Unraveling Calcium Absorption and Distribution in Peach and Nectarine during Fruit Development through Ca Isotope Labeling.

Calcium foliar applications are known to effectively enhance peach quality; however, the optimal implementation strategy regarding fruit developmental stages and cultivars remains unclear. In this study, three different moments of fruit Ca applications in peach and nectarine are tested: Early season, Mid-season, and Late season. For this aim, the Ca isotope was used as a tracer, enabling the quantification and location of the Ca derived from the foliar fertilizer.

Susceptibility Evaluation to Fire Blight and Genome-Wide Associations within a Collection of Asturian Apple Accessions.

Fire blight, caused by , is one of the most devastating apple diseases. The selection of cultivars of low susceptibility and the study of the genetic mechanisms of the disease play important roles in fire blight management. The susceptibility level to fire blight was evaluated in 102 accessions originating from Asturias, a cider-producing region located in the north of Spain with a wide apple germplasm.

Modeling the Airborne Inoculum of to Optimize Fungicide Programs Against Almond Red Leaf Blotch.

Red leaf blotch (RLB) of almond, caused by the ascomycete , is a severe foliar disease endemic in the Mediterranean Basin and Middle East. Airborne ascospores of were monitored from 2019 to 2021 in two almond orchards in Lleida, Spain, and a Bayesian beta regression was used to model its seasonal dynamics. The selected model incorporated accumulated degree-days (ADD), ADD considering both vapor pressure deficit and rainfall as fixed effects, and a random effect for the year and location.

Inheritance of Fruit Red-Flesh Patterns in Peach.

Fruit color is an important trait in peach from the point of view of consumer preference, nutritional content, and diversification of fruit typologies. Several genes and phenotypes have been described for peach flesh and skin color, and although peach color knowledge has increased in the last few years, some fruit color patterns observed in peach breeding programs have not been carefully described. In this work, we first describe some peach mesocarp color patterns that have not yet been described in a collection of commercial peach cultivars, and we also study the genetic inheritance of the red dots present in the flesh (RDF) and red color around the stone (CAS) in several intra- and interspecific segregating populations for both traits.

'Honeycrisp' Bitter Pit Response to Rootstock and Region under Eastern New York Climatic Conditions.

There are still unknown factors at play in the causation of bitter pit in 'Honeycrisp' as well as in other apple varieties. To investigate some of these factors, we conducted a survey of 34 'Honeycrisp' orchard blocks distributed across two disparate production regions in eastern New York State, representing a variety of rootstocks, over three growing seasons. Weather, soil, horticultural traits, fruit quality traits, pick timing, leaf and peel minerals were evaluated for their impact on bitter pit (BP) incidence; factors were further evaluated for their interaction with region and rootstock.

Implications of nighttime temperature on metamitron impacts on the photosynthetic machinery functioning of Malus x domestica Borkh.

Metamitron (MET) is a fruitlet thinning compound for apple trees, needing better understanding of its action on leaf energy metabolism, depending on nighttime temperature. A trial under environmental controlled conditions was set with 'Golden Reinders' potted trees, under 25/7.5 and 25/15 °C (diurnal/nighttime temperature), with (MET, 247.

Biochemical Characterization and Differential Expression of Genes Associated With "Translocated" Peach/Plum Graft-Incompatibility.

Grafting is an ancient plant propagation technique widely used in horticultural crops, particularly in fruit trees. However, the involvement of two different species in grafting may lead to lack of affinity and severe disorders between the graft components, known as graft-incompatibility. This complex agronomic trait is traditionally classified into two categories: "localized" (weak graft unions with breaks in cambial and vascular continuity at the graft interface and absence of visual symptoms in scion leaves and shoots) and "translocated" (degeneration of the sieve tubes and phloem companion cells at the graft interface causing translocation problems in neighboring tissues, and reddening/yellowing of scion leaves).

Can Insectary Plants Enhance the Presence of Natural Enemies of the Green Peach Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Mediterranean Peach Orchards?

Conservation biological control could be an alternative to insecticides for the management of the aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer). To develop sustainable strategies for M. persicae control in peach orchards in the Mediterranean, a 2-yr field experiment was conducted to identify the key predators of the aphid; to determine whether the proximity of insectary plants boost natural enemies of M.

Cultivar Susceptibility and Environmental Parameters Affecting Symptom Expression of Red Leaf Blotch of Almond in Spain.

Red leaf blotch (RLB) of almond, caused by , is an important foliar disease of this nut tree in the Mediterranean basin and Middle East regions. In recent years, the incidence of this disease has increased in Spain, corresponding to increases in the area of newly planted orchards and the use of susceptible cultivars. In 2009, an experimental orchard including 21 almond cultivars was planted at Les Borges Blanques, Lleida, in northeastern Spain.

Inoculum and Infection Dynamics of in Almond Orchards in Spain.

Red leaf blotch (RLB) disease of almond, caused by , is an important foliar disease in most production regions of the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East because severe infections may cause a premature defoliation of the tree. Some key aspects on the epidemiology of . were studied in multiyear trials in two almond-growing regions in Spain, which included the seasonal development of perithecia and production and germination of ascospores along with the disease incubation and plant infectivity periods.

The Contribution of Surrounding Margins in the Promotion of Natural Enemies in Mediterranean Apple Orchards.

(1) Habitat management can enhance beneficial arthropod populations and provide ecosystem services such as biological control. However, the implementation of ecological infrastructures inside orchards has a number of practical limitations. Therefore, planting/growing insectary plants in the margins of orchards should be considered as an alternative approach.

Investigation of the aroma of commercial peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) types by Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) and sensory analysis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the aroma and sensory profiles of various types of peaches (Prunus persica L. Batsch.).

Quantitative trait loci analysis of melon (Cucumis melo L.) domestication-related traits.

Loci on LGIV, VI, and VIII of melon genome are involved in the control of fruit domestication-related traits and they are candidate to have played a role in the domestication of the crop. The fruit of wild melons is very small (20-50 g) without edible pulp, contrasting with the large size and high pulp content of cultivated melon fruits. An analysis of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling fruit morphology domestication-related traits was carried out using an in vitro maintained F population from the cross between the Indian wild melon "Trigonus" and the western elite cultivar 'Piel de Sapo'.

Woolly apple aphid Eriosoma lanigerum Hausmann ecology and its relationship with climatic variables and natural enemies in Mediterranean areas.

A multilateral approach that includes both biotic and climatic data was developed to detect the main variables that affect the ecology and population dynamics of woolly apple aphid Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann). Crawlers migrated up and down the trunk mainly from spring to autumn and horizontal migration through the canopy was observed from May to August. Winter temperatures did not kill the canopy colonies, and both canopy and root colonies are the source of reinfestations in Mediterranean areas.