Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a legume valued for its nutritional properties and adaptability, yet the effects of genotypic diversity among landraces and harvest stages on its physical and mineral traits remain insufficiently explored. This study evaluated 14 faba bean genotypes, (13 landraces and one commercial cultivar), harvested at two immature stages (baby and tender), to assess variation in seed volume, biomass-related parameters, and mineral composition, and to elucidate how developmental stage and genotype jointly shape nutritional profiles. Across genotypes, seed volume increased while the fresh-to-dry weight ratio (FW/DW) decreased from baby to tender stage, reflecting progressive tissue desiccation. Mineral concentrations, except for Mo and Na, generally declined during seed development, although several landraces (H9, H12, H20, H21, and H22) maintained stable values, indicating genotypic resilience to the dilution effect. Correlation analysis revealed high positive associations among mineral concentrations (e.g., Mg–Mn, K–S, P–S) and with FW/DW, suggesting that higher tissue hydration is associated with higher mineral accumulation. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) further distinguished three clusters per harvest stage, separating mineral-rich landraces (H21, H11, H9) from those with lower concentrations (H4, H7), thus highlighting developmental reorganization and genotype-dependent mineral retention. Overall, both genotype and harvest stage strongly determined the mineral profile of immature faba beans. Landraces emerged as valuable reservoirs of mineral-rich germplasm, while simple physical metrics such as FW/DW may serve as practical and economical proxies for mineral quality in breeding programs.

This study aimed to characterize the nutritional and nutraceutical properties of ten Mediterranean bean landraces compared to a commercial variety (Big Borlotto, Batlle Seeds). Significant genetic diversity was found among the landraces, affecting their nutritional composition, mineral content, and bioactive compounds. Essential minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc exhibited considerable variability, with landraces 103, 15, 40, and 102 showing higher mineral levels than the control variety. The fatty acid profiles varied, with linolenic acid being predominant, accounting for 39.1-47.3 % of total fat, depending on the genotype. Positive correlations between fatty acids and mineral content suggest complex interdependencies influencing grain quality, with the strongest correlations observed between Mg and linolenic (r = 0.66) or palmitic (r = 0.63) acids. Beans with colored seed coats exhibited higher antioxidant capacity attributed to phenolic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid, emphasizing seed coat color as an indicator of nutritional quality. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified five clusters based on physical and nutritional traits, revealing correlations between seed size, color, and quality. These findings highlight the potential of bean landraces to promote local economies and biodiversity.

The optimization of heating in greenhouses should be an energy saving target in the cultivation of sweet pepper plants; from both an environmental and economical point of view. It is important to understand the effect of low temperatures on this crop. While the effect of low temperature has been studied in plants exposed to light, there are few studies on the effect of cold in the dark, which is a more realistic situation in greenhouses. The objective of this work was to study the effect of low temperatures during the night in sweet peppers and to assess the physiological consequences during the following day. Therefore, we subjected sweet pepper plants of two cultivars to 5 or 7 cycles of 12/12 h warm light (500 μmol m-2 s-1 PAR, 21°C) and cold dark (6°C). After the treatment, several measurements were performed on leaves (first in the dark and cold, and one hour after light was switched on): chlorophyll fluorescence (spot and imaging) and measurements of biomass. Our results showed a decrease in the efficiency of photochemistry in photosystem II (Y(II)) during the dark, cold period related to a stimulation of photoprotection mechanisms in the photosynthetic apparatus. However, 1 h after rewarming in light conditions, leaves had recovered high values of Y(II). In addition, fully expanded leaves increased their specific leaf area and fresh to dry weight ratio during this period. This may indicate that, during the recovery period, dry weight decreased due to redistribution of assimilates to expanding leaves and/or that leaf water content increased. The fast recovery of this crop after several cold nights opens possibilities for new strategies of energy saving in greenhouses. However, more studies should be carried out within this area.

Salinity is a major environmental constraint on crop productivity and grafting can be a sustainable strategy to enhance plant tolerance under adverse growth conditions. Screening different graft combinations under field conditions can be a slow and expensive processes. In this study, plants of 18 genotypes of Capsicum spp. were evaluated during 5 months to select salt tolerant plants to be used as rootstocks in greenhouse under controlled conditions. Their net photosynthetic rate was used as a rapid and sensitive methodology for screening their tolerance to salt stress conditions. The germination potential of some genotypes was also tested under different salinity conditions to see if it would be useful to accelerate the screening process. According to photosynthesis rate, the commercial rootstock ‘Tresor’ and the genotypes ‘Serrano’ (C. annuum), ‘ECU-973’ (C. chinense) and ‘BOL-58’ (C. baccatum) were the most tolerant during this period. Nevertheless, the evaluation of pepper genotypes for salinity tolerance based on the germination performance and chlorophyll fluorescence parameter Fv/Fm ratio were not good indicators of the sensitivity along plant ontogeny. Finally, the selected genotypes as salt-tolerant were validated under field conditions as rootstocks of two interesting pepper cultivars, concluding that using the rootstocks selected by the net photosynthetic rate improved the salt tolerance of the scion in terms of marketable yield and fruit quality.

Two tomato scions (cvs. Raf' and Gorety') were grafted on three different rootstocks: S. torvum, Beaufort' (Lycopersicum esculentum x Lycopersicum hirsutum) and intermediate grafting of eggplant Cristal' between tomato and S. torvum (double graft). Plants were grown in Mediterranean greenhouse conditions. The response to grafting was measured through growth parameters, Fv/Fm and leaf macronutrients analysis, and it was compared with non-grafted plants. The scions grafted on S. torvum in simple and double graft showed lower fresh and dry weight of leaves, number of commercial fruits, plant height, Fv/Fm and decreased their capacity to absorb several nutrients resulting in a lower mineral concentration in scions leaves, as a result of a thickened graft union. On the other hand, both scions showed a good response when grafted on the rootstock Beaufort', with which growth parameters, yield and photosynthetic capacity were similar to non-grafted plants.

Chlorophyll fluorescence is a rapid, non-destructive and inexpensive technique that has been used successfully in the evaluation of plant photosynthetic activity. However, this technique has been based on point measurements, and the habitual heterogeneity of photosynthetic activity over the leaf surface makes this approach highly error prone. The development of chlorophyll fluorescence imaging (CFI) overcomes this problem while including the advantages of non-imaging chlorophyll fluorescence. CFI permits the study of the spatial-temporal heterogeneities in the fluorescence emission pattern within cells, leaves or whole plants. In horticultural research, it has been mainly applied in the diagnosis of biotic or abiotic stresses in both preharvest and postharvest conditions. CFI has a useful potential to detect stresses before visual symptoms appear, which is ideal in screening of genotypes for the early identification of those with high tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. This review provides an overview of the application of CFI in horticultural research, highlighting how CFI can be used for these purposes and in which subjects it can be applied in the future. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High yield and product quality of crops grown in soilless systems are only possible if nutrition is optimized. This implies the accurate management of all factors involved in crop nutrition: nutrient solution composition, water supply, nutrient solution temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, electrical conductivity and pH of the nutrient solution. If any of these factors is under non-optimal conditions, plants may suffer from stress leading to a decline of yields and product qualities. In order to specify the range of optimal conditions of a particular crop, a precise diagnosis of plant stress caused by an incorrect management of any of above mentioned factors is needed. This review analyses, for every factor, the aspects that need to be considered while determining the optimum ranges and the physiological methods that can be used to diagnose plant stress at non-optimal conditions. The most extensively used methods of plant stress assessment include measurements of: photosynthetic activity (leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, pigment content and related enzyme activities), oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity, content and partitioning of several compounds in the plant (carbohydrates, hormones, amino acids and nutrient elements), activity of specific enzymes, plant water relationships and expression of specific genes.

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This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy.

The effect of pruning in rose plants (cv. Grand Gala) was studied in different types of leaves, focusing on chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence, carbohydrates, ammonium content, nitrate reductase (NR) activity and biomass parameters. Results on pruned plants showed a higher maximum efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) of dark-adapted leaves, a higher actual quantum yield and a higher proportion of PSII reaction centres that are open, but a lower non-photochemical quenching, indicating a lower energy dissipation as heat, compared to non-pruned plants. These results related to Chl a fluorescence, indicate that pruned plants have a higher capacity for better promoting the photosynthetic light reaction than non-pruned plants. The increased nitrate reductase activity in pruned compared with non-pruned plants, can result from a higher photosynthetic activity resulting in a lower NH4+ accumulation in leaves. Pruning promoted a large number of metabolic sinks (flower removal) that may cause depletion of stored carbohydrates flowing from lower plant parts (arched shoots) to the new developing flower shoots. However, although in a lower concentration, carbohydrate contents were sufficient to promote the development of new flower shoots since the yield was similar for pruned and non-pruned plants. However, pruned plants showed higher turgor than non-pruned plants.

The effect of two nutrient solution temperatures (cold (10°C) and warm (22°C)) during two flowering events of rose plants (Rosa×hybrida cv. Grand Gala) were examined by measuring chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence, ammonium (NH4+) content and nitrate reductase (NR) activity in four different leaf types, that is, external and internal leaves of bent shoots and lower and upper leaves of flowering stems. Besides, nitrate (NO3−) uptake and water absorption, total nitrogen (N) concentration in the plant, dry biomass, and the ratios of shoot/root and thin-white roots/suberized-brown roots were determined. Generally, cold solution increased NO3− uptake and thin-white roots production but decreased water uptake, so plants grown at cold solution had to improve their NO3− uptake mechanisms to obtain a higher amount of nutrient with less water absorption than plants grown at warm solution. The higher NO3− uptake can be related to an increase in NR activity, NH4+ content and total N concentration at cold solution. Nutrient solution temperature also had an effect on the photosynthetic apparatus. In general terms, the effective quantum yield (ϕPSII) and the fraction of open PSII reaction centres (qL) were higher in rose plants grown at cold solution. These effects can be associated to a higher NO3− uptake and total N concentration in the plants and were modulated by irradiance throughout all the experiment. Plants could adapt to cold solution by enhancing their metabolism without a decrease in total dry biomass. Nevertheless, the effect of nutrient solution temperature is not simple and also affected by climatic factors.

The optimization of water and mineral supply in closed soilless culture relies on the knowledge of crop needs at each given climatic condition. Moreover, establishing the relationship between plant mineral uptake and transport with plant nitrogen, soluble sugar and starch contents and distribution, informs on the plant capacity for generating and mobilizing resources for growth and development. A rose crop (Rosa x hybrida cv. Grand Gala) was grown for all-year-round production in a closed hydroponic system in a greenhouse. Plants were pruned down to two nodes in order to study their development throughout the growing cycle of the flower stem. Daily N, P, K, Ca and Mg uptake rates were measured throughout the cycle and biomass partitioning, total non-structural carbohydrate (TNC) contents and N content were determined at three stages of the development of the flower stem. The stages were: TO just after pruning, VB when the flower bud becomes visible and HT at harvest. Warmer air and root temperatures in summer than in winter are the main environmental differences, whilst daily maximum PAR averages were always above the optimum for rose photosynthesis requirements. Dry biomass per plant and daily plant water uptake rate expressed either with respect to plant leaf area or to plant dry biomass, were larger in summer than in winter. Contrary to water uptake rates, mineral uptake rates, and also the concentration levels of nitrogen and starch resources, were lower in summer than in winter. The high level of competition for assimilates between roots and shoots together with the high root zone temperature could have limited the root mineral uptake capability during summer. Results will prove useful to improve crop management, particularly with respect to adjusting root uptake capacity to the actual mineral demand of the rose plant.

Simplified versions of Penman-Monteith model can be applied for the water and climate management in greenhouse culture. They relate plant transpiration flux to solar radiation (Gin), leaf area and air vapour pressure deficit, VPD. Integrating the model-based algorithm in the greenhouse control system allows for a precise control of water supply. Fertigation systems such as those used for rose crops in greenhouses, allow implementing a model for plant nitrate uptake based on water uptake. Although for large periods of time, e.g. weeks or months, both water uptake and nitrate uptake are found to correlate positively, a model would prove useful for soilless culture if it were successful in predicting nitrate uptake at shorter periods. Nitrate and water uptake rates by a rose (Rosa x hybrida cv. Dallas) crop were measured hourly for 24 hour periods along the four seasons. Means of nitrate uptake rate (NUR, mmol NO3- h(-1) p(-1)) in the spring and autumn seasons were some 32% larger than in summer and winter. However, in summer and autumn the daily nitrate uptake efficiency, expressed as NUR per unit of plant dry weight (mu mol NO3- g(-1) p(-1)), was the largest of the year. This was likely due to the unbalanced dry matter distribution between root and shoot following the late spring pruning and to the subsequent nutritional response aiming to the recovery of the plant. Empirical models for NUR were developed by means of analysis of stepwise multiple regression. The regressor variables considered for the model were water uptake rate (WUR), Gin (simultaneously measured to nitrate uptake registration or accumulated in the previous 4 (Gin4), 8 (Gin8) and 12 (Gin12) hours), air temperature (airT) and VPD, both from inside the greenhouse, and temperature of the nutrient solution surrounding the root system (rootT). Three highly significant regression 2 models were obtained: NUR was related to WUR and rootT 2 in the summer (r(2)=0.81), to WUR in autumn (r(2)=0.85) and to VPD in spring (r(2)=0.85). Night root temperature is highest in the summer. This high root-zone temperature may pose a limiting condition for the nitrate transporters in the root as has been reported in the literature. VPD in spring is the lowest for the three seasons with highest significant models, which suggests that the crop can be in a better condition for a favourable water balance status. Maybe for this reason VPD is integrating other effects and results as the prevailing factor selected by the model in the spring.

Changes in light intensity have a particular effect on the photosynthetic apparatus. Most of the studies on light acclimation in higher plants have focused on the effects of fixed light intensity. Few works deal on sudden changes in light intensity due to pruning for long periods of time. Pruning the bent shoots in roses (cv. Grand Gala) can modify the light interception in internal leaves and change their photosynthetic reactions. Before pruning, internal leaves were acclimated to low light intensity and after pruning, internal and external leaves received the same light intensity. The aim of this work was to find out how the photosynthetic light reaction, measured by chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence in internal and external leaves of arched shoot could be modulated by light changes. Other parameters described as light dependent were also measured: nitrate reductase (NR) activity, NH4+, sucrose and starch levels. Internal and external leaves in rose have shown a high plasticity, rapid and dynamical acclimation, in response to changes in incident sunlight produced by pruning, that can be explained by Chl a fluorescence parameters. The modified NR activity, NH4+, sucrose and starch levels were difficult to associated with light intensity changes, and their modulation could be the response to long-time light acclimation.