (No&#95;PGPM); and (ii) two algae-based biostimulant rates (0.5% (Biost&#95;0.5%), 1.0% (Biost&#95;1.0%)) and no application (No&#95;Biost). PGPMs were applied at transplanting, while biostimulants at 15 and 30 days after transplanting. Treatments were replicated three times according to a split-plot experimental design. Plant characteristics were evaluated at 30 days after transplanting in No&#95;Biost treatments. During tomato cultivation, soil plant analysis development (SPAD), nitrogen difference vegetation index (NDVI), leaf area index (LAI) and photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) were monitored. Tomato yield was determined., Results: PGPM&#95;2 showed the highest shoot biomass (132.9 g plant -1 ), plant height (44.7 cm), leaf number (34.0 plant -1 ) and root biomass (9.22 g plant -1 ). Intermediate values were observed in PGPM&#95;1, while all parameters were lower in No&#95;PGPM. Both PGPMs achieved higher values of SPAD, NDVI, PPFD and LAI than No&#95;PGPM. Biost&#95;1.0% increased all measured growth parameters followed by Biost&#95;0.5% and No&#95;Biost, respectively. Tomato yield was the highest for PGPM&#95;2-Biost&#95;1.0% (67.2 t ha -1 ). PGPMs affected fruit size and sugar content, while biostimulants were associated with color and lycopene., Conclusion: The application of microbial biofertilizers and algae-based biostimulants could be part of environment-friendly practice in organic farming. © 2024 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.)

The degree of association between yield and its components can be identified using correlation and Principal Component Analyses (PCA). PCA also reveals key characteristics that explain most of the differences between genotypes. A study was formulated to evaluate the relationship between yield and its contributing traits in cucumber. The experiment was conducted with 16 cucumber genotypes in a Randomized Complete Block Design, with three replications. The correlation analysis revealed a strong and statistically significant relationship in number of pistillate flowers (r = 0.58**), number of branches (r = 0.43**), vine length (r = 0.69**), number of leaves (r = 0.73**), leaf area (r = 0.70**), number of fruits (r = 0.91**), fruit length (r = 0.40**), fruit girth (r = 0.39**), and fruit weight (r = 0.74**) with fruit yield. PCA revealed that PC1 accounted for 51.53% of the total variation, while PC2 explained 13.91% of the total variability. This study demonstrated that choosing traits such as number of pistillate flowers, number of branches, vine length, number of leaves, leaf area, number of fruits, fruit length, fruit girth, and fruit weight that have a strong positive correlation with fruit yield could be given priority in selection for yield improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of intercropping in Rosa roxburghii Tratt orchards holds potential for enhancing fruit yield and financial benefits, yet remains insufficiently explored. To address this, we delved into the effects of intercropping on fruit yield and financial viability of R. roxburghii orchards in Longli County, southern China. Orchards of varying ages (4 years old and 5 years old; 7 years old and 8 years old) were subjected to different treatments: (i) Zea mays and Capsicum annuum intercropping, and clean tillage for younger orchards, and (ii) Lolium perenne, natural grass, and clean tillage for older orchards. Each treatment was assessed for its impact on fruit yield and financial benefits. In younger orchards, intercropping with Z. mays and C. annuum did not significantly elevate fruit yield compared to clean tillage in the 4-year-old orchard; however, C. annuum intercropping significantly improved fruit yield in the 5-year-old orchard. Concurrently, intercropping significantly augmented the total financial benefit by 9234.35–10,486.25 CNY ha−1 (Z. mays) and 14,304.90–16,629.18 CNY ha−1 (C. annuum) compared to clean tillage. In older orchards, L. perenne intercropping significantly elevated fruit yield by 598.84–803.64 kg·ha−1, while natural grass reduced it by 394.61–986.24 kg·ha−1, compared to clean tillage. Additionally, L. perenne intercropping significantly boosted the total financial benefit by 8873.92–9956.56 CNY ha−1, whereas natural grass negatively impacted financial benefits by 78.42–2444.94 CNY ha−1 compared to clean tillage. Collectively, our results illustrate that judicious selection of intercrops, based on orchard age and conditions, can significantly enhance both fruit yield and financial advantages in R. roxburghii orchards. This study furnishes vital insights for orchard management and accentuates the prospective merits of intercropping in fruit production systems.

Abstract Pakistan is the 8th most climate-affected country in the globe along with a semi-arid to arid climate, thereby the crops require higher irrigation from underground water. Moreover, ~ 70% of pumped groundwater in irrigated agriculture is brackish and a major cause of secondary salinization. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an important vegetable crop with an annual growth rate of about 3.3% in Pakistan. However, it is a relatively salt-sensitive crop. Therefore, a dire need for an alternate environment-friendly technology like grafting for managing salinity stress in cucumber by utilizing the indigenous cucurbit landraces. In this regard, a non-perforated pot-based study was carried out in a lath house to explore indigenous cucurbit landraces; bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) (cv. Faisalabad Round), pumpkin (Cucurbit pepo. L) (cv. Local Desi Special), sponge gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca) (cv. Local) and ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula) (cv. Desi Special) as rootstocks for inducing salinity tolerance in cucumber (cv. Yahla F1). Four different salts (NaCl) treatments; T0 Control (2.4 dSm–1), T1 (4 dSm–1), T2 (6 dSm–1) and T3 (8 dSm–1) were applied. The grafted cucumber plants were transplanted into the already-induced salinity pots (12-inch). Different morpho-physio-biochemical, antioxidants, ionic, and yield attributes were recorded. The results illustrate that increasing salinity negatively affected the growing cucumber plants. However, grafted cucumber plants showed higher salt tolerance relative to non-grafted ones. Indigenous bottle gourd landrace (cv. Faisalabad Round) exhibited higher salt tolerance compared to non-grafted cucumber plants due to higher up-regulation of morpho-physio-biochemical, ionic, and yield attributes that was also confirmed by principal component analysis (PCA). Shoot and root biomass, chlorophylls contents (a and b), activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POX) enzymes, antioxidants scavenging activity (ASA), ionic (↑ K and Ca, ↓ Na), and yield-related attributes were found maximum in cucumber plants grafted onto indigenous bottle gourd landrace. Hence, the indigenous bottle gourd landrace ‘cv. Faisalabad round’ may be utilized as a rootstock for cucumber under a mild pot-based saline environment. However, indigenous bottle gourd landrace ‘cv. Faisalabad round’ may further be evaluated as rootstocks in moderate saline field conditions for possible developing hybrid rootstock and, subsequently, sustainable cucumber production.

Despite the high nutritional value and extensive consumer preference for chili, productivity levels in India are significantly low. An experiment was carried out to study the variability, genetic diversity, and character association in 30 genotypes. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among genotypes for all the traits under study. A high magnitude of genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation, coupled with heritability and genetic advance, was observed for all the traits, except days to first flowering, days to first fruit set, and days to final harvest. Diversity analysis showed that the maximum intercluster distance was observed between clusters IX and XII. Results of correlation and path coefficient analysis indicated that number of fruits per plants, fruit length, fruit weight, green fruit yield per plant, number of seeds per fruit, days to first flowering, and days to final harvest were positively correlated with dry fruit yield. It is concluded that improvement in fruit yield in chili pepper could be achieved by selecting genotypes from clusters IX and XII as parents for hybridization, and traits as components that have positive effect on yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During industrial licorice production, considerable amounts of licorice root residues (LRR) are produced. The use of these residues as an agricultural production input could be beneficial to sustainable economic growth and the environment. Therefore, we evaluated the application of LRR to some growth media at (v/v) [100% soil (S), 100% LRR (L), 50% soil + 50% LRR (SL), 50% perlite + 50% LRR (PL), 50% cocopeat + 50% LRR (CL), and 25% soil + 25% perlite + 25% cocopeat + 25% LRR (SPCL)] plus humic acid (HA) (0, 5, 10, or 15 gl−1) during bell pepper production. Results showed that LRR application plus HA fertigation significantly improved the vegetative and reproductive growth and mineral content of pepper. The highest fresh weight (shoot and root), plant height, root length, leaf number, and chlorophyll content were observed for plants treated with SPCL + 15 gl−1 HA. The highest number of flowers (18.08), fruits per plant, fruit length and diameter, fruit fresh weight, and yield were associated with the peppers grown under SPCL. Deformed fruits significantly increased in the S treatment whereas no deformed fruits were observed under the SPCL treatment. The highest leaf K, Ca, Fe, and Zn contents were observed in the medium culture containing 25% LRR (SPCL) + 15 gl−1 HA. The findings revealed that the use of SPCL + 15 gl−1 HA fertigation could provide the best conditions for fruit production by bell pepper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aroniaberry (Aronia mitschurinii) produces small pome fruits that possess health promoting compounds. Management practices for orchards are lacking, since aroniaberry is a relatively new crop. Pruning is an important cultural practice to optimize fruit yield in orchards. The response of an established aroniaberry orchard to pruning was evaluated over three years (2020 to 2022). Pruning treatments were as follows: 1) renewal pruning (removal of shoots to the base) only in year 1; 2) renewal pruning in year 1 + thinning to 18 shoots in year 2; 3) renewal pruning in year 1 + thinning to 9 shoots in year 2; and 4) no-pruning (control). In response to renewal pruning, plants grew uniformly and vigorously, producing 28 new vegetative primary shoots with an average length of 66 cm by the end of the first growing season. Limited flowering and fruiting occurred in the second season for plants receiving pruning treatments. Fruit yield on pruned plants was significantly less than for unpruned controls. In season 2, increased thinning of renewal-pruned plants negatively affected the number of inflorescences per plant, but positively affected individual fruit fresh weight and fruit °Brix:titratable acidity ratios. Fruits from all treatments had similar monomeric anthocyanins, total phenolics and mineral content. In season 3, flower production and predicted fruit yield from pruned plants and unpruned controls were similar, even though pruned plants were substantially smaller. In the third season, there were no longer any differences between renewed + thinned plants and those that received only renewal pruning, making shoot thinning an unnecessary practice. The results of this study demonstrate that renewal pruning can be an effective way to manage and rejuvenate an aging aroniaberry orchard.

Underground water enriched in NaHCO3 is used in farms of the Buenos Aires province for tomato crop irrigation. This farming practice leads to salt accumulation and soil impairment after several seasons of cultivation inside the greenhouses. This work assayed the effect of NaHCO3 on tomato fruit production. Plants of the Elpida variety of Solanum lycopersicum L were grown in a hydroponic system. The presence of NaHCO3 (from 5 mM, as measured in the underground water to 10 or 20 mM) reduced K+/Na+ ratio and whole plant biomass and fruit yield; however, no effect was observed on fruit quality parameters. To test the participation of ascorbic acid in the tolerance to this stress, two slggp1 Micro-Tom mutant lines deficient in this antioxidant were used. In these experiments plants were treated with 0, 5 and 10 mM NaHCO3 causing an impairment of K+/Na+ ratio, photosynthesis, fruit yield, leaf and shoot dry weight (but without effect in root biomass) and delaying of fruit ripening time. Wild type and mutants plant responses showed no differences at stress conditions. Although NaHCO3 treatments caused a similar impairment in ascorbic acid mutants and wild type plants, these results reinforced the physiological importance of ascorbic acid levels to optimize plant growth under non-stressful conditions. Taken as a whole, the results presented here demonstrated the importance of avoiding the accumulation of this salt in greenhouse soils to optimize tomato production.

There is an increasing interest in producing organic tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) in high tunnels (HTs) in the southeast United States. HTs are unheated, passively cooled structures that allow tomato growers to harvest high-quality fruit out of season. However, excessive temperatures inside HTs may negatively impact tomato plant growth and fruit yield. Shade nets have been reported to reduce temperatures inside the HTs. Plastic mulch color has also significantly influenced plant growth and yield under high-temperature conditions. This study aimed to determine the effects of shade net color and plastic mulch color on plant growth, fruit yield, and incidence of tomato yellow leaf curl disease (TYLC) in ‘Red Snapper’ tomato grown in HTs under elevated temperatures (summer-fall) in southern Georgia, USA. Organic ‘Red Snapper’ tomato seedlings were transplanted in HTs in 2019 (Season 1) and 2020 (Season 2). The design was a split-plot randomized block where the main plots were externally mounted shade nets (black, silver, and unshaded; 30% shade factor), and the subplots were plastic mulches (black and white). Compared with black mulch, white mulch improved plant height and stem diameter but did not influence fruit yields. Shade nets reduced HT air temperature and root zone temperature (RZT) but did not affect plant height and stem diameter. The diminished photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) under the shade nets reduced marketable fruit yield. Thus, shade nets are not recommended once heat challenges do not limit HT tomato production in Georgia (after about mid-October). Shade nets and plastic mulch inconsistently affected TYLC incidence, severity, and area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC). Additional fruit yield reductions occurred due to TYLC because the incidence was 100% 6 weeks after transplanting. Preliminary insect data showed that shade net treatments had similar sweetpotato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) numbers. The high TYLC incidence indicates that ‘Red Snapper’ may not be suitable for fall HT tomato production in the southeast United States. More research on shading and heat stress management in HT organic tomato production is necessary.

Raising attentions have focused on how to alleviate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from orchard system while simultaneously increase fruit production. Microalgae-based biofertilizer represents a promising resource for improving soil fertility and higher productivity. However, the effects of microalgae application more especially live microalgae on GHG emissions are understudied. In this study, fruit yield and quality, GHG emissions, as well as soil organic carbon and nitrogen fractions were examined in a hawthorn orchard, under the effects of live microalgae-based biofertilizer applied at three doses and two modes. Compared with conventional fertilization, microalgae improved hawthorn yield by 15.7%-29.6% with a maximal increment at medium dose by root application, and significantly increased soluble and reducing sugars contents at high dose. While microalgae did not increase GHG emissions except for nitrous oxide at high dose by root application, instead it significantly increased methane uptake by 1.5-2.3 times in root application. In addition, microalgae showed an increasing trend in soil organic carbon content, and significantly increased the contents of soil dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon, as well as soil ammonium nitrogen and dissolved organic nitrogen at medium dose with root application. Overall, the results indicated that the live microalgae could be used as a green biofertilizer for improving fruit yield without increasing GHG emissions intensity and the comprehensive greenhouse effect, in particular at medium dose with root application. We presume that if lowering chemical fertilizer rates, application of the live microalgae-based biofertilizer may help to reduce nitrous oxide emissions without compromising fruit yield and quality.

This study conducted in 2020-2021 sought to determine the impact of NPK fertilizer with three levels (F0: 0, F1: 900 g, F2: 1300 g) and three levels of pruning at the ratio of P1: 5, P2: 7, and P3: 9 leaves/bunch, to improve the fruit and quality of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cv. "Khastawi," held at the Al-Zahfaraniah Palm Station, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq. Executing the study as a factorial experiment (3 × 3) within a randomized complete block design (RCBD) had three replications. Every two date palms as an experimental unit setup came from 54 trees aged 16 years and, as much as possible, homogeneous in growth characteristics. The experimental results showed that NPK fertilization at the F2 level was superior in all studied traits, including fruit set, weight, width, length, volume, seed and bunch weights, and total yield. The pruning treatment (P3) was significantly superior by giving the highest fruit set, width, and length values, whereas F0 and P2 treatments gave the lowest average for these traits. Furthermore, the interaction of F2P3 provided the highest rates in fruit weight, length, volume, seed, and bunch weights, and total yield, while the F0P1 treatment gave the lowest values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amount and time of fertilization play an important role in the quality and yield of citrus. Moreover, twice fertilization in the spring (March) and summer (July) are generally applied in citrus orchards, of which the appropriate proportion is unclear, especially in Ganzhou. Therefore, the two-year field experiment containing three proportions (60/40, 80/20, 100/0) of spring and summer fertilization was carried out with a 15-year-old Newhall orange orchard to recommend the optimum fertilization proportion for orchard. Results showed that variations of soil available N, P, K concentrations resulting from different spring and summer fertilization proportion significantly affected orange fruit quality and yield. The soil available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) concentrations fertilized with a proportion of 80/20 spring and summer were higher overall the year. The spring and summer fertilizer application with 80/20 increased fruit yield by 35.14%, and had higher total soluble solids and lower titrated acid. Moreover, the only one-time fertilization exhibited almost the same fruit yield, fruit N, P, K removal, but lower fruit titrated acid content and higher solid acid ratio. The present study results demonstrated that increasing the proportion of spring fertilization particularly the proportion of 80/20 could be a recommended dose for obtaining higher fruit yield and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was designed to identify the most effective way of fertilizing Zn for improved productivity and quality of pomegranate cv. Bhagwa on calcareous soil. Fertilization methods included foliar sprays of ZnSO4, Zn-EDTA, and amino acid chelated Zn; irrigation applied ZnSO4 and Zn chelate (Zn-EDTA); soil application of ZnSO4 (@ 12.5 and 25.0 g tree−1) and were evaluated on full grown pomegranate orchard for 2 years. All the Zn treatments of foliar and irrigation-applied methods were effective in raising the leaf Zn concentration above the recommended adequate level (>15.98 mg kg−1). Higher number of hermaphrodite flowers was observed with foliar sprays of ZnSO4, amino acid chelated Zn, irrigation applied Zn-chelate, and soil application of ZnSO4 @ 25 g Zn tree−1. Various Zn application methods except irrigation-applied ZnSO4 increased fruit yield by 4.33–23.63%. Some of the Zn treatments viz. foliar sprays of ZnSO4, amino acid chelated Zn and irrigation-applied Zn-chelate caused substantial improvement in fruit quality attributes such as fruit size, aril and juice percent, biochemical attributes like juice acidity (by 8.33–13.89%), anthocyanin, ascorbic acid concentration, and enrichment of Zn in the edible part of the fruit. Interestingly, sprays of ZnSO4 also enriched Fe, Mn, and Cu in the arils. While some of the Zn treatments viz. foliar spray of ZnSO4, irrigation-applied Zn-chelate and soil application of ZnSO4 could reduce bacterial blight disease incidence by 19.29–25.97% and severity by 22.18–47.36%. Hence, foliar sprays of ZnSO4 are recommended for enhancement of fruit yield as well as quality in pomegranate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fennel fruits (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) represent one of the plant-based natural spices. This study aims to improve the fruit yield and essential oil (EO) quality by reducing the undesirable component, estragole, under different fertilizer treatments. The fertilizers included chemical nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK), and also the organic additive, rabbit manure (RM). For bio-fertilization, plants were inoculated with a mixture of N-fixing bacteria, and P- and K-solubilizing bacteria with/without vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The results showed that fruit and EO yield parameters, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and DPPH scavenging activity of fruit extracts were enhanced by fertilizer treatments in both growing seasons. NPK at 150% of the recommended dose (NPK150) and RM at 60 m3/fed (RM60) recorded the highest values of plant height, umbel number/plant, 100-fruit weight, fruit yield, chlorophyll, carbohydrates, N and P content, EO content, and yield. TPC and TFC were enhanced by using biological fertilizers. DPPH scavenging activity was higher in organically and biologically fertilized fennel. The GC-MS analyses of EO revealed higher contents of the desirable trans-anethole in the organically and chemically fertilized fennel. However, the highest proportion of estragole, the undesirable compound, was recorded for NPK150 and unfertilized plants. On the contrary, increases in the EO content and yield of fennel fruits were achieved by RM along with a reduction in estragole, enhancement in trans-anethole, and increments in other favorable compounds such as fenchone and limonene. In addition, the inhibition of estragole formation was recorded with bio-fertilizers, which also increased the trans-anethole content. Furthermore, the trans-anethole/estragole ratio was significantly higher with the application of organic and bio-fertilization. Hence, organic and bio-fertilizer resources can produce high-quality fennel fruit and EO. The reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers can help to reduce environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An imbalanced nutrients status in the nutrient solution, i.e. poor nutrition of the plant, is often responsible for the low quantity and quality of strawberry fruit. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of different ratios of potassium to magnesium (K/Mg) (T1, 2:1, T2, 4:1, T3, 6:1 and T4, 8:1) on fruit yield and quality of strawberry cv. Albion under hydroponic conditions. Different K/Mg treatments did not have a significant effect on fruit yield and quality attributes such as ascorbic acid and total soluble solids. The highest fruit yield was obtained when plants were exposed to a 4:1 ratio (i.e. T2). Fruit quality attributes such as total anthocyanin, total antioxidant, total phenolic, total flavonoids, total chlorophyll, calcium, Mg, and K concentrations in the leaves and antioxidant enzymes activities were significantly affected by the K/Mg treatments. The highest total phenolic (925 mg/100g FW) and total flavonoids (163 mg/100g FW) were observed when plants grown in the presence of a 4:1 ratio (i.e. T2). Whereas, the highest antioxidant activity (89.2%) was detected in plants exposed to the 8:1 ratio (T4). The highest activity of guaiacol peroxidase (2.88 and 2.78 unit/g FW), ascorbate peroxidase (2.11 unit/g FW), and catalase (2.23 unit/g FW) were observed in T3 and T4, T4, and T4 treatments, respectively. It can be concluded that among the tested treatments, the 4:1 ratio of potassium:magnesium is optimal for the strawberry production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy irrigation and soil compaction cause hypoxic stress in plant roots, which limits crop growth. This issue can be solved by root-zone aeration, but the photophysiological responses of crop plants to the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in irrigation water remain unclear. Here, a greenhouse plot experiment was conducted to investigate the changes in leaf photosynthesis and plant growth of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. ‘Omanda 3′) under aerated irrigation with various DO concentrations. Plants were treated with three different levels of aeration: 5 mg L–1 DO (conventional subsurface irrigation as a non-aeration control), 15 mg L–1 DO (low aeration treatment), and 30 mg L–1 DO (high aeration treatment). Compared with the control, the aeration treatments promoted electron transport from the primary to secondary plastoquinone acceptors (QA to QB) of photosystem II (PSII) and increased leaf net photosynthetic rate in plants at the seedling, fruit expansion, and maturation stages. The opposite effects of aeration treatments were observed at the flowering and fruit-setting stage. The enhancement of leaf photosynthetic performance contributed to improved plant growth, fruit yield, and quality of tomato as a result of increased oxygen supply in the root zone. The aeration treatments additionally facilitated the biosynthesis and transport of photosynthetic carbon assimilates in plant tissues, as evidenced by increased starch and sucrose contents in the leaves and sucrose content in the roots. However, under the high aeration level, excessive transport of sucrose from leaves to roots hindered further improvements in tomato yield and biomass at the maturation stage. Based on plant photophysiological and yield performance, aerated irrigation with a low concentration of DO (15 mg L–1) is recommended for greenhouse tomato crops during the seedling, fruit expansion, and maturation stages, and there is no need of root-zone aeration at the flowering and fruit-setting stage.

In viticulture, choosing the most suitable rootstock for a specific scion cultivar is an efficient and cost-effective way to increase yield and enhance the physicochemical characteristics of the fruit. The objective of this study was to evaluate the agronomic performance of the ‘BRS Tainá’ grapevine on different rootstocks under the conditions of the Sub-Middle São Francisco Valley. The main experimental factor consisted of eight rootstocks (IAC 313, IAC 572, IAC 766, 101-14 MgT, Paulsen 1103, Ramsey, SO4, and Teleki 5C), arranged in randomized blocks with four replicates. The experiment was conducted over four production cycles, from 2021 to 2023, in a commercial crop area in Petrolina, PE, Brazil. There were significant effects of rootstocks for the yield and number of bunches per plant, as well as berry length and firmness. ‘BRS Tainá’ achieved the highest yield (22.2 kg per plant) when grafted onto the Paulsen 1103 rootstock, which was superior to the yield on 101-14 MgT, IAC 313, and IAC 572 rootstocks. The highest number of bunches (88) was obtained with ‘BRS Tainá’ grafted on Paulsen 1103, while the lowest number (63) was obtained on IAC 572; both these rootstocks were not significantly different from the other rootstocks. For all scion–rootstock combinations, the mean values for soluble solid (SS) content, titratable acidity (TA), and the SS/TA ratio were similar to those previously described for ‘BRS Tainá’, meeting the commercialization standard. The results for the yield and number of bunches per plant indicate the suitability of grafting ‘BRS Tainá’ on Paulsen 1103 under the semi-arid tropical conditions of the São Francisco Valley.