Berry shrivel in grapevine: a review considering multiple approaches.

Grapevine berry shrivel, a ripening disorder, causes significant economic losses in the worldwide wine and table grape industries. An early interruption in ripening leads to this disorder, resulting in shriveling and reduced sugar accumulation affecting yield and fruit quality. Loss of sink strength associated with berry mesocarp cell death is an early symptom of this disorder; however, potential internal or external triggers are yet to be explored.

Understanding calcium functionality by examining growth characteristics and structural aspects in calcium-deficient grapevine.

This study characterized growth characteristics and cellular details employing microscopy techniques in hydroponically-grown Ca-sufficient and Ca-deficient grapevines (Vitis vinifera) in a glasshouse. The Ca-deficient vines exhibited significant reductions in shoot length, shoot and trunk fresh weights, leaf area, chlorophyll, which eventually led to drooping, yellowing, and chlorosis of leaves. Roots were less dense and primarily dark and necrotic.

The Molecular Regulation of Carbon Sink Strength in Grapevine (.).

Sink organs, the net receivers of resources from source tissues, provide food and energy for humans. Crops yield and quality are improved by increased sink strength and source activity, which are affected by many factors, including sugars and hormones. With the growing global population, it is necessary to increase photosynthesis into crop biomass and yield on a per plant basis by enhancing sink strength.

In-Depth Aroma and Sensory Profiling of Unfamiliar Table-Grape Cultivars.

We present an in-depth analysis of aroma profiles and sensory attributes, employing solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) to identify the key compounds driving consumer preference in 19 unfamiliar cultivars. In combination with popular cultivars, we identified a total of 100 compounds in all table grapes, of which 26 key volatiles were correlated with consumer liking. Based on this relationship, five aroma combinations (AC) were formulated, wherein 33 compounds contributed to aroma intensity, and thus, were viewed as active volatiles.

Plant hydraulic conductance adapts to shoot number but limits shoot vigour in grapevines.

The rate of shoot growth (vigour) in grapevines tends to decrease as the number of shoots per plant increases. Because the underlying causes of this relationship remain unclear, they were studied by variable pruning of field-grown, deficit-irrigated Merlot grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.).

Sugar demand of ripening grape berries leads to recycling of surplus phloem water via the xylem.

We tested the common assumption that fleshy fruits become dependent on phloem water supply because xylem inflow declines at the onset of ripening. Using two distinct grape genotypes exposed to drought stress, we found that a sink-driven rise in phloem inflow at the beginning of ripening was sufficient to reverse drought-induced berry shrinkage. Rewatering accelerated berry growth and sugar accumulation concurrently with leaf photosynthetic recovery.

Loss of rachis cell viability is associated with ripening disorders in grapes.

Rachises of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) clusters that appeared healthy or displayed symptoms of the ripening disorders berry shrivel (BS) or bunch-stem necrosis (BSN) were treated with the cellular viability stain fluorescein diacetate and examined by confocal microscopy. Clusters with BS and BSN symptoms experienced a decrease of cell viability throughout the rachis, and their berries contained 70-80% less sugar than healthy berries.

Ripening grape berries remain hydraulically connected to the shoot.

Berry diameter was monitored during dry-down and rewatering cycles and pressurization of the root system of Vitis vinifera (cv. Merlot) and Vitis labruscana (cv. Concord) to test changes in xylem functionality during grape ripening.

Functional xylem in the post-veraison grape berry.

A number of studies have shown a transition from a primarily xylem to a primarily phloem flow of water as fleshy fruits develop, and the current hypothesis to explain this transition, particularly in grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berries, is that the vascular tissue (tracheids) become non-functional as a result of post-veraison berry growth. In most studies, pedicels have been dipped in a vial containing an apoplastic dye, which was taken up into the entire peripheral and axial xylem vasculature of pre-veraison, but not post-veraison berries.

Absorption of foliar-applied arsenic by the arsenic hyperaccumulating fern (Pteris vittata L.).

The fact that heavy metals can enter various domains of the plant system through foliar pathways spurred us to explore if the fronds of the Chinese brake fern (Pteris vittata L.), a hyperaccumulator of arsenic, a carcinogenic metalloid, was proficient in absorbing arsenic in the form of sprays. The specific objective of this study was to investigate the impact of frond age, form of arsenic, and time of application on the absorption of foliar-applied arsenic by the brake fern; also examined were the effects of foliar sprays on surface ultrastructure and arsenic speciation in the frond following absorption.

Comparative anatomy and morphology of Vitis vinifera (Vitaceae) somatic embryos from solid- and liquid-culture-derived proembryogenic masses.

Ontogeny of somatic embryos of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) produced from solid- and liquid-culture-derived proembryogenic masses (PEM) was compared using light and scanning electron microscopy. Somatic embryos produced from solid-medium-derived PEM (SPEM) had large cotyledons, little or no visible suspensor structure, and a relatively undeveloped concave shoot apical meristem, whereas those from liquid-medium-derived PEM (LPEM) had smaller cotyledons, a distinct suspensor, and a flat-to-convex shoot apical meristem. The convex shoot apical meristem in LPEM-derived somatic embryos formed as early as the heart stage of development; it was 4-6 cell layers deep and rich in protein.

Leaf chlorophyll, net gas exchange and chloroplast ultrastructure in citrus leaves of different nitrogen status.

One-year-old 'Cleopatra mandarin' (Citrus reticulata Blanco) seedlings were raised in a greenhouse and fertilized with nitrogen (N) at four application frequencies. Nitrogen-deficient leaves (86 mmol N m-2) had less chlorophyll per unit area, but a greater chlorophyll a:b ratio than N-fertilized leaves (> 187 mmol N m-2). Leaf dry mass per area (DM area-1) and total chlorophyll concentration increased linearly with increasing leaf N, whereas chlorophyll a:b ratio declined.

Arsenic accumulation in the hyperaccumulator Chinese brake and its utilization potential for phytoremediation.

The unique property of arsenic hyperaccumulation by the newly discovered Chinese brake (Pteris vittata L.) fern is of great significance in the phytoremediation of arsenic-contaminated soils. The objectives of this study were to (i) examine arsenic accumulation characterized by its distribution pattern in Chinese brake, and (ii) assess the phytoextraction potential of the plant.