Pepper Fruit Elongation Is Controlled by Capsicum annuum Ovate Family Protein 20

Fruit shape is one of the most important quality traits of pepper (Capsicum spp.) and is used as a major attribute for the classification of fruit types. Wide natural variation in fruit shape exists among the major cultivated species Capsicum annuum, allowing the identification of several QTLs controlling the trait. However, to date, no genes underlying fruit shape QTLs have been conclusively identified, nor has their function been verified in pepper. We constructed a mapping population from a cross of round- and elongated-fruited C. annuum parents and identified a single major QTL on chromosome 10, termed fs10, explaining 68 and 70% of the phenotypic variation for fruit shape index and for distal fruit end angle, respectively. The QTL was mapped in several generations and was localized to a 5 Mbp region containing the ortholog of SlOFP20 that suppresses fruit elongation in tomato. Virus-induced gene silencing of the pepper ortholog CaOFP20 resulted in increased fruit elongation on two independent backgrounds. Furthermore, CaOFP20 exhibited differential expression in fs10 near-isogenic lines, as well as in an association panel of elongated- and round-fruited accessions. A 42-bp deletion in the upstream region of CaOFP20 was most strongly associated with fruit shape variation within the locus. Histological observations in ovaries and fruit pericarps indicated that fs10 exerts its effect on fruit elongation by controlling cell expansion and replication. Our results indicate that CaOFP20 functions as a suppressor of fruit elongation in C. annuum and is the most likely candidate gene underlying fs10.

Influence of basic treatment of irrigated land on Fertility indicators and harvest formation of sweet pepper

The purpose of the research was to establish the most rational soil cultivation system for irrigated conditions, contributing to the preservation of ecological balance and increasing the profitability of pepper production. Experimental studies were carried out on meadow-chestnut soils of the plain zone of the Republic of Dagestan in 2017-2019. in a two-factor experiment to determine the most effective combination of soil cultivation and irrigation regime. The paper presents the results of the influence of plowing and disc cultivation on the water-physical properties of the soil and its biological activity, as well as on the yield of sweet pepper under drip irrigation. The results of three-year research have established that, under irrigation conditions, the most effective method of basic soil cultivation is moldboard soil cultivation to a depth of 0.23 ... 0.25 m, which contributed to the improvement of soil density, its permeability, structural state and increased biological activity in the treated layer. On plowing, the yield of sweet pepper fruits was obtained at the level of 6.23 t/ha. The use of disc processing by 0.10 ... 0.12 m leads to a deterioration of agrophysical indicators of fertility, phytosanitary state of irrigated fields by 1.7 ... 2.2 times, a decrease in yield by 5.1 ... 9.6% and profitability of pepper fruit production by 25.3 ... 31.0%.

Efektivitas Antifungi Ekstrak Curcuma aeruginosa terhadap Patogenisitas Colletotrichum capsici pada Tanaman Cabai Merah (Antifungi Effectivity of Curcuma aeruginosa Extract to Colletotrichum capsici Pathogenicity on Red Chilli Pepper)

<p>Antraknosa yang disebabkan oleh Colletotrichum capsici masih menjadi penyakit utama yang menyerang buah cabai merah. Selama ini, penggunaan Curcuma aeruginosa sebagai antimikrobe patogen penyebab penyakit pada manusia lebih populer daripada sebagai antimikrobe fitopatogen. Rimpang Curcuma diketahui mengandung senyawa volatil/atsiri dan nonvolatil. Potensi senyawa volatil/atsiri Curcuma sebagai antimikrobe telah banyak dilaporkan, namun masih sangat terbatas untuk senyawa nonvolatilnya. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui efektivitas antifungi senyawa nonvolatil dari ekstrak C. aeruginosa terhadap C. capsici pada buah cabai merah. Penelitian dilaksanakan pada bulan November 2014 hingga Mei 2015 di Universitas Brawijaya. Senyawa nonvolatil didapatkan dengan merendam rimpang C. aeruginosa menggunakan pelarut metanol kemudian didistilasi menggunakan rotary vacuum evaporator dan diidentifikasi menggunakan HPLC. Efektivitas antifungi senyawa nonvolatil dari ekstrak rimpang C. aeruginosa diuji secara in vitro dan in vivo di laboratorium menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap dengan tiga kali ulangan. Perlakuan yang diujikan yaitu konsentrasi senyawa nonvolatil terdiri atas 0 (kontrol), 4, 6, 8, 10, dan 12 ppm. Senyawa nonvolatil dari ekstrak rimpang C. aeruginosa sangat efektif menghambat pertumbuhan C. capsici baik secara in vivo maupun in vitro di laboratorium bahkan konsentrasi 12 ppm menunjukkan persentase penghambatan antraknosa hingga 100%. Hasil identifikasi HPLC menunjukkan bahwa senyawa nonvolatil dari ekstrak rimpang C. aeruginosa mengandung kelompok Curcuminoid yang terdiri atas curcumin dan demethoxycurcumin yang berperan sebagai antifungi sehingga sangat berpotensi dikembangkan sebagai fungisida nabati.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong></p><p>Antraknosa; Cabai merah; C. aeruginosa; Senyawa nonvolatil</p><p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum capsici is still as major disease against chilli pepper fruit. During this time, utilization of C. aeruginosa as pathogen antimicrobial caused disease to human is more popular than to crops. Curcuma has been known containing volatile and nonvolatile compound. Potential of volatil compound from Curcuma as antipathogen has been reported widely, nevertheless it is still limited known for nonvolatile compound. This research aimed to understand the antifungi effectivity of nonvolatile compound from C. aeruginosa extract to C. capsici on chilli pepper fruit. Research was conducted in November 2014 to Mei 2015. Nonvolatile compound was obtained by soaking C. aeruginosa rhizome into methanol solvent then distilated using rotary vacuum evaporator and identified with HPLC instrument. Antifungi effectivity of nonvolatile compound from C. aeruginosa extract was experimented by in vitro and in vivo test using Completely Randomized Design with three replications. Treatments tested were various concentrations of nonvolatile compound namely 0 (control), 4, 6, 8,10, and 12 ppm. Nonvolatile compound from C. aeruginosa extract was highly effective to inhibit growth of C. capsici by both in vitro and in vivo test. HPLC identification result showed nonvolatile compound from C. aeruginosa extract contains Curcuminoid group play role as antifungi.</p>

ATTITUDES OF SERBIAN CONSUMERS TOWARDS DIFFERENT PEPPER FRUITS

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the major vegetable species in the world. In Balkan cuisines, as well as in Serbia, pepper has a very diverse use. Knowledge about consumers habits and preferences is of great importance for a breeding process as well as in the market-orientated production. Because of the lack of information about consumers preferences towards pepper types, in the Serbian market, the present research was conducted. Four hundred and two participants, classified into groups, according to gender, age and education, answered the survey questions. According to this research, the most preferred pepper type in Serbia is kapia, while the bell pepper is the second chosen type. Also, obtained results showed that the most favourite colour of pepper fruit is red. There is a tendency in higher importance of fruit type than fruit colour. The highest percentage of hot pepper consumers prefer medium hot peppers. The obtained trend shows that women generally prefer less spicy pepper fruits than men.

The Small GTPase CsRAC1 Is Important for Fungal Development and Pepper Anthracnose in Colletotrichum scovillei

The pepper anthracnose fungus, Colletotrichum scovillei, causes severe losses of pepper fruit production in the tropical and temperate zones. RAC1 is a highly conserved small GTP-binding protein in the Rho GTPase family. This protein has been demonstrated to play a role in fungal development, and pathogenicity in several plant pathogenic fungi. However, the functional roles of RAC1 are not characterized in C. scovillei causing anthracnose on pepper fruits. Here, we generated a deletion mutant (ΔCsrac1) via homologous recombination to investigate the functional roles of CsRAC1. The ΔCsrac1 showed pleiotropic defects in fungal growth and developments, including vegetative growth, conidiogenesis, conidial germination and appressorium formation, compared to wild-type. Although ΔCsrac1 was able to develop appressoria, it failed to differentiate appressorium pegs. However, ΔCsrac1 still caused anthracnose disease with significantly reduced rate on wounded pepper fruits. Further analyses revealed that ΔCsrac1 was defective in tolerance to oxidative stress and suppression of host-defense genes. Taken together, our results suggest that CsRAC1 plays essential roles in fungal development and pathogenicity in C. scovillei-pepper fruit pathosystem.

Do AMF and Irrigation Regimes Affect Sweet Pepper Fruit Quality under Open Field Conditions?

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a mycorrhizal inoculation (AMF) and irrigation regime on certain yield morphological parameters and the biological value of fruits of open field-grown sweet pepper under temperate climate conditions. A study on the Polish hybrid cultivar ‘Roberta F1’ was conducted over the period 2016–2018 in a private certified organic farm. Sweet pepper was harvested at physiological maturity from the second 10 days of August to the first 10 days of October. AMF and irrigation were shown to significantly modify the selected morphological parameters of the peppers. Fruits with the highest weight, length, and width were harvested from AMF-inoculated plants, both irrigated and non-irrigated ones. The chemical composition and antioxidant activity (AA) of pepper fruit extracts were significantly affected by AMF and irrigation. AMF application contributed to a decrease in the percentage of dry matter, vitamin C, reducing sugars, extract, carotenoids, and AA. Irrigation, on the other hand, had a beneficial effect on enhancing the biological value of pepper fruits (except for vitamin C), also increasing their AA. The highest levels of carotenoids (4.64 mg 100 g−1 of fresh matter (FM) were found in the fruits of irrigated plants without AMF, whereas the highest levels of vitamin C (134.10 mg 100 g−1 FM) were accumulated by the fruits of plants grown without AMF and without irrigation.