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Calcium foliar applications are known to effectively enhance peach quality; however, the optimal implementation strategy regarding fruit developmental stages and cultivars remains unclear. In this study, three different moments of fruit Ca applications in peach and nectarine are tested: Early season, Mid-season, and Late season. For this aim, the 44Ca isotope was used as a tracer, enabling the quantification and location of the Ca derived from the foliar fertilizer. Stone, flesh, and skin 44Ca enrichment was separately analyzed at harvest. The results indicate that Ca absorption in the fruits from external CaCl2 applications was influenced by the timing of the application during fruit development, with Late-season applications proving to be the most effective in increasing the Ca content in the fruit, corresponding with a higher fruit size at the application moment. Nevertheless, no differences in the absorption efficiency were found between the three timings of the application. Furthermore, the Ca from the foliar fertilizer in the fruit predominately remained in the flesh, followed by the skin. The Ca derived from the foliar fertilizer reached the stone in all of the experimental situations, but the Early- and Mid-season applications resulted in the highest amount of Ca derived from the fertilizer in this part of the fruit. Interestingly, the peach exhibited a higher Ca absorption efficiency compared to the nectarine, likely due to the presence of trichomes that retain the foliar fertilizer on the fruit surface. In conclusion, the Ca absorption and distribution in peaches depends on the cultivar and timing of the Ca application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporary immersion system bioreactor named GreenTray® presents advantages over the existing ones. Firstly, there is no need to use forceps to move the shoots or plantlets in or out of the recipient, nor is the use of a scalpel necessary to divide them. Secondly, the basis of the shoot can remain in the GreenTray® and can sprout again over several cycles of growth. These two characteristics reduce the costs in the process of micropropagation. In addition, shoot or plantlet development is enhanced by the aeration of the recipient, thus enriching the recipient's atmospheric CO2. This article describes and provides images and values of interest in (1) the micropropagation process of some commercial Prunus or Pyrus rootstocks; (2) the plantlet growth under autotrophic conditions; and (3) the inoculation of plants with pathogens that reproduce in vitro the symptoms observed in vivo, using the GreenTray® bioreactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]