In this study, we evaluated the genetic and floral morphological uniformity of clonal Hibiscus syriacus 'Nanpa' plants regenerated through tissue culturing using mature green leaves. Morphological traits and random amplified polymorphic DNA banding patterns were analyzed to assess variations among clones. Most clones showed highly uniform floral morphologies and genetic profiles. However, somaclonal variations were observed in Clones 25, 28, and 36, which exhibited deviations in both the molecular markers and morphological characteristics. These results highlight the dual potential of tissue culturing when used to generate novel genetic variants and the importance of verifying genetic fidelity during micropropagation. The combined use of morphological evaluations and molecular marker analysis ensures clonal stability in commercial propagation systems. This study provides insights into somaclonal variations in H. syriacus and supports the application of tissue culture techniques in plant breeding and large-scale production.
Controlled environment agriculture is employed to optimize the yield of leafy vegetables, such as bok choy (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis). Despite preventative measures, indoor cultivation leaves the plants susceptible to herbivorous pests, highlighting the potential of light spectra adjustments to improve both productivity and pest resistance in vertical farming systems. This study investigated the effects of supplemental far-red (FR) light at different intensities on the morphology, physiological processes, and resistance to Spodoptera litura larvae of bok choy plants. Our results show that high FR levels significantly promote plant growth traits, including plant height, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, and fresh weight. The FR treatment also influenced photosynthetic parameters, with higher FR intensity levels reducing chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, except for non-photochemical quenching, compared to control treatments. In addition, leaf flavonoid and polyphenol contents increased after the FR treatment, while chlorophyll b, anthocyanin, and carotenoid contents were reduced. Following these physiological changes, we also observed that S. litura larvae gained less weight when feeding on FR-treated plants. Our findings suggest that an optimal strategy for regulating FR spectra can improve growth performance and defense capability outcomes in bok choy plants against insect herbivory, leading to higher production yields that benefit growers.
Leaf morphometric traits are widely utilized to identify plants, yet their effectiveness when used to discriminate large Capsicum collections remains unclear. This study assessed whether eight leaf size and shape traits could reliably classify 371 and 352 C. annuum accessions collected in 2021 and 2022. Comprehensive diagnostic testing revealed major violations of the assumptions required for linear discriminant analysis (LDA), including non-normal trait distributions, unequal covariance matrices, and severe multicollinearity among predictors. Shape descriptors further exhibited nonlinear dependencies incompatible with LDA. As a result, LDA models produced unstable discriminant functions and extremely low agreement between predicted and true accession labels. Given these limitations, unsupervised methods were employed. K-means clustering identified eight phenotypic groups in 2021 and three in 2022, and a principal component analysis (PCA) supported these patterns, with the first two components capturing the primary axes of the leaf size and shape variation. However, strong overlap among accessions in the PCA space indicated weak morphological differentiation, likely reflecting strong environmental influence and limited genetic divergence with regard to the leaf form. These findings indicate that basic leaf morphometric traits alone are insufficient for accession-level classification in C. annuum. Robust discrimination will require integrative phenotyping frameworks that combine geometric, physiological, biochemical, and genomic traits, supported by measurement technologies.
After harvest, kiwifruit is susceptible to physiological disorders, such as fruit shriveling and fruit decay during shelf life. Alginate coating has therefore garnered interest as a method to control the incidence of these disorders in kiwifruit during postharvest handling. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of different preharvest alginate coating concentrations on fruit quality attributes, physiological disorders, and phenolic compounds, as well as to examine the relationships between physiological disorders and response variables in 'Haegeum' kiwifruit ( (Actinidia chinensis) throughout its shelf life. The severity of fruit decay and shriveling was highest in 0% alginate coating treatment, compared with other concentrations. Fruit weight loss was also highest in 0% alginate-coated fruit, compared with 1% and 2% alginate-coated fruit. The 2% alginate coating treatment significantly reduced ethylene production and respiration rates. Flesh firmness was lowest in 1% alginate, compared with the other treatments. The contents of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, epicatechin, chlorogenic acid, and total carotenoids were highest in the 1% alginate-coated fruit. While decay was positively correlated with procyanidin B2, fruit shriveling was positively correlated with ascorbic acid, total phenolic compounds, fresh weight loss, ethylene production, respiration rate, and peel redness during 14 days of shelf life. Overall, our results showed that alginate coating can reduce the incidence of decay and shriveling by suppressing the ethylene production and respiration rates in 'Haegeum' kiwifruit during shelf life.
The deterioration of indoor air quality is a major environmental and public health concern, and interactions between particulate matter (PM) and plant surfaces have been recognized in indoor horticulture. Because PM deposition and retention are influenced by cuticular wax chemistry and by surface microstructures, we quantified cuticular wax compositions in the leaves and petals of Phalaenopsis 'Mantefon' by separately extracting epicuticular and intracuticular waxes (EW, IW). The total wax load was substantially higher in the leaves (73.067 & micro;g & centerdot;cm-2) than in the petals (22.481 & micro;g & centerdot;cm-2), primarily due to strong alkane accumulation in the leaf EW and IW (41.971 and 26.501 & micro;g & centerdot;cm-2, respectively). In the petals, the total wax loads were comparable between EW (11.430 & micro;g & centerdot;cm-2) and IW (11.051 & micro;g & centerdot;cm-2), although the compound class allocation differed markedly depending on the layer. Petal EW was dominated by fatty acids (60.7%), whereas petal IW exhibited increased contributions of alkanes (47.4%) and primary alcohols (20.1%), with a detectable triterpenoid fraction observed only in the petals. Carbon chain length distributions further distinguished organs and layers, with petals showing shorter-chain alkanes (C17 to C24), fatty acids extending to longer chains with C28 predominance, and primary alcohols enriched in petal IW with major homologs at C32 and C34. Scanning electron microscopy revealed abundant wax crystals on leaf surfaces but sparse crystalline structures on petals, consistent with the contrasting chemical organizations. Overall, these results demonstrate clear organ-and layer-dependent differences in cuticular wax loads and compositions in P. 'Mantefon', providing a quantitative reference dataset for future functional studies under indoor relevant conditions.
This study investigated the tolerance mechanisms of grapevine rootstocks (SO4 and 101-14) to waterlogging stress during 28 days. Waterlogging severely impaired morphological traits (roots, height, stem, leaves) in both. However, SO4 exhibited significantly greater tolerance than the highly sensitive 101-14. Morphologically, SO4 maintained healthy leaves for 14 days (similar to controls), with damage only appearing after 21-28 days, and developed adaptive adventitious roots despite browning. In contrast, 101-14 showed severe leaf damage (etiolation, chlorosis, wilting) by day 14, complete leaf abscission by day 28, and suffered root loss, necrosis, and disintegration. Physiologically and biochemically, SO4 maintained moderate gas exchange (stomatal conductance, transpiration, CO2 uptake, photosynthesis) and better retained photosynthetic characteristics (carotenoids and chlorophyll). SO4 also activated antioxidant processes (SOD, CAT, POD, APX) earlier and more strongly, resulting in controlled levels of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide, indicating lower levels of oxidative damage. Proline and sugars also increased more in SO4. Conversely, 101-14 experienced severe declines in these areas and exhibited the highest MDA/H2O2 levels. A molecular analysis (qPCR) revealed that the distinct tolerance of SO4 involved significantly higher upregulation of seven stress-responsive genes related to anaerobic metabolism (ADH1), ROS homeostasis (RBOH, POD), protein/membrane stabilization (Stress-Induced Protein, LEA), and stress signaling (KEG, CML). This coordinated response underpinned SO4's sustained energy, efficient antioxidants, reduced oxidative damage, chlorophyll retention, and its maintenance of photosynthesis. The limited gene activation in 101-14 aligned with its physiological collapse. Therefore, the SO4 rootstock demonstrates superior adaptive capacity to waterlogging and is recommended for cultivation under such conditions.
Electrical stimulation, also referred to as 'electroculture' is an agricultural technique used to enhance crop productivity and improve quality. In the present study, electrical stimulation via air ionization-defined as the exposure of plants to electrically charged air molecules (negative air ions)-was applied using negative air-ion generators placed around spinach seeds and seedlings to boost germination and early growth. Three levels of the air ionization treatment-low (LA, 3.6 & times; 105 ion & centerdot;cm-3), moderate (MA, 5.1 & times; 105 ion & centerdot;cm-3), and high (HA, 8.3 & times; 105 ion & centerdot;cm-3)-were applied, along with a control (Con). After 14 days of the air ionization treatment, the germination rate in LA was 36% higher than that in Con. In addition, the LA treatment for 12 h increased gibberellic acid levels and decreased the abscisic acid content. At the seedling stage, the shoot fresh weight in the HA treatment was at least 31% higher than that in the Con at days 7, 14, and 21. The 4C nuclear DNA content of spinach leaves was higher in the LA treatment than in the Con. Furthermore, with regard to the cell division phases, the ratios of the S and G2M phases were high in all air ionization treatment groups, indicating active cell division. The results suggest that a specific level of electrical stimulation improves both spinach seed germination and seedling stages.
This study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of temperature variations on the reproductive and underground characteristics of two licorice species-Glycyrrhiza uralensis and G. korshinskyi (Wongam)-under a controlled-temperature gradient tunnel (TGT) system over a five-year cultivation period. The experiment analyzed aboveground growth, flowering, fruiting, and underground biomass accumulation in response to temperature shifts across T1 to T4 zones (with up to a 5.9 degrees C difference). Results indicated that G. uralensis exhibited significantly reduced flowering and fruiting under higher-temperature zones, with an average of only 2.2 flowers and 0.2 fruits per plant in the second year, compared to 56.2 and 24.6 respectively for Wongam. In contrast, Wongam maintained stable reproductive output under elevated temperatures, though its reproductive yield plateaued after the third year. A correlation analysis showed a strong positive association between shoot length and flowering number (r = 0.809-0.972) and a strong negative association between high temperatures and fruit numbers, particularly in July (r = -0.742--0.978). An underground biomass analysis in the fifth year revealed that Wongam allocated approximately 91% of its underground mass to rhizomes, compared to 63% in G. uralensis, indicating a shift toward vegetative propagation. These findings suggest divergent reproductive strategies between the two species: G. uralensis gradually increases sexual reproduction with age, while Wongam exhibits early flowering followed by a shift to clonal propagation via rhizomes. This research provides foundational physiological insights for optimizing seed production and cultivar management of licorice in warming climates.
