Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Shanthi Chinnasamy Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Instrumentation Engineering, MIT Campus, Anna University, Chennai, India Author-Name: Revathy Baskar Author-Workplace-Name: Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technologyy, Chennai, India Title: Investigations on identification of pests in horticultural crops under greenhouse conditions Abstract: The early detection of pests in plants and crops is essential for the production of good quality food. Computer vision techniques can be applied for the early detection of pests and which can minimise the pesticides used on the plants. Among many pests, white flies, mites, aphids and thrips are the most hazardous pests that affect the leaves. This paper presents an automated approach for the detection of different types of pests from leaf images of plants. The images of the plant leaves were acquired using a digital camera. Image pre-processing techniques, such as noise removal, filtering and contrast enhancement, are used for improving the quality of the images. Then, the k-means clustering method and global thresholding were used for segmenting the pests from the infected leaves. Textural features are extracted from those segmented images by statistical feature extraction methods. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Binary Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers were used to classify the unaffected leaf images from the pest affected leaf images and a multi-SVM classifier was used to identify the different types of pests. Keywords: Pest identification, image processing, artificial neural network, support vector machine,  white flies, mites, aphids, thrips Journal: Horticultural Science Pages: 75-84 Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/158/2022-HORTSCI File-URL: http://hortsci.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/158/2022-HORTSCI.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/hor-202402-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlhor:v:51:y:2024:i:2:id:158-2022-HORTSCI Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Iveta Pánková Author-Workplace-Name: Bacteriology Department, Crop Research Institute, Praque, Czech Republic Author-Name: Václav Krejzar Author-Workplace-Name: Bacteriology Department, Crop Research Institute, Praque, Czech Republic Author-Name: Radka Krejzarová Author-Workplace-Name: Bacteriology Department, Crop Research Institute, Praque, Czech Republic Title: Comparison of the blossom and shoot susceptibility of European and Asian pear cultivars to Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae Abstract: The susceptibility of 14 pear cultivars to the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, the causal agent of bacterial blast, was evaluated using three different methods of in vivo inoculation detached shoots inoculation in a growth chamber, and terminal shoot and blossom inoculation of potted trees in a net house in the period 2020-2022. The 20-week assessment of infection symptoms in the net house showed different dynamics of disease development depending on the inoculation method, the weather during the growing season and the susceptibility of the pear cultivars. Most of the cultivars were during the study low susceptible to pathogen and were classified in blossom, terminal as well as detached shoot susceptibility class 2. The European cultivar Kiefer was the least susceptible (susceptibility class 1) to blossom infection, the Asian cultivars Chojuro and Ya Li to terminal shoot infection, and Ya Li to detached shoot infection. The European cultivar William's was the most susceptible to all types of infection, being classified in class 3, moderately susceptible cultivars to infection of terminal shoots, and class 4, highly susceptible cultivars to infection of blossoms and detached shoots. The assessment of susceptibility of pear cultivars to Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae in the net house approximated conditions as close as possible to the condition in orchards and should thus be consistent in plantings with similar environmental and weather conditions. Keywords: bacterial blast, artificial inoculation, growth chamber, net house Journal: Horticultural Science Pages: 85-97 Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/18/2023-HORTSCI File-URL: http://hortsci.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/18/2023-HORTSCI.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/hor-202402-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlhor:v:51:y:2024:i:2:id:18-2023-HORTSCI Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Huaipan Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Life Science and Agronomy/Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding and Bioreactor, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou Henan, P. R. China Author-Name: Dongxiao Liu Author-Workplace-Name: Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou Jiangsu, P. R. China Author-Workplace-Name: College of Life Science and Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan Henan, P. R. China Title: Putrescine alleviates cold injury in peach fruit via elevating the conjugated polyamines in tonoplast and thereby maintaining vacuole conformation Abstract: Exogenous polyamines can elevate postharvest fruit cold resistance and alleviate cold injury. However, the mechanism, by which polyamines mediate cold tolerance, is still to be explored. So in this paper, the conjugated polyamines in tonoplast and vacuole conformation were illuminated in the flesh cells of peach fruit subjected to cold stress, which were pretreated with exogenous putrescine. The results showed that under cold condition, fruit firmness decreased and flesh browning area increased, and vacuole conformation changed. The cold injury could be alleviated by pretreatment with exogenous putrescine, as judged by stabilization of the vacuole conformation, increased fruit firmness and reduced flesh browning area. Furthermore, the cold alleviation was coupled with the increases in the levels of covalently conjugated putrescine and non-covalently conjugated spermidine and spermine in the tonoplast. The results suggested that these conjugated polyamines in tonoplast and vacuole conformation might be involved in putrescine-mediated cold tolerance. The suggestion was further verified by applications with inhibitors, phenanthroline and methylglyoxal-bis (guanylhydrazone) (MGBG). Phenanthroline and MGBG could restrain the putrescine-induced increases in covalently and non-covalently conjugated polyamines mentioned above in the tonoplast, respectively, and increase flesh browning area, decrease fruit firmness and vacuole conformation stabilization. So, we can conclude that exogenous putrescine alleviates cold injury in peach fruit via elevating the contents of the polyamines conjugated to the tonoplast and thereby maintaining vacuole conformation. Keywords: cold stress, conjugated polyamines, peach (Prunus persica Batsch), tonoplast, vacuole conformation Journal: Horticultural Science Pages: 98-110 Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/87/2023-HORTSCI File-URL: http://hortsci.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/87/2023-HORTSCI.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/hor-202402-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlhor:v:51:y:2024:i:2:id:87-2023-HORTSCI Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Muhammet Ali Gündeşli Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant and Animal Production, Nurdagi Vocational School, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Türkiye Author-Name: Remzi Ugur Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant and Animal Production, Nurdagi Vocational School, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Türkiye Author-Name: Ipek Urün Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant and Animal Production, Nurdagi Vocational School, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Türkiye Author-Name: Sezai Ercisli Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Türkiye Author-Name: Nesibe Ebru Kafkas Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Çukurova, Balcali, Türkiye Author-Name: Gulce Ilhan Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Türkiye Author-Name: Velibor Spalevic Author-Workplace-Name: University of Montenegro, Biotechnical Faculty, Podgorica, Montenegro Author-Name: Riaz Ullah Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Author-Name: Ahmed Bari Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Title: Evaluation of the total phenolic content, sugar, organic acid, volatile compounds and antioxidant capacities of fig (Ficus carica L.) genotypes selected from the Mediterranean region of Türkiye Abstract: Nowadays, the interest in research to determine the healthy compounds in fig fruits has increased, as many of them have been found to be beneficial to human health. This study aimed to determine the sugars, organic acids, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and volatile compounds in the fruits of 19 fig (Ficus carica L.) genotypes sampled from the Kahramanmaras province in Türkiye in 2018 and 2019. In the fruit of the fig genotypes, the total phenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, the total antioxidant capacity was determined by the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhidrazil) method, the sugars, organic acids and volatile aroma compounds were determined chromatographically (HPLC/RID detector), (HPLC/UV detector) and headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (HS-GC/MS), respectively. The results showed that most of the biochemical contents and antioxidant capacities of the genotypes significantly differed from each other (P < 0.05). The total phenolic content and antioxidant properties of the fruits ranged from 50.29 to 580.59 mg gallic acid equivalent per 100 g fresh weight base (and 15.98 to 36.77% DPPH, respectively. Regarding the sugar content of the fig genotypes, the main sugar is fructose ranging from 3.35 to 7.37 g per 100 g. The highest fructose content of 7.37 g per 100 g was found in the genotype KMF12. A total of 58 volatile compounds were detected in the fruits of the 19 fig genotypes, including 18 aldehydes, 3 ketones, 6 esters, 2 terpenes, 17 alcohols, 1 acid and 11 other compounds. According to the obtained results, aldehydes, esters and ketones were found to be the major volatile compounds in the fig fruits. The genotypes with the highest values of the phytochemical and antioxidant properties among the genotypes were selected as candidates as a source of variation for breeders who want to develop new commercial varieties beneficial to human health. Keywords: fig, sugars, organic acids, antioxidant activity, total phenolics, volatile compounds Journal: Horticultural Science Pages: 111-126 Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/84/2023-HORTSCI File-URL: http://hortsci.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/84/2023-HORTSCI.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/hor-202402-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlhor:v:51:y:2024:i:2:id:84-2023-HORTSCI Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jae Eun Choi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agronomy, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: Ki Eun Song Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agronomy, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: Sun Hee Hong Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Life Science, Hankyong National University, Ansung, Republic of Korea  Author-Name: Petr Konvalina Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jong Il Chung Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agronomy, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: Min Chul Kim Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agronomy, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: Sangin Shim Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agronomy, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea Title: Changes in growth and leaf hyperspectral reflectance of zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) under various soil compaction intensities Abstract: This study was conducted to determine the effect of traffic stress by soil compaction on zoysiagrass by analyzing the aerial and underground parts and hyperspectral analysis. Zoysiagrass plants were subjected to a compaction strength gradient from 35 to 80 kgf/cm2 to confirm the compaction resistance and recoverable limit and measure the physiological change during stress. Changes in leaf color, photosynthesis, and hyperspectral reflectance due to continuous weak and strong traffic stress were measured, and vegetation indices were evaluated for the critical traffic stress injury assessment. As a result, the stem of the zoysiagrass was severely damaged up to 70 kgf/cm2 based on soil hardness. The recoverable limit strength of soil compaction was 55 kgf/cm2 under weak response pressure conditions. Collectively, our results show that the damage of weak compaction strength on the zoysiagrass was quickly recovered after the stop of traffic stress, especially since the growth of the underground part was increased by weak traffic stress. However, if the compaction strength above 65 kgf/cm2 lasted for a long time, the growth of the underground part is limited by lowering the energy supply for the recovery occurred, in turn, the recovery occurred slowly after the compaction was stopped. Among the vegetation indices obtained from hyperspectral data, pigment specific simple ratio for chlorophyll a (PSSRa), pigment specific simple ratio for chlorophyll b (PSSRb), and pigment specific simple ratio for carotenoids (PSSRc) were effective in evaluating the damage of traffic stress. Keywords: traffic stress, turfgrass, soil hardness, recovery, drought stress Journal: Horticultural Science Pages: 127-140 Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/173/2022-HORTSCI File-URL: http://hortsci.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/173/2022-HORTSCI.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/hor-202402-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlhor:v:51:y:2024:i:2:id:173-2022-HORTSCI Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Sun Xieping Author-Name: Chen Yang Author-Workplace-Name: School of Advanced Agriculture and Bioengineering, Yangtze Normal University; Fuling, Chongqing, P.R. China Author-Name: Lin Ling Kou Author-Workplace-Name: Agricultural Technology Station of Chongqing, Yubei, Chongqing, P.R. China Author-Name: Chun Xia Lu Author-Workplace-Name: School of Advanced Agriculture and Bioengineering, Yangtze Normal University; Fuling, Chongqing, P.R. China Author-Name: Guo Qiang Han Author-Workplace-Name: School of Advanced Agriculture and Bioengineering, Yangtze Normal University; Fuling, Chongqing, P.R. China Title: Effects of sodium selenate and selenomethionine on reproductive growth, fruit quality, and 5-hydroxytryptophan metabolism of 'Qingcui' plum Abstract: Selenium (Se) is a beneficial element for plant growth and development. In this study, three-year-old potted 'Qingcui' plums were treated with Na2SeO4 (Se6+) or selenomethionine (SeMet Se2-) to explore the effect of Se on the plant growth, fruit quality, and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) metabolism. Flower and fruit numbers, fruit quality and yield, Se content, and 5-HTP metabolites and enzymes were detected. The results showed that the flower and fruit numbers, and yield were significantly increased by the Se application. There were no significant differences in the fruit diameters, fruit mass, edible part ratio, titratable acids, water content, and solid acid ratio among the treatments. The total soluble solids, soluble protein, and malondialdehyde contents under the Se6+ treatment showed no significant difference compared to the Se2- treatment, but they were significantly higher than these under control by 16.71%, 39.13%, and 36.27%, respectively. The Se application markedly increased plant the Se content, and Se contents in the roots and leaves, or the fruits were significantly larger by the Se6+ treatments than the Se2- treatment. The leaves' pigment contents under the Se2- treatments were significantly larger than those under the control or Se6+ treatment. Tryptophan was not significantly influenced, the 5-HTP and 5-methoxytryptophan contents were reduced in the roots, and increased in the leaves, and the serotonin content was only significantly increased in the roots by the Se treatments. The tryptophan hydroxylase and hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase levels were slightly influenced, and the tryptophan decarboxylase level in the roots or fruits was significantly increased by the Se treatments. The Se application had beneficial effects on the plant growth, fruit quality, and Se content, especially in the Se6+ treatment, and influenced the 5-HTP metabolism. Keywords: number of flowers and fruits, yield, serotonin, selenium Journal: Horticultural Science Pages: 141-151 Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/45/2023-HORTSCI File-URL: http://hortsci.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/45/2023-HORTSCI.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/hor-202402-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlhor:v:51:y:2024:i:2:id:45-2023-HORTSCI Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: December Simphiwe Sibeko Author-Workplace-Name: School of Agricultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, University of Mpumalanga, Nelspruit, South Africa Author-Name: Kingsly Shikwambana Author-Workplace-Name: School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa Author-Name: Nhlanhla Mathaba Author-Workplace-Name: School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa Title: Effect of ripening temperature on early-season 'Hass' avocado fruit exocarp colour development and pigmentation during ripening Abstract: South African 'Hass' avocado fruit harvested early season are vulnerable to colour desynchronisation with softening during ripening, reducing their international and local market aesthetic value. So far, research has proven that 'Hass' avocado fruit exocarp colour desynchronization is an early season conundrum. However, there is insufficient literature on underlying factors causing exocarp colour desynchronisation. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the ripening temperature effect on early season 'Hass' avocado fruit exocarp colour development and pigments during ripening. Early season 'Hass' avocado fruit were stored at 5.5 °C for 28 days thereafter, ripened at 16, 21 and 25 °C and evaluated for firmness, visual and objective colour (L*, C* and h°), total chlorophyll and anthocyanin content. The results showed that the visual colour of fruit ripened at 25 °C was significantly higher compared to 21 and 16 °C after 2 and 4 ripening days. This study found that ripening temperature had no significant influence on chlorophyll degradation. However, fruit ripened at 25 °C accumulated significantly higher exocarp anthocyanin concentration compared to lower ripening temperatures. In conclusion, ripening early season 'Hass' avocado fruit at 25 °C resulted in improved exocarp colour development and anthocyanin accumulation. Keywords: anthocyanin, chlorophyll, chromaticity, firmness, visual colour Journal: Horticultural Science Pages: 152-159 Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/72/2023-HORTSCI File-URL: http://hortsci.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/72/2023-HORTSCI.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/hor-202402-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlhor:v:51:y:2024:i:2:id:72-2023-HORTSCI Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ireneusz Sosna Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Horticulture, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland Author-Name: Ewa Fudali Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany and Plant Ecology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland Title: Living mulches in-rows as an alternative for herbicide fallow in a pear Pyrus communis L. orchard Abstract: Weed control and replenishing soil moisture and fertility are important areas in fruit production. The number of studies focused to determine whether living mulches in tree rows can fulfil these tasks increases recently. In the paper the results of an 11-year experiment on the effect of two such mulches (Trifolium repens L. and Agrostis capillaris L.) on the growth, yield, and fruit quality of three pear cultivars ('Alfa', 'Dolores', 'Amfora') in relation to herbicide fallow are presented. In the experiment, a single sowing of covering plants without additional treatments was used. A statistically significant reduction in yield (20-22%) was found for both mulches used, which was related to weakening the vegetative growth of trees. The average fruit mass did not change significantly, but the percent share of large fruits increased significantly (about 17%) in the A. capillaris mulch. Fruits from trees growing in T. repens contained significantly more soluble solids and Ca. However, that mulch became heavily infested with weeds after a few years. The obtained results allow us to recommend the use of the living mulch A. capillaris in the tree rows of a commercial pear orchard. The 'Dolores' and 'Amfora' cvs are particularly recommended. Keywords: orchard floor management, growth, yield, fruit quality Journal: Horticultural Science Pages: 160-167 Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/14/2023-HORTSCI File-URL: http://hortsci.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/14/2023-HORTSCI.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/hor-202402-0008.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlhor:v:51:y:2024:i:2:id:14-2023-HORTSCI