ISSN 1000-6346
CN 11-2326/S
中华人民共和国农业农村部 主管
中国农业科学院蔬菜花卉研究所 主办
CN 11-2326/S
中华人民共和国农业农村部 主管
中国农业科学院蔬菜花卉研究所 主办
During ‘The 14th Five-year Plan’ period (2021-2025), the comprehensive mechanization rate of vegetable production in China increased from approximately 35% to 48%. The annual sales volume of intelligent agricultural machinery in 2025 rose by roughly 42% compared with that in 2020, indicating steady progress in the modernization of the vegetable industry. Targeting widely cultivated bulk vegetables including headed cabbage, Chinese cabbage, pepper, tomato, radish and carrot, this paper systematically reviews the research and application advances of mechanized and intelligent technologies for seedling raising, field management and harvesting of vegetables, based on the outputs of the National Key R & D Program, provincial and ministerial award-winning technologies, and official statistical data from the agricultural mechanization sector. In the seedling raising stage, high-speed fully automatic sowing lines can achieve a daily sowing capacity of over 3 million seeds, and the survival rate of fully automatic grafting machines exceeds 97%. For field management, the machinery-adapted cultivation technology of east-west ridge solar greenhouses raises the comprehensive mechanization rate of protected vegetables from 41% to over 77%. Laser weeding robots maintain a stable weed removal rate above 95%. Domestic intelligent greenhouse systems for environmental and water-fertilizer regulation are comparable to mainstream international products in performance, with a cost reduction of approximately 40%. In the harvesting stage, combined harvesters for peppers, root vegetables and headed vegetables have formed an industrialized promotion pipeline, whereas low-damage harvesting for densely planted fast-growing leafy vegetables remains a prominent technical bottleneck. At present, the mechanization of bulk vegetables is continuously confronted with challenges such as insufficient R & D investment, limited coverage of mechanization-supporting technologies across vegetable categories, weak foundations for the integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy, short pilot demonstration chains, and lagging socialized services. For the 15th Five-Year Plan period, it is recommended to allocate stable special research funds and coordinate R & D deployment by vegetable category and production stage, deepen the integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy to establish a collaborative machinery-agronomy R & D mechanism, strengthen pilotscale popularization, and build regional agricultural service systems, so as to promote the transformation and upgrading of whole-process mechanization and intelligence for bulk vegetable production in China.
Shandong Province boasts a large-scale facility-based pepper cultivation industry, characterized by high industrial benefit, advanced greenhouse management and cultivation techniques, and initial success in brand awareness. It is experiencing robust growth and has become a crucial pillar for increasing farmers’ incomes and promoting rural industrial revitalization. However, several challenges persist, including weak seed industry, frequent outbreaks of pests and diseases, rising production costs, insufficient post-harvest processing chains, underdeveloped intensive development, limited brand recognition, and delayed delivery of scientific and technological services. This paper systematically reviewed and analyzed the current status and existing bottlenecks of the facility-based pepper industry in Shandong Province. Strategies were proposed to enhance the competitiveness and sustainable development of the industry, such as cultivar renewal, technology upgrading, optimization of cultivation patterns, strengthened quality control, improvement of industrial chains, and promotion of brand value. The paper provides references for the high-quality development of the facility-based pepper industry in Shandong Province.
As a vital component of specialty agriculture, China's yellow chive industry has undergone large-scale, standardized, and intelligent development driven by policy support and continuous technological upgrading. This paper systematically reviews the evolution of yellow chive cultivation through three stages — the traditional experience-dominated stage, the technological innovation transformation stage, and the stage of industrial integration and upgrading — and identifies the technological characteristics, production benefits, and quality and safety levels associated with each. The analysis reveals a spatially differentiated development pattern comprising traditional leading production areas in Sichuan and Chongqing, emerging core areas in Yunnan and Guizhou, and distinctive supplementary regions in Northwest China. The current state of the industry is further examined from the perspectives of variety and germplasm resources, planting scale and business models, international market development, key green production technologies, industrial chain extension, standardized production, and brand building. The results indicate that the national planting area for yellow chives is estimated at 20 000–30 000 hm², with a total yield of 400 000–500 000 t and a total output value of 6–8 billion CNY, and that a relatively complete industrial chain and a multi-tiered geographical indication (GI) protection system have been established. However, prominent constraints remain, including a shortage of specialized varieties suited to blanching cultivation, lagging germplasm evaluation and seed multiplication, low levels of grower organization, structural imbalances in mechanization, high postharvest losses, limited brand premiums, and a weak technology extension system. Accordingly, this paper proposes the following optimization pathways: accelerating the breeding of specialized blanching-type varieties and the establishment of an elite-seed multiplication system; building industrial consortia; developing dedicated agricultural machinery; improving cold chain logistics; strengthening regional public brand development; and refining mechanisms for green technology extension and quality traceability. Looking ahead, digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and big data will empower the entire industrial chain, driving the transformation of the yellow chive industry toward intelligent, green, and high-value-added production. The market size is projected to exceed 10 billion CNY by 2030, establishing the industry as a characteristic pillar industry supporting rural revitalization.
Fusarium wilt of celery, incited by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. apii, has emerged as the most devastating fungal disease in major celery-producing regions worldwide. As a destructive soil-borne pathogen, it is characterized by long-term survival in soil, high virulence, rapid dissemination, and extreme recalcitrance to control once established. Consequently, this disease severely constrains the sustainable development of the celery industry and incurs substantial economic losses. This paper systematically reviews domestic and international research advances concerning symptomatology, pathogenic races, epidemiology, pathogenic mechanisms, and resistance breeding of celery Fusarium wilt. The aim is to provide a theoretical basis for the integrated management of this disease and to facilitate further research on the breeding of resistant cultivars.
The distribution of 16 disease resistance genes, including Ty-1, Ty-2, Ty-3, Ty-3a, Ty-4, ty-5, Rx-4, SlPub24, Rx-3, Prf, Mi, Sw-5, Sw-7, Ph-2, Ph-3, and Sm, in 158 domestic and foreign processing tomato varieties and hybrids were examined using gene-based molecular markers or markers tightly linked to the gene. Of the 158 varieties and hybrids, 94.3% carried the Sm gene, 44.3% carried the Ph-3 gene, 34.2% had the Mi-1 gene. Over 20.0% varieties and hybrids carried one of Sw-5, Prf and Rx-4, and less than 10.0% varieties and hybrids carried one of the remaining genes. Three genes Ty-4, Ph-2 and Rx-3 were not detected in the tested tomato materials. Meanwhile, 98.7% varieties and hybrids carried at least one of the 16 examined disease resistance genes. Eighty-one varieties and hybrids carried 2 to 3 disease resistance genes. The variety ‘SS812’ had 6 genes. However, no varieties and hybrids carried 7 or more disease resistance genes. Comparison of disease resistance genes in domestic and foreign varieties and hybrids revealed that 65.8% foreign varieties carried 4–6 genes, while most (81.7%) domestic varieties and hybrids carried 1-3 genes, and only 16.7% domestic varieties and hybrids carried 4–6 genes. Overall, domestic varieties and hybrids carried less disease resistance genes than foreign varieties. The results will provide reference for processing tomato production and disease resistance breeding.
Clubroot is a globally widespread soil-borne disease caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin, primarily damaging the growth and development of cruciferous crops like mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. et Coss.) by inducing tumor formation in the root system. Breeding clubroot-resistant varieties is currently a critical issue to address. Using resistant mustard ‘BC076’ as the maternal parent and susceptible ‘BA024’ as the paternal parent, an F₂ population was constructed. After inoculation with P. brassicae, the resistance ratio in the F₂ population was 1.75:1, suggesting that mustard clubroot resistance may be a quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes. Further BSA-Seq sequencing analysis of two parental mixed pools and two F₂ extreme pools preliminarily located the resistance gene on chromosome B02, spanning the 54.002–63.001 Mb interval, which contains 1720 genes. Functional annotation revealed these genes are involved in plant-pathogen interactions, MAPK signaling pathways, and plant hormone signal transduction, the disease-related pathways. Transcriptional sequencing analysis of ‘BC076’ and ‘BA024’ at 0, 6, and 8 days post-inoculation identified 25 candidate resistance genes through differential expression and WGCNA analysis. Randomly selected nine of these genes were validated via qRT-PCR, showing expression trends consistent with resistance phenotypes and transcriptomic results, indicating their potential role in mustard clubroot resistance. These findings provide a foundation for in-depth exploration of mustard resistance genes and breeding programs against clubroot.
To address the low efficiency and poor stability of PCR template preparation from immature seeds of Chinese cabbage(Brassica rapa L.ssp.pekinensis), and to achieve pre-harvest molecular marker-based purity testing of hybrid cultivars, an efficient PCR template preparation technique for immature seeds was established through formulation optimization based on two commonly used rapid preparation buffers(TE and Chelex-100). Using‘Niupai No.19’‘2023-1’‘2023-6’ and their parental lines as experimental materials, the optimal sampling stage was determined and the appropriate storage conditions of the templates were clarified. In addition, the purity of hybrids derived from‘Niupai No.19’ and‘2023-6’ was evaluated by both molecular marker pre-testing and field identification, respectively. The results showed that the PCR templates prepared with TE or Chelex-100 buffer alone failed to yield stable amplification, whereas an equal-volume mixture of the two buffers supplemented with proteinase K achieved an amplification success rate of 100.00%. The optimal sampling stage was 21-27 days after pollination. No significant decline in amplification performance was observed when the prepared templates were stored at 4℃ for 90 days or at-20℃ for 180 days. Furthermore,there was no significant difference between the molecular marker pre-testing results and field identification results for the hybrid purity of‘Niupai No.19’ and‘2023-6’. In conclusion, an efficient method for PCR template preparation from immature seeds of Chinese cabbage was established in this study, which substantially advances the timing of hybrid purity identification.
To identify hub genes involved in capsanthin synthesis, we used pepper inbred lines B158 and B161 with significant differences in capsanthin content as research materials. We selected pepper fruits at the color change stage(S1, 50 days after flowering), the pre-ripening stage(S2, 55 days after flowering), and the fully ripening stage(S3, 60 days after flowering). We compared the differentially expressed genes between the two materials through transcriptome sequencing. Through weighted gene co-expression network analysis(WGCNA), the screened genes were divided into 17 modules. It was found that the MEblack and MEpurple modules were significantly correlated with capsanthin content. A network was constructed based on capsanthin-related DEGs in the two modules, and five transcription factors, including MYB4, EIN3, NCED1, WRKY31, and WRKY6, which may play important regulatory roles in capsanthin accumulation. The research results provide an important basis for in-depth exploration of the molecular regulatory mechanism of capsanthin accumulation.
To broaden the genetic basis for tomato breeding and screen elite materials with both high sugar content and large fruit size, an F2 segregating population consisting of 228 individuals was constructed in this study, using wild currant tomato ‘LA1547’ as the male parent and cultivated tomato ‘Momotoro’(TTL) as the female parent. Thirty high-sugar individual plants were selected from this population for phenotypic analysis. The results showed that the sugar content of the F2 segregating population ranged from 7.00 to 8.93 Brix, single fruit weight varied from 6.65 to 58.18 g, and fruit vertical and horizontal diameters were 18.14-55.64 mm and 25.2061.65 mm, respectively. A weak negative correlation(r=-0.24) was detected between single fruit weight and sugar content. On the basis of single fruit weight, these high-sugar materials were classified into three categories:small-fruited type(<15 g), medium-fruited type(15-35 g), and large-fruited type(> 35 g). With the screening criteria of sugar content≥ 7.00°Brix and single fruit weight> 35 g, a total of 12 candidate materials with both high sugar content and large fruit size were identified. Among them, lines S27, S65, S116, S174, S104 and S51 exhibited superior comprehensive performance. Based on the tomato reference genome ITAG4.0, genome-wide smail-fruited type(<15 g), medium-fruited type(15-35 g), and large-fruited type(> 35 g). With the screening quantitative trait loci(QTLs) or candidate gene regions associated with soluble solids content, 23 pairs of SSR primers were designed and screened, of which 14 pairs displayed stable polymorphism. These polymorphic primers were distributed on chromosomes 2,3, 6, 7, 8 and 9, providing a molecular marker basis for subsequent genetic linkage map construction and investigations of phenotypic traits related to single fruit weight and sugar content.
Bacterial soft rot disease severely impacts the konjac industry in China. Pathogenesis-related protein 5(PR5) is known to play crucial roles in plant defense responses and enhance resistance to various pathogens; however, its functional characterization in konjac, particularly in response to disease stress, remains largely unexplored. In this study, based on conserved domain characteristics of the PR5 family, AkPR5s genes were screened from the whole genome of Amorphophallus konjac. We comprehensively characterized their physicochemical properties, conserved motifs, domains, gene structures, phylogenetic relationships, and promoter cis-acting elements using bioinformatics approaches. A total of 38 AkPR5s family genes were identified in konjac, phylogenetic analysis divided the AkPR5s proteins into six branches. Notably, all members of Clade II harbored the GH64-TLP-SF domain, and the majority of them were transcriptionally upregulated upon soft rot pathogen infection. Collinearity analysis revealed only six pairs of collinear genes and one pair of tandem duplication genes, indicating low homology among family members. The promoter regions of AkPR5s contained multiple cis-acting elements responsive to hormone signals(e.g., abscisic acid, MeJA, SA) and defense signals,suggesting roles in disease resistance, stress tolerance, and growth. Transcriptome data analysis of AkPR5s genes in different tissues and upon soft rot pathogen infection, combined with qRT-PCR validation of key candidate genes under methyl jasmonate(MeJA) and salicylic acid(SA) treatments, revealed that the expression of Clade II members(containing the GH64-TLP-SF domain), including AkPR5.5, AkPR5.8, and AkPR5.12,was significantly upregulated by soft rot pathogen infection as well as MeJA and SA application. These results suggest that these three genes may play important roles in the disease resistance response of Amorphophallus konjac. In conclusion, this study identified 38 PR5s family genes in Amorphophallus konjac, among which AkPR5.5, AkPR5.8, and AkPR5.12 play critical roles in resisting soft rot infection. These findings provide new candidate genes for molecular breeding of disease-resistant konjac.
Root maggots are a group of underground pests that cause serious damage to agricultural production in China, characterized by small body size, short life cycle, high reproductive rate, strong concealment and great difficulty in control. Therefore, accurate species identification is a prerequisite for guiding scientific control. In this study, DNA barcoding was used to identify root maggot species damaging 5 crops, including dandelion, celery, cherry radish, maize and wheat. Sequence homology comparison, base composition analysis, and intra- and inter-species genetic distance analysis were performed on 25 mtCOⅠ gene sequences of root maggots. Meanwhile, a phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the neighbor-joining method to clarify their species assignmeng. In addition, the toxicity of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianidin to root maggots from dandelion, celery and cherry radish was determined using the combined stomach and contact toxicity bioassay method. Results showed that length of high homology sequence of mtCOⅠ gene in 5 crops was 611 bp, base composition was consistent with the typical insect mitochondrial DNA, A + T average content (69.1%) was higher than G + C average content, most base substitutions were synonymous substitutions. Average intra-specific genetic distance was 0.001 4, average inter-specific genetic distance was 0.108, the two were not overlapped. The phylogenetic tree revealed that dandelion root maggots (PGYQ), celery root maggots (QCQ) and cherry radish root maggots (LBQ) clustered with Bradysia odoriphaga, corn root maggots (YMQ) clustered with Bradysia impatiens, and wheat root maggots (XMQ) clustered with Bradysia ocellaris. The laboratory toxicity bioassays indicated that the LC50 values of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianidin against the root maggot populations from dandelion, celery and cherry radish ranged from 53.553-134.730 mg · L-1 , 51.627-369.614 mg · L-1 and 129.612-239.518 mg · L-1 , respectively. The results will further provide the theoretical basis for the research on root maggot species, the guidance of pest monitoring and the formulation of comprehensive control strategies.
Chalcone isomerase(CHI) is one of the key enzymes in the plant flavonoid biosynthesis pathway and catalyzes the conversion of naringenin chalcone to naringenin, which acts as an essential precursor for the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds. To investigate the phenolic profiles altered by CHI overexpression,we utilized wild tomato(Solanum pimpinellifolium PI365967(PP)), which is rich in phenolics, as the experimental material. After generating CHI-overexpression lines, we performed qualitative and quantitative analysis of phenolic compounds in tomato using UPLC-PDA-qTOF-MS. The results showed that, among the 13 identified phenolic compounds, CHI overexpression significantly increased the accumulation of ten phenolic compounds including rutin downstream of the phenylalanine metabolic pathway. In addition to regulating flavonoid biosynthesis, CHI overexpression also elevated the contents of chlorogenic acid and caffeoyl glucoside in two competitive metabolic pathways. This study provides a material basis for further research on phenolic metabolism in tomato.
To identify key regulatory factors and quantitative prediction methods for high-yield and high-quality hydroponic lettuce cultivation,‘Yimanyuan’ was used as the test material. Single-factor controlled experiments were conducted to systematically investigate the effects of 6 nutrient solution formulas, 3 photoperiods, and 5 pH gradients on lettuce growth and quality indices. A multi-index comprehensive evaluation system was established based on yield, quality and safety dimensions, and a yield prediction model of lettuce was constructed using the random forest regression algorithm. The results showed that nutrient solution formula,photoperiod and pH exerted significant regulatory effects on all indices of lettuce. Nutrient solution formula A6,photoperiod B2, and pH treatment C3 were the optimal levels for each factor. Notably, treatment C3 achieved the synergistic improvement of high yield, high quality and safety with the highest comprehensive score of 99.91.Correlation analysis revealed that shoot fresh weight was significantly positively correlated with leaf number,soluble sugar content was significantly positively correlated with vitamin C content, whereas shoot fresh weight had significantly negatively correlated with nitrate content. The optimized random forest model exhibited a test-set R² of 0.752 9 and an RMSE of 11.39 g, the feature importance ranking was nutrient solution formula(49.8%)> photoperiod(26.1%)> pH(24.1%). This study provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the precise optimization of cultivation parameters and yield prediction in hydroponic lettuce production.
Lectin(PHA) is distributed throughout various organs of common beans, and consuming raw or inadequately heated beans may lead to food poisoning. To clarify the PHA content in bean seeds and screen low-toxicity germplasm, this study measured the PHA content in seeds from 402 common bean germplasm accessions. Results showed that PHA content varied significantly among the accessions(P< 0.01), ranging from 0.002 to 1.378 mg· g⁻¹, with an average of 0.258 mg· g⁻¹ and a coefficient of variation of 1.036. Accession F0004027 had the lowest PHA content(0.002 mg· g⁻¹), while F0002810 had the highest(1.378 mg· g⁻¹).Cluster analysis based on PHA content divided the tested germplasm into three groups: Group I(high PHA content, 0.608-1.378 mg· g⁻¹), comprising 54 accessions; Group II(moderate PHA content, 0.239-0.595 mg· g⁻¹), comprising 104 accessions; and Group III(low PHA content, 0.002-0.238 mg· g⁻¹), comprising 244 accessions. Approximately 60.70% of the germplasm belonged to the low-PHA group. Among them,seven accessions(F0004027,F0000175,F0008958,F0003252,F0000133,F0009982, and F0000397) had PHA contents below 0.01 mg· g⁻¹, with values ranging from 0.002 to 0.009 mg· g⁻¹, indicating low risk of food poisoning and high potential for breeding utilization and promotion. This study elucidated the variation characteristics of PHA content in common bean germplasm and identified a set of superior low-PHA germplasm,providing material foundation and data support for genetic improvement and safe production of low-toxicity common bean varieties.
To explore the alleviating effect of foliar application of brassinolide(BR) on the growth and photosynthetic characteristics of ‘Benihoppe’ strawberry seedlings under NaCl stress and screen the optimal application concentration, strawberry seedlings were used as test materials and subjected to root irrigation stress with 85.5 mmol·L⁻¹ NaCl.Five concentrations of BR(0,0.1,0.2,0.3, and 0.4 μmol·L⁻¹) were foliarly applied to seedling leaves. Plant growth indicators, leaf relative water content, photosynthetic pigment content, and photosynthetic gas exchange parameters were determined on the 5th, 10th, and 15th days after treatment, and principal component analysis was performed for comprehensive evaluation. The results showed that salt stress significantly inhibited the growth and photosynthesis of strawberry seedlings. On the 15th day of treatment,plant height, stem diameter, single plant fresh weight, and leaf relative water content decreased by 20.21%,10.72%, 12.52%, and 14.50 pp, respectively; the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid decreased by 48.17%, 49.06%, 48.43%, and 27.91%, respectively; and net photosynthetic rate(Pₙ), stomatal conductance(Gₛ), intercellular CO₂ concentration(Cᵢ), and transpiration rate(Tᵣ) decreased by 68.44%,47.16%,30.15%, and 63.39%, respectively. Exogenous BR application alleviated saltinduced injury to varying degrees and improved all physiological indicators. The 0.3 μmol·L⁻¹ BR treatment(B3) exhibited the optimal effects on restoring plant height, stem diameter, and single plant fresh weight. On the 15th day after treatment,these indicators increased by 17.71%, 8.94%, and 7.81% respectively, compared with the salt stress control(B0),and significantly improved Pₙ by 40.59%. The 0.4 μmol·L⁻¹ BR treatment(B4) performed best in improving leaf relative water content, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll content,carotenoid contents, and Pₙ, which increased by 6.17 pp, 43.43%, 20.98%, 36.20%,16.13%, and 52.31%, respectively, compared with B0. The comprehensive ranking of treatments based on principal component analysis was CK> B3> B2> B4> B1>B0. In conclusion, foliar application of 0.3 μmol· L⁻¹ brassinolide can effectively alleviate saltcaused damage to strawberry seedlings with the best comprehensive effect, which can be used as a reference concentration for chemical regulation in strawberry cultivation in salinized protected soil.
To investigate the effect of intercropping row ratios of fresh maize-fresh soybean on the canopy light environment, photosynthetic characteristics, and yield formation of soybean, and to identify the optimal intercropping pattern for the Tianjin region, fresh maize ‘Meiyu 25’ and fresh soybean ‘Maodou No.3’ were used as experimental materials. Five treatments were set up, including three intercropping row ratios of fresh maize-fresh soybean(M2S4, M4S4, M4S6), as well as fresh maize(M) and fresh soybean(S) monoculture. The canopy light environment, top compound leaf morphology and photosynthetic characteristics of fresh soybean at the early pod-setting stage, as well as the plant agronomic traits and fresh pod yield,and the intercropping system productivity and interspecific competitiveness at maturity stage were systematically analyzed. The results showed that affected by maize shading, the canopy light environment of soybean exhibited marked diurnal variation. Under intercropping conditions, the eastern rows at 9:00 and the western rows at 15:00 were heavily shaded, leading to a significant decrease in light intensity along with an increase in the proportion of ultraviolet and far-red light. All intercropping treatments reduced the visible light proportion and the R:FR ratio in the soybean canopy throughout the day. Intercropping treatments reduced the total leaf biomass per plant and inhibited the Gₛ and Cᵢ of the top compound leaf. The Pₙ, Cᵢ, Gₛ and Tᵣ of the top compound leaf of soybean in the inner rows were all higher than those in the border rows across all intercropping treatments, and the Pₙ of soybean in the inner rows of three intercropping treatments significantly increased. Intercropping treatments led to an increase in the height of the lowest pod but a decrease in stem diameter, along with a reduced rate of two pods per plant but an increased rate of three pods per plant. Under the M4S4 row ratio, the fresh pod yield was the highest, and there was no significant difference compared to soybean monoculture. The land equivalent ratio(LER) of all three intercropping patterns was greater than 1, with M4S4 having the highest LER, and the competitive stress from maize on soybean was relatively the smallest. In conclusion, adopting a 4:4 fresh maize-fresh soybean row ratio can effectively coordinate light competition between the crops, mitigate the suppression on fresh soybean, and achieve high population yield.
Based on the classic 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine method, this study established and optimized an efficient and accurate high-throughput method for determining total ascorbic acid(TAA)content in cucumber fruit. The microplate reader-based method was compared with the conventional spectrophotometric method to evaluate their differences in linearity, sensitivity, precision, and performance in practical sample analysis. Subsequently, accumulation and degradation dynamics of TAA during cucumber fruit development and maturation were characterized. Furthermore, the effect of vacuum freeze-drying on improving the analytical stability of TAA determination in cucumber fruit was evaluated. The results indicated that the microplate reader method exhibited superior sensitivity, with a limit of detection(LOD) of 0.27 μg· mL⁻¹ and a limit of quantification(LOQ) of 0.81 μg· mL⁻¹, respectively,compared to 0.42 μg· mL⁻¹ and 1.27 μg· mL⁻¹ for the spectrophotometer. No significant difference(P=0.955> 0.05) in TAA measurements was observed between the two methods when the same cucumber samples were analysed, indicating high equivalence between the methods. During fruit development from 0 to 9 days after anthesis(DAA), TAA content exhibited either an initial increase followed by a decline or a continuous decreasing trend. Vacuum freeze-drying significantly improved measurement repeatability,as the relative standard deviation(RSD) of freeze-dried samples(3.58%-5.78%) was significantly lower than that of fresh samples(8.55%-11.71%). Consequently, standardized sampling, vacuum freeze-drying,and microplate reader-based method can improve the precision of TAA determination in cucumber fruits,providing a reliable technical framework for high-throughput phenotyping and quality-oriented cucumber breeding.
Using watermelon cultivar ‘Zhemi No.8’ as the test material, the effects of seed soaking with different concentrations of rhamnolipids(RLS) on the germination of aged watermelon seeds and the growth of soaked seedlings were investigated. Germination rate, root length and stem diameter of aged seeds were determined systematically, and principal component analysis was conducted on root length, plant height,stem diameter and biomass of soaked seedlings. The results showed that seed soaking with 40 mg· L⁻¹ rhamnolipid significantly increased germination rate, root length and stem diameter of aged watermelon seeds, while 30 mg· L⁻¹ rhamnolipid achieved the best promotion effect on the growth of soaked watermelon seedlings. Furthermore, root morphological indices under hydroponics and seedling growth indices under substrate culture were measured to explore the effects of rhamnolipid at different concentrations on watermelon seedling growth under different cultivation modes. The optimal concentration was 30 mg· L⁻¹ for foliar application under substrate culture and 10 mg· L⁻¹ for root application under hydroponics. This study can provide theoretical support for optimizing the technical system of strongseedling cultivation in watermelon, and has practical reference value for promoting green quality and efficiency improvement of the watermelon industry.
Cucumber is widely cultivated in greenhouse. Despite light is important for plant growth,development, and yield production, light utilization mechanism and affecting factors are highly uncertain. In this study, 19 commonly cultivated greenhouse cucumber varieties were investigated. Analysis of correlation,principal component, and cluster were performed to examine the relationships among parameters of plant growth parameters, agronomic traits, and light use efficiency(LUE). The dynamic time-series technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution(DTOPSIS) was employed to comprehensively evaluated light utilization capacity of cucumber. The results indicated that: LUE initially increased and achieved the maximum value when leaf area index(LAI) was around 3.0, LUE was positively correlated with LAI, net assimilation rate(NAR),crop growth rate(CGR), specific leaf weight(SLW), yield per plant(Y) and leaf dry weight. Leaf dry weight and LAD(leaf area duration) were identified as key indicators for assessing the light utilization capacity of cucumbers, according to PCA. Based on cluster analysis, 19 cucumber cultivars were classified into three groups. ‘Modi’ and ‘958’ were identified as the top two varieties, according to the DTOPSIS analysis method and the comprehensive ranking of light energy absorption and utilization, which can serve as representative high-light-efficiency varieties. This study elucidated the relationships between light energy absorption characteristics and parameters of growth, development, and agronomic traits in cucumber, providing a theoretical basis for defining high light-use-efficiency plant architecture in protected cucumber cultivation.
To address the issues of poor germination and difficult seedling establishment in triploid seedless watermelon, seeds of the triploid seedless watermelon variety ‘Quanxinhuapi Seedless’(2018) were used as experimental material. Untreated seeds imbibed in distilled water without seed coat cracking served as Control 1(CK), while seeds imbibed in distilled water followed by seed coat cracking served as Control 2(CK1). Seed treatments were performed using zinc sulfate solutions at varying concentrations(500, 1 000, 2 000, 4 000, and 8 000 mg· L⁻¹). Relevant seed and seedling parameters were measured to investigate the effects of zinc sulfate treatment on seed germination and seedling growth of triploid seedless watermelon. The results demonstrated that the 2 000 mg· L⁻¹ zinc sulfate treatment significantly promoted seed germination, yielding the highest values of germination potential, germination percentage, germination index, vigor index, and radicle length. These values were 119.30%,71.20%,126.10%,207.30%, and 36.65% higher than those of CK, respectively, with all differences reaching statistical significance. Furthermore, this treatment markedly enhanced seedling growth, exhibiting the highest values in plant height, stem diameter, leaf length, leaf width, root length, aboveground and belowground fresh weights, aboveground and belowground dry weights, and seedling vigor index. These parameters increased by 8.0%, 8.9%, 37.8%, 23.3%, 23.8%, 86.1%, 132.4%, 151.7%, 146.2%, and 150.9%, respectively, with all differences being statistically significant. Physiological measurements indicated that the 2 000 mg· L⁻¹ zinc sulfate treatment resulted in the highest activities of catalase(CAT), superoxide dismutase(SOD), and peroxidase(POD)in seeds, with increases of 218.5%, 109.9%, and 331.2%, respectively, compared to CK, while malondialdehyde(MDA) content decreased by 80.6%, and all differences were statistically significant. These findings suggest that zinc sulfate effectively activates the antioxidant defense system of seedless watermelon seeds, enhances the capacity to scavenge reactive oxygen species(ROS), preserves the structural integrity of cell membranes, and establishes a favorable metabolic environment for rapid seed germination. In summary, soaking seeds in a 2 000 mg· L⁻¹ zinc sulfate solution for 6 hours yielded the optimal outcomes for germination and seedling growth of triploid seedless watermelon seeds. This study provides evidence for the role of zinc sulfate treatment in regulating seed vigor and seedling growth in seedless watermelon.
1. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid(2,4-D) dipping and bumblebee pollination are common pollination methods in protected tomato cultivation. In this experiment, the cherry tomato cultivar‘Qianxi No.6' was used as the test material to compare the effects of these two pollination methods on fruit quality and flavor compounds of tomato. Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) in ripe fruits were analyzed using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectroscopy(GC-IMS). The results showed that bumblebee-pollinated tomatoes exhibited significantly higher single fruit weight and more seeds, with a significant positive correlation between seed number and fruit weight, while no significant correlation was observed in the 2,4-D treatment group. Furthermore, bumblebee pollination significantly increased the contents of soluble solids, titratable acidity, lycopene, soluble protein, and vitamin C, thereby effectively improving fruit flavor. A total of 82 VOCs were detected across the two treatments, of which 69 were identified, including 10 ketones, 31 aldehydes, 16 alcohols, 8 esters, 3 acids, and 1 other compound. Principal component analysis(PCA) revealed significant differences in VOC profiles between the two pollination methods. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) identified 14 differential volatile compounds, with(E)-2-methyl-2-butenal exhibiting the highest VIP value, contributing a green aroma. The findings of this study indicate that bumblebee pollination outperforms 2, 4-D flower dipping in improving tomato yield and comprehensive quality, possessing great value for popularization and application. It should be noted that the conclusions of this study are specific to the 2,4-D dipping treatment, and further validation is required to determine their applicability to other compliant fruit-setting hormones.
To improve the low nitrogen and phosphorus utilization efficiency and reduce the large migration and leaching losses caused by unreasonable fertilization in vegetable fields, this study conducted experiments including optimization of nitrogen form for topdressing,(OPT) and optimized nitrogen form of topdressing combined with nitrogen synergist fulvic acid(OPT+ C1) and polyaspartic acid(OPT+ C2). Habitual fertilization(FP) and no-topdressing nitrogen fertilizer(CK) served as controls. This study investigated the effects of optimized nitrogen forms and supplementary application of synergists on cucumber yield, vitamin C and nitrate concentrations, soil nitrogen migration, nitrogen leaching, and apparent nitrogen use efficiency. The experimental results showed that the treatments of optimized nitrogen form of topdressing,and optimized nitrogen form combined with nitrogen synergists(fulvic acid or polyaspartic acid), increased cucumber yield and vitamin C content to varying degrees. Among them, the treatments combining optimized nitrogen form with synergists achieving the best yield-increasing effect, with a yield increase of 7.8% to 9.9% relative to farmers' practice(FP). The treatments could also improve the apparent nitrogen utilization efficiency. The apparent nitrogen use efficiency under OPT, OPT+C1 and OPT+C2 was increased by 1.3, 1.5 and 1.3 percentage points, respectively, compared with FP. Additionally, the increased application of humic acid and polyaspartic acid enhanced the accumulation of nitrate nitrogen in the topsoil, thereby promoting crop uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrients in the topsoil, and reducing the leaching, migration and accumulation of nitrogen into deeper soil layers. In summary, optimizing the application form of top dressing nitrogen and increasing the application of humic acid and polyaspartic acid had the best effect of improving cucumber yield and vitamin C content, and reduce cucumber nitrate content, and reducing soil nitrogen leaching and migration.
Using the cucumber cultivar‘Heiliangjingdian 308’ as the test material, four mixed spent mushroom substrate formulations were used as the base substrates, and humic acid and a compound microbial inoculant were incorporated to formulate different composite functional seedling substrates. This study investigated the effects of mixed substrate, humic acid and the compound microbial inoculant on cucumber seedling cultivation. The results showed that the physicochemical properties of the composite substrates met the growth requirements of cucumber seedlings. Compared with the basic formulations(T1-1, T2-1, T3-1, and T4-1), functional seedling substrates(T1-4, T2-4, T3-4, and T4-4) increased the seedling quality index by 11.67%, 37.50%, 23.19% and 34.92%, respectively. Multi-factor analysis of variance indicated that substrate,humic acid and compound microbial inoculant all had significant effects on cucumber seedling growth, with compound microbial inoculant exerting a stronger influence than humic acid. The interactions among substrate,humic acid and compound microbial inoculant had extremely significant effects on chlorophyll a content,total chlorophyll content, growth rate, and seedling quality index, indicating a coupling effect among the three components. Based on the comprehensive evaluation index(D value) calculated using the membership function,treatment T3-4 exhibited the highest D value and the best overall seedling performance. Therefore, the composite seedling substrate under treatment T3-4 is recommended for cucumber seedling production, consisting of mushroom substrate: perlite: coconut coir: peat=2V:2V:2.5V:3.5V,supplemented with 10 g·L-1 humic acid and a compound microbial inoculant containing 0.5 x 10° cfu· mL-1 Bacillus veleensis and 1.2 x 10° cfu·mL-1 Bacillus licheniformis.
In east-west ridged solar greenhouses, light energy in the north ridge or row was insufficient due to shelter from south rows. To alleviate it, in this study, we investigated the effects of LED supplemental lighting with different light qualities on the yield and quality of sweet pepper‘Huangtaiji’. Sweet peppers were cultivated under no supplemental lighting(CK), white light(WL), and different red(R)/blue(B) ratios(R3B1, R5B1, R8B1). Peak wavelengths of red and blue LED were 650 and 460 nm, respectively. The supplementary light intensity was 75 umol· m-2· s-1, and the daily supplementary light duration was 4 h. Results demonstrated that compared with CK,LED supplemental lighting significantly enhanced pollen viability, fruit set rate, and single-fruit weight in sweet pepper,achieving yield increases of 15.54%-19.52%, with the R3B1 and WL treatments exhibiting the most pronounced yield-enhancing effects. LED supplemental lighting effectively reduced the incidence of sunscald in southern rows and increased the marketable fruit rate by 9.84-24.70 percentage points, with red-blue LED inter-plant supplemental lighting demonstrating superior improvement in marketable fruit rate compared to WL. The R3B1 treatment was most effective in enhancing fruit vitamin C content. In conclusion, LED interlighting with optimal parameters can remarkably improve both the yield and quality of sweet pepper in east-west cultivation in solar greenhouses.
To address the challenges of low efficiency and high error rates in traditional manual tomato sorting, as well as fruit occlusion and uneven illumination in complex greenhouse environments, this paper proposes a lightweight real-time detection system that integrates the YOLOv5 algorithm with the Convolutional Block Attention Module(CBAM). A dataset containing 2 860 multi-scene tomato images was constructed and manually annotated into six categories based on fruit diameter and coloring area. The CBAM attention mechanism was embedded into the C3 modules of the YOLOv5s backbone network, where the channel attention module enhances color-spectral features related to ripeness, and the spatial attention module focuses on fruit contour regions under occlusion or uneven lighting. A dual-branch classifier was designed to jointly recognize fruit size(large/small) and maturity level(unripe/semi-ripe/ripe). Experimental results demonstrate that the improved model achieves a mean average precision(mAP@0.5) of 86.0% and a single-frame inference speed of 13 ms on the RTX 3050Ti platform. The mAP@0.5 is improved by 4.4 percentage points compared to the baseline YOLOv5s, and the Average Precision(AP) in occluded scenes is increased by 8.7 percentage points. The system has been deployed on a harvesting robot, achieving a harvesting efficiency 1.4 times higher than that of manual labor, thereby providing a reliable solution for intelligent post-harvest grading of fruits and vegetables.
To address the lack of a systematic evaluation method for unmanned production planning schemes for open-field vegetables, taking the overall planning scheme for unmanned production of open-field vegetables as the evaluation object, a multi-level evaluation index system consisting of 4 first-level indicators and 15 second-level indicators were established from the dimensions of production operation environment, operation efficiency, machinery-agronomy compatibility, and economic benefits. The EWM and AHM were coupled to quantitatively analyze the evaluation indicators, and the evaluation model was established using the TOPSIS to score the unmanned production planning schemes for open-field cabbages. The results show that the indicators with higher weights were the water and fertilizer saving effect(0.083), pesticide reduction(0.083), and pest control and spraying efficiency(0.080), harvesting efficiency(0.080), and transplanting qualification rate(0.079).The scheme 1 that comprehensively realizes the unmanned production technology throughout the process is the optimal scheme, with a relative closeness value of 0.794, which is much higher than scheme 2(0.135) and scheme 3(0.197). The evaluation results of different planning schemes have significant distinguishability. This evaluation method not only provides theoretical basis and tool support for the optimization and decision-making of unmanned production planning for open-field vegetables, but also has reference significance for the systematic evaluation research of intelligent production of other field crops.
‘Dongshu 1720’ is a new fresh-eating pepper $F_{1}$ hybrid developed by crossing inbred line ‘SX17’ as female parent and ‘SX20’ as male parent. It is early-maturing, with a growth period is about 120 days. When grown in spring greenhouse, it takes about 48 days from transplanting to the first harvest. The first flower appears at the 7th-8th node. The plant type is semi-erect, with an average plant height of 54.5 cm and a plant spread of 62.0 cm. The leaves are green and lanceolate, and the corolla is white. It has strong fruit-setting ability, and rapid fruit development. The immature fruit is green and turns bright red when mature, about average single fruit weight of 20 g. The fruit is goat-horn shaped, about 13 cm in longitudinal diameter and 3 cm in transverse diameter, with no depression at the fruit shoulder and medium glossiness. The vitamin C content is 540 mg· kg⁻¹ and capsaicin content is 631 mg· kg⁻¹. It is moderately resistant to cucumber mosaic virus(CMV), tobacco mosaic virus(TMV), anthracnose, and Phytophthora blight. The yield is about 27 t·hm⁻². It is suitable for early-spring and late-autumn greenhouse cultivation in Shandong Province and Xuzhou city, Jiangsu Province.
‘Yuqiezhen No.2’ is a new resistant to bacterial wilt eggplant rootstock F₁ hybrid developed by crossing the male-sterile line ‘CMSBW2’ as female parent and inbred line ‘LJ-18-1’ as male parent. The plant of this rootstock is male sterile, with degenerated anthers. In the absence of artificial pollination, the fruits failed to enlarge normally and contained no developed seeds. The plants show vigorous growth, and well-developed roots. The 1 000-seed weight of this rootstock is 4.9-5.2 g. The seedlings emerged within 5-7 days after sowing, and showed moderate vigor during the seedling stage. The main stem and leaves are thornless, which facilitates grafting operations. This rootstock shows excellent graft compatibility, and a high survival rate. It is highly resistance to bacterial wilt, and has no adverse effects on scion fruit quality. It is suitable for grafted eggplant cultivation in bacterial wilt-prone areas.
‘Longshuhong No.1’ is a new colored potato cultivar for fresh consumption and processing into potato chips and French fries, developed through sexual hybridization and systematic selection with ‘Longshu No.7’ as the female parent and ‘Yinzirou 03-1’ as the male parent. The tubers are long-elliptical, with red, smooth skin, and shallow eyes. The flesh is red, with a yellow layer just beneath the skin. The contents of anthocyanin, vitamin C, dry matter, crude starch, crude protein, reducing sugar, Fe and Zn are 183.50 mg· kg⁻¹, 180.25 mg· kg⁻¹, 23.38%, 17.92%, 2.58%, 0.15%, 12.64 mg· kg⁻¹ and 3.39 mg· kg⁻¹, respectively. It has excellent eating quality after boiling or steaming, and the fried chips are brightly and attractively colored, crisp in texture and rich in potato aroma. It is late-maturing cultivar, with a growth period of about 120 days. The plant is erect and about 70 cm tall. The stem is green with purplish-red pigmentation. The leaves are green, with sparse leaflets, slightly wrinkled surfaces and undulate margins. The corolla is white. Its resistance to mosaic virus disease, ring rot and late blight is stronger than that of control ‘Longshu No.6’. The yield is about 30 t· hm⁻², with an average marketable-tuber rate of 80.6%, 7.1 tubers per plant, and average tuber weight of 102 g. It is suitable for promotion and cultivation in the high-altitude cold-humid region, the semi-humid areas and the central semi-arid region of Gansu.
‘Jinlusun No.1’ is a new asparagus F₁ hybrid developed by crossing the elite female line ‘GD-47-3’ as female parent and the elite male line ‘GM-25-5’ as male parent. The plant is tall, with an average height of 2.2 m, and first branch at approximately 34.9 cm. The cladode is green and acicular. It is dioecious with unisexual flowers. The young spear is light green, nearly cylindrical and uniform in size. The apical scales are small and tightly closed. The average spear diameter is 2.3 cm, and single spear weight is 29.6 g. The contents of vitamin C, soluble sugar and titratable acid are 3.31 g· kg⁻¹, 348.2 g· kg⁻¹ and 27.3 g· kg⁻¹, respectively. It has excellent quality. It is early-maturing and can be harvested in the second year after transplanting. Its yield is about 13.5 t· hm⁻² and 21.0 t· hm⁻² in the second and third years, respectively. It is suitable for both white and green asparagus production in Shanxi and other areas with similar climatic conditions.
