Candidate Cultivars Research Articles

Breeding of new kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) cultivars with yellow (golden) fleshed and superior characteristics

The most widely cultivated species globally is Actinidia deliciosa cv. ‘Hayward’. However, in recent years, consumers have shown greater demand for new varieties with novel flesh colour, flavour and appearance in international markets. To meet these expectations, one breeding study was started in 2016 at the University of Guilan in Iran to develop new kiwifruit cultivars with superior characteristics. In this breeding program, 201 female and 534 male hybrid genotypes were obtained from combinations of six different parents using the controlled cross-breeding technique. The evaluations were carried out over three consecutive stages. In the first stage, 201 female hybrid genotypes and control (‘Golden’) were evaluated based on 25 phenological and pomological traits. In the second stage, hybrids passed the desired threshold values in 7 key attributes were selected. Sensory testing in the next stage evaluated these selected hybrid genotypes more. As a result of the first stage, 30 hybrid genotypes with fruit weight (90 ≥ g) were selected. Then, in the second stage, 21 hybrids that showed acceptable dry matter, hue angle, flesh firmness, soluble solid content, acidity, and ascorbic acid were selected. Finally, 13 hybrid genotypes received high scores in sensory testing, and just two hybrid genotypes represented a 100% of novelty with positive texture. These genotypes were selected as potential cultivar candidates. In future studies, fruit yield, disease/pest resistance, and post-harvest performance trials of the 13 selected candidates will be evaluated at different sites. Thus, the ones that give the best results will be introduced to kiwifruit growers.

Evaluation of some lavender genotypes with high ornamental potential for essential oil properties and antimicrobial activities

ABSTRACT Lavender, a member of the Lamiaceae family, is an essential plant worldwide with high medicinal aromatic value and ornamental properties. In this study, 75 lavender genotypes belonging to Lavandula angustifolia Miller and Lavandula hybrida L. species, which were selected from several segregating populations and had high agronomic features as ornamental and medicinal aromatic plants, were evaluated in terms of essential oil properties. The essential oil ratios varied between 1.08% and 7.00%. The essential oil yield of lavender genotypes varied between 0.6 and 9.0 liter/decare. The highest components were determined as linalool and linalyl acetate. Lavender genotypes were also evaluated for their antimicrobial activities, and the inhibition zone diameter of Escherichia coli, a Gram (-) bacterium, varied between 10 and 44 mm. While the zone diameter for Staphylococcus aureus was in the range of 27–44 mm, the zone diameter value for Candida albicans was found to be in the range of 37–42 mm. This study indicated that segregating populations had great potential for improving lavender genotypes with higher oil ratios and antimicrobial activity. Genotypes that could be cultivar candidates were determined.

Impact of processing and storage on rancidity markers in commercial and novel cultivar candidates of intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium)

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesBreeding of intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium, IWG) culminated in the release of a commercial cultivar (MN‐Clearwater) with attractive environmental and nutritional benefits. Determining the impacts of ambient storage and common postharvest processing on the stability of IWG flour is essential to promote it as a food ingredient. Accordingly, MN‐Clearwater and two other potential cultivars, selected for their unique chemical composition, were subjected to extrusion and germination followed by 8 months of storage. Antioxidants, lipase and lipoxygenase activity, free fatty acid (FFA), peroxide value (PV), and volatile odor compounds (VOC) were analyzed at different timepoints.FindingsWhile germination caused a significant increase in lipase activity (~threefold in MN‐Clearwater), extrusion resulted in complete lipase degradation. Additionally, lipase activity was more consequential to hydrolytic rancidity than fat content. Regardless, results indicated that the endogenously abundant antioxidants can combat rancidity facilitated by enzymes and autoxidation as evidenced by significant losses in carotenoids between 3 and 6 months of storage (with 70%–80% reduction after 6 months of storage), when steep increases in FFA (up to 40% oleic acid/100 g fat), PV (two‐fourfolds increase after 6 months of storage), and VOC (hexanal and 2‐pentyl‐furan) occurred.Significance and NoveltyThe findings of this work serve as an impetus for IWG breeding advancements since enzymes and antioxidants can be traits that breeders may consider when selecting cultivar candidates. Results can be also utilized to understand the impact of postharvest processing of the grain on the storage stability of its flour.

Fungal Microbiome Indicators Are Associated with Genotypic Variation in Pea Root Rot Susceptibility when Intercropped with Barley

Intercropping of legume and cereal crop species shows potential to reduce root disease pressures by changing root-associated microbiomes and improving nitrogen (N) use via soil N-dependent fixation of atmospheric N2 by symbiotic rhizobia. A two-year field study was conducted to evaluate the effect of pea–barley association on crop performance and on the root fungal community. Five pea cultivars (Alvesta, Karpate, Mytic, Respect, and Vitra) were grown either in pure stands or mixed with one variety of barley (Atrika). We measured crop grain yield and root rot incidence and analyzed root fungal communities. In mixed stands, total grain yield was more stable compared with that in each pure stand, but pea root disease incidence was higher except for cultivars Vitra and Karpate. The effect of cropping system on fungal alpha diversity depended on the cultivar, with Vitra showing higher Shannon diversity and Alvesta showing lower richness in mixed compared with pure stands. All four operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to the Didymellaceae family were positively associated with pea root rot, and another disease-associated OTU in pea, Neoascochyta exitialis, was found to be also part of the barley core microbiome. Eleven of twelve OTUs belonging to the Glomeraceae family were associated with healthy roots and abundant in cultivar Vitra. This study shows how the phenotype and fungal microbiome of different pea cultivars respond distinctly to intercropping. Furthermore, the identification of disease- and health-associated taxa in the pea root fungal community refines the characterization of different cultivar candidates for intercropping. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license .

DEVELOPMENT AND SELECTION OF WHITE OAT GENOTYPES FOR SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTS

This work aimed to demonstrate the agronomic performance of the new white oat cultivar and to verify if it presents an ideotype for cultivation in sustainable environments. This study took place at Escola Fazenda Unijuí, located in the municipality of Augusto Pestana, in the northwest region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The experimental design used was randomized blocks, organized in a factorial scheme 4 white oat genotypes x 2 growing seasons (2021 and 2022). The genotypes used were a control cultivar (URS Taura), two parent cultivars (FAEM Barbarasul and FAEM Brisasul) and a candidate cultivar (URNRS22), arranged in four replications, totaling 32 experimental units. The analysis of variance at 5% probability by the F test was used. Tukey's mean comparison test was used to compare the means of the treatments. The dissimilarity matrix was calculated and multivariate selection indices were used to select genotypes with better agronomic performance. The candidate cultivar called URNRS 22 showed a superior response for panicle weight, number of grains per panicle, thousand grain weight and grain yield. 
 Keywords: Avena sativa; Genetical diversity; Genetic Breeding; MGIDI.

Determination of Pollinizers of the GM-41 (Uğur) Olive Cultivar Candidate Obtained by Hybridization Breeding

GM-41 zeytin çeşit adayı için uygun tozlayıcı çeşit belirlemek amacıyla 2018 ve 2020 yıllarında Zeytincilik Araştırma Enstitüsünde iki yıl süre ile deneme yapılmıştır. Çalışmada çeşitlerin çiçek tozu canlılık ve çimlenme güçleri ve çiçeklenme periyodu boyunca döllenme biyolojisini etkileyebilecek günlük maksimum sıcaklıklar ve yağış durumu göz önünde tutularak değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. GM-41 çeşit adayının döllenme biyolojisini belirleyebilmek için serbest tozlanma, kendileme ve 4 tozlayıcı çeşit ile kontrollü tozlama uygulamaları yapılmıştır. Kontrollü tozlama uygulamaları sonucunda iki yılda da en yüksek meyve tutum oranları sırasıyla 2018’de %1.43 ve %0.81 ile 2020’de %1.96 ve %1.49 olarak ‘Memecik’ ve ‘Ayvalık’ zeytin çeşitleri ile tozlanmalarda saptanmıştır. Bu nedenle GM-41 zeytin çeşit adayı için ‘Memecik’ ve ‘Ayvalık’ zeytin çeşitlerinin iyi birer tozlayıcı olduğu düşünülmektedir. Diğer yandan, en düşük meyve tutum oranları ise sıfıra yakın değerler ile kendileme uygulamalarında belirlenmiştir. Verimlilik indeks değerleri göz önünde tutulduğunda GM-41 zeytin çeşit adayı kendine verimsiz olarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Bu nedenle bahçe tesisinde tozlayıcı çeşit kullanımının verimlilik açısından gerekli olduğu düşünülmektedir. İncelenen çeşitlerin çiçek tozu canlılık ve çimlenme oranlarının yıllar arasında farklılık gösterdiği ve döllenme ve meyve tutumu açısından bir problem yaratmayacak düzeyde kabul edilebilir sınır değerleri içinde olduğu saptanmıştır.

Clonal Propagation and Assessment of Biomass Production and Saponin Content of Elite Accessions of Wild Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis.

Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis is an endangered medicinal plant endemic to China with great economic importance for the pharmaceutical industry. Two significant barriers to its commercial development are the long duration of its seed germination and the frequency of interspecific hybridization. We developed a method for clonal propagation of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis and successfully applied it to selected elite wild plants, which could become cultivar candidates based on their biomass production and saponin content. In comparison to the traditional method, somatic embryogenesis produced an average of 63 somatic embryos per gram of callus in just six weeks, saving 12 to 15 months in plantlet production. The produced in vitro plantlets were strong and healthy and 94% survived transplanting to soil. Using this method, four candidate cultivars with diverse morphologies and geographic origins were clonally reproduced from selected elite wild accessions. In comparison to those obtained with the traditional P. polyphylla propagation technique, they accumulated higher biomass and polyphyllin levels in rhizomes plus adventitious roots during a five-year period. In conclusion, somatic embryogenesis-based methods offer an alternate approach for the rapid and scaled-up production of P. polyphylla, as well as opening up species conservation options.

Determination of Self-Fertility of the ‘GM-39’ Olive Cultivar Candidate Obtained by Hybridization Breeding

Bu çalışmada melezleme ıslahı ile elde edilmiş ‘GM-39’ zeytin çeşit adayının döllenme biyolojisi incelenmiştir. Bu amaçla 2 yıl süre ile serbest tozlanma, karşılıklı tozlama ve kendileme uygulamaları yapılarak yeni çeşidin kendine verimlilik durumu ve uygun tozlayıcıları araştırılmıştır. İki yılda da en yüksek meyve tutum oranları sırasıyla %2.64 ve %1.37 olarak Ayvalık zeytin çeşidi ile tozlanmalarda saptanmıştır. Diğer yandan, en düşük meyve tutum oranları ise yine sırasıyla %0.00 ve %0.00 ile kendileme uygulamalarında belirlenmiştir. Bununla birlikte, çalışmadan elde edilen verilerde yapılan istatistiksel analizler ve kendine verimlilik indeks değerleri dikkate alındığında, ‘GM-39’ zeytin çeşidi kendine verimsiz olarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Ancak veriler, yabancı tozlanmanın meyve tutumunu arttırmada etkili olduğunu da göstermektedir. Bu sebeple bahçe tesisinde tozlayıcı çeşit kullanımının verimlilik açısından fayda sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.

Determination of High Yield and Quality Sainfoin Genotypes (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) for the Bingöl Province of Turkey

This research was carried out for two years between 2017-2018 to determine the high yield and quality sainfoin genotypes for Bingöl Province. A total of 13 genotypes were used as plant materials, two of which were registered cultivars (Lutfibey, Peschanyj 1251), six candidate cultivars (Emre, Hilal, Fatih, Mehmetalibey, Koc 1461, Yunus) and five were populations (Genc, Adakli, Yedisu, Ankara, Tarim). In the study forage yields, dry matter yields, crude protein ratios, crude protein yields, ADF (acid detergent fiber) ratios, NDF (neutral detergent fiber) ratios, digestible dry matter ratios and relative feed values of genotypes were investigated. As the average of two years of the genotypes; the forage yield was 1832±60 kg da-1, the dry matter yield was 576±20 kg da-1, the crude protein rate was 16.4±0.3%, the crude protein yield was 95.3±3.9 kg da-1, the ADF rate was 31.2±0.5%, the NDF rate was 43.8±0.6%, the digestible dry matter rate was 64.6±0.4% and the relative feed value was obtained as 139±2.3. According to two years data in the study, the differences between genotypes were found statistically significant (p<0.01) in terms of forage yield, dry matter yield and crude protein yield, but the differences between genotypes were found to be statistically insignificant in terms of crude protein, ADF, NDF and digestible dry matter ratios and relative feed value. As a result, it was determined that Tarim, Hilal, Peschanyj and Lutfibey genotypes came to the fore in the conditions of Bingöl Province in terms of the examined characteristics.

Determination of Shelf-Life of New Satsuma (Rize) Mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) Cultivar Candidates Obtained by Clonal Selection

Satsuma (Rize) Mandarin is Türkiye's most widely produced and exported mandarin variety. Due to its early ripeness and seedlessness, Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) is a popular citrus fruit in domestic and foreign markets. The present study was conducted at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture in 2020-2021 to determine the shelf-life of Satsuma mandarin genotypes obtained as a result of clonal selection carried out in Rize province and its districts. The harvested mandarin variety candidates were pomologically analyzed and stored in an environment containing at 15°C ± 1 temperature and 55-60% humidity. The changes in fruit weight (g), fruit juice content (%), rind thickness (mm), total soluble solid (%, TSS), and titratable acid (%, TA) content were examined at one-week intervals during the storage period. It was determined that weight loss (%) and TSS (%) increased steadily, while fruit juice content (%), rind thickness (mm), and titratable acid (%) decreased steadily during storage in all genotypes and control. Also, the differences detected in terms of the properties examined were lower on 7 and 14 days than the initial value, whereas they were higher on 21 days. As a result of the findings, it was determined that the quality losses of mandarin genotypes showed differences during the shelf-life, but they could be stored for 14 days without much loss in quality.

A developed system to extract specific responses of increment length in rice shoots under gradient changes in nitrogen concentration regimes.

Nitrogen (N) fertilization is one of the most crucial factors that contribute to increasing food production requiring the generation of rice cultivars with improved N use efficiency (NUE) to maintain yield during low N fertilizer application. To assay NUE extent, we developed a screening system to evaluate shoot growth of each rice cultivar under gradient changes in N concentrations. This system comprises a gradient hydroponic culture and growth visualization systems. The former allows gradient changes in ammonium concentrations, while the latter records the increment in shoot length of individual rice seedlings at given time periods using a fixed-point camera. We chose 69 cultivars including two controls (Oryza sativa L. cv. Nipponbare [WRC01] and Kasalath [WRC02]) from the World Rice Core Collection to investigate shoot growth responses under ammonium-sufficient, ammonium-limited, and low ammonium concentration gradients without transplanting stress. We observed three growth patterns in response to different ammonium concentrations. Subsequently, we selected three representative cultivars (Kasalath, WRC03, and WRC05) for the characteristic responses under the different ammonium environments. Distinct expression patterns of glutamine synthetase 1;2 (OsGS1;2) but OsGS1;1 were observed in response to varying ammonium concentration regimes, indicating that the expression patterns of OsGS1;2 may be a growth marker in terms of shoot growth when transitioning from ammonium-limited to low ammonium concentrations. This system with the level of OsGS1;2 allows us to screen for candidate cultivars that return high NUE in low N environments.

Calibration of a crop growth model in APSIM for 15 publicly available corn hybrids in North America

AbstractApplication of crop growth models (CGMs) in plant breeding is limited by the large number of candidate cultivars that breeders work with and the large number of CGM parameters that affect cultivar performance. The objectives of this study were to (1) calibrate 15 publicly available maize hybrids in Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator and quantify prediction accuracy in modeling physiological trait differences (yield, biomass, phenology, etc.) among genotypes; (2) better understand minimum phenotypic data requirements for CGM cultivar calibration to inform breeding efforts; and (3) quantify simulated genotype by environment interactions (G × E) across years for five traits. We calibrated hybrids with two years of multi‐trait, temporal field measurements. The R2 of simulated versus observed phenotypes was 0.89 for grain yield and over 0.80 for half of all other simulated traits. Phenology parameters accounted for nearly half of the variability in grain yield. Average (across traits) normalized root mean square error was reduced from 35% to 30% with calibration based on phenological measurements and was reduced to 20% with inclusion of physiological and nitrogen‐related measurements such as radiation use efficiency and grain nitrogen. Long‐term simulations demonstrated distinct G × E among the hybrids which accounted for 2%–29% of the total genetic variation across traits. Parameter values derived in this work will provide insight regarding important physiological traits for further phenotyping, selection, and understanding of G × E. These calibrations are for publicly available hybrids, which are currently lacking.

Determining the Yield and Yield Components of Some Local Potato Genotypes Grown in the North Eastern Anatolia Region

This study was carried out in 2018 to examine the yield and yield components of 8 potato genotypes (Kanursu, Aşkar, Çamlı, Akbulut, Yukarıkızı, Incili, Erikdibi, and Nisantası) and 2 potato varieties (Agria and Lady Olympia) procured in the ecological conditions of Bayburt, Turkey. The experimental work was conducted in trial ground at the Experimental Station of the University of Bayburt (Turkey). The research was designed in random blocks with three replications. As a result of the study, the highest number of stems per plant (6.7), tuber yield per hectare (15.19 tons), number of tubers per plant (8.47), and tuber yield per plant (357.01 g) were found to be in the genotype Akbulut; the highest ratio of large tuber (28.27%) in the genotype Konursu; and the highest ratio of medium tuber (85.22%) in the genotype Çamlıkoz. This study; Although the best potato yield was obtained from the Akbulut genotype on a regional basis, these data are a pioneer for other future studies to determine the cultivar candidates needed in the development of domestic potato cultivars.

Investigation of yield and yield components of rapeseed (Brassica napus ssp. oleifera L.) genotypes in Trakya Region conditions

The genotype*environment interaction was investigated in terms of yield and yield components of rapeseed varietys and candidate varietys depending on the years the research was carried out in Tekirdağ conditions. This research; In 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, 9 rapeseed cultivars and cultivar candidates were carried out in Tekirdağ location with 4 replications according to the Randomized Complete Block Design. In the analysis of variance, significant differences were found at the level of P < 0.01 and P < 0.05 in terms of yield and yield components in terms of genotype, year and year*genotype interaction statistically. According to the results of the analysis, the average yield of the genotypes varied between 2854-5356 kg ha-1, and the average of the years ranged between 3356-5121 kg ha-1. NK Caravel, candidate 1 (DK Ekstorm), candidate 3 (DK Expower) and candidate 4 (NK Linus) varieties have come to the fore in rapeseed cultivation in Tekirdağ conditions. The best results in terms of seed yield and yield components were obtained from NK Caravel, candidate 4 (NK Linus) and PR44W29 varietys. As a result, year, genotype and year*genotype interactions were examined in terms of yield and yield components of cultivars in rapeseed cultivation, and it was concluded that NK Caravel, candidate 4 (NK Linus) and PR44W29 cultivars showed high performance in Tekirdağ conditions, and the effect of the environment was higher than the effect of genotype.

Root Architectures of Hybrid Pepper Variety Candidates with Low Temperature Stress Tolerance

Düşük sıcaklık stresine dayanıklılık yönünden bitki türleri arasında genotipik düzeyde farklılıklar bulunmaktadır. Son yıllarda düşük sıcaklığa tolerant yeni çeşitler geliştirilmektedir. Bu çalışmada, hibrit çeşit ıslahı ile düşük sıcaklığa tolerant olarak geliştirilen 28 F1 hibrit dolmalık biber çeşit adayının kök yapıları ve köklenme düzeylerinin karşılaştırılması amaçlanmıştır. Hibrit dolmalık biber çeşit adaylarının hem serada ve hem de açıkta birçok kök parametresi yönünden, kontrol çeşide (Benino F1) göre daha iyi bir köklenme yapısına sahip olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca biber genotiplerinin kök mimarileri yönünden fenotipik çeşitliliğin oldukça yüksek olduğu belirlenmiştir. Çalışmada; ortalama toplam kök uzunluğu, 764.48 cm (HD-6) ile 1120.40 cm (HD-16), kök yüzey alanı 619.47 cm2 (HD-9) ile 963.14 cm2 (HD-26), kök çapı 2.50 (HD-3) ile 4.98 mm (HD27) ve kök hacmi ise 47.77 cm3 (HD-3) ile 147.54 cm3 (HD-27) arasında değişim göstermiştir. Tüm kök parametreleri birlikte değerlendirildiğinde; toplam kök uzunluğu yönünden HD-16, kök çapı ve kök hacmi değerleri yönünden HD-27, kök yüzey alanı yönünden HD-26 ve kök kuru ağırlığı yönünden ise HD-22 genotipinin ümit var oldukları saptanmıştır.

Determination of table olive characteristics of new olive varieties obtained by crossbreeding of Gemlik and Memecik variety

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of 10 hybrid type table olives obtained as a result of a national level hybridization program in the Olive Research Institute. Material and Methods: The samples selected from Memecik x Gemlik and Gemlik x Memecik combinations, which came to the pre-elimination stage in the project, were evaluated in terms of table olives characteristics. These products were obtained in four olive seasons. Olives were subjected to some physical and chemical tests and analyzes. The main olive processing techniques (green split olive, natural turning black olives and Spanish style green olives) were applied to test the suitability of the cultivar candidates to processing techniques. Results: The olive variety candidates, GM 41, GM 39, MG 11 and MG 5 attracted more attention than the main varieties of the cross breeding project, “Memecik” and “Gemlik”, in terms of some table olive characteristics like high flesh/pit ratio and the number of olive fruits per kilogram. Especially, The variety, GM 41 was found to be significantly important candidate for the natural black olive processing because of having high number of olives per kilogram. Conclusion: As a result of this study, it was concluded thata the hybrid variety candidates, MG5 and MG13 were found to be promising in terms of table olive characteristics and registered as HAYAT and ARSEL, respectively.

INVESTIGATION OF YIELD, PHYSICAL QUALITY AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME TWO-LINE AND SIX-LINE BARLEY GENOTYPES IN ESKISEHIR CONDITIONS

In this study carried out in Eskişehir dry farming conditions, advanced two-row and six-row barley genotypes and their parents and physiological characteristics, physical quality elements, and yields of some varieties adapted to the region were investigated. The study was carried out in Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Agriculture, Field Crops Department, in the research and application field, for two years in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 production seasons. In the study, heading time, flowering time, flag leaf area, SPAD value, canopy temperature, test weight, thousand-grain weight, grain largeness ratio, and yield parameters were investigated. According to the findings obtained; Significant differences were determined between cultivars, hybrids, and parents in terms of yield, quality, and physiological characteristics. While the CLR x PLS 6-row hybrid stands out in terms of quality and physiological characteristics, the 2-row cultivar candidate of the same hybrid stood out in terms of yield and it was predicted that these hybrids could be evaluated as cultivar candidates with desired characteristics.

Selection in half-sib progenies of Annona squamosa L.: An important step in the development of new cultivars

There are limited number of studies on the genetic improvement of sugar apple (Annona squamosa L.), in addition to this there are few studies available on the in situ and ex situ characterization and conservation of its germplasm, this has restricted the advancement of the cultivation of its fruit in Brazil. The present study aims to estimate the genetic parameters, establish Pearson's correlations between agronomic traits, and predict the genetic gains in half-sib progenies of sugar apple for selection purposes. The experiment included four half-sib progenies of sugar apple (UNI-1, UNI-2, UNI-3, and UNI-4) distributed in a random-block experimental design with three repetitions and five plants per plot. Field evaluation using eight quantitative traits were assessed over eight harvests during the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years of production. Flower length had a high heritability (66%). There was a positive Pearson correlation between total yield and number of fruits per plant, and flower length was strongly correlated with traits related to fruit size. Flower number, flower length, fresh fruit mass, fruit diameter and fruit length also showed high repeatability. It was observed that five harvests are an adequate number for the selection of superior genotypes, and that these evaluations should be carried out between the fourth and sixth year after planting. The Mulamba and Mock 2 index (MM2) was used as criterion for simultaneous selection of genotypes. Genotypes 25 (UNI-1), 10 and 47 (UNI-2), and 11 (UNI-3) stood out for achieving high scores in more than one trait. They should be considered for selection as they allow the best offspring to be selected, are potential candidates for new cultivars and will be prioritized for the next recombination cycle of the breeding program.

Determination of Yield, Quality and Morphological Characteristics of Different Hybrid Pepper Cultivar Candidates in Konya Ecological Conditions

Pepper is an important variety of vegetable that has economic value in human nutrition in Turkey and in the world. Continuous changes in producer and consumer demands also create a competitive environment in pepper breeding. Green pepper cultivation is generally carried out in greenhouse cultivation, and its cultivation has become widespread in open field conditions. In the study, 8 F1 (G12, G11, K42, B25, L9, Z22, G14 and L10) pepper varieties with superior characteristics were used as plant material. Some plant, leaf and fruit characteristics as well as yield and quality parameters were examined. As a result of the principal components analysis (PCA) made using theese measurements and observations, the study was explained variations in 6 components at a high rate of 97.94%. G11 and G12 cultivar candidates are located in the positive region of both components in the Score plot graph drawn from the first two components which means that these two candidates showed the highest performance among those evaluated ones. These cultivar candidates showed superior characteristics in terms of yield, fruit weight, fruit width, TTS, pH, L and b parameters. It is thought that these cultivar candidates can be grown in open land conditions having semi-arid climates such as Konya and will contribute to the country's agriculture production.

Ionomics, transcriptomics and untargeted metabolomics analyses provide new insights into the Cd response and accumulation mechanisms of mulberry

Recently, the phytoremediation and safe utilization of cadmium (Cd) polluted soil by mulberry planting and sericulture have attracted researchers' attention. However, the understandings of related molecular mechanisms of mulberry response to Cd are still limited. Meanwhile, there are few reports on the diversity of the Cd tolerance and accumulation ability of different mulberry cultivars. Here, we obtained two mulberry cultivars with significant differences in Cd accumulation: high Cd accumulation cultivar FC and low Cd accumulation cultivar G12. Ionomics analysis showed that the distribution pattern of Na is the most similar to that of Cd in both G12 and FC. In transcriptomics analysis, the results of GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that cell wall organization-related genes were significantly affected by Cd stress, while cell division-related genes were significantly down-regulated. The expression levels of several Cd-chelation and transporter genes (AGT2, MT2, HIPP26, MTP9 and DTX43/44) were higher in all groups of G12 than those of FC, while the expression level of PCR2 and ABCC2 were higher in all groups of FC than those of G12. In untargeted metabolomics analysis, compared with FC, the metabolites of G12 were less affected by Cd stress in phenylpropanoid, flavonoid and isoflavonoid biosynthesis pathways. Notably, the content of rutin in FC was significantly lower than that of G12. These results provide theoretical support and candidate cultivars for mulberry application in Cd polluted soil, and candidate genes for mulberry genetic modification and molecular breeding in the future.