Hybrids of Solanum corymbiflorum and S. diploconos (Solanaceae) – a hope for new commercial varieties of edible fruits

Solanum diploconos (Mart.) Bohs („guava tamarillo”) and Solanum corymbiflorum (Sendtn.) Bohs („hardy tamarillo”) are wild relatives to subtropical, orchard, small tree – Solanum betaceum Cav. (called simply „tamarillo”). Both these species create edible fruits, but they have not been cultivated widely so far as fruit trees. However, each one of these species has valuable features. Solanum corymbiflorum is quite hardy to frost, deciduous and early blooming both in fenological year time as well as in its lifespan but has untasty fruits. Solanum diploconos has quite good tasting fruits and it is pest and disease resistant. This work has been an attempt to connect their best features in hybrids to create new, potentially commercial cultivars to grow as fruit plants. Three types of hybrids were created: F1 hybrid type – Solanum corymbiflorum × Solanum diploconos, BC1 backrossing type - (Solanum corymbiflorum × Solanum diploconos) × Solanum corymbiflorum and the second BC1 backcrossing type – (Solanum corymbiflorum × Solanum diploconos) × Solanum diploconos. Out of the numerous variable individuals within each type, we selected three very valuable from an agronomic point of view cultivars (Solanum 'Lynn', 'Pinczow Springs' and 'Iwona'). The work with crossing and selecting the next cultivars will be continued.

Medlar—A Comprehensive and Integrative Review

Among fruit plants belonging to the Rosaceae family, medlar (Mespilus) can be classified as neglected or underutilized. It is a genus of two species of flowering plants: Mespilus germanica (common medlar) and Mespilus canescens. Appreciated for its specific taste and flavor, medlar also possesses biological properties (antioxidant and antimicrobial). Despite the special properties of medlar, there are few research papers on this subject. This review paper includes data not only on medlar fruits but also its leaves, bark, and bud flowers. The main identified components are presented, as well as several biological properties, morphological properties, ethnopharmacological uses, and molecular biology analyses emerging from the scientific papers published in this area.

Implementation study of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) of Red Fruit (Pandanus conoideus Lamk.)

This study aims to determine and analyze the GAP components that have implemented by red fruit farmers. The method used in the study was a survey method of plant cultivation. The multistage random sampling method used to taking sampling sampling. The area selected for the study area uses the land ownership startification. Each village was randomly sampled as many as 10 farmers, the total number of which was 30 sampled farmers. The results showed that the farmers in the Taniwel District had not fully implemented the GAP guidelines in the cultivation of red fruit plants which included seeding methods, maintenance and post-harvest processing. This is due to the absence of outreach or counseling from the relevant Dinas regarding the GAP guidelines for red fruit plants.

Diseases Caused by Xylella fastidiosa in Prunus Genus: An Overview of the Research on an Increasingly Widespread Pathogen

Cultivated plants belonging to the genus Prunus are globally widespread and for some countries, are economically important crops; and they play a key role in the composition of a landscape. Xylella fastidiosa is a key threat to plant health, and several Prunus species are heavily stressed by this pathogen, such as almond, peach, and plum; many strain types of different subspecies can cause severe diseases. This review highlights different approaches to managing epidemic events related to X. fastidiosa in stone fruit plants. In fact, in most new European and Asian outbreaks, almond is the main and very common host and peach, plum, apricot, and cherry are widespread and profitable crops for the involved areas. Various diseases associated with stone fruit plants show different degrees of severity in relation to cultivar, although investigations are still limited. The development and selection of tolerant and resistant cultivars and the study of resistance mechanisms activated by the plant against X. fastidiosa infections seem to be the best way to find long-term solutions aimed at making affected areas recover. In addition, observations in orchards severely affected by the disease can be essential for collecting tolerant or resistant materials within the local germplasm. In areas where the bacterium is not yet present, a qualitative-quantitative study on entomofauna is also important for the timely identification of potential vectors and for developing effective control strategies.

Diversity and Host Plants of Tephritidae From Two Islands of the Comoro Archipelago (Grande-Comore and Moheli).

This paper summarizes the different host plants and fruit flies present in two islands (Grande-Comore and Mohéli) of the Comoros Archipelago. Different exotic and wild fruit plants were sampled. Eighty plant species, potential hosts, belonging to thirty-four families were collected and incubated for the emergence of fruit flies from December 2019 to September 2020. Twenty-five plant hosts from ten families comprising cultivated and wild fruits have been identified. Fruit fly infestation rates per kilogram of fruit (T.Kg-1 ) varied from plant to plant. Exotic fruit plants, which accounted for more than half of infested plants, including Cucumis melo, Cucurbita pepo, Prunus persica, Coffea arabica and Capsicum frutescens had high infestation rates. For wild plants, the highest infestation rates have been observed in some families including Combretaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Solanaceae and Vitaceae. The highest infestation rate per kilogram of fruit was observed in a wild plant: Cyphostemma lageniflorum. Thirteen new host plants infested by Tephritidae are reported and/or listed for the first time in Comoros. In total, eight species of fruit flies identified. However, the species Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel, 1912 (47.5%) and Dacus bivittatus (Bigot, 1858) (37.6%) were the most representative of the Tephritidae that emerged.