Abstract Aluminum toxicity is one of the primary stresses limiting plant growth in acidic soils, mainly through the induction of oxidative damage and disruption of hormone-mediated developmental pathways. Melatonin (MT), a critical endogenous plant regulator, has been demonstrated to enhance plant tolerance to various abiotic stresses; however, its molecular mechanisms in alleviating aluminum stress remain to be further elucidated. In this study, celery ( Apium graveolens L.) was used as the experimental material, and physiological phenotype analysis combined with transcriptome sequencing was performed to systematically explore the alleviative role of MT under aluminum stress and its molecular basis. The results showed that aluminum stress significantly inhibited the growth and development of celery, whereas melatonin treatment markedly promoted biomass accumulation and root growth, thereby effectively alleviating the growth inhibition caused by aluminum toxicity. Specifically, MT treatment significantly increased plant height (by 6.7%) and root activity (by 250.9%) while reducing oxidative damage, as evidenced by decreased H 2 O 2 content (by 25.1% and 21.9%, respectively). Transcriptome analysis revealed that aluminum stress markedly induced phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways, whereas MT treatment enhanced the expression of genes involved in glutathione metabolism, particularly with the significant upregulation of GST family genes. In addition, MT treatment affected multiple plant hormone signaling pathways (such as auxin, brassinosteroid, and salicylic acid), accompanied by changes in the expression of key genes, including ARF , GH3 , SAUR , TCH4 , CYCD3 , and P R-1 . Overall, melatonin treatment is closely associated with the regulation of antioxidant metabolism and plant hormone signaling pathways and may alleviate the inhibitory effects of aluminum toxicity on celery growth. This study provides a theoretical basis for the further application of melatonin to enhance aluminum tolerance in crops.

Celery is highly susceptible to postharvest spoilage, significantly diminishing its nutritional and commercial value. This study applied various postharvest treatments to celery, including high voltage electric field (HVEF), 4

Shade stress is a crucial constraint on asparagus growth in intercropping and dense-planting systems. However, the physiological and molecular mechanisms linking shading intensity to sugar metabolism remain insufficiently understood. Herein, integrating newly generated physiological data with a targeted re-analysis of previously published omics datasets, we elucidated sugar metabolism responses in asparagus stems under different shading intensities (0%, 35%, 55%, and 75%). Moderate shading (55%) was associated with higher sucrose and fructose contents, together with increased activities of key sucrose metabolism enzymes, including sucrose synthase (SUS), soluble acid invertase (S-AI), and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), accompanied by differential changes in antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT and POD). Metabolomic analysis revealed a shift in carbon allocation under 55% shading, characterized by the accumulation of nucleotide sugars such as UDP-galactose and GDP-L-fucose. Transcriptomic analysis further indicated the enrichment of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathways under this shading condition, along with the upregulation of pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) genes. Collectively, rather than merely confirming known shading responses, these findings provide new empirical evidence that asparagus stems actively reprogram their energy homeostasis and invoke alternative carbon partitioning pathways specifically at a 55% shading threshold.

MicroRNAs play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and disease resistance. Transcriptome screening previously identified three late blight-responsive miRNAs (sly-miR172a, sly-miR156e, and sly-miR395a) in tomato whose biological functions remain uncharacterized. Here, CRISPR/Cas9 editing vectors targeting each miRNA were transformed into the tomato cultivar ‘Micro-Tom’. sly-miR395a showed the highest T0 editing efficiency (77.78%), followed by sly-miR172a (48.00%) and sly-miR156e (40.74%). T1 segregation ratios were approximately 1:12.3, 1:1.83, and 1:13 for the three targets. Stable T2 homozygous lines were obtained, and qRT-PCR confirmed average mature miRNA inhibition rates of 78.00%, 79.50%, and 87.50%. To assess editing specificity, genome-wide off-target prediction and Sanger sequencing of top high-risk loci were performed; no unintended indels were detected, confirming sgRNA specificity. Agronomic phenotyping revealed divergent developmental phenotypes: sly-miR172a knockout caused dwarfism, leaf senescence and reduced flower number; sly-miR156e mutants exhibited taller plants and increased floral production; sly-miR395a mutants had normal vegetative growth but fewer flowers. Resistance assays demonstrated distinct responses to Phytophthora infestans. Loss of sly-miR172a increased pathogen biomass by 1.6–2.3-fold and aggravated susceptibility, likely by de-repressing AP2/TOE to disrupt oxidative homeostasis. In contrast, both sly-miR156e and sly-miR395a negatively regulate late blight resistance. This could be because sly-miR156e knockout relieved the repression of SPL transcription factors, significantly restricting pathogen proliferation and lesion formation, and notably broke the canonical plant growth–defense trade-off to achieve simultaneous improvement of agronomic traits and disease resistance. sly-miR395a knockout enhanced tomato immunity potentially by activating sulfur metabolism-related pathways to accumulate defensive metabolites, with negligible adverse effects on vegetative growth. Nevertheless, this study has several limitations: the proposed regulatory cascades, including miRNA–AP2, miRNA–SPL, and miRNA–sulfur metabolism modules remain hypothetical without direct molecular validation of target interactions. Collectively, this study genetically validates that sly-miR172a, sly-miR156e, and sly-miR395a exert divergent functions in regulating tomato growth and immunity against late blight, providing valuable germplasm and gene resources for tomato disease-resistance breeding.

Purple celery (Apium graveolens L.) is a high-value functional vegetable rich in anthocyanins, but achieving a balanced optimization between biomass accumulation and nutritional quality in plant factories remains challenging due to species-specific spectral trade-offs, and current research lacks integrated light recipes that simultaneously optimize photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant defenses, and functional quality while suppressing nitrate accumulation. This study evaluated five LED treatments over 30 days: white light (CK), monochromatic red (R), and red-to-blue photon flux density ratios of 5:5, 7:3, and 8:2. Red light induced stem elongation but suppressed root development. Conversely, 8R2B delivered the best performance, significantly elevating leaf, petiole, root, and total fresh biomass and increasing total dry weight by 68.8% over CK. It also markedly enhanced chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids, as well as improved PSII quantum yield (YII), photochemical quenching (qP), and electron transport rate (ETR), while reducing non-photochemical heat dissipation (NPQ) by 61.0%, indicating superior light-use efficiency. Furthermore, 8R2B upregulated CAT and POD activities promoted soluble sugars (up 688.4% in leaves), soluble proteins, and ascorbic acid accumulation, yet reduced leaf nitrate by 28.5%. Principal component analysis confirmed 8R2B as the most effective formulation across all growth, photochemical, defense, and quality traits. These findings provide a novel, evidence-based 8:2 red-to-blue LED light recipe for high-yield, high-quality, and commercially viable purple celery production in controlled environment agriculture.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is an important factor limiting crop production in acidic soils; however, systematic evaluation of Al tolerance and its physiological basis in celery (Apium graveolens L.) remains limited. In this study, 400 μmol·L−1 AlCl3 was identified as the appropriate concentration for Al-tolerance screening through a concentration-gradient experiment. Based on this concentration, 43 celery germplasm accessions were evaluated using 14 morphological and physiological traits. A comprehensive evaluation framework for Al tolerance was established using principal component analysis, membership function analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis. The comprehensive A-value index enabled quantitative evaluation and classification of Al tolerance, and the accessions were divided into five categories ranging from highly Al-tolerant to highly Al-sensitive. Furthermore, key indicators were identified through stepwise regression analysis, which simplified the evaluation system while maintaining its assessment reliability. Physiological analysis of contrasting accessions showed that Al tolerance in celery was closely associated with restricted Al accumulation, enhanced redox homeostasis, and maintenance of photosynthetic system stability. Among these processes, the coordinated regulation of antioxidant defense and light energy utilization efficiency may represent an important physiological basis for tolerance differentiation. Overall, this study established an integrated framework from screening-concentration optimization to comprehensive evaluation and physiological characterization, providing a technical reference for the screening, evaluation, and breeding utilization of Al-tolerant celery germplasm.

Growth monitoring of tomato plants in large greenhouse environments is critical for quality and efficient production. Stem diameter and elongation are key phenotypic traits for plant growth monitoring. Traditional methods, however, rely on manual operations, which are time-consuming and labor-intensive and do not apply to large-scale greenhouses. Currently, automated image-based methods exemplified by three-dimensional (3D) point cloud technology are among the preferred solutions. Nevertheless, the occlusion of plant structures during the information acquisition process is challenging for practical applications. To address this challenge, this study proposes a novel method for plant stem occlusion inpainting using Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL). Unlike most existing 3D reconstruction approaches that require depth data from multiple viewpoints, our solution captures 3D point cloud data from a single direction. The DRL model is applied to inpaint the incomplete stem for accurate stem reconstruction and phenotypic measurements. Specifically, our approach consists of two parts, structural completion and stem diameter completion. First, we extract the point cloud of incomplete stems from the RGB-D camera data. Second, we obtain the spatial structure of the stems by inpainting the 3D stem centerline with the DRL model. Finally, we add shape features (stem diameters) by inpainting the two edge lines of the stem occlusion part with the DRL model. For stem inpainted 3D point cloud data, we conducted validation experiments by measuring several commonly used stem phenotypic traits in tomato plants, including stem diameter, stem length, and stem inclination. The experimental results show that the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of the occluded main stem diameter is 9.7%, stem length is 5.7%, and tilt angle is 1%. For the occluded branch stem, the MAPE of stem diameter is 23.1%, stem length is 7.9%, and tilt angle is 1.5%. The accuracy of these measurements for occluded stems is acceptable compared to that obtained from 3D point clouds of unoccluded stems. This highlights the significant potential of using DRL to effectively inpaint occluded 3D point cloud data of plants.

Plant seedlings are sensitive to cultivation environment factors and highly susceptible to pathogenic infections under adverse conditions such as inappropriate light environment. In this study, five kinds of LED lighting sources with different red (R) and blue (B) light combinations were set up: R10B0, R7B3, R5B5, R2B8 and R0B10 (with R:B ratios of 10:0, 7:3, 5:5, 2:8 and 0:10, respectively) to explore their effects on tomato seedlings’ growth, AsA-GSH cycle, endogenous hormones, and resistance to Phytophthora infestans, providing a basis for factory seedling light-quality selection. The results showed that with the increase in the proportion of blue light in the composite light, the growth indicators, photosynthetic characteristic parameters and enzyme activities of tomato seedlings generally increased. The contents of AsA, reduced glutathione, and oxidized glutathione all reached the maximum under high-proportion blue-light treatments (R2B8 and R0B10). The high-blue-light groups (R2B8 and R0B10) had the highest AsA and glutathione contents. The red–blue combinations reduced inhibitory ABA and increased growth-promoting hormones (e.g., melatonin), while monochromatic light increased ABA to inhibit growth. After inoculation with P. infestans, the apoplastic glucose content was the highest under the red–blue-combined treatments (R5B5 and R2B8), while the total glucose content in leaves was the highest under the combined light R2B8 treatment. In conclusion, high-proportion blue-light treatment can greatly promote the photosynthetic process of tomato, enhance the AsA-GSH cycle, and achieve the best effect in improving the resistance of tomatoes to P. infestans. Given these, the optimal light environment setting was R:B = 2:8.

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a highly nutritious vegetable rich in various bioactive compounds. Ensuring both yield improvement and quality preservation is a shared goal for producers and researchers. As novel green yield-enhancing technologies in facility agriculture, electrostatic fields and elevated CO2 application hold significant potential. This study investigated the effects of the interaction between electrostatic fields and elevated CO2 on the growth and physiological characteristics of asparagus. The results demonstrated that the combined treatment of electrostatic fields and elevated CO2 significantly increased total yield, tender stem number, and single tender stem weight of asparagus, while also shortening the harvesting period and promoting rapid shoot growth. Additionally, the treatment markedly enhanced the total chlorophyll content in asparagus leaves, improving photosynthetic capacity. By boosting antioxidant enzyme activities (e.g., SOD, APX) and reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, the treatment maintained the redox homeostasis of asparagus shoots, effectively mitigating oxidative damage. In terms of nutrient accumulation, the interaction between electrostatic fields and elevated CO2 significantly promoted the synthesis and accumulation of key nutrients, including soluble sugars, reducing sugars, soluble proteins, total phenolics, total flavonoids, and ascorbic acid, thereby substantially improving the nutritional quality of asparagus. Comprehensive analysis using fuzzy membership functions revealed that the combined treatment of electrostatic fields and elevated CO2 outperformed individual treatments in enhancing asparagus growth and physiological characteristics. This study provides important theoretical insights and technical support for the efficient and sustainable cultivation of asparagus in facility agriculture.

Asparagus is prone to weight loss and aging after harvest. 2,4-Epibrassinolide (EBR), a brassinosteroid hormone, is widely involved in plant growth, development, and stress response. This study investigated the effects of different EBR treatments (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, and 15 mu mol L-1)-1 ) on the sensory quality and biochemical substance content of asparagus stored at 4 degrees C degrees C for 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 d. The results showed that EBR application effectively mitigates weight loss and quality deterioration during storage. This effect was evidenced by higher firmness, total chlorophyll content, soluble protein, total saponins, mechanical tissue thickness, and lower lignin content and malondialdehyde levels. Moreover, EBR enhances the antioxidant capacity of asparagus by regulating the enzymatic antioxidant system (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase activities) and the non-enzymatic antioxidant system (DPPH free radical scavenging ability, vitamin C, total phenol, total flavonoids, rutin, amino acids, and proline content), thus, reducing oxidative damage. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed that the softening and aging of asparagus are closely related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and starch and sucrose metabolism. 2,4-Epibrassinolide inhibits lignification by reducing the expression of lignin synthesis-related genes (PAL, PAL , C4H, , 4CL, , COMT, , CCR, , CAD, , and POD ). Additionally, EBR delays asparagus softening by suppressing cell wall degradation-related genes ( Egase , beta-BGL, , PE , and PG ). Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) identified 12 lignification-related candidate genes and five softening-related candidate genes. Additionally, the RT-qPCR expression of the 17 candidate genes was consistent with the transcriptome results. Altogether, this study provides a basis for EBR application in asparagus storage and preservation and offers insights into the molecular mechanisms by which EBR delays lignification and softening in asparagus.

In agricultural production, plant diseases and pests are among the major threats to crop yield and quality. Existing agricultural pest and disease identification methods have problems such as small target scales, complex background environments, and unbalanced sample distributions. This paper proposes a lightweight improved target detection model, YOLOv5s-LiteAttn. Based on YOLOv5s, the model introduces GhostConv and Depthwise Conv to reduce the number of parameters and computational complexity, and it combines CBAM and Coordinate Attention mechanisms to enhance the network’s feature representation capability. Experimental results show that, compared with the basic YOLOv5s model, the number of parameters of the improved model is reduced by 22.75%, and the computational load is reduced by 16.77%. At the same time, mAP@0.5–0.95 is increased by 3.3 percentage points, and recall is improved by 1.1 percentage points. In addition, the inference speed increases from 121 FPS to 142 FPS at an input resolution of 640 × 640, further confirming that the proposed model achieves a favorable trade-off between accuracy and efficiency. The average precision of YOLOv5s-LiteAttn is 97.1%, which outperforms the existing mainstream lightweight detection models. Moreover, an independent test set containing 4328 newly collected field images was established to evaluate generalization and practical applicability. Despite a slight performance decrease compared with the validation results, the model maintained an mAP@0.5–0.95 of 95.8%, significantly outperforming the baseline model, thereby confirming its robustness and cross-domain adaptability. These results confirm that the model has high precision and is lightweight, making it effective for the detection of agricultural diseases and pests.

With the development of modern agricultural technology, plant factories have become an important way to achieve efficient and sustainable crop production. Accurate understanding of the light received by plants is the key to improving the light energy utilization efficiency of lamps and ensuring the benefits of plant factories. Ray tracing technology, as one of the key technologies in plant factories, is of great significance to analyze the growing light environment of vegetables. Spinach has high nutritional value and is loved by the public and is one of the main crops grown in plant factories. In this paper, LightTools, TracePro, and Ansys Lumerical FDTD Solution, which are currently mature light environment tracking software in the field of lighting, are selected as the research objects to investigate their performance in simulating the light environment of spinach leaf surfaces under different planting arrangements and different lamp source distances. The results show as follows: Under the rectangular planting arrangement, the leaves received more light, and the plants grew faster. Different planting arrangements of plants had little effect on the simulation effect of the same kind of software, but the simulation effect of the three kinds of software under the same planting arrangement was significantly different, and the difference between the simulated value and the measured value of TracePro was the least. Further, TracePro was used to trace and simulate the leaf surface light conditions of spinach under a rectangular planting arrangement at different lighting distances, and the simulation results showed that there was no significant difference between the software simulation value and the measured value, and the simulation accuracy was the highest when the distance from the light source was 30 cm. Therefore, TracePro software can accurately simulate the light intensity of spinach leaves during the growth process and is most suitable for monitoring the change of light environment of spinach growth in plant factories.

Introduction This study investigated the effects of different light/dark alternation cycles on ascorbic acid (AsA) metabolism and oxidative stress in hydroponic lettuce under end-of-production (EOP) conditions characterized by high light intensity and a high blue-light ratio (500 mmolm(-)(2)s(-)(1), red:blue = 1:1).Methods Four treatments were applied: RB1 (continuous illumination), RB2 (4 h light/4 h dark/4 h light), RB4 (three cycles of 2 h light/2 h dark plus a final 2 h light), and RB8 (seven cycles of 1 h light/1 h dark with a final 1 h light).Results The results revealed that AsA content exhibited an initial increase followed by a decrease with increasing alternation frequency, peaking under the RB2 treatment. Specifically, RB2 achieved the highest AsA accumulation, which was 11.8%, 28.5%, and 41.6% greater than in RB1, RB4, and RB8, respectively. This enhancement was attributed to the synchronous upregulation of the gene expression and enzymatic activity of GLDH, as well as key enzymes in the ascorbate-glutathione cycle (APX, MDHAR, and DHAR). Oxidative stress indicators (H2O2, MDA) decreased with increased light/dark alternation frequency.Discussion Therefore, the RB2 treatment, by coordinating reactive oxygen species (ROS) induction and promoting the simultaneous upregulation of expression and activity in the AsA metabolic enzyme system, serves as an energy-efficient strategy for improving the nutritional quality of lettuce in controlled environments.

Celery (Apium graveolens L.) is a widely cultivated leafy vegetable of significant agronomic and nutritional importance. Owing to its high nutritional value, global demand for celery has steadily increased. However, under natural cultivation conditions, uncontrolled light exposure often prolongs the seedling stage and impairs celery growth quality. Improving the nutritional quality of celery through artificial regulation of the light environment has therefore become an important research focus. This work aimed to elucidate the impact of varying light–dark cycles on the growth characteristics and nutritional attributes of celery. Six light–dark cycle treatments (4 h/2 h, 8 h/4 h, 16 h/8 h, 24 h/12 h, 32 h/16 h, and 40 h/20 h) were applied, using ‘Oster Ziyu Xiangqin’ as the plant material under a constant light intensity of 400 μmol·m−2·s−1. The results revealed that the 24 h/12 h light–dark treatment significantly enhanced plant height, total fresh weight, and root vigor and showed superior performance in photosynthetic and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. The 32 h/16 h treatment significantly enhanced the accumulation of soluble sugars, proteins, total phenolic compounds, and flavonoids, as well as the activities of antioxidant enzymes, while reducing nitrate-nitrogen levels. In conclusion, the 24 h/12 h light–dark cycle was most conducive to the growth and photosynthetic performance of celery, whereas the 32 h/16 h treatment optimally enhanced its nutritional quality and antioxidant capacity.

IntroductionAsparagus is a valuable vegetable, and its edible part is a tender stem. The color of the tender stem epidermis is an important trait. In particular, purple asparagus is rich in anthocyanins. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying anthocyanin accumulation in purple asparagus remains unclear.MethodsThe white variety ‘Jinguan’ (JG), the green variety ‘Fengdao 2’ (FD), and the purple variety ‘Jingzilu 2’ (JZ) were compared using physiological and transcriptomic analysis. High-performance liquid chromatography and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction were employed to detect anthocyanins and validate gene expression.ResultsCyanidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside were detected as the main anthocyanins in JZ. Transcriptome data demonstrated that 4,694 and 9,427 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in the JZ versus FD and JZ versus JG control groups, respectively. These DEGs were significantly enriched in pathways associated with anthocyanin accumulation, including phenylalanine metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis. A total of 29 structural genes related to anthocyanin biosynthesis were identified. The expression of these structural genes was higher in JZ than in FD and JG, thereby activating the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway. Additionally, a candidate gene, AoMYB114, was identified based on transcriptomic data. The expression of AoMYB114 was associated with anthocyanin accumulation in different tissues. Further research found that overexpression of AoMYB114 activated the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway. It promoted leaf pigment accumulation in transgenic Arabidopsis.DiscussionThese findings demonstrate that AoMYB114 positively regulated anthocyanin biosynthesis. This study elucidates the molecular mechanism underlying purple coloration in asparagus. It provides important insights for improving asparagus quality and for breeding high-anthocyanin varieties.

To characterize the spatiotemporal distribution of temperature and airflow in single-span plastic-film greenhouses, we coupled field experiments with three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in a warm–temperate region of China. Model reliability and validity were evaluated against field measurements. The average and maximum relative errors between simulated and measured values were 6% and 9%, respectively. Significant spatial heterogeneity in both temperature and airflow was observed. Vertically, temperature rose with height; horizontally, it declined from the center toward the sidewalls. Under prevailing meteorological conditions, the daily maxima occurred at distinct elevations above the fan-vent outlets. Airflow was most vigorous near the vents, whereas extensive stagnant zones aloft reduced overall ventilation efficiency. These findings provide a quantitative basis for designing single-span plastic film greenhouses in China’s hot–humid regions, informing ventilation improvements, and guiding future optimization efforts.

To improve the phenomenon of uneven light environment and low indoor temperature at night caused by crop and structure occlusion in Chinese solar greenhouse, this study proposes a columnar energy storage device filled with composite phase change materials and combined with a reflecting film based on the full spectrum utilization of solar energy, which is placed on the north wall surface of Chinese solar greenhouse to comprehensively regulate the photothermal environment and a control greenhouse without heating is also set up for comparison. After testing, at 50 degrees C and an optical path length of 50 mm, the composite phase change materials with a concentration of 0.001 % nanoparticles have an average transmittance of 66.7 % in the photosynthetically active radiation band, and an average sum of absorption and reflectance of 79.8 % in the near infrared spectrum band. The greenhouse experiment results showed that the average growth factor index G of plants in the experimental greenhouse increased by 17.53 %. The average air temperature in the greenhouse increased by 1.70 degrees C at night. During the experiment, the average heat collection efficiency of columnar energy storage devices was 40 %. This study provides a new approach for efficient greenhouse production using full spectrum solar energy utilization.

Asparagus, characterized by its high metabolic rate, is susceptible to quality degradation. Proanthocyanidins have antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and other biological functions and can inhibit the production of reactive oxygen species in plants. To enhance the shelf life of asparagus, we investigated the impact of various concentrations of proanthocyanidins on its cold storage and preservation. The findings revealed that proanthocyanidins effectively mitigated water loss, delayed chlorophyll degradation, and prevented firmness decline. Furthermore, they enhanced the activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase), bolstered DPPH free radical scavenging ability, and increased the levels of total phenol, total flavone, rutin, oligomeric procyanidins, proline, and soluble protein. Moreover, proanthocyanidins promoted the accumulation of vitamin C, amino acids, total saponins, and lignin in the later storage stage, contributing to increased mechanical tissue thickness. These results suggest that proanthocyanidins play a crucial role in retarding the deterioration of asparagus quality during storage by affecting the antioxidant capacity and phytochemical (polyphenol,amino acid, total saponin, and lignin) synthesis in asparagus.

Drought, a prevalent abiotic stressor, significantly impacts plant yield and quality. Melatonin (MT), a potent and economical growth regulator, plays a pivotal role in augmenting crop resilience against stress. This study investigated the efficacy of exogenous MT on drought-stressed celery seedlings by comprehensively analyzing phenotypic, physiological, and molecular attributes. The results revealed that exogenous MT mitigated celery seedling damage under drought stress, lowered malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations, elevated oxidase activities, osmolyte levels, chlorophyll content, and augmented light energy conversion efficiency. Transcriptomic analysis demonstrated that MT could regulate chlorophyll synthesis genes (AgPORA1 and AgDVR2), contributing to heightened photosynthetic potential and increased drought tolerance in celery. Moreover, MT was found to modulate glycolytic pathways, upregulate pyruvate synthesis genes (AgPEP1 and AgPK3), and downregulate degradation genes (AgPDC2 and AgPDHA2), thereby promoting pyruvate accumulation and enhancing peroxidase activity and drought tolerance. The RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses demonstrated similar results, showing the same general expression trends. The study elucidates the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying MT's stress-alleviating effects in celery seedlings, offering insights into MT-based strategies in plant cultivation and breeding for arid environments.

An accurate gas utilization model is essential for precisely detecting plant photosynthetic capacity. Existing equipment for measuring the plant photosynthetic rate typically considers the key parameters of mesophyll cell conductance and a photosynthetic model based on the carbon reaction process under direct light conditions. However, the light environment signals received by the plant canopy not only vary significantly in incidence angles, but the effective light intensity also differs greatly from the measured values under vertical incidence conditions. To reduce the deviation between existing photosynthetic models and the actual photosynthetic efficiency of leaves, this study employs the gas diffusion method from engineering, using the finite element approach. Based on elastic mechanics and seepage mechanics, the internal stress field control equation of tomato leaves and the two-phase flow equation under a CO2 porous medium were derived. A mathematical model of porous gas–liquid two-phase fluid-solid coupling was established, solved, and analyzed. Preliminary verification was conducted through tests. The results show that in the initial stage of CO2 entering the leaf, the gas flow velocity is higher because of the larger pressure gradient between the pore and the leaf. In this stage, the gas diffusion rate is higher. As the intake time increases, the pressure gradient gradually decreases, and the inlet velocity slows down. Consequently, the diffusion rate gradually reduces. Because of the coupling of light quantity and light direction, the gas diffusion rate significantly increases compared with the uncoupled model. Additionally, a diffusion model that does not consider fluid–solid coupling will overestimate the gas flow rate as the depth of gas entry increases. Therefore, the internal gas diffusion model must account for the effect of coupling on the diffusion rate.