Genetic & Breeding·Germplasm Resources·Molecular Biology

• Analysis of FvPDS Gene Using CRISPR/Cas9 System in Strawberry
• LIU Lifeng, SONG Yanhong, ZHAO Xia, LI Gang, and ZHOU Houcheng
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1687-1695. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0612
• Abstract ( 109 ) HTML ( 66 ) PDF (785KB) ( 66 ) 　　　

• The phytoene desaturase gene（FvPDS）in Fragaria vesca was selected as the marker gene. This gene encodes a key enzyme in carotenoid biosynthesis. Because of its mutants with visible albino phenotypes，FvPDS has been served as a model gene for CRISPR/Cas9 mediated targeted gene editing. In this study a gene knockout vector was constructed using the CRISPR/Cas9 system，different types of mutations were detected in F. vesca through stable transformation of strawberries leaves including HLJ-005 with red fruits and HLJ-004 with white fruits. Through Agrobacterium mediated transformation 2 250 explants from HLJ-005 were transformed，147 kanamycin resistant lines were obtained through resistance screening. Of theses，24 transgenic lines（16.32%）were confirmed as positive transgenic lines by T-DNA specific PCR. Sequencing detection revealed that 5 transgenic lines had different types of mutations at the two target sites with an editing efficiency of 20.8%. For the other F. vesca HLJ-004，2 305 leaves were genetically transformed，234 kanamycin resistant lines were screened and 6 transgenic lines（2.56%）were confirmed as positive transgenic lines by T-DNA specific PCR. Sequencing detection showed that 3 lines had different types of mutations with an editing efficiency of 50%. Among these，mutations at two editing sites resulted in the deletion of single or multiple amino acids，leading to albino and dwarf phenotypes. These results demonstrate that the CRISPR/Cas9 system enables simultaneous double-site knockout in the woodland strawberry varieties HLJ-004 and HLJ-005 via stable expression. HLJ-004 and HLJ-005 can serve as suitable genetic transformation materials for strawberry gene editing，and the study validated a CRISPR/Cas9 system appropriate for editing strawberry genes.

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• Identification and Functional Analysis of Walnut JrPR1 and JrGLU in Relation to Anthracnose Resistance
• XU Haifeng, WANG Guifang, XIANG Kun, SHEN Guangning, ZHANG Meiyong, and CHEN Xin
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1696-1706. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0558
• Abstract ( 58 ) HTML ( 27 ) PDF (1480KB) ( 27 ) 　　　

• Pathogenesis-related genes and β-1,3-glucanase genes play important roles in plant disease resistance.‘Lukang 8’and‘Xiangling’walnut cultivars，which exhibit significant differences in anthracnose resistance，were used as experimental materials. 10 days after in vitro inoculation with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides，the husk lesion on‘Xiangling’significantly enlarged，while‘Lukang 8’showed no obvious changes. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes in the husks of the two cultivars were enriched in disease resistance-related pathways such as plant-pathogen interaction，MAPK signaling pathway，and plant hormone signal transduction. The preliminarily identified that JrPR1，JrPR5，JrGLU and JrGLU5 are highly expressed in the disease-resistant cultivar‘Lukang 8’. The tissue-specific analysis showed that JrPR5 and JrGLU5 are highly expressed in buds and leaves，respectively，while JrPR1 and JrGLU are highly expressed in fruits，suggesting they are candidate genes for regulating fruit anthracnose resistance. Transient expression in tobacco leaves revealed that JrPR1 is localized to the cell wall and intercellular spaces，while JrGLU is localized to the cell wall. Additionally，the physicochemical properties，secondary，and tertiary structures of their encoded proteins were analyzed. Transient expression in walnut fruits revealed that both JrPR1 and JrGLU can significantly inhibit the growth of C. gloeosporioides and enhance anthracnose resistance in the fruits.

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• Analysis of Agronomic Traits and Fatty Acid Composition of Macadamia Germplasm Resources in Yunnan Province
• ZHU Yi, YANG Hongxia, ZHENG Weikang, TANG Shaoping, CHAI Lijun, YANG Fan, MA Zhaocheng
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1707-1717. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0778
• Abstract ( 59 ) HTML ( 23 ) PDF (1713KB) ( 23 ) 　　　

• This study analyzed the correlation between agronomic traits，fatty acid content and composition of 32 macadamia germplasms in Yunnan Province. The results showed that the variety with the largest kernel weight was Changning 1（3.83 g），the variety with the largest nut recovery was Guangxi 1（57.10%），the cultivar with the largest kernel recovery was Honghua（38.42%），and the variety with the highest oil extraction rate was 695（66.97%）；the rounded the macadamia fruits were，the higher the nut recovery was，and there was a negative correlation between the weight of the green skinned layer and kernel recovery. Nine fatty acids were detected in Macadamia oil，70.97% of which were monounsaturated fatty acids（MUFA），and ω-7 fatty acid（palmitoleic acid）was the most abundant in H2 varieties（20.47%）.

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• Physiological Response and Transcriptome Analysis of Wax Apple Flowering to Foliar Application of Chlorpyrifos
• SUN Dongyu, WEI Dong, YANG Yinyan, HU Caizhu, HU Zhiqun, ZHOU Donghui, and ZHOU Biyan
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1718-1732. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0645
• Abstract ( 59 ) HTML ( 20 ) PDF (1217KB) ( 20 ) 　　　

• Lorsban（active ingredient：chlorpyrifos）serves as a primary flowering inducing agent in wax apple production. The effects of chlorpyrifos spray on flowering branch rate and inflorescence number in wax apple‘Yinduhong’were investigated. Physiological responses were assessed by measuring the content of malondialdehyde（MDA），ascorbic acid（AsA）and reduced glutathione（GSH），soluble proteins，as well as superoxide dismutase（SOD）and peroxidase（POD）activities. Concurrently，transcriptome sequencing was performed to analyze gene expression changes under chlorpyrifos treatment. The results showed that foliar application of 1.67 g · L^-1 chlorpyrifos significantly promoted flowering in‘Yinduhong’wax apple. Concurrently，the activity of antioxidant enzymes（SOD and POD）and the content of ascorbic acid（AsA），reduced glutathione（GSH），and soluble proteins in the leaves increased. Transcriptome analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes（DEGs）were primarily enriched in photosystems and photosynthetic membranes，involving photosynthesis pathways. Among 27 key DEGs identified，8 were related to respiration，4 to photosynthesis，3 to carbohydrate metabolism，2 to flowering regulation，4 to salicylic acid pathway，1 to auxin signaling，3 to abscisic acid response，and 2 to redox homeostasis. Partial least squares structural equation modeling（PLS-SEM）demonstrated significant correlations among most variables. Module analysis indicated a positive relationship between the redox homeostasis module and flowering induction module，with two key DEGs（SsHTH and SsOxr1）in these modules showing positive regulation and playing crucial roles in wax apple flowering induction.

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• Cloning and Functional Analysis of Cuticular Wax Synthesis Gene SlCER1-7 in Tomato
• ZHANG Ruiyi, FENG Wenjia, LI Benben, SONG Yiying, WEI Mingyue, CHAI Guaiqiang, and HUO Yanbo
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1733-1744. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2023-0624
• Abstract ( 65 ) HTML ( 29 ) PDF (2964KB) ( 29 ) 　　　

• The bioinformatics，expression analysis and transgenic technology were used to reveal the biological function of SlCER1-7，the results showed that SlCER1-7 had a total length of 2 078 bp and contained a complete open reading frame of 1 884 bp，encoding 627 amino acids. Bioinformatics analysis showed that SlCER1-7 was a hydrophilic protein. Homology alignment and phylogenetic analysis showed that SlCER1-7 was closely related to CER1 in eggplant. Meanwhile，SLCER1-7 was mainly expressed in mature leaves，green pericarp，yellow pericarp and red pericarp，but not in young leaves. Finally，the overexpression transgenic lines were obtained by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation，the results showed that the total wax content of transgenic tomato fruits were significantly increased，especially the straight chain C33 alkanes and the branched chain C32 alkanes，and the water-holding capacity of transgenic fruits were enhanced.

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• Functional Analysis of StHY5 Associated with Low-Temperature Stress in Potato
• DOU Xueting, ZHU Xi, ZHANG Ning, and SI Huaijun
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1745-1757. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0723
• Abstract ( 61 ) HTML ( 11 ) PDF (2035KB) ( 11 ) 　　　

• HY5 is a class of bZIP transcription factor. HY5 is involved in regulating plant light response and abiotic stress. In this study，the functions of the StHY5 and its encoded protein were analyzed，and the subcellular localization was observed using potato cultivar‘Atlantic’as the experimental material. The expression pattern of StHY5 gene was analyzed under 4 ℃ low-temperature stress by qRT-PCR method. The overexpression and interference expression vectors of StHY5 gene were constructed，and obtained transgenic potato plants through genetic transformation technology. The changes of reactive oxygen species under 4 ℃ low-temperature treatment. The results showed that the coding sequence of StHY5 gene was 477 bp，encoding 158 amino acids. StHY5 protein was located in the nucleus，and it belonged to unstable hydrophilic proteins，without signal peptide and transmembrane structure. It had conserved evolutionary among different species，and had the highest evolutionary relationship with wild tomato and Solanum stenotomum. StHY5 protein was closely related to 10 proteins interaction，including 1 photosensitive pigment A，2 B-box proteins，and 3 histone deacetylases. There were cis-acting elements involved in light-responsive and hormone-responsive in the promoter region of StHY5 gene. The qRT-PCR results showed that StHY5 gene was consistently up-regulated in expression during low-temperature. The superoxide dismutase（SOD），peroxidase（POD），catalase（CAT）activities and proline（Pro）content of StHY5 gene overexpression plants were significantly higher and the malondialdehyde（MDA）content was significantly lower than wild type plants under low-temperature treatment. However，StHY5 gene interference expression plants was reversed under low-temperature treatment.

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• Establishment a System to Obtain CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing Plants Based on Hairy Root Transformation in Potatoes
• SONG Qianna, SONG Lushuai, DUAN Yonghong, BAI Xiaodong, and FENG Ruiyun
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1758-1768. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0690
• Abstract ( 50 ) HTML ( 9 ) PDF (1414KB) ( 9 ) 　　　

• The StFBH3，StbHLH52 and StPDS genes were targeted by five CRISPR/Cas9 vectors for genome editing with GFP fluorescence screening marker in tetraploid potato cultivar Desiree，Qingshu 9 and Jinshu 16. The stem segments were infected by Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated genetic transformation to induce hairy roots，then the transformation rate and gene editing efficiency were evaluated. Further，whole potato plants were regenerated from hairy roots based on the optimized regeneration system and the mutations were identified. The sequencing showed that five editing vectors were all activity in the three potato varieties. Among them，the knockout efficiency for single target of StPDS were 87.8% and 80.0% in hairy roots of Desiree and Jinshu 16，respectively，while that of StFBH3 was 72.7% in Qingshu 9 hairy roots. The fragment deletion efficiency for dual-target of StbHLH52 was 19.4% in Desiree hairy roots. Moreover，the efficiency of plants regenerated from hairy roots in Desiree，Qingshu 9 and Jinshu 16 were 60%，75% and 50%，respectively. The editing efficiency of regenerated plants was 100%，and the StPDS-knockout line displayed the albino phenotype. The establishment of technology system in this study can quickly verify the target site activity and efficiently obtained edited potato plants，which provides a technical support for gene function research and precise genetic breeding in potatoes.

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• Expression Analysis of the Catalase Genes FfCAT1 and FfCAT2 in Flammulina filiformis
• ZHANG Tuo, NIE Menghan, LIU Yuanyuan, DUAN Xinlian, HAN Xing, XIE Baogui, and YAN Junjie
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1769-1779. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0744
• Abstract ( 47 ) HTML ( 16 ) PDF (1473KB) ( 16 ) 　　　

• In order to explore the role of catalase gene（CAT）in the development of fruit body in Flammulina filiformis，two catalase genes were identified based on the whole-genome of F. filiformis，named FfCAT1 and FfCAT2，respectively. The length open reading frame of the FfCAT1 gene was 1 557 bp and encoded 518 amino acids. The length open reading frame of the FfCAT2 gene was 1 692 bp and encoded 563 amino acids. The proteins encoded by both genes were located in the cytoplasm，contained no transmembrane domains. However，FfCAT1 did not have a signal peptide，while FfCAT2 had signal peptide between amino acid residues 18-19. Conserved domain and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that FfCAT1 and FfCAT2 belonged to monofunctional catalases. The qRT-PCR results suggested that FfCAT1 was highly expressed in the pileus of maturation stage and the expression level was significantly up-regulated in the ejection spore stage of pileus. The expression level in the lamella was significantly higher than that in the context. FfCAT2 was highly expressed in the pileus of elongation stage，but the expression of FfCAT2 gene was less different in different stages of development of the pileus，and it was significantly down-regulated when the pileus diameter was 3.3 cm. There were no significant differences in the lamella and context of 0.9 cm diameter pileus. These results indicated that two FfCAT genes played different roles in the growth and development of the pileus. FfCAT1 was the major gene involved in the regulation of the development of the pileus and was related to the ejection of spores on the lamella.

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• Development of SSR Markers Based on Transcriptiome of Naematelia aurantialba
• LI Xuesong, HUA Rong, SUN Dafeng, YUE Wansong, ZHANG Junbo, LI Jianying, and LIU Shaoxiong
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1780-1788. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0767
• Abstract ( 48 ) HTML ( 11 ) PDF (380KB) ( 11 ) 　　　

• Based on experimental validation and bioinformatics，SSR analysis result were exploited from the transcriptiome of Naematelia aurantialba and seven strains. In the meantime，100 SSR were selected for primer design and experimental verification. A total of 4 268 sequences of 6 SSR types were retrieved. The main type of trinucleotide（P3）and hexanucleotide（P6），accounting for 64.20% of the total SSR number. Seven pairs of primers were obtained by verification test and analyzed. UPGMA clustering results showed that the seven N. aurantialba strains were mainly divided into three groups. At the same time，the DNA fingerprint coding of seven pairs of primers was constructed and the 14-digit molecular fingerprint database codes of seven N. aurantialba strains were obtained. In order to provide a theoretical basis for the germplasm resources identification，variety selection and molecular marker-assisted breeding of N. aurantialba.

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• The Functional Analysis of RcTCP9 Gene in Response to Salt and Drought Stress in Rosa chinensis‘Yueyuehong’
• DONG Xuanke, LI Yingyang, MA Yuwan, CAI Yanfang, DING Qihan, CHEN Haixia, LI Yufan, and CHEN Jiren
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1789-1802. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0791
• Abstract ( 47 ) HTML ( 12 ) PDF (1808KB) ( 12 ) 　　　

• Using cuttings of Rosa chinensis‘Yueyuehong’as materials，the expression patterns were analyzed of the RcTCP9 gene under varying durations of salt and drought stress. Results indicated that the expression of RcTCP9 was significantly upregulated under both stress conditions，demonstrating its active response. The gene was transiently expressed in tobacco，and observations of green fluorescence signals revealed that the encoded protein localized to the nucleus. Using Virus-Induced Gene Silencing（VIGS）and transient overexpression experiments，silencing RcTCP9 led to physiological damage in plants under salt and drought stress，characterized by wilting of leaves and roots，increased ion permeability，and elevated malondialdehyde（MDA）levels，while the activities of catalase（CAT）and peroxidase（POD）decreased. Overexpressed rose petals exhibited reduced cellular membrane damage，lower fading rates，and decreased MDA levels，showing improved resistance. The expression levels of stress tolerance related genes in overexpressed plants under salt and drought stress were determined，and the results showed that the expression of RcTCP9 may enhance plant stress tolerance by regulating the RcPR4-1 and RcNAC091 related pathways. In summary，the RcTCP9 gene plays a significant role in enhancing the tolerance of roses to salt and drought stress.

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• Identification and Development of SNP Markers for Lagerstroemia indica Leaf Color Based on Transcriptome and Genome Analysis
• YU Cannan, GUO Anfang, LU Chun, MIAO Hongjun, HOU Xiaoyu, YUAN Tianyi, LIU Guoyuan, WEI Hui, ZHANG Jian, and YU Chunmei
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1803-1816. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0650
• Abstract ( 41 ) HTML ( 11 ) PDF (2386KB) ( 11 ) 　　　

• To identify leaf color-linked SNP markers in crape myrtle cultivars（Lagerstroemia indica），19 crape myrtle cultivars and their F₁ progeny were utilized. This study conducted both eye-based and CIE L^*a^*b^*-based measurements of leaf color during various growth stages（young leaf stage，full leaf stage，full bloom stage，and leaf abscission stage），and integrated transcriptome and genome data with targeted sequencing to identify candidate SNP markers potentially linked to leaf color，and with these SNPs subsequently detected in the F₁ progeny using high-resolution melting curve（HRM）analysis. The results indicated that both eye-based estimation and CIE L^*a^*b^* values could effectively distinguish leaf colors，with the a^* value specifically differentiating green leaves from colored leaves（red and purple-red）. Additionally, significant differences were observed in brightness value L^*，yellowness value b^*，chroma C，and hue angle h among the three types of leaf color. A total of fifty-three candidate SNP sites were obtained through data mining，but targeted sequencing results revealed that only six of them had a ΔSNP greater than 0.2. Sanger sequencing and HRM analysis of the F₁ plants derived from‘Dynamite’and‘Baiyun Yingxia’showed that four SNPs had a correlation coefficient with leaf color ranging from 0.184 to 0.623 reaching a significant level，and one SNP marker exhibited dimorphism between green and colored leaves. The higher the frequency of the purple（red）（P）type genotype，the deeper the leaf color，suggesting that the purple-red leaf color is caused by the additive effect of multiple genes.

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• Grading of Quantitative Traits and Genetic Diversity in DUS Test of Phalaenopsis Cultivars
• ZHONG Shengyuan, LUO Yuting, CHEN Jianfeng, ZHONG Haifeng, CHEN Yuhua, and LIU Zhonghua
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1817-1827. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0501
• Abstract ( 47 ) HTML ( 14 ) PDF (746KB) ( 14 ) 　　　

• Based on the《Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness，Uniformity and Stability （DUS）of New Varieties of Plants：Phalaenopsis》，a study was conducted on the classification of 15 quantitative traits among 416 Phalaenopsis orchid cultivars and their genetic diversity. The results showed that all 15 traits could be divided into nine expression states，with inflorescence length，flower number，and peduncle length displaying a left-skewed distribution，while the remaining traits exhibited a generally normal distribution pattern with a central peak and declining tails. The coefficients of cultivars was high for each quantitative trait，and the index of gentic diversity was high，whereas within-variety coefficients of variation were relatively low，indicating good stability and abundant genetic diversity among the tested cultivars. Principal component analysis grouped the traits into three clusters: plant size，flower number，and flower size，with the inclusion of flower number as a potential DUS test grouping trait. Cluster analysis divided the 416 cultivars into seven major groups at a squared Euclidean distance of 5，with the majority concentrated in four groups.

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• Cloning and Functional Analysis of PagNAC47 Gene and Its Promoter from Poplar
• SU Yuting, WANG Huilin, ZHAO Pan, ZHOU Xinyi, ZHENG Shuya, LIU Ran, GUO Huihong
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1828-1842. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0674
• Abstract ( 51 ) HTML ( 11 ) PDF (4639KB) ( 11 ) 　　　

• The PagNAC47 gene and its promoter were cloned from 84K poplar（Populus alba × Populus glandulosa）. Coding region of the PagNAC47 was 1 107 bp in length，encoding 368 amino acids，with a typical NAM domain of the NAC transcription factor family. It had the highest homology with the PtrNAC47 protein from P. trichocarpa，which was 92.2%. The promoter of PagNAC47 was 1 794 bp in length，containing the basic promoter elements of TATA-box and CAAT-box and auxin（IAA）response elements. RT-qPCR analysis showed that the expression level of PagNAC47 was significantly higher in old roots，secondary stems and mature leaves than that in young roots，primary stems and young leaves，and the expression level was the highest in mature leaves. Furthermore，detection of PagNAC47-specific promoter-driven GUS reporter gene revealed that the PagNAC47 was mainly expressed in vascular tissues of organs and mature leaves. The 35S promoter-linked PagNAC47 was transformed into 84K poplar，and it was found that transgenic poplar overexpressing PagNAC47 significantly increased plant height，stem thickness，secondary xylem width and layer，vessel and fiber cell area，and cambium layer compared with the wild type，and similar phenomena were also observed in the secondary xylem of roots. Compared with wild-type poplar，the net photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content of overexpressing PagNAC47 84K poplar were significantly increased，and the photosynthetic performance was enhanced. The expression of PagNAC47 was inhibited by IAA，and the inhibitory effect gradually enhanced with the increase of IAA concentration.

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Cultivation·Physiology & Biochemistry

• Effect of Exogenous Strigolactones on the Secondary Growth of Poncirus trifoliata Seedlings Stem
• ZHOU Tian, LÜ Shuaili, HAN Han, LI Yujia, LIU Haiqiang, and LIU Yongzhong
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1843-1854. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0528
• Abstract ( 52 ) HTML ( 15 ) PDF (1468KB) ( 15 ) 　　　

• Applying varying concentrations of strigolactones（SLs）analogue GR24（0，10，20，30 μmol · L^-1），growth，anatomical structures，and physiological-biochemical changes were assessed，along with the analysis of gene expression via Quantitative Real-time PCR. The result indicated that stem thickening growth was concentration-dependent，only with the 20 μmol · L^-1 treatment significantly enhanced it. It was characterized by increased xylem width，the thickness of secondary cell wall thickening，the content of lignin，cellulose，and hemicellulos. The level of endogenous hormones，including SLs，auxin and gibberellins，also increased. qRT-PCR revealed significantly upregulated expression of auxin-responsive genes（ARF5），xylem-related genes（KNAT1，STM，CAD），and cambium-specific genes （WOX4），indicating that the 20 μmol · L^-1 GR24 treatment enhanced thickening by promoting secondary xylem cell proliferation and lignification，and inducing hormone increases.

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• Effects of GA₃ and 6-BA on Sugar Accumulation and Fruit Ripening in ‘Jiangnanjin’Sweet Cherry
• LI Duyue, WU Yanjun
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1855-1869. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0537
• Abstract ( 42 ) HTML ( 10 ) PDF (720KB) ( 10 ) 　　　

• In order to investigate the effects of gibberellin（GA₃）and 6-benzylaminopurine（6-BA）on the development of fruit quality in sweet cherries，the new variety‘Jiangnanjin’and the traditional variety‘Rainier’，grown under protected cultivation in southern China，were used as experimental materials. Different concentrations and ratios of GA₃ and 6-BA were applied twice，with a 10-day interval，starting from the blooming stage to the end of the peak flowering stage. The fruit set rate，fruit quality indicators，endogenous hormone levels，related enzyme activities，and gene expression were tested. The results indicated that the application of GA₃ alone was particularly effective in promoting maturation and sugar accumulation in‘Jiangnanjin’，enhancing its fruit quality. The application of 90 mg · L^-1 GA₃ twice increased the average fruit weight to 5.65 g and the soluble solids content to 20.37% at harvest of ‘Jiangnanjin’，which also led to an earlier dynamic trend of endogenous hormone changes during the fruit ripening process compared to the control，significantly increasing the soluble sugar content，the activity of related enzymes，and the expression levels of genes regulating sugar synthesis and anthocyanin production. Overall，‘Jiangnanjin’was found to be more responsive to lower concentrations of GA₃ than ‘Rainier’. In summary，the appropriate concentration of GA₃ positively influences the fruit set rate and sugar content in‘Jiangnanjin’sweet cherries and promotes fruit ripening. The application of 90 mg · L^-1 GA₃ during the blooming stage and followed by a second application after an interval of 10 days was identified as the optimal concentration for this purpose.

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• Quantitative Analysis of Potato Growth Under Different Nitrogen Management Practices Based on UAV-Acquired RGB Imagery
• YE Yanran, LIU Jiangang, BIAN Chunsong, GUO Huachun, and JIN Liping
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1870-1882. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0518
• Abstract ( 42 ) HTML ( 6 ) PDF (901KB) ( 6 ) 　　　

• The dynamics of potato canopy growth are closely associated with the accumulation of plant dry matter and the formation of tuber yield. To explore the potential of low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV）RGB imagery for rapid，non-destructive，and accurate quantification of field potato growth under different nitrogen management conditions and for predicting tuber yield，an experiment was conducted using the potato cultivars‘Shepody’and‘Zhongshu 18’. In this study，treatments included two forms of nitrogen（nitrate and ammonium nitrogen）applied at three different rates（0，150，and 300 kg · hm^-2）. UAV RGB imagery collected during 2022 and 2023 was used to extract the average plant height and canopy cover of each plot，and a canopy development model was constructed for the entire growth season. Furthermore，at key growth stages，measurements were taken for natural plant height and total plant dry mass，and tuber yield was determined at harvest. The results showed that：（1）The accuracy of extracting plant height from experimental plots using RGB imagery was affected by the growth stage. Within a given growth period，the linear correlation between the average plant height derived from the imagery and the actual plant height became stronger as the plants grew taller. Specifically，during the starch accumulation stage，the coefficient of determination was 0.91 in 2022 and 0.81 in 2023. Furthermore，ammonium nitrogen demonstrated a greater effect in enhancing both plant height and canopy cover than nitrate nitrogen.（2）Different nitrogen management practices had varying effects on the key parameters of the potato canopy development model. Firstly，the application of nitrogen fertilizer significantly increased the maximum canopy cover，with the most pronounced effect observed for the treatment of 150 kg · hm^-2 ammonium nitrogen，followed by 300 kg · hm^-2 ammonium nitrogen，300 kg · hm^-2 nitrate nitrogen，150 kg · hm^-2 nitrate nitrogen，and the control. Although no significant differences were found in the canopy senescence time among all treatments，the use of ammonium nitrogen，particularly at an application rate of 150 kg · hm^-2，significantly reduced the thermal days required for the plants to reach maximum canopy cover. Furthermore，the total integrated area under the potato canopy development curve was significantly increased with ammonium nitrogen treatments，and the treatment with ammonium nitrogen at 300 kg · hm^-2 significantly extended the above-ground growth period.（3）The integrated area under the canopy development curve reflects the cumulative interception of photosynthetically active radiation（R² > 0.99）. This parameter is significantly and positively correlated with total plant dry mass，with R² of 0.90 in 2022 and 0.87 in 2023. Moreover，the integrated area under the canopy development curve during the tuber bulking stage showed the strongest linear correlation with tuber yield，with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.82. In conclusion，the canopy development model constructed using RGB imagery accurately quantified the dynamics of canopy growth and dry matter accumulation in field-grown potato plants throughout the entire growing season，thereby providing a robust scientific basis for yield prediction and the optimization of nitrogen management strategies.

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• Understanding the Anabolic Differences of Steroidal Glycoalkaloids in Leaf Between Two Potato Varieties Grown at the Winter and Spring Cropping Patterns
• ZHU Xingzhe, SU Xianyue, SU Wang, ZHANG Honglin, PAN Zhechao, LIU Tao, and XU Xiaoyu
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1883-1900. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0667
• Abstract ( 42 ) HTML ( 5 ) PDF (2716KB) ( 5 ) 　　　

• To investigate the impacts of habitat discrepancy on the steroidal glycoalkaoids（SGA）anabolism in the leaves of different potato genotypes under the winter（W）and spring（S）cropping patterns in Yunnan Province，the Qingshu 9（Q9）and Lishu 6（L6）potato varieties were chosen as the major experimental materials for the joint comparative proteomic and metabolomic analysis. Alterations occurred on the leaf SGA metabolism have been preliminarily characterized at the key tuber growing stages，when the two potato varieties were cultivated under the winter and spring cropping patterns，respectively. Results indicated that：（1）Total contents of SGA in the potato leaves displayed an uprising trend with the tuber maturation，but had the most obvious significant differences at the tuber bulking stage，which was thereby selected for omics research based on the two comparison modes（Q9-leafW vs. Q9-leafS；Q9-leafW vs. L6-leafW）（2）It was found that the genotypic difference and cropping pattern induced habitat discrepancy had greatly disturbed the overall protein expression regulation and the resulted metabolites repartitioning in potato leaves on both primary and secondary metabolic levels.（3）There were a total of four differentially expressed proteins and accumulated metabolites，which are highly associated with the SGA biosynthesis，identified in the two comparison modes，respectively. Their diversified functions exhibited distinct regulatory effects on the composition and content variations in the potato leaf SGA across the primary and secondary metabolic phases of the SGA biosynthesis.

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• Identification of Antifungal Substances of Bacillus atrophicus and Their Effects on Flavor Quality of Thick-skinned Melons During the Storage Period
• LI Hong, NIU Xinxiang, WU Fengkang, YANG Hongmei, CHU Min, BAO Huifang, WANG Ning, ZHAN Faqiang, YANG Rong, LOU Kai, and SHI Yingwu
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1901-1914. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0515
• Abstract ( 45 ) HTML ( 9 ) PDF (1120KB) ( 9 ) 　　　

• In order to identify the lipidic bacteriostatic substances of Bacillus atrophicus SHZ-24，silica gel column chromatography and liquid-liquid mass spectrometry（LC-MS）were used to identify the lipidic bacteriostatic substances of strain SHZ-24 based on the previous experiments；at the same time，the lipidic bacteriostatic substances extracted from the bacterium were applied on thick-skinned melons cultivar‘Xizhoumi 25’to determine the effects of the lipidic bacteriostatic substances on the flavor quality of thick-skinned melons during the storage period and on the enzymatic activities of ethanol dehydrogenase（ADH）and lipoxygenase（LOX）during the storage period to investigate the effects of the lipid antibacterial substances on the flavor quality of thick-skinned melons during the storage period. The results showed that the lipid extract of Bacillus atrophicus SHZ-24 had obvious inhibitory effect on the melon rot pathogen CH-3（Fusarium oxysporum），with the inhibitory activity of 66.54%，and the hydroxy fatty acids were the main inhibitory substances in strain SHZ-24. The lipid inhibitory substances of strain SHZ-24 were applied to thick-skinned melons，and the volatile flavor substances increased from 25 to 35 kinds of volatile flavor substances and the types of ester substances were increased，among which the relative contents of ethyl acetate，caprolipids，2-methylbutyl acetate and other major flavor substances were obviously increased compared with those in thick-skinned melons after 25 days of storage after the treatment of pathogenic bacteria，and the types and relative contents of alcohols，aldehydes and hydrocarbons were reduced compared with those in thick-skinned melons after 25 days of storage after the treatment of pathogenic bacteria. The relative content of alcohols，aldehydes and hydrocarbons decreased. The key enzymes of ester metabolism of thick-skinned melon were measured and found that compared with the thick-skinned melon infected by pathogenic bacteria，the ethanol dehydrogenase of thick-skinned melon treated with lipid inhibitory substances of the bacterium increased 4.53 times，and the activity of lipoxygenase was increased by 1.18 times，which indicated that the lipid extracts of the bacterium could inhibit the infection of thick-skinned melons by pathogenic bacteria and at the same time regulate the key enzymes of lipid metabolism to delay the decay of thick-skinned melons and the maintenance of melon aroma. The maintenance of melon aroma was also promoted. The bacterial inhibitory substance of strain SHZ-24 showed a good biological control effect during storage of thick-skinned melons，which can be applied to the storage and preservation of melons.

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Plant Protection

• Detection and Risk Resistance Assessment of Botrytis cinerea on Tomatoes to Prochloraz
• REN Xiaoyan, JIA Yiwei, WANG Luwei, LI Tianshuang, LIU Haixia, YAO Yanping, WANG Chunwei, and WANG Meiqin
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1915-1925. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0425
• Abstract ( 42 ) HTML ( 13 ) PDF (883KB) ( 13 ) 　　　

• In order to determine the resistance level and risk of Botrytis cinerea to prochloraz. In this study，the mycelial growth rate was used to establish sensitivity baseline and detect the resistance level of B. cinerea to prochloraz in different regions of Shanxi Province. The risk of resistance of B. cinerea to prochloraz was investigated by chemical acclimation and ultraviolet induction，and the genetic stability and biological characteristics of the resistant mutants were studied，and the cross-resistance between prochloraz and commonly used agents was determined. The results showed that the 89 isolates of B. cinerea isolated from areas where prochloraz had never been used were established with the sensitivity baseline of（0.1297 ± 0.0765）μg · mL^-1. A total of 116 isolates of B. cinerea were isolated from various parts of Shanxi Province，and 6 isolates with low resistance were detected with a resistance frequency of 5.17%. Three medium-resistant strains and one low-resistance strain were obtained by chemical acclimation and ultraviolet induction，and the resistance could be stably inherited after 8 generations，and the biological characteristics of the resistant mutant were lower than those of the parental strains. There is no cross-resistance between prochloraz and tebuconazole，fluopyramide，fludioxonil，pyrimethanil，iprodione and chlorothalonil. In conclusion，the B. cinerea in Shanxi Province was sensitive to prochloraz and had a low resistance level，while the resistant strains of prochloraz to B. cinerea were not easy to form dominant strains，and belonged to the low to medium resistance risk. In production，agents with different mechanisms of action can be used alternately to prevent and control tomato gray mold and delay the occurrence of prochloraz resistance of B. cinerea.

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• Resistance Identification of Cowpea and Preliminary Study on Defense Mechanism Against Aphid
• CHEN Yiting, LIANG Xiao, LIU Ying, WU Chunling, LOU Yonggen, and CHEN Qing
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1926-1934. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0627
• Abstract ( 37 ) HTML ( 7 ) PDF (756KB) ( 7 ) 　　　

• This study aims to evaluate and selecte the aphid-resistant cowpea cultivars and elucidates the resistance mechanism. Five cowpea cultivars that preserved in the lab were subjected to greenhouse identification by using aphid damage index method. The results showed that‘Texuan Zhangtangwang’and‘Yingkou Cowpea’were identified as resistant cultivars，and‘Dabaipi’was identified as moderate resistant cultivars，in addition，‘Zhichi Cowpea’and‘Pink Cowpea’was identified as highly susceptible cultivars. Furthermore，while selecting Texuan Zhangtangwang（R）and Zhichi Cowpea（S）as the tested materials，by comparing the development and reproduction indicators of Aphis craccivora on two different cultivars of cowpeas and the parameters of their population life tables，it was found that the aphid-resistant cultivars‘Texuan Zhangtangwang’could significantly inhibit the growth and population growth of the A.craccivora. Enzyme-linked immunoassay（ELISA）was used to compare the influence on the contents of phenylpropane-related secondary substances and activities of synthetases on resistant and susceptible cowpea cultivars while being infested by A. craccivora. The results showed that the contents of total flavone and lignin and the enzyme activities of PAL and C4H in aphid-resistant cultivar were significantly higher than those in aphid-sensitive cultivar. From the perspective of host-pest interaction，this study elucidates the mechanism of anti-aphid defense reaction of aphid-resistant cultivars by activating phenylpropane metabolic pathway，thereby reducing the fitness of A. craccivora population.

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New Cultivars

• A New Strawberry Cultivar‘Jixiang’
• YANG Lei, LU Peng, ZHANG Jianjun, YANG Li, FAN Jingfang, LI Li, and FENG Jia
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1935-1936. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0272
• Abstract ( 46 ) HTML ( 19 ) PDF (1241KB) ( 19 ) 　　　

• ‘Jixiang’is an early-ripening strawberry cultivar bred from the cross of‘653-44’בBenihoppe’. The fruit is conic-long conic shape with red and good gloss. The size of the fruit cavity is either absent or small. The first class fruit weighs 45.4 g and the second class 28.8 g. The fruit is sweet and sour with a strong aroma. The soluble solids content of‘Jixiang’is 12.2 %，the total sugar content is 7.79 %，the total acid content is 0.63% and the vitamin C content is 0.616 mg · g^-1. The fruit firmness of the fruit is 0.568 kg · cm^-2. It has high firmness and good shipping quality. The cultivar is resistant to powdery mildew and leaf spot. The yield of per plant is up to 468.4 g. In Hebei，‘Jixiang’is planted in late August to mid-September as a winter crop and ripens in mid-November. As a summer crop，it is planted in mid to late April and ripens in mid to late June.

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• A New Cultivar of Cauliflower‘Wenxuan70’
• ZHU Shiyang, LIU Qing, ZHONG Weijie, and TANG Zheng
• Acta Horticulturae Sinica. 2025, 52(7): 1937-1938. DOI:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2024-0698
• Abstract ( 41 ) HTML ( 5 ) PDF (1132KB) ( 5 ) 　　　

• Cauliflower‘Wenxuan 70’is a conventional early maturing cultivar selected from the single plant of cauliflower‘Ruixueteda 80’. The plant is erect to semi erect. Its plant is about 50 cm in height and 70 cm in width. The leaf length and the leaf width is 48.5 cm and 27.5 cm，respectively. The leaves are light green with thick wax. Its curd is semi-circular，compact and white. The curd weight is 1.35 kg with 15.0 cm in transverse diameter and 8.5 cm in lengthways diameter. The new cultivar is suitable for planting in autumn in Zhejiang，and its growing period from transplantation to harvest is about 70 days. The yield is 40 500 kg · hm^-2.

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