Optimized differential thermal analysis sheds light on the effect of temperature on peach floral bud cold hardiness and transition from endo- to ecodormancy.

The greatest threat to profitable peach production is cold damage to reproductive tissues. To better understand and mitigate cold damage in peach accurate and efficient assessment of floral bud cold hardiness (H) is critical. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) was optimized for efficient and precise detection of low-temperature exotherms (LTE) created by the freezing of supercooled intracellular water in peach floral primordia to determine H weekly during the dormant season.

Total soil water content accounts for augmented ABA leaf concentration and stomatal regulation of split-rooted apple trees during heterogeneous soil drying.

A split-rooted containerized system was developed by approach grafting two, 1-year-old apple (Malus×domestica Borkh. cv 'Gala') trees to investigate the effect of soil moisture heterogeneity and total soil moisture content (θ(v)) on tree water relations, gas exchange, and leaf abscisic acid (ABA) concentration [ABA(leaf)]. Four irrigation treatments comprising a 2×2 factorial experiment of irrigation volume and placement were imposed over a 30-day period: control (C) [>100% of crop evapotranspiration (ET(c))] applied to both containers; PRD100 (>100% ET(c)) applied to one container only; and two treatments receiving 50% ET(c) applied to either one (PRD50) or both containers (DI50).