Immature Fruit Research Articles

Insights into the metabolite profiles of Rubus chingii Hu at different developmental stages of fruit.

The fruits of Rubus chingii Hu have high medicinal and nutritional values. However, the metabolite profiles of R. chingii, especially the alterations during different development stages of fruit, have not been comprehensively analyzed, hindering the effective utilization of the unique species. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the metabolites of R. chingii fruit at four developmental stages using systematic untargeted and targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics analysis and identified 682 metabolites. Significant changes were observed in metabolite accumulation and composition in fruits during the different developmental stages. The contents of the index components, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and ellagic acid, were the highest in immature fruit. The analysis identified 64 differentially expressed flavonoids and 39 differentially expressed phenolic acids; the accumulation of most of these differentially expressed metabolites decreased with the developmental stages of fruit from immaturity to maturity. These results confirmed that the developmental stages of fruit are a critical factor in determining its secondary metabolite compositions. This study elucidated the metabolic profile of R. chingii fruit at different stages of development to understand the dynamic changes in metabolites.

Rapid detection of Yunnan Xiaomila based on lightweight YOLOv7 algorithm.

Real-time fruit detection is a prerequisite for using the Xiaomila pepper harvesting robot in the harvesting process. To reduce the computational cost of the model and improve its accuracy in detecting dense distributions and occluded Xiaomila objects, this paper adopts YOLOv7-tiny as the transfer learning model for the field detection of Xiaomila, collects images of immature and mature Xiaomila fruits under different lighting conditions, and proposes an effective model called YOLOv7-PD. Firstly, the main feature extraction network is fused with deformable convolution by replacing the traditional convolution module in the YOLOv7-tiny main network and the ELAN module with deformable convolution, which reduces network parameters while improving the detection accuracy of multi-scale Xiaomila targets. Secondly, the SE (Squeeze-and-Excitation) attention mechanism is introduced into the reconstructed main feature extraction network to improve its ability to extract key features of Xiaomila in complex environments, realizing multi-scale Xiaomila fruit detection. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through ablation experiments under different lighting conditions and model comparison experiments. The experimental results indicate that YOLOv7-PD achieves higher detection performance than other single-stage detection models. Through these improvements, YOLOv7-PD achieves a mAP (mean Average Precision) of 90.3%, which is 2.2%, 3.6%, and 5.5% higher than that of the original YOLOv7-tiny, YOLOv5s, and Mobilenetv3 models, respectively, the model size is reduced from 12.7 MB to 12.1 MB, and the model's unit time computation is reduced from 13.1 GFlops to 10.3 GFlops. The results shows that compared to existing models, this model is more effective in detecting Xiaomila fruits in images, and the computational complexity of the model is smaller.

Simple identification of discriminative markers for four Citrus species using a combination of molecular networking and multivariate analysis

Ion-fragmentation information from high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has gained prominence as chemometric data for analyzing the molecular distribution and changes in food-ingredient metabolites. However, efficient analytical approaches are required to analyze the numerous HRMS signals. Molecular networking (MN) methods have been developed to generate networks between metabolites, based on pattern similarities in their mass spectra. Here, MN was combined with in silico annotation methods and multivariate analysis to identify six discriminative markers for four Citrus samples (C. unshiu mature peel, C. unshiu immature peel, C. aurantium immature fruits, and Poncirus trifoliata immature fruits), namely, naringin, hesperidin, neohesperidin, poncirin, nobiletin, and tangeretin. The proposed markers were experimentally verified and quantitatively monitored based on the species and maturity by HPLC–UV analysis. Neohesperidin and poncirin were identified as discriminative markers for the immature fruits of C. aurantium and Poncirus trifoliata, whereas hesperidin and nobiletin could distinguish the mature peel of C. unshiu from the immature peel.

Novel Harzia ixtarensis Fungus on Annona cherimola Fruit in Mexico and Its Synergistic Relationship with Colletotrichum fragariae.

Since 2005 in Íxtaro, Michoacán, symptoms of Harzia infection have been observed on immature Annona cherimola fruit with Colletotrichum fragariae-induced anthracnose lesions and mummified fruit. This study aimed to identify the Harzia sp. and evaluate its pathogenicity. Four isolates were obtained from fruit exhibiting symptoms, cultured in four types of agar under various conditions, and characterized based on concatenated internal transcribes spacer (ITS) + large subunit and ITS + small subunit sequences. Additionally, the isolates were compared with two CBS species (two-type strains and two isolates) of Harzia patula and H. tenella under the same conditions as the Harzia isolates, and all known Harzia spp. in culture were included in two phylogenetic analyses. H. ixtarensis sp. nov. was proposed. Compared with H. patula CBS isolate 121524 which was the most closely phylogenetically related species, H. ixtarensis was characterized by slower colony growth (white to salmonish-beige), different percentages of two forms of conidia (elongated and globose; unicellular and hyaline to subhyaline), and smaller conidia. The conidia mainly germinated with two hyaline tubes without an appressorium. In situ inoculations (1 × 106 ml-1 conidia suspension) of fruit showed that fruit with wounds developed larger lesions than those without wounds. Harzia inoculation on anthracnose lesions (induced by prior inoculation with C. fragariae) produced larger anthracnose lesions than C. fragariae alone. When C. fragariae or H. ixtarensis was inoculated alone, the lesion size was 51 and 99% smaller, respectively, indicating synergy between C. fragariae and H. ixtarensis. Thus, H. ixtarensis may have a parasitic-synergistic and necrotrophic lifestyle, and exhibited symptoms on anthracnose lesions.

Isolation and characterization of three bacteriophages infecting Erwinia amylovora and their potential as biological control agent

BackgroundFire Blight, incited by Erwinia amylovora, is one of the most damaging pear and apple diseases in the world. Fire blight was introduced to Egypt in the 1960 and threatens the Egypt’s costs for pear industry. Currently, Phage therapy is considered to be secured biological method for controlling plant bacterial diseases. This investigation aimed to isolate and identify molecularly for bacteria causing fire bright disease. As well as isolation and identification bacteriophages via spot and plaque assay techniques from pear fire blight lesions and soil. On the other hand, bacteriophages were identified based on plaque morphology, virion morphology, physical characters, profile of DNA restriction and protein.ResultsPathogenicity test revealed that healthy seedlings and pear fruits were responsive to fire blight E. amylovora. Considering the relatively wide host range and greatest protein and genetic variability, using restriction enzyme pattern, the three diversity phage isolates named, EAP1, EAP2 and EAP3 showed a lack of diversity out of five were fatherly characterized. The phages confirmed the close relation of EAP1, EAP2 to Siphoviridae (hexagonal head and long flexible non-contractile tail) and EAP3 to Myoviridae (icosahedral head and contractile tail). The phages retained higher lytic competence of 90.4; 92.68 and 95.25% for EAP1, EAP2 and EAP3, respectively. The phages were stable at strong alkaline (pH 10) 2% salt solution conditions and UV spectra. While EAP3 phage revealed the hexagonal head and very short tail that belongs to Myoviridae family. Bacteriophages were characterized by digestion of the phage DNA with three restriction endonucleases and were placed into three groups based on the patterns. Bacteriophages were 9 used for reducing bacterial infection populations and severity on pear. In a bioassay, the biocontrol of E. amylovora was evaluated using disks of immature pear fruit. On the pear disk surface, bacterial exudate was considerably suppressed by all phage isolates. According to measurements of the bacterial population still present on the disk surface, phage therapy could reduce it by up to 97%. Bacteriophages reduced pear fire blight disease severity on pear fruit trails.ConclusionThe results indicated that bacteriophage isolates may demonstrate variable reactivity against E. amylovora. Bacteriophages reduced pear fire blight disease severity on pear fruit trials. The results indicated that bacteriophage isolates may demonstrate variable reactivity against E. amylovora.

TOXICITY OF COMMONLY USED CHEMICAL INSECTICIDES ON MANGO HOPPER

Mango production in Bangladesh is enormously affected by the infestation of hopper which punctures and sucks sap from tender shoots, inflorescences, and leaves of mango tree, causing non-setting of fruits and dropping of immature fruits. Control of mango hopper in recent days is solely done by synthetic insecticides. This study was conducted in the laboratory during January to October 2022 to know the toxicity of four commonly used insecticides, namely Desis 2.5 EC (Deltamethrin), Ripcord 10 EC (Cypermethrin), Relothrin 10 EC (Cypermethrin), and Sumithion 50 EC (Fenitrothion) on mango hopper. The doses of Desis 2.5 EC, Ripcord 10 EC and Relothrin 10 EC were prepared as 1200, 1000, 750, 500 and 100 ppm, and Sumithion 50 EC solutions were 2500, 2200, 1500, 1000 and 500 ppm. Results showed that the tested insecticides with their recommended doses revealed 51.4±2.5 to 70.6±1.8% mortality of hopper at 4 hours after treatment where Desis 2.5 EC showed the highest mean mortality of the insect. Desis 2.5 EC also showed the lowest LC50 and LC95 values (426.0 and 4331.4 ppm, respectively at 4 hours after treatment) signifying its higher effectiveness compared to other tested insecticides.

The effect of potassium permanganate concentration and storage time after harvesting fruit on physiological ripeness on the quality of sapodilla (Manilkara zapota L. cv. Dawan) during storage

Climacteric fruit is a type of fruit that will continue to undergo a respiration process after the fruit is harvested, ethylene gas increases so that the fruit ripens more quickly than non-climacteric fruit. Sapodilla is a climacteric fruit, so a proper postharvest handling technique is needed to prolong ripening and damage to the fruit relatively quickly. The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of potassium permanganate and the best degree of fruit ripeness to maintain the quality of the sapodilla cv. Dawan fruit during storage. This research used a completely randomized design with two factors and three replications. The first factor is the concentration of potassium permanganate with four levels, i.e., control level (P0), concentration of 75 mg/100 ml of water (P1), concentration of 90 mg/100 ml of water (P2), and concentration of 105 mg/100 ml of water (P3). The second factor was the level of maturity with three levels, i.e., physiological immature fruit (Tk), fruit with physiological ripeness level (Tm), and fruit with a degree of maturity after physiological maturity (Ts). The results showed that the concentration of potassium permanganate and the level of maturity and the interaction had a significant effect on the quality of sapodilla during storage. On the first factor, the concentration of potassium permanganate 105 mg/100 ml of water gave the best sapodilla quality with the lowest decrease in fruit weight, the lowest increase in weight loss, and the lowest decrease in fruit water content. On the second factor, the level of physiological immature fruit gives the best quality of sapodilla with the lowest decrease in fruit weight, the lowest increase in weight loss, and the lowest decrease in fruit water content.

YOLOv7-Peach: An Algorithm for Immature Small Yellow Peaches Detection in Complex Natural Environments.

Using object detection techniques on immature fruits to find out their quantity and position is a crucial step for intelligent orchard management. A yellow peach target detection model (YOLOv7-Peach) based on the improved YOLOv7 was proposed to address the problem of immature yellow peach fruits in natural scenes that are similar in color to the leaves but have small sizes and are easily obscured, leading to low detection accuracy. First, the anchor frame information from the original YOLOv7 model was updated by the K-means clustering algorithm in order to generate anchor frame sizes and proportions suitable for the yellow peach dataset; second, the CA (coordinate attention) module was embedded into the backbone network of YOLOv7 so as to enhance the network's feature extraction for yellow peaches and to improve the detection accuracy; then, we accelerated the regression convergence process of the prediction box by replacing the object detection regression loss function with EIoU. Finally, the head structure of YOLOv7 added the P2 module for shallow downsampling, and the P5 module for deep downsampling was removed, effectively improving the detection of small targets. Experiments showed that the YOLOv7-Peach model had a 3.5% improvement in mAp (mean average precision) over the original one, much higher than that of SSD, Objectbox, and other target detection models in the YOLO series, and achieved better results under different weather conditions and a detection speed of up to 21 fps, suitable for real-time detection of yellow peaches. This method could provide technical support for yield estimation in the intelligent management of yellow peach orchards and also provide ideas for the real-time and accurate detection of small fruits with near background colors.

Evaluation of Solanum linnaeanum and S. sisymbriifolium extracts for the management of Meloidogynechitwoodi

Meloidogyne chitwoodi causes significant yield losses in many crops and the chemical control measures currently used are less effective for this nematode. The activity of aqueous extracts (0.8 mg/mL) of one-month-old (R1M) and two-months-old roots and immature fruits (F) of Solanum linnaeanum (Sl) and S. sisymbriifolium cv. Sis 6001 (Ss) were tested on hatching, mortality, infectivity and reproduction of M. chitwoodi. The extracts selected reduced the hatching of second-stage juveniles (J2) (cumulative hatching of 40% for Sl R1M and 24% for Ss F) but did not affect J2 mortality. However, infectivity of J2 exposed to the selected extracts, during 4 and 7 days, was lower (3% and 0% for Sl R1M and 0% and 0% for Ss F) compared to the control (23% and 3%). Reproduction was affected only after 7 days of exposure (reproduction factor (RF) was 7 for Sl R1M and 3 for Ss F) compared to the control (RF = 11). The results suggest that the selected Solanum extracts are effective and can be a useful tool in sustainable M. chitwoodi management. This is the first report on the efficacy of S. linnaeanum and S. sisymbriifolium extracts against root-knot nematodes.

The therapeutic mechanism of Chebulae Fructus in the treatment of immunosuppression in Chinese yellow quail on the basis of network pharmacology.

Chebulae Fructus (Terminalia chebula Retz.) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), one of the family Combretaceae, whose immature fruit is called Fructus Chebulae Immaturus or Zangqingguo. This present study aimed at detecting the target and therapeutic mechanism of Chebulae Fructus against immunosuppression through network analysis and experimental validation. Effective components and potential targets of Chebulae Fructus were Search and filtered through the Chinese herbal medicine pharmacology data and analysis platform. A variety of known disease target databases were employed to screen the therapeutic target proteins against immunosuppression and thus constructing a protein-protein interaction network. Hub genes and key pathways in this study were identified by continuous project enrichment analysis. Further, the core targets and therapeutic mechanism of Chebulae Fructus against immunosuppression in Chinese yellow quail through animal experiment. Seventy-five identifiable major candidate targets of Chebulae Fructus were found and thus constructing a drug-compound-target-disease network. Targets derived from gene enrichment analysis play pivotal roles in lipid and atherosclerosis, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, and the hepatitis B pathway. Height of plicate and areas of lymphoid follicle were both increased and the expression of GATA-3 and T-bet was upregulated in Chinese yellow quail fed with Chebulae Fructus in animal experiment. Chebulae Fructus may be a helpful Chinese medicine with immunosuppressive effect and prospective applications in future. Further research is also needed to understand the mechanisms of immunosuppression and the mechanism of action of immunomodulators.

Analysis of steroidal glycoalkaloids and their metabolites in Solanum nigrum fruits based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and molecular networking.

Solanum nigrum fruit is like a treasure house for anticancer drugs because of its steroidal alkaloids. However, the clinical treatment of cancer mainly uses immature fruits, which can cause a toxic reaction if eaten directly, while mature fruits are eaten as fruit. In order to clarify the reasons for the differences in pharmacodynamics and toxicity between them, we studied the composition and metabolism of steroidal alkaloids in fruits of different maturities based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and molecular networking. As a result, 114 steroidal glycoalkaloids were identified. During fruit ripening, the aglycones of steroidal alkaloids mainly undergo hydroxylation and carboxylation, and the sugar side chains mainly undergo acylation and glycosylation reactions. Furthermore, 219 steroidal alkaloids were identified in a metabolism experiment in rats. Metabolic processes include deglycosylation, redox, sulfuric acid binding, acetyl binding, and glucuronic acid-binding. Steroidal alkaloids in mature fruits have high molecular weight and polarity, which are difficult to absorb, and most of them are excreted through feces and urine, which may be the reason for their poor efficacy. This study lays a foundation for research on the biosynthesis of steroidal alkaloids and provides potential candidates for the discovery of new steroidal alkaloid anticancer drugs.

Multidirectional insights into nutritional, phytochemical, antioxidant capability and multivariate analysis of underutilized edible berry plant (Salacia macrosperma Wight) – A novel source for food and pharmaceutical industry

Salacia species are routinely exercised as dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals. However, there is limited research on composition of nutrients, phytochemicals and bio-accessibility of S. macrosperma. This study depicted the composition of nutrients, phytochemicals and antioxidant properties of edible and non-edible parts of S. macrosperma. Seeds showed higher amount of proteins and moisture, whereas carbohydrates, total sugar, starch and fibre were abundant in the stem. Highest occurrence of Vitamin C was in immature and ripened fruits. Minerals such as calcium, nitrogen, sodium, iron and boron were identified as principal minerals in S. macrosperma. Higher quantity of total phenolics and flavonoids were reported in leaves and root bark respectively, whereas reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography confirmed dominant occurrence of gallic acid in all plant parts. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopic analysis identified 23 phytochemicals which had never been reported in S. macrosperma. The results confirmed the roots as foremost source of mangiferin. Methanolic leaf extract possesses maximum antioxidant properties followed by fruits. Multiple factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis established the possible relationship between studied parameters. Apart from edible berries, non-edible parts of S. macrosperma also possesses good amount of nutrients, phytochemicals and antioxidants which encourages its application as functional food and pharmaceuticals.

Active Sugar Accumulation and Water Status of Watermelon Fruit Grown under Different Nutrient Concentrations in Hydroponic Culture

We investigated sugar (solute) accumulation in watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. et Nakai] fruits at the immature stage. Watermelon plants were grown hydroponically in a nutrient solution with an electric conductivity (EC) of 1.2 S⋅m−1 (EC 1.2 regime); then, fruits were harvested 21 days after anthesis. The flesh of each fruit was divided into seven different parts to measure the sugar concentration and water status. The results indicated that the sugar concentration was higher in the center of the fruit flesh than in the other parts, such as around the pericarp. Moreover, the lowest osmotic potential was observed in the center of the fruit flesh, indicating solute accumulation. Concurrently, when the transport of photosynthates in the fruit was investigated using the 13CO2 isotope, the active solute accumulation in the center of the fruit flesh was observed, supporting the observed sugar accumulation in this part. Consequently, this active solute accumulation and distribution occurred in the center of the watermelon fruit, as demonstrated by the data of osmotic pressure and sugar concentration and supported by the observed active photosynthate accumulation. Additionally, we investigated these measurements by increasing the nutrient solution concentration 14 days after anthesis. As a result, fruit growth was slightly inhibited using the EC 3.0 regime, and 13C translocation was also inhibited in the fruit, especially in its center. Even though the sugar concentration and osmotic pressure of the fruit flesh were not clearly affected by high nutrient solution concentrations, the cell turgor of the central flesh of the fruit grown using the EC 2.0 and 3.0 regimes was lower than that of the fruit grown using the EC 1.2 regime. Treatments with higher nutrient concentrations might have negative effects on immature watermelon fruits.

Antocyanidin-3-<i>O</i>-Glucosyltransferase Genes in Pepper (<i>Capsicum</i> spp.) and Their Role in Anthocyanine Biosynthesis

In pepper (Capsicum spp.), anthocyanins are important not only for the photolabile compounds protection, but also for the regulation of fruit color pattern. Anthocyanidin-3-O-glucosyltransferases (UFGTs) play a key role in the biosynthesis of stable anthocyanins. In this work, the structure and phylogeny of three pepper UFGT homologue genes are characterized. Biochemical analysis of C. annuum cultivars (cv. Syrenevii cube, Othello and Sibiryak) and C. frutescens (cv. Samotsvet), which differ in the pattern of fruit pigmentation during ripening, showed the presence of anthocyanins in leaves and fruit peel of all accessions (except for the cv. Sibiryak fruit). The highest anthocyanins content was found in the purple leaves of the cv. Samotsvet. In the fruit peel of all accessions, the anthocyanins content decreased with ripening. Expression analysis of the same tissues showed that UFGT1 (LOC107843659) and UFGT2 (LOC107843660) transcripts are present in the leaves of all cultivars. In the fruit peel, UFGT1 transcripts were detected at maturation stages 1 (cv. Syrenevii cube and Othello) and 1–3 (cv. Samotsvet), while UFGT2 transcripts were found in all accessions with the maximum in the cv. Sibiryak, where anthocyanins were absent. Transcripts of the MBW complex (anthocyanin2, MYC, and WD40), which regulates the biosynthesis of anthocyanins, were present in the leaves of all cultivars with a maximum in the purple leaves of the cv. Samotsvet. Comparison of biochemical and expression data revealed a positive correlation between the amount of anthocyanins in fruit peel and leaves and UFGT1 expression level. For UFGT2 such correlation was no found. Analysis of UFGT1 sequence, including the promoter region, in 18 pepper cultivars that differ in fruit color pattern, revealed sequence invariance, regardless of the color of the immature fruit. Analysis of the UFGT1 and UFGT2 promoter sequences of the showed differences in the composition of cis-regulatory elements involved in response to stress and hormones, and in MYB and MYC transcription factors binding sites.

Phenology, yield, and phytochemicals of Capsicum spp. in response to shading

Background: Capsicum spp. grow in environments with different incident radiation, that could modify the plant growth and the concentration of phytochemicals in fruits.
 Hypothesis: Shading positively affects phenology and fruit yield, decreases the total contents of phenols (TPC), flavonoids (FLV), proanthocyanidins (PAN) and carotenoids (CAT) in fruits of wild Capsicum species.
 Studied species: Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum: amashito (AMA) and garbanzo (GAR), and C. frutescens (Pico Paloma, PIP)
 Study site and dates: Huimanguillo, Tabasco, Mexico; 2020 and 2021.
 Methods: Seeds were treated with gibberellic acid (GA3) (500 mg L-1) for 24 h prior to seeding. The seedlings were transplanted in an open field and under two levels of shade (35 and 70 %) under a subsplit plot design with four replicates. TPC, FLV, PAN and CAT were determinate in immature and ripe fruits by UV-vis spectrophotometry.
 Results: Shade accelerated the phenological processes from the first bifurcation of the stem, and decreased the fruits ripening time from anthesis of the genotypes studied. Shade only increased the yield of the AMA genotype and reduced the contents of TPC, FLV, and CAT; however, these metabolites increased under open field conditions.
 Conclusions: The shade reduced the duration of phenological stages including the ripening period of fruits, and increased the plant height of the Capsicum spp. The increase in yield by shading effect only was observed in AMA genotype. The content of phytochemicals in Capsicum fruits is reduced by shading levels.

The Protective Effects of Unripe Apple (Malus pumila) Extract on Ultraviolet B-Induced Skin Photoaging Mouse Model

An unripe apple (immature fruit of Malus pumila Mill) contains more polyphenols than mature fruit. To explore the anti-photoaging effects of unripe apple extract (UAE), we investigated the effects of UAE on wrinkle improvement, skin moisturizing, skin inflammation, and antioxidant activities using the ultraviolet B (UVB)-irradiated SKH1-hr hairless mouse model. The mice were irradiated with UVB (0.18 J/cm2) three times per week and orally administrated UAE (100, 200, or 400 mg/kg) once a day for 15 weeks. The administration of UAE significantly prevented UVB-induced wrinkle formation and skin water loss, potentially by increasing the effects of UAE on type I collagen (COL1) and hyaluronic acid through the transcriptional regulation of COL1α (COL1A1 and COL1A2), hyaluronan synthesis (HAS1, HAS2, and HAS3) and the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP1, MMP9, and MMP13) gene. Moreover, UAE significantly reduced UVB-induced skin edema, infiltrated neutrophils, and pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β), while increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. UAE also exerted anti-oxidative stress properties by increasing the glutathione content and inhibiting lipid peroxidation and superoxide anion production. The histopathological analysis demonstrated that UAE-induced anti-inflammation, anti-oxidative stress, and anti-apoptotic properties on the UVB-irradiated skin tissues. Therefore, UAE may be an effective natural resource to mitigate UVB-induced skin photoaging.

Effect of climate and flooding on the phenology of Attalea phalerata (Arecaceae) in a white‐water floodplain forest of the Amazon River

AbstractLittle is known about the effect of the polymodal tide of the Amazon estuary on the phenology of palms. We evaluated the effect of climate/flood and biotic factors on the phenology of 80 Attalea phalerata palms over 1‐year period. Bract emission and young leaves percentage were negatively correlated to accumulated rainfall. Inflorescence and leaf production occurred mainly in the dry season. Immature fruit was positively correlated with rainfall, showing that fruit development occurs during the rainy season. The production of flowers, unripe fruit, and young leaves were positively correlated to flooding. The production of infructescence, per palm, varied from 0 to 4 and 18% of the variance was explained by variables of stem diameter, number of new leaves, altitude, and flood amplitude. The number of infructescence increased for large palms and decreased for individuals subjected to high amplitudes of flooding. These findings reveal that phenological patterns of A. phalerata are driven by seasonal variation in rainfall and flooding. Furthermore, infructescence production can be predicted by plant size and this production is sensitive to variations in flood amplitude. Alteration in rainfall and flooding due to climate change may have a negative impact on fruit production if extreme events increase in frequency.

Valorisation of Wasted Immature Tomato to Innovative Fermented Functional Foods

In this study, the lactic fermentation of immature tomatoes as a tool for food ingredient production was evaluated as a circular economy-oriented alternative for valorising industrial tomatoes that are unsuitable for processing and which have wasted away in large quantities in the field. Two lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were assessed as starter cultures in an immature tomato pulp fermentation to produce functional food ingredients with probiotic potential. The first trial evaluated the probiotic character of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LAB97, isolated from immature tomato microbiota) and Weissella paramesenteroides (C1090, from the INIAV collection) through in vitro gastrointestinal digestion simulation. The results showed that LAB97 and C1090 met the probiotic potential viability criterion by maintaining 6 log10 CFU/mL counts after in vitro simulation. The second trial assessed the LAB starters' fermentative ability. Partially decontaminated (110 °C/2 min) immature tomato pulp was used to prepare the individually inoculated samples (Id: LAB97 and C1090). Non-inoculated samples, both with and without thermal treatment (Id: CTR-TT and CTR-NTT, respectively), were prepared as the controls. Fermentation was undertaken (25 °C, 100 rpm) for 14 days. Throughout storage (0, 24, 48, 72 h, 7, and 14 days), all the samples were tested for LAB and Y&M counts, titratable acidity (TA), solid soluble content (SSC), total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant capacity (AOx), as well as for organic acids and phenolic profiles, and CIELab colour and sensory evaluation (14th day). The LAB growth reached ca. 9 log10 CFU/mL for all samples after 72 h. The LAB97 samples had an earlier and higher acidification rate than the remaining ones, and they were highly correlated to lactic acid increments. The inoculated samples showed a faster and higher decrease rate in their SSC levels when compared to the controls. A nearly two-fold increase (p < 0.05) during the fermentation, over time, was observed in all samples' AOx and TPC (p < 0.05, r = 0.93; similar pattern). The LAB97 samples obtained the best sensory acceptance for flavour and overall appreciation scores when compared to the others. In conclusion, the L. plantarum LAB97 starter culture was selected as a novel probiotic candidate to obtain a potential probiotic ingredient from immature tomato fruits.

First report of Pseudomonas viridiflava causing fruit rot on sweet cherry trees in Chile.

Chile is an important producers of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), with a total of 356,385 t exported in the 2021 to 2022 season. The production area includes most of the country's regions. Bacterial samples were isolated in 2017 and 2018 from 18 commercial sweet cherry orchards with canker disease. From one of this samples collected in the spring of 2018, was isolated the strain A2M176 from buds of trees that presented canker and gomosis in Malloa locality (34°23' 46'' S 71°01' 39'' W). The strain produced fluorescent pigment on King's B agar medium. Is oxidase and arginine dihydrolase negative, potato soft rot positive and showed a slight degree of tobacco hypersensitivity. It was able to growth up to 0.8 mM (200 ppm) of CuSO4·5H2O. The strain A2M176 was deposited in the Colección Chilena de Recursos Genéticos Microbianos (CChRGM) under the no. RGM 3342. The DNA of this strain was extracted from a pure culture using silica spin columns (Epoch Life Science Inc., Sugar Land, USA). The complete DNA was sequenced using HiSeq with 150 bp paired-end at GENEWIZ (New York, USA). Raw data was checked using FASTQC and trimmed with BBDuk. The genome was assembled using Unicycler v0.4.9 with defaulf settings and annotated with Prokaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline (PGAP) v4.3. The reads and genomes were uploaded to GenBank under the BioProyect no. PRJNA750090, BioSample no. SAMN26870984 and assembly no. GCA_022936465.1. The sequenced genome was compared through Average Nucleotide Identity algorithm (ANI) using FastANI v1.33 to compare with closest complete genome available on NCBI. The strain A2M176 was identified as P. viridiflava with ANI value of 98.06% with the strain p22.E7 (GCF_900585495). Maximum likelihood phylogenetic estimation clustered strain A2M176 with other P. viridiflava strains with 95% bootstrap. The pathogenicity of the strain was tested inoculating immature cherry fruits with a needle with a bacterial suspension (1x108 CFU/ml). The inoculated fruits were placed at room temperature in a humid chamber for 10 d. Soft rot lesions were observed, which appeared at 6 days post-inoculation (DPI). The control fruits treated with sterile water did not show symptoms. Further analyses in the genome of strain A2M176 led to identify genes related to pathogenicity, such as the effector gene avrE and the regulator gen HrpL, suggesting the pathogenic capacity of the strain. Also, there were identify genes of two known Pseudomonas copper resistance mechanisms, the cus and cop operon. These genes were found part of the copABCDns cluster similar to what was observed in Pseudomonas from Mango. Presence of P. viridiflava strains causing fruit rot in P. avium is not surprising, since P. viridiflava has a wide host range and causes a variety of symptoms in different plant parts, including stems, leaves, and blossoms. P. viridiflava represents one of the multiple phylogroups found within the P. syringae species complex. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a strain of P. viridiflava copper resistant causing infection on sweet cherries in Chile.

First Report of Fire Blight Caused by Erwinia amylovora on Korean Mountain Ash (Sorbus alnifolia) in Korea

During the nationwide survey of fire blight, the typical shoot blight symptoms were found on Korean mountain ash (Sorbus alnifolia) which was located near an orchard that produced fire blight on pear trees in Eumseong, Korea, May 2021. To identify the causal agent, we progressed isolation from the symptomatic leaves and shoots. Two white and mucoid colonies were isolated into the pure culture. Two isolates were identified as Erwinia amylovora according to the colony–polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with amsB primers and the phylogenetic tree using 16S rRNA sequences. To test of pathogenicity of two isolates, we inoculated immature pear fruits and understock of apple. We observed necrosis and oozes on immature pear fruits and shoot blight resulting in necrosis on apple shoots six days after inoculation. Colonies were recovered from the inoculated pears and apples, and identity was confirmed through colony PCR for amsB genes. To our knowledge, E. amylovora was first reported on Korean mountain ash native to South Korea.