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To understand the effects of tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) on soil microbiological and biochemical properties, soil samples were collected from tree peony growing sites with 3 growth years and four tree peony cultivars as well as from an adjacent wasteland in a tree peony garden at Luoyang, Henan Province of China. With the development of the tree peony garden ecosystem, soil microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), basal respiration (Rmic), Cmic as a percent of soil organic C (Cmic/Corg), and enzyme activities first increased and then decreased. For the tree peony cultivars Yao Huang and Dou Lu, Cmic, Rmic, Cmic/Corg, catalase, invertase, cellulose, proteinase, and phosphatase decreased after 5 years of growth, whereas urease decreased after 12 years. For the cultivars Er Qiao and Shou An Hong, catalase, proteinase, and phosphatase decreased after 5 years, whereas Cmic, Rmic, Cmic/Corg, invertase, cellulose, and urease decreased after 12 years. Biolog analysis indicated that the average well color development and microbial functional diversity were significantly greater at the 5-year sites than in the wasteland but decreased significantly as growth continued. The growth duration of tree peony had a greater effect on soil microbial communities than did tree peony cultivar.
Jinyan (Actinidia eriantha × A. chinensis) is one of the gold-fleshed kiwifruit cultivars currently being promoted in south China. However, its fruit dry matter is usually less than 16%, which seriously affects fruit quality including taste and flavor. This causes a financial loss to growers: not only are the prices paid for the fruit low because of their bad reputation for quality, but some orchards have been removed. Improvement of fruit quality is essential. In this study, a method is described for squeezing and twisting flowering shoots before flowering and removing the distal vegetative parts of flowering shoots after fruit set. The effects on fruit quality were determined. The dry matter of fruit was increased by 6.6%. Fruit size also increased as did the chlorophyll a content and the chlorophyll:carotenoid ratio. The significantly increased fruit dry matter, resulting in significant increases in fruit soluble solids concentrations (P < 0.01), thereby possibly improving fruit taste. Fruit weight, fruit length, and carotenoid and ascorbic acid concentrations were significantly enhanced in comparison with controls (P < 0.01), increasing by 20%, 7%, 12%, and 19%, respectively. However, there was no significant difference in soluble sugar concentrations, titratable acid concentrations, and the reduced chlorophyll b concentrations. This research provides a practical method to increase fruit dry matter, and hence a way to allow fruit quality to reach commercial requirements for cultivars such as Jinyan, which under previous management systems had significant shortcomings in fruit flavor and taste.
Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo is a famous traditional Chinese medicinal plant. It produces various phytochemicals, particularly polysaccharides, which have nutraceutical and pharmaceutical values. To increase its biomass production and polysaccharide content, our breeding program has generated a series of polyploid cultivars through colchicine treatment of protocorm-like bodies (PLBs). The present study compared two tetraploid cultivars, 201-1-T1 and 201-1-T2, with their diploid parental cultivar, 201-1, in an established in vitro culture system. Tetraploid ‘201-1-T1’ and ‘201-1-T2’ had shorter leaves and shorter and thicker stems and roots, and they produced higher biomass compared with the diploid cultivar. The length and width of stomata significantly increased, but stomatal density decreased in tetraploid cultivars. The PLB induction rates from the stem node explants of the tetraploid cultivars were significantly higher than those of diploid. However, the PLB proliferation of tetraploids was lower than that of the diploid. The mean number of plantlets regenerated from tetraploid PLBs was also lower than that of the diploid after 4 months of culture. Polysaccharide contents in stems, leaves, and roots of 6-month-old tetraploid plantlets were significantly higher than those of diploids. The polysaccharide content in the stem of ‘201-1-T1’ was 12.70%, which was a 2-fold increase compared with the diploid cultivar. Our results showed that chromosome doubling could be a viable way of improving D. officinale in biomass and polysaccharide production.
This study explored the effects of different colored bags (blue, green, white, yellow, orange, and red) on russet deposition on the peel of semi-russet ‘Cuiguan’ pears 10 days after full bloom (DAFB). The process of russeting of the peel and structure of the cork layer were characterized by microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), followed by the detection of lignin and the activity of enzymes involved in lignin synthesis. The expression of cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase, cinnamoyl-CoA reductase, and peroxidase, which were related to phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, was determined via real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Russeting of the outer peel of ‘Cuiguan’ pear accumulated rapidly at 80 DAFB, and a positive relationship between the russet index and lignin content was observed. Red and infrared (IR) ray, partial far-IR light (600–800 nm), and ultraviolet-A light (350–400 nm) promoted russeting in ‘Cuiguan’ pear peel, whereas green light decreased russeting, the russet index, enzymatic activities, and the expression levels of enzymes involved in lignin synthesis. Values of all these factors were higher for ‘Cuiguan’ pears in red bags than for those in bags of other colors. These findings suggested that spectral components affected the synthesis of lignin and the formation of fruit russet. Storage in green bags reduced russeting and improved fruit appearance.