Physiology and Management of Fruit Quality in Citrus and Kiwifruits

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Fruit Production Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 11012

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Bioscience and Industry, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Republic of Korea
Interests: molecular breeding and physiology in citrus, kiwifruits, and tea plant
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruit quality is a key factor related to the consumer’s consumption and the producer’s income, and thus attracts a great deal of interest for both growers and scientists. Fruit quality is determined by several factors such as size, sweetness, flavor, peel and flesh color, firmness, freshness, and bioactive compounds, which are affected by genetic composition and growing conditions. Recently, the management of fruit quality has become very important for sustaining the fruit industry, as climate changes as a result of global warming are accelerating and becoming more severe everywhere. Therefore, advanced knowledge on the physiology and management of fruit quality is required in order to improve the cultural performance and introduce new cultivars under a full understanding of the complexity of fruit quality. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to deliver advanced scientific information by inviting articles and reviews related to the physiology and management of fruit quality, especially in Citrus and Actinidia crops.

Prof. Dr. Kwan Jeong Song
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • soluble solids
  • acidity
  • firmness
  • peel and flesh coloration
  • bioactive compounds
  • cultivars
  • rootstocks
  • cultural practice and environment
  • abiotic stresses

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1068 KiB  
Article
Agronomic Performance of Sweet Orange Genotypes under the Brazilian Humid Subtropical Climate
by Michele Corpolato Maia da Silva-de Paula, Deived Uilian de Carvalho, Maria Aparecida da Cruz, Talita Vigo Longhi, Zuleide Hissano Tazima, Franklin Behlau, Sérgio Alves de Carvalho and Rui Pereira Leite, Jr.
Horticulturae 2022, 8(3), 254; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8030254 - 17 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2074
Abstract
The diversification of Citrus spp. orchards, for both scion and rootstock genotypes, is essential to prevent outbreaks of insects and diseases, improve yield and fruit quality, and extend harvesting and industrial juice processing. Furthermore, this enables growers to obtain higher off-season profits. Citrus [...] Read more.
The diversification of Citrus spp. orchards, for both scion and rootstock genotypes, is essential to prevent outbreaks of insects and diseases, improve yield and fruit quality, and extend harvesting and industrial juice processing. Furthermore, this enables growers to obtain higher off-season profits. Citrus plantings were prohibited in most regions of the state of Paraná in the past due to the spread of citrus canker disease. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of distinct early- and mid-season sweet orange cultivars (C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck) regarding vegetative growth, fruit quality, and yield under the Brazilian humid subtropical climate in order to select new alternatives of sweet orange for the industrial and fresh fruit markets. The experimental orchard was planted in 2012 with 15 sweet orange cultivars (early-maturing: Bahia Cabula, Diva, Cadenera, Marrs, Midsweet, Paulista, Rubi, and Westin; mid-season maturing: Berna Peret, Jaffa, Khalily White, Fukuhara, Seleta do Rio, Seleta Tardia, and Shamouti) grafted on Rangpur lime (C. limonia (L.) Osbeck). The experimental design was randomized blocks with three replicates and five trees per plot, analyzed between each maturation group. Data were submitted to analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s test (p ≤ 0.05). Regarding the early-season cultivars, Diva had the tallest trees with largest canopy diameter and volume, differing from Marrs, which had the smallest trees. Shamouti and Khalily White trees were greatly different from all other mid-season cultivars and produced low fruit load over the evaluated period. The early-season Midsweet scored the highest yield and technological index, similar to the mid-season Berna Peret, producing fruits of high juice quality. These genotypes are more effective under the current situation faced by the citrus industry, as the economic life of orchards has been reduced due huanglongbing (HLB). Altogether, Midsweet and Berna Peret genotypes, previously reported as being less susceptible to citrus canker under the same soil–climate condition, are precocious and exhibit higher agronomic potential to be planted in humid subtropical climates, including Brazil and other similar areas around the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiology and Management of Fruit Quality in Citrus and Kiwifruits)
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8 pages, 787 KiB  
Article
Pollen Application Methods Affecting Fruit Quality and Seed Formation in Artificial Pollination of Yellow-Fleshed Kiwifruit
by Eun Ui Oh, Seong Cheol Kim, Mock Hee Lee and Kwan Jeong Song
Horticulturae 2022, 8(2), 150; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020150 - 10 Feb 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2010
Abstract
This study investigated pollen application methods for artificial pollination in tetraploid kiwifruit cultivars ‘Halla Gold’ and ‘Sweet Gold’ grown in a nonheated plastic-film house in Jeju, Korea. Pollen of the hexaploid cultivar ‘Bohwa’ (A. chinensis var. deliciosa) bred in Korea was [...] Read more.
This study investigated pollen application methods for artificial pollination in tetraploid kiwifruit cultivars ‘Halla Gold’ and ‘Sweet Gold’ grown in a nonheated plastic-film house in Jeju, Korea. Pollen of the hexaploid cultivar ‘Bohwa’ (A. chinensis var. deliciosa) bred in Korea was used for artificial pollination. We examined the effect of repeated pollination, pretreatment of stigma with wetting materials, application of dry pollen or pollen in suspension on fruit quality, and seed formation. With repeated pollination, pollen tubes in the pistil reached and penetrated the ovule three days after artificial pollination, although the pattern varied depending on the number of dry pollen applications. In both cultivars, the number of pollen tubes was clearly higher following repeated pollination than following single pollination, and fruit weight, dry matter (DM), number of seeds, and 100-seed weight were also higher. When pistillate flowers were pollinated with dry pollen immediately after water sprinkle, both cultivars showed the lowest fruit weight, DM, firmness, number of seeds, and 100-seed weight, whereas there were no significant differences in fruit quality or seed formation for dry pollen application 1 h after water sprinkle, or immediately or 1 h after suspension medium sprinkle. For pollination using a pollen suspension, the fruit weight was lower in both cultivars. There were no significant differences in fruit quality and seed formation following application of dry pollen or a pollen suspension, except for fruit weight in ‘Sweet Gold’. It could be seen from the results of this study that raindrops or dewdrops on the stigma might reduce the efficiency of artificial pollination using dry pollen. Still, the application of repeated pollination enhanced the efficiency of artificial pollination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiology and Management of Fruit Quality in Citrus and Kiwifruits)
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12 pages, 2960 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Soluble Sugar Content, Related Enzyme Activity and Gene Expression in the Fruits of ‘Minihyang’ Mandarin on Different Rootstocks
by Ha Rim Hong, Eun Ui Oh, Seung Gab Han, Su Hyun Yun, Ho Bang Kim and Kwan Jeong Song
Horticulturae 2022, 8(1), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8010047 - 04 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1817
Abstract
‘Minihyang’ mandarin bears fruits with small size and high sugar content. ‘Minihyang’ mandarin grafted on trifoliate orange (TO) tends to be vigorous and develops water sprout open. It is associated with insufficient floral differentiation and fruit set. Recently, the use of Flying Dragon [...] Read more.
‘Minihyang’ mandarin bears fruits with small size and high sugar content. ‘Minihyang’ mandarin grafted on trifoliate orange (TO) tends to be vigorous and develops water sprout open. It is associated with insufficient floral differentiation and fruit set. Recently, the use of Flying Dragon (FD) as rootstock with a high dwarf effect has been proposed to improve this situation. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of two different rootstock genotypes on tree growth, fruit yield, and fruit quality at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. As a result of the study, in FD, tree vigor was stably maintained, fruit size was large, and the sugar content was high compared to the TO. Fructose, glucose, and sucrose of fruit continued to increase from development to maturity. In particular, fructose and sucrose were significantly higher in the fruits of the FD than those in TO at 150 and 220 days after anthesis. The total sugar content was also significantly higher in the fruit of the FD. The activities of SPS and SS associated with sucrose synthesis tended to be increased during the fruit maturity season, but there was no significant difference between the two rootstocks. On the other hand, the activities of SS and AI breaking down sucrose were high in FD at 150 and 220 days after anthesis. These results suggest that the unloading of sucrose might be increased and affect the sugar content. However, the results of real-time PCR analysis of gene expression related to sucrose metabolism did not show an association with changes in enzyme activity affecting sugar content. Therefore, further detailed studies on the process after the regulation of gene expression are likely to be needed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiology and Management of Fruit Quality in Citrus and Kiwifruits)
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Review

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18 pages, 6647 KiB  
Review
Breeding New Premium Quality Cultivars by Citrus Breeding 2.0 in Japan: An Integrative Approach Suggested by Genealogy
by Tokurou Shimizu
Horticulturae 2022, 8(6), 559; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8060559 - 20 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4234
Abstract
Developing varieties with diverse features that satisfy varied commercial needs, improving overall fruit quality, and quickly releasing them, are prerequisites in citrus breeding. However, these three goals require trade-offs in conventional breeding, even with the application of the marker-assisted selection technique. Conventional breeding [...] Read more.
Developing varieties with diverse features that satisfy varied commercial needs, improving overall fruit quality, and quickly releasing them, are prerequisites in citrus breeding. However, these three goals require trade-offs in conventional breeding, even with the application of the marker-assisted selection technique. Conventional breeding cannot achieve these three goals simultaneously and it has been regarded as a breeding trilemma. Integrating a genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) approach that relies on quantitative trait locus detection by genome-wide association study and genome-wide prediction of a trait by genomic selection using enriched marker genotypes enhances breeding efficiency and contributes to eliminating the trilemma. Besides these efforts, the analysis of the genealogy of indigenous citrus varieties revealed that many high-quality indigenous varieties were selected within a few generations. It suggested that selecting a new premium quality hybrid is possible by integrating it with the GAB technique and helps avoid the trilemma. This review describes how a new approach, “Citrus Breeding 2.0” works for rapidly developing new, premium quality hybrids and introduces three applications of this technique, specifically, rebreeding, complementary breeding, and mimic breeding based on the ongoing citrus breeding program in NARO, Japan. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiology and Management of Fruit Quality in Citrus and Kiwifruits)
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