Evaluating Postharvest Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer Applications in Early Fruiting Northern Highbush Blueberry

Bloom to fruit maturity is a period of rapid growth and nitrogen (N) uptake in northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.). Sufficient plant-available N is critical during this time, and growers often accomplish this through fertilizer applications from bloom through fruit development. For organic production in northern climates like Washington State, postharvest applications of N fertilizer are not recommended for northern highbush blueberry because they may stimulate excessive vegetative growth, reduce floral bud set, and increase the risk of winter injury through delayed acclimation. However, early fruiting cultivars with the potential for an extended growing season after harvest may benefit from postharvest N applications because the additional N may promote shoot and root growth that could support fruit production in future years while still allowing plants to form floral buds and acclimate to winter temperatures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential impacts of postharvest organic N fertilizer applications on ‘Duke’, an early fruiting northern highbush blueberry cultivar. Specific objectives were to determine the effects of postharvest organic N fertilizer application on plant growth, yield, floral bud set, fruit quality, cold hardiness, tissue macronutrient concentrations, and select soil properties. Four treatments varying in the timing of N application were evaluated in a commercial ‘Duke’ field in eastern Washington using a single fertilizer rate of 130 kg⋅ha−1 N from 2018 to 2020. The organic fertilizer N source was a liquid fertilizer derived from digested plant materials. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four replications and treatments included the following: control (100% of N applied preharvest); 80/20 (80% preharvest, 20% postharvest); 70/30 (70% preharvest, 30% postharvest); and 60/40 (60% preharvest, 40% postharvest). Although the year influenced measured variables, including yield, floral bud set, fruit quality, tissue nutrients, and soil properties, few treatment effects were observed across the 3-year study. Cold hardiness was only impacted once (8 Feb. 2020), and floral buds were overall hardy to extreme minimum winter temperatures for the region. This project showed that applying postharvest organic N as a liquid fertilizer had no negative consequences on productivity metrics for an early fruiting blueberry cultivar grown in a region with an extended growing season, thus providing growers with more flexibility when timing their fertilizer applications. Results may differ for other fertilizer sources, and further monitoring of soil NO3-N accumulation should be conducted to gain a better understanding of its dynamics and the potential for risks.

Sensitivity of Some Sweet Cherry (Prunus Avium L.) Genotypes To Late Spring Frosts During Different Phenological Stages Following Bud Burst

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the economically important fruit crops worldwide. However, late spring frosts occurring in some years can significantly impact sweet cherry productivity through organ and tissue destruction caused by frost damage, and very little is known about frost tolerance or susceptibility of new cultivars. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) was, therefore, used to examine the exothermic characteristics (temperatures at which 50% of the flower buds were killed - mLTE values) of the flower buds belonging to members of the genus Prunus - 6 Prunus avium cultivars ('Noir de Guben', 'Bigarreau Gaucher', 'Merton Late', 'Merton Bigarreau', 'Van' and wild genotype). In the study, mLTE values of flowers of six cherry cultivars were determined at different floral bud developmental stages such as side green, green tip, open cluster, first white and full bloom under laboratory-based freeze assays for consecutive two years. The mLTE values of flower buds changed according to both different floral bud developmental stages and sweet cherry cultivars. In our findings, the mLTE values of flower buds in all cultivars generally occurred at higher temperatures in the open cluster stage, whereas the mLTE values of the flower buds in the first white stage occurred at lower temperatures, and therefore, these results are not only controversial in terms of previous frost tolerance studies, but also the first findings to be reported in literature. Considering the two-year average, the temperatures causing mLTE values for flower buds was -1.58 to -3.74°C at the side green stage, -0.94 to -3.51°C at the green tip stage, -0.41 to -1.96°C at the open cluster stage, -2.30 to -11.52°C at the first white stage and -2.37 to -9.80°C at the full bloom stage in the range of six cultivars. In laboratory-based freezing experiments, the 'Van' cultivar were least affected by low temperatures, followed by 'Bigarreau Gaucher' cultivar and wild genotype. 'Merton Late' cultivar, on the contrary, was the most sensitive cultivar to low temperatures, followed by 'Noir de Guben' and 'Merton Bigarreau'. These results can be valuable in predicting possible frost damage at different developmental stages of the flower buds in sweet cherry.

Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analyses Provide Insights Into an Aberrant Tissue of Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)

Tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) is one of the most important economic crops with multiple mutants. Recently, we found a special tea germplasm that has an aberrant tissue on its branches. To figure out whether this aberrant tissue is associated with floral bud (FB) or dormant bud (DB), we performed tissue section, transcriptome sequencing, and metabolomic analysis of these tissues. Longitudinal sections indicated the aberrant tissue internal structure was more like a special bud (SB), but was similar to that of DB. Transcriptome data analysis showed that the number of heterozygous and homozygous SNPs was significantly different in the aberrant tissue compared with FB and DB. Further, by aligning the unmapped sequences of the aberrant tissue to the Non-Redundant Protein Sequences (NR) database, we observed that 36.13% of unmapped sequences were insect sequences, which suggested that the aberrant tissue might be a variation of dormant bud tissue influenced by the interaction of tea plants and insects or pathogens. Metabolomic analysis showed that the differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) between the aberrant tissue and DB were significantly enriched in the metabolic pathways of biosynthesis of plant hormones and biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids. Subsequently, we analyzed the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the above mentioned two tissues, and the results indicated that photosynthetic capacity in the aberrant tissue was reduced, whereas the ethylene, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid signaling pathways were activated. We speculated that exogenous infection induced programmed cell death (PCD) and increased the lignin content in dormant buds of tea plants, leading to the formation of this aberrant tissue. This study advanced our understanding of the interaction between plants and insects or pathogens, providing important clues about biotic stress factors and key genes that lead to mutations and formation of the aberrant tissue.

Gibberellin Induced Transcriptome Profiles Reveal Gene Regulation of Loquat Flowering

Flowering is an integral part of the life cycle of flowering plants, which is essential for plant survival and crop production. Most woody fruit trees such as apples and pears bloom in spring, but loquat blooms in autumn and winter. Gibberellin (GA) plays a key role in the regulation of plant flower formation. In this study, we sprayed loquat plants with exogenous GA3, which resulted in vigorous vegetative growth rather than floral bud formation. We then performed a comprehensive RNA-seq analysis on GA3-treated and control-treated leaves and buds over three time periods to observe the effects of exogenous GA3 application on floral initiation and development. The results showed that 111 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 563 DEGs were down-regulated, and 151 DEGs and 506 DEGs were up-regulated in buds and leaves, respectively, upon treatment with GA3. Among those that are homologs of the DELLA-mediated GA signal pathway genes, some may be involved in the positive regulation of flower development, including EjWRKY75, EjFT, EjSOC1, EjAGL24, EjSPL, EjLFY, EjFUL, and EjAP1; while some may be involved in the negative regulation of flower development, including EjDELLA, EjMYC3, EjWRKY12, and EjWRKY13. Finally, by analyzing the co-expression of DEGs and key floral genes EjSOC1s, EjLFYs, EjFULs, EjAP1s, 330 candidate genes that may be involved in the regulation of loquat flowering were screened. These genes belong to 74 gene families, including Cyclin_C, Histone, Kinesin, Lipase_GDSL, MYB, P450, Pkinase, Tubulin, and ZF-HD_dimer gene families. These findings provide new insights into the regulation mechanism of loquat flowering.

Morpho-Physiological and Transcriptome Changes in Tomato Anthers of Different Developmental Stages under Drought Stress

Drought limits the growth and productivity of plants. Reproductive development is sensitive to drought but the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms remain unclear in tomatoes. Here, we investigated the effect of drought on tomato floral development using morpho-physiological and transcriptome analyses. Drought-induced male sterility through abnormal anther development includes pollen abortion, inadequate pollen starch accumulation and anther indehiscence which caused floral bud and opened flower abortions and reduced fruit set/yield. Under drought stress (DS), pollen mother cell to meiotic (PMC-MEI) anthers survived whereas tetrad to vacuolated uninucleate microspore (TED-VUM) anthers aborted. PMC-MEI anthers had lower ABA increase, reduced IAA and elevated sugar contents under DS relative to well-watered tomato plants. However, TED-VUM anthers had higher ABA increase and IAA levels, and lower accumulation of soluble sugars, indicating abnormal carbohydrate and hormone metabolisms when exposed to drought-stress conditions. Moreover, RNA-Seq analysis identified altogether >15,000 differentially expressed genes that were assigned to multiple pathways, suggesting that tomato anthers utilize complicated mechanisms to cope with drought. In particular, we found that tapetum development and ABA homeostasis genes were drought-induced while sugar utilization and IAA metabolic genes were drought-repressed in PMC-MEI anthers. Our results suggest an important role of phytohormones metabolisms in anther development under DS and provide novel insight into the molecular mechanism underlying drought resistance in tomatoes.

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of Differentially Expressed Transcripts Associated with Flowering Time of Loquat (Eriobotya japonica Lindl.)

Flowering is an important phenophase of plant species, however, knowledge about the regulatory mechanism controlling flowering cues in loquat is limited. To identify candidate genes regulating flowering time in loquat, we used RNA-Seq technology to conduct a comparative transcriptome analysis of differentiating apical buds collected from the early-flowering variety ‘Baiyu’ and the late-flowering variety ‘Huoju’. A total of 28,842 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) were identified. Of these, 42 DETs controlled flowering time while 17 other DETs were associated with the ABA signaling pathway. Compared with those in ‘Huoju’, EjFT, EjFY, EjFLK, and EjCAL1-like were significantly upregulated in ‘Baiyu’. Moreover, transcripts of the ABA 8′-hydroxylases (EjABH2, EjABH4, and EjABH4-like2), the ABA receptors (EjPYL4/8), and the bZIP transcription factor EjABI5-like were upregulated in ‘Baiyu’ compared with ‘Huoju’. Hence, they might regulate loquat flowering time. There was no significant difference between ‘Baiyu’ and ‘Huoju’ in terms of IAA content. However, the ABA content was about ten-fold higher in the apical buds of ‘Baiyu’ than in those of ‘Huoju’. The ABA:IAA ratio sharply rose and attained a peak during bud differentiation. Thus, ABA is vital in regulating floral bud formation in loquat. The results of the present study help clarify gene transcription during loquat flowering.

The characterization of key physiological traits of medicinal cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) as a tool for precision breeding

Background For millennia, drug-type cannabis strains were extensively used for various medicinal, ritual, and inebriant applications. However, cannabis prohibition during the last century led to cultivation and breeding activities being conducted under clandestine conditions, while scientific development of the crop ceased. Recently, the potential of medicinal cannabis has been reacknowledged and the now expanding industry requires optimal and scientifically characterized varieties. However, scientific knowledge that can propel this advancement is sorely lacking. To address this issue, the current study aims to provide a better understanding of key physiological and phenological traits that can facilitate the breeding of advanced cultivars. Results A diverse population of 121 genotypes of high-THC or balanced THC-CBD ratio was cultivated under a controlled environment facility and 13 plant parameters were measured. No physiological association across genotypes attributed to the same vernacular classification was observed. Floral bud dry weight was found to be positively associated with plant height and stem diameter but not with days to maturation. Furthermore, the heritability of both plant height and days to maturation was relatively high, but for plant height it decreased during the vegetative growth phase. To advance breeding efficacy, a prediction equation for forecasting floral bud dry weight was generated, driven by parameters that can be detected during the vegetative growth phase solely. Conclusions Our findings suggest that selection for taller and fast-growing genotypes is likely to lead to an increase in floral bud productivity. It was also found that the final plant height and stem diameter are determined by 5 independent factors that can be used to maximize productivity through cultivation adjustments. The proposed prediction equation can facilitate the selection of prolific genotypes without the completion of a full cultivation cycle. Future studies that will associate genome-wide variation with plants morphological traits and cannabinoid profile will enable precise and accelerated breeding through genomic selection approaches.

Characterization of Japanese Apricot (Prunus mume) Floral Bud Development Using a Modified BBCH Scale and Analysis of the Relationship between BBCH Stages and Floral Primordium Development and the Dormancy Phase Transition

Bud dormancy is an important developmental stage that ensures that trees can tolerate environmental stresses in winter and bloom uniformly in the following spring. Regarding Rosaceae floral buds, exposure to chilling conditions promotes floral primordium development and the transition from endodormancy to ecodormancy. A subsequent period of warm conditions induces blooming. In Japanese apricot (Prunus mume), dormancy progression is accompanied by morphological changes that alter the bud appearance and internal structures. We used a modified BBCH scale and conducted microscopy analyses to elucidate the bud developmental stage of three cultivars with contrasting chilling requirements. The floral bud developmental period corresponding to BBCH stages 51–53 includes the transition from endodormancy to ecodormancy in all three cultivars. Male meiosis and microspore development occurred during this transition in high-chill cultivars, but were detected considerably later than the transition in the low-chill cultivar. A slow or suspended developmental phase was observed only for the high-chill cultivars upon completion of floral primordium organ differentiation, suggesting that chilling may be required to induce floral bud maturation and dormancy release only in high-chill cultivars. Possible relationships among BBCH stages, flowering-related morphological characteristics, and the dormancy phase transition in Japanese apricot are discussed.

Cerium (Ce) Affects the Phenological Cycle and the Quality of Tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.)

Objective: To study the effect of Ce applied in a nutrient solution during the productive cycle, on the duration of the phases of the phenological cycle of tulip cv. Jan van Nes. Design/Methodology/Approach: Commercial bulbs (caliber 12+) were planted under shade cloth conditions during the autumn-winter period. The levels of Ce used were 5, 15 and 15 µM from CeCl3 7H2O; Ce was applied in the nutrient solution from the first day of the sowing, apart from the control without its application. Results: The different concentrations of Ce bulb sprouting. The low concentration of Ce (5 ?M) promoted the early formation of floral buds and their coloration. Hence, the application of 5 ?M Ce advances flowering of the tulip without exhibiting changes in the period of time to reach senescence. When 25 ?M Ce were applied, the opposite effects were observed. The duration of the flower was not significantly affected by the treatments. Study Limitations/Implications: This study was made only in one cultivar of tulip. Findings/Conclusions: The application of 5 µM of Ce had a positive effect in the tulip cycle, by stimulating bulb sprouting, the formation of the floral bud, the coloration, and the advance of the flowering cycle