Acetic acid enhances stress tolerance, growth, and yield of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) under arid conditions

Red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) is an important insect-pollinated forage crop. Low and variable seed production is a problem in many red clover cultivars, especially tetraploid ones, limiting their marketing potential. The roles of short- and long-tongued bees for red clover seed production, specifically in tetraploid cultivars, are not fully known. Here, we investigate the impact of short- and long-tongued bees, cultivar differences and plant traits for seed production, in one diploid and three tetraploid red clover cultivars managed for seed eating weevils ( Protapion sp.) over two years. Since we expected the abundance of short- and long-tongued bees to vary across a latitudinal distribution, we included six sites distributed in southern and northern Sweden. We found no clear southern vs. northern pattern for the abundance of short- and long-tongued bees, while seed eating weevils were more abundant in the south. Seed yield (weight per area) was positively related to long-tongued bees, whereas seed set (proportion developed seeds per flower head) was positively related to both short- and long-tongued bees. Cultivars differed in seed production across sites. Moreover, some investigated plant traits - flowering flower head density and florets per flower head - were positively related to seed production. Total flower head density and number of florets per flower head varied among cultivars, sites and years. In conclusion, our results support the significance of both short-, and especially long-tongued bees for red clover seed production, and also suggest the importance of studying underlying genetic and non-genetic influence on cultivar differences. • Red clover seed production and pollinators were studied in south and north Sweden. • Abundance of short- and long-tongued bees varied by year rather than latitude. • Long-tongued bees were important for seed yield and all bees affected seed set. • Poor seed production in tetraploid cultivars was not linked to pollinator rejection. • Study site affected seed production in tetraploid cultivars and two flower traits.

Impostors in South America: a new Batesian floral mimicry system involving orchids and Bignoniaceae models.

The crop improvement program's success depends largely on the availability, nature and effective utilization of genetic variability in plant species. Variability is a fundamental need for almost every crop improvement program. The total variability observed in the germplasm can be classified into heritable and non-heritable components based on genetic parameters such as phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV), genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), heritability and genetic advance. This investigation assessed genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance among 36 brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) genotypes for important quantitative traits, aiming to select parameters precisely for varietal improvement. The experiment was conducted in the Kharif 2022 season at the instructional farm of SKN College of Agriculture, SKNAU, Jobner, using a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications and 60 X 60 cm spacing. Variance analysis showed a highly significant genotypic difference for all evaluated characters, indicating substantial variability. Phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) exceeded genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) across traits, suggesting environmental influence on the trait expression. Findings elevated PCV and GCV were noted for the root-knot index (42.49% PCV; 42.11% GCV), fruit volume (42.12% PCV; 41.82% GCV) and fruit yield per plant (39.06% PCV; 35.30% GCV). Broad-sense heritability was high for all traits, ranging from 63.12% (moisture content) to 99.47% (number of flowers per cluster). High heritability, coupled with high genetic advance as a percentage of the mean, was observed for root-knot index (85.96%), fruit volume (85.54%), and fruit yield per plant (65.73%), indicating the predominance of additive gene action. The findings reveal substantial genetic potential among brinjal genotypes. Traits exhibiting high heritability and genetic advance can be effectively improved through direct selection, making them reliable targets for breeding programs aimed at developing high-yielding and superior genotypes. The identification of traits that are mainly influenced by additive gene action is also valuable for selection programs for high-performing and stress-resistant brinjal genotypes.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an economically important vegetable crop, and improving its yield potential through the evaluation of diverse genotypes remains a key objective in breeding programmes. The identification of superior genotypes based on growth and yield attributes is essential for enhancing productivity under varying agro-climatic conditions. The study was conducted to evaluate the tomato genotypes for growth and yield attributing traits during summer 2024. The present investigation was conducted at PG Students Research Farm, College of Horticulture, Sri Konda Laxman Telangana Horticultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India. The experimental material consisted of twenty-four tomato genotypes and followed randomized block design with two replications. Growth and yield attributing parameters were recorded such as plant spread, stem girth, leaf area, days to first flowering, number of flowers per cluster, days to last fruit harvest, number of fruits per cluster and number of fruit clusters per plant. Among the genotypes, maximum leaf area was recorded in the genotype EC 620516 (113.18 cm2). Minimum days for first flowering were recorded in EC 620385 (25.50). Among the genotypes, maximum number of fruits per cluster were observed in EC 631373 (4.80). Maximum number of fruit clusters per plant were recorded in EC 620516 (8.60). The superior performed tomato genotypes for different growth and yield attributing traits can be used in further crop improvement programme.

BackgroundSilique number is an important component of yield in oilseed rape, which is largely determined by the number of flowers. Although many QTL for silique number have been identified in oilseed rape, none of these has been fine-mapped and further cloned, largely limiting their application in genetic improvement. In our previous study, a few-silique mutant (No.7931) caused by determinate inflorescence has been mapped to three close regions on C02 chromosome by bulked segregant analysis by sequencing (BSA-seq) of two pools of F2 individuals derived from this mutant and more-silique accession No.73290.ResultsIn the current study, the hybrid F1 between No.7931 and an indeterminate inflorescence accession No.73290 showed nearly determinate inflorescence. This supported that the determinate inflorescence of No.7931 was nearly dominant to the indeterminate inflorescence of No.73290, suggesting the dosage effect of the causal gene. In the BC3F2 near-isogenic lines with No.73290 background, the numbers of plants with determinate and indeterminate inflorescence displayed a segregating ratio of 3:1, suggesting that it should be controlled by a single dominant locus (named as SNPI.C2 thereafter). The first BSA region close to the end of C02 chromosome was validated and fine-mapped to 172 Kb region containing only 23 annotated genes. The RNA-seq of shoot apical meristem (SAM) at the initial stage of floral bud differentiation identified a total of 3196 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between No.73290 and NIL-SNPI.C2, which were significantly enriched into 22 pathways (e.g., fermentation, glycolysis, polyamine metabolism and nitrogen-metabolism) that are highly associated with floral bud differentiation and flower number regulation. The results of fine-mapping, re-sequencing and transcriptome analysis were integrated, which identified two candidate genes that are involved in regulating meristem identity and have sequence and/or expression variation.ConclusionsThese results provide further insights and candidate genes for silique number in oilseed rape, which represent a significant advancement toward the cloning of causal genes and understanding of genetic mechanism for silique number in oilseed rape.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-026-08126-4.

The sustainable enhancement of basil growth and essential oil quality using organic amendments such as vermicompost and humic acid is of growing importance for improving crop productivity, oil bioactivity, and environmental sustainability in medicinal and aromatic plant production. This study investigates the effects of vermicompost and humic acid on the growth, biomass, and essential oil production of basil plants. Different treatments, including solid vermicompost, vermicompost tea added as foliar spray or soil drench, and various concentrations of humic acid (4, 8, and 12 g/L), were applied to evaluate their impact on growth traits, chlorophyll content, and essential oil composition. The results showed that the combination of solid vermicompost and 8 to 12 g/L humic acid was most effective for enhancing plant biomass, leaf development, and harvest index. The vermicompost tea soil drench with 12 g/L humic acid produced the highest flowering number (2.33 inflorescences/plant) and essential oil yield (64.96 L/ha). This treatment also improved total chlorophyll content by 31% to 33% compared with the untreated control, thus contributing to enhanced biomass and oil production. Moreover, it increased the phenolic and flavonoid content in basil oil by approximately 35% and 63%, respectively, highlighting the potential of organic amendments for improving the quality and bioactivity of essential oils. A gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis revealed significant changes in the essential oil profile, with increased levels of phenylpropanoids (estragole) and terpenoids (caryophyllene, humulene) in the most effective treatments. These findings demonstrate that vermicompost and humic acid treatments can substantially enhance both the growth and commercial value of basil by improving both biomass yield and essential oil quality. Future studies should focus on the long-term effects of these treatments and their interactions with environmental factors.

A field experiment was carried out at College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences - University of Baghdad, during the fall seasons of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The aim of study the effect of foliar spraying with moringa extract and yeast, and the addition of humic acid was determi need, on the flower yield, carotenoids content, and total phenolics. A factorial experiment within a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. Was implemeuted The study included three factors: foliar spraying with moringa leaf extract at concentrations of 0%,4%, 6% and 8% (M0-M1-M3-M2), yeast suspension at concentrations of 0 g L-1 , 5 g L-1 and 10 g L-1 (Y0-Y1-Y2), and adding humic acid at concentrations of 0 ml L-1 and 5 ml L-1 (H0-H1). Additionally, a control treatment (M0Y0H0) was included. The results showed a significant superiority of the interaction treatment M3Y2H1 in flower number, flower diameter, fresh flower yield, dry flower yield, carotenoid content, and total phenolics. Specifically, it recorded 37.43 flower plant-1, 7.960 cm, 571.3 kg ha-1, 78.81 kg ha-1, 168.6 mg 100 g-1, and 156.7 mg 100 g-1 for the first season and 35.15 flower plant-1, 7.950 cm, 523.2 kg ha-1, 72.33 kg ha-1, 164.5 mg 100 g-1, and 155.1 mg 100 g-1 for the second season, respectively, compared to the control treatment.

The existing fruit tree yield prediction methods mainly rely on fruit period images or long-term meteorological and soil data, which make it difficult to meet the needs of early yield prediction. In addition, the flowering period images contain complex spatial distribution and severe overlap between flowers, which makes it challenging to directly extract stable structural indicators related to yield. Most existing research has focused on simple statistical indicators such as the number of flowers, while the spatial clustering structure of flowers and their relationship with yield have not been fully explored. Therefore, this article proposes an early apple yield prediction based on flowering stage image thinning simulation characteristics. In this study, blossom images and fruit maturity yield data from 100 apple trees were collected, with flower mask images extracted through standardized image processing. First, the traditional DBSCAN clustering algorithm was enhanced by integrating a KDTree acceleration structure and an adaptive multi-scale mechanism, forming the adaptive multi-scale clustering algorithm (AMS-DBSCAN) to achieve efficient identification of flower clusters and individual flowers. Based on this, two flower thinning simulation strategies based on density and spatial uniformity were designed to model artificial thinning rules and construct multi-dimensional, interpretable phenotypic features. Then, the original statistical features were fused with strategy-generated features and optimized using Lasso. We compared multiple models including XGBoost, BPNN, and SVR for yield prediction. The experimental results showed that XGBoost achieved good predictive performance under the hybrid feature set (R2 = 0.856, RMSE = 3.098), which was further improved to R2 = 0.900 after feature optimization with Lasso. The results demonstrate that the proposed method enables reliable early yield estimation, providing a new reference for precision management and early decision-making in fruit tree cultivation.

The interaction between nutrients and growth regulators may provide an effective means for enhancing the productivity of crops. The effects of nano NPK fertilizer (0, 0.5, 0.75, and 1g pot-1) in combination with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP, 0, 50, and 75 ppm) on Viola tricolor L. growth and flowering were evaluated in a 4 × 3 factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications, conducted in a shaded hot-house in Mosul, Iraq, during spring 2022. Results showed that applying NPK alone had a greater effect than that of applying BAP alone; however, the use of both NPK and BAP together resulted in a considerably stronger synergy when both products were added to the nutrient solution. The treatment with NPK1BAP75 had the most pronounced effects on plant height (68% increase), leaf number (94% increase), and branch number (16% increase) relative to control. Biomass accumulation was also maximum for this treatment with fresh and dry weight returns of 168g and 56g, respectively. Additionally, the photosynthesis rate and chlorophyll concentration increased by 72% and 107%, respectively, compared to the control. Combined application of nano NPK and BAP resulted in increased flowering response, as indicated by earlier bud opening and higher number of flowers compared to the control. Moreover to enhanced flowering capabilities, the accumulation of nutrients by plants increased dramatically, as evidenced by the increased potassium content in treated plants increasing over twelve times that of control group plants. Therefore, the combination of nano NPK 1g pot-1 combined with 75 ppm BAP was the most effective treatment, as it shows that an integrated approach to enhance plant growth and flowering is feasible for developing a sustainable and efficient agricultural production system.

Abstract. Escomen EO, Jambaro GS. 2026. Impact of vernalization on flowering, fruiting, and yield of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) cultivars under tropical highland conditions. Asian J Agric 10 (1): g100116. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjagric/g100116. Vernalization is a key physiological process influencing flowering, fruiting, and yield in strawberry, yet its effectiveness varies among cultivars, particularly under tropical highland conditions where natural chilling is limited. This study examines the performances of vernalization in terms of phenology, productivity, and fruit characteristics of five strawberry cultivars, namely Albion, Snow White, Summer Princess, Sweet Charlie, and Sweet Honeoye. The experiment was conducted in the tropical highland environment in Marawi City, Philippines, to improve strawberry production in tropical and subtropical areas. A 2x5 split-plot in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with vernalization (3°C for 10 h before planting) as the main plot and cultivar as the subplot. Vernalization significantly accelerated flowering, increased flower and fruit numbers, and enhanced total yield across cultivars (p<0.05). Vernalized plants produced a higher mean yield (10.83 t ha-¹) compared with non-vernalized plants (7.38 t ha-¹), primarily due to increased reproductive output. Sweet Honeoye and Sweet Charlie produced 13.68 t ha-1 and 13.47 t ha-1, respectively. The number of flower formations was greater, as Sweet Honeoye generated up to a mean of 40.25 flowers per plant. The fruit yield was also increased, especially in Sweet Honeoye and Sweet Charlie. The number of runners was reduced due to vernalization, which was most significant with Albion. Snow White experienced an increase in the Total Soluble Solids (TSS) to 15.35°Brix. Each cultivar has a different response to vernalization. Significant interaction effects between vernalization and cultivar were observed for key phenological and yield traits, underscoring genotype-specific responses. These findings demonstrate that short-duration vernalization can substantially improve strawberry productivity in tropical highlands when matched with responsive cultivars, offering a practical strategy for enhancing yield stability under warm-climate conditions.

The basic sex form in bitter gourd is monoecious, characterized by a high male: female flower sex ratio of approximately 15:1. However, gynoecious and predominantly gynoecious lines have recently been developed, though they have not yet been commercially exploited to enhance earliness and yield potential. For the development of high yielding hybrids, it is crucial to identify promising parental lines for the genetic improvement of bitter gourd. In the present study, gynoecious, predominantly gynoecious and monoecious lines were used to develop and evaluate 64 hybrids with the objective to exploit the underlying genetic mechanism for earliness and high yield potential in bitter gourd. Sixteen promising lines and four testers were crossed in a line × tester mating design to develop 64 F1 hybrids. These lines, testers and hybrids were evaluated for nine quantitative traits such as node number of first female flower, days to first female flower opening, days to first fruit harvest, average fruit weight (gm), fruit length (cm), fruit diameter (cm), number of fruits per plant, vine length (cm) and yield /plant (gm). The present results represent environment specific estimates with the mean values of F1 hybrids surpassed that of the parental lines and testers for all the traits except earliness where significant heterosis was observed in the desired negative direction. Gynoecious line, PVGy-201 was identified as most promising genotype for earliness and exhibited the highest yield per plant (1784.35 g), whereas DBG-34 produced maximum number of fruits per plant (46.18). Gynoecious line, PVGy-201 was good general combiner for earliness, whereas predominantly gynoecious line DBGS-21-06 for yield traits, and DBG-34 for number of fruits per plant. Hybrids like DBGS-21-06 × S-43 was identified as the most promising heterotic combination, exhibited significant heterosis for yield per plant (52.52%). The hybrid IC398610 × S-43 recorded the highest heterosis for average fruit weight (41.38%). Desirable negative heterosis for earliness traits was observed in PVGy-201 × G-16-2 for node number of first female flower (-55.53%) and days to first fruit harvest (-22.91), and in PVGy-201 × S-43 for days to first female flower opening (-16.87%). Furthermore, DBGS-21-06 × DBGS-2 exhibited maximum heterosis for fruit length (44.23%), DBGS-21-06 × G-16-2 for fruit diameter (31.25%), and DBGS-100-0 × G-23 for number of fruits per plants (42.90%) over the standard check cultivar Pusa Hybrid-6. The present findings are intended to identify potentially promising hybrids under the tested environment for further testing, not confirm the superiority. The study has shown that gynoecious and predominantly gynoecious lines as a female parent in hybrid development of bitter gourd is highly useful for early harvest and high yield. The results represent preliminary genetic estimates derived from a single environment and provide a basis for selecting promising hybrid combinations for validation through multi-season and multi-location trials and can be exploited in segregating generations to identify inbred lines having earliness and high yield potential.

Limonium Mill. species present a polymorphic sexual system associated with flower polymorphisms like ancillary pollen and stigma, with sexual and/or apomictic reproduction. The aim of this study was to investigate the reproductive traits, test for autonomous apomixis, and assess seed formation in triploid Limonium algarvense and Limonium daveaui. Pollen-stigma combinations were determined and the number of flowers and seeds counted. Single-seed flow cytometry was performed using seeds in three phenological stages: immature (stage I), early maturing (stage II) and mature seeds (stage III). The findings revealed that all triploid plants were self-sterile and produced seeds in the absence of pollination. Despite L. daveaui having a higher number of flowers than L. algarvense, a significantly higher ratio of seeds/flowers was observed in the latter species. Stage-dependent endosperm developmental patterns were observed, with nucleated cells present in stage II seeds with a light brown or pinkish coat, and an embryo peak and an endosperm peak with the double ploidy level. Stage III seeds, with a dark brown coat, presented only an embryo peak. Additionally, a single hexaploid endosperm peak was detected in stage I seeds, revealing early initiation of the endosperm with nucleated cells prior to embryo development. The single 6C endosperm peak was always associated with shrunken and wrinkled or underdeveloped stage I seeds but was never detected in stage II seeds. Overall, our results support reproduction via asexually formed seeds with pollen-independent endosperm formation and allow the identification of phenological development stages and seed coat morphological markers associated with single-seed flow cytometric screening patterns in apomictic species.

The study on the diversity and correlation analysis of national bell pepper accessions is of paramount importance because it documented and conserved valuable local genetic resources while providing essential information for breeding and varietal improvement. By assessing agro-morphological variability and identifying relationships among key traits, the study helped breeders select superior parent lines and guided farmers in choosing well-adapted accessions for different production contexts. This knowledge supports higher productivity, resilience to climate stress, and improves fruit quality, ultimately contributing to food security, income generation, and better management of national germplasm resources. The purpose was to assess the genetic diversity and identify key trait correlations among national bell pepper accessions in Niger to inform effective selection, conservation, and breeding programmes. Hence, national local germplasm was collected and evaluated in an alpha lattice design with three replicates. Data were collected and analysed through correlation, diversity, cluster, and principal component (PCA) analyses. The results uncovered substantial genetic diversity among national bell pepper accessions, highlighting the existence of distinct genetic clusters. Significant relationships were revealed between traits, such as a positive correlation between fruit pericarp thickness and corolla length, fruit pericarp thickness and fruit length, plant circumference and fruit pericarp thickness, total flowers and aborted flowers, plant height and the number of aborted flowers, plant height and the total number of flowers, the height of the first bifurcation and plant height, the height of the first bifurcation and total flowers, and the height of the first bifurcation and aborted flowers. The identified genetic diversity and trait correlations offered crucial information for bell pepper conservation and improvement. The results of this study can be used by breeders and farmers for the selection and cultivation of high-yielding and resilient bell pepper varieties

Castor is a non-edible, economically important oilseed crop with many industrial uses (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biofuels, lubricants). It is a monoecious plant with male and female flowers in variable proportions. Female flowers in more number directly affects fruit/seed set. Sex determination in castor is highly influenced by environmental factors, viz, high temperature, age of the plant, nutrition and growth regulators. A field experiment was conducted during Kharif, 2024, at the Students farm at Loyola Academy Degree and P.G. College, Alwal, Secunderabad, to know the effect of NAA and Ethephon on sex expression of Pistillate or Staminate flowers in 3 monoecious lines of castor. viz., (DCS 107, DCH 177, GCH 4). Growth regulators NAA and Ethephon were foliar sprayed at 100 ppm, 150 ppm and 200 ppm concentrations successively at 30, 45 and 60 DAS. Data were recorded on floral characters and yield attributes. The results indicated that application of NAA and Ethephon at all concentrations significantly increased the expression of pistillate flowers by suppression of male flowers in monoecious lines compared to control. NAA applied @ 150 ppm significantly increased number of pistilate flowers, and reduced number of staminate (male) flowers, increased spike length and enhanced number of capsules/spikes,100-seed weight (g), and seed yield. Similar results were also observed with the application of Ethephon @ 200 ppm for all the floral characters and yield attributes. The study revealed that the NAA @150 ppm or Ethephon @ 200 ppm has a great potential as growth regulators in promoting female flowers in hybrid seed production of castor for increasing the overall yield attributing parameters, which can be successfully used in crop improvement work for enhancing genetic purity.

A pot experiment was carried out to evaluate the growth and yield of tomato under different levels and application methods of Zinc as Zinc sulfate at Horticulture Farm, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during the period from October 2017 to April 2018. The experiment comprising of two factors: Factor A: Z0: without Zinc; Z1=10 ppm ZnSO4; Z2=15 ppm ZnSO4; Z3=20 ppm ZnSO4; Z4=25 ppm ZnSO4 and Factor B: M1= Basal application; M2= Foliar application and M3= Combined basal and foliar application of Zinc. The two factors experiment was laid out in Complete Randomized Design with four replications. In case of Zn levels, the result revealed significant variation in most characteristics. Maximum plant height (96.13 cm), leaf number (34.51), leaf area (172.4 cm2), total number of flower (88.58), total fruit number (42.17), fruit set (47.61%), number of cluster/plant (10.67) and yield (2.38 kg) were at Z3. In case of application effect, (M3) provided the maximum yield (1.95 kg) per plant. The maximum yield (2.6 kg) per plant of tomato was obtained from the treatment combination of 15 ppm basal and foliar application of Zn.

Background/Objective. The production and quality of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) crops are severely reduced by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum, the causal agent of fusarium wilt. Chemical fungicides are conventionally applied, although in cases of severe infection, the entire harvest is lost. Favorable environmental conditions increase the incidence, infection rate, and spread of this pathogen. Biological control is a useful strategy for combating this type of pathogen. The objective of this research was to determine the incidence of fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum) in field-grown tomato plants treated with Trichoderma asperellum Jc01 and Bacillus subtilis ANT01. Experimental development. Trichoderma asperellum Jc01 and Bacillus subtilis ANT01 either alone or in combination, were weekly applied to the drip zone of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum). Disease incidence was periodically sampled in both treated and untreated plants to monitor its progression over 15 weeks. Additionally, the number of flowers and fruits produced on the experimental plants was recorded. Results. At the end of the field trial, plants treated with B. subtilis ANT01 showed 60% less incidence compared to the control and a total of 47.9 fruits produced per plant, while plants treated with Trichoderma asperellum Jc01 or the combination of both microorganisms showed 16 and 28% less incidence than the control, and 18.0 and 27.3 fruits produced per plant, respectively. Conclusion. The results show at least partial evidence of the potential of the ANT01 strain as a biocontrol agent of F. oxysporum in tomato plants.

The extensive diversification of flower shape and organs underpins the adaptive success of angiosperms. Despite substantial knowledge of the molecular mechanisms controlling flower induction and development, few studies have quantified the variability in floral traits within species or explored their correlation with other reproductive traits. In cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), human selection has driven fruit diversification in terms of size and shape. In the present study, 48 landraces representing tomato diversity in reproduction-related characteristics were phenotyped for 18 flower structural or dimensional traits. Flower traits exhibited lower coefficients of variation compared to other reproductive traits, though organ numbers showed high heritability values. Flower organ number and size were tightly correlated, but the correlation between dimensional traits was weaker. This likely reflects the selective pressures on pistil traits during domestication, including specific mutations affecting carpel number and ovary morphology. While ovary and fruit size were positively correlated, no relationship was found between ovule and seed size, suggesting that genes related to seed size generally act after fruit set. The collection was genotyped at the Fasciated (Fas) locus, and 13 floral traits were significantly different in fas mutants. The phenotypic variability described in this study could help breeders select for more fertile flowers and assist reproductive biologists in linking genes to flower development.

Drought alters plant physiological systems, which has an additional influence on soybean yield. Salicylic acid is a biostimulant that can help plants cope with stress. The study's goal was to examine how salicylic acid foliar spray affected the physiological response and productivity of soybean plants in drought conditions. The study employed soybeans from the Grobogan variety, carried out from August to October 2022 at the Greenhouse and Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Breeding, Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Science, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang City. The study employed a 3×3 Factorial Complete Randomized Design with three repetitions, yielding 27 experimental units. The first factor was drought stress, which had three levels (80%, 60%, and 40% field capacity). The second factor was the concentration of salicylic acid, which has three levels (0, 0.5, and 1 mM). The parameters measured included leaf chlorophyll, relative water content, stomatal density, number of flowers, fresh pod weight, dry pod weight, and number of seeds. The observation data was statistically analyzed using 5% ANOVA, followed by the Duncan multiple distance test (DMRT). A 40% field capacity drought stress treatment reduced chlorophyll levels a, b, as well as the total number of flowers, fresh pod weight, and dried pod weight. The application of salicylic acid at a dosage of 1 mM increased the fresh weight of the pods. Keywords: drought, physiological response, salicylic acid, soybean

Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a strategy for genetic dissection of quantitative traits with high mapping resolution. Haplotypes based on multiple SNPs provide an effective alternative for exploring loci associated with complex quantitative traits. In this study, haplotype-based GWAS (Hap-GWAS) was conducted for seven fruit-related traits in the 287 tomato accessions, consisting of 237 S. lycopersicum, 30 S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme, and 20 S. pimpinellifolium. Phenotypic variations of the fruit-related traits (weight, shape, locule number, pericarp thickness, number of flowers, number of fruits, and Brix) were assessed in three-years of field trials. Over 28.7million SNPs were identified from whole genome-resequencing and a core set of 137,706 SNPs was used to construct 3,884 haplotype blocks across 12 chromosomes. The 11,970 haplotypes in these blocks found high levels of genetic diversity and differentiation with and between species in the GWAS panel. A total of 32 haplotypes, corresponding to 30 QTL, showed significant associations with fruit-related traits at a false discovery rate (FDR) adjusted P < 0.05 in at least two of the four phenotypic datasets (each of three years and combined), explaining up to 51.67% of the total phenotypic variance. Of these, 22 haplotypes were associated with 1-11 putative novel QTL across the seven traits and three haplotypes exhibited significant associations with multiple traits, suggesting pleiotropic effects of QTL. Furthermore, Hap-GWAS identified additional QTL that were not detected by SNP-based analysis, indicating the complementary power of this approach to capture multi-allelic and LD-based genetic effects underlying complex traits. These results support the effectiveness of Hap-GWAS in dissecting quantitative traits and facilitate development of an advanced breeding strategy for improving fruit-related traits in tomato.