Superiority of bumblebee pollination over forchlorfenuron (CPPU) in improving melon fruit quality and aroma volatiles under protected cultivation

IF 4.2 2区农林科学 Q1 HORTICULTURE

Scientia Horticulturae Pub Date : 2025-09-01 DOI:10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114419

Hong Zhang , Tom D. Breeze , Zhiyong Zhou , Aimei Li , Jiaxing Huang , Jiandong An

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The application of forchlorfenuron (CPPU) and bee pollination are common artificial pollination practices in the protected cultivation of melon. Compared with the CPPU treatment, bee pollination significantly increases fruit quality. In this study, the effects of these two pollination methods on melon fruit growth dynamics and quality were compared. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS–SPME–GC–MS) were employed to analyse the sugar content and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in mature fruits. The results showed that bumblebee-pollinated melons initially grew faster (0–9 days after anthesis) but were subsequently surpassed by CPPU-treated fruits until maturity. At maturity, the CPPU-treated melons had slightly greater fruit weight and flesh thickness, whereas the bumblebee-pollinated melons displayed a higher fruit set rate, a more uniform fruit shape, a greater seed count and denser rind netting. Compared with CPPU-treated fruits, bumblebee-pollinated melons contained higher sucrose levels but lower fructose and glucose levels. VOC profiling revealed that alcohols, aldehydes, and esters dominated the volatile profiles in both groups, but the total VOC content in bumblebee-pollinated melon flesh was 1.9 times greater than that in CPPU-treated melons. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis indicated significant differences in VOC composition between the two pollination methods. Orthogonal partial least squares–discriminant analysis (OPLS–DA) identified five discriminant VOCs: 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, 2-nonanol, 1-nonanol, 6-nonen-1-ol, and 3,6-(E, Z)-nonadien-1-ol. These findings demonstrate that bumblebee pollination significantly improves the fruit appearance, flesh sweetness, and aroma of protected-cultivation melons and should be actively promoted as a sustainable alternative to CPPU application.

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大黄蜂授粉在改善设施栽培甜瓜果实品质和香气挥发物方面的优势

施用农药和蜜蜂授粉是甜瓜设施栽培中常用的人工授粉方法。与CPPU处理相比，蜜蜂授粉显著提高了果实品质。本研究比较了两种授粉方式对甜瓜果实生长动态和品质的影响。采用高效液相色谱法（HPLC）和顶空固相微萃取-气相色谱-质谱法（HS-SPME-GC-MS）对成熟果实中的糖含量和挥发性有机物（VOCs）进行了分析。结果表明，大黄蜂授粉的甜瓜最初生长较快（开花后0-9天），但随后被cppu处理的果实超过，直到成熟。成熟时，cppu处理的甜瓜的果实重量和果肉厚度略大，而大黄蜂授粉的甜瓜则表现出更高的坐果率、更均匀的果实形状、更多的种子数量和更密集的果皮网。与cppu处理的果实相比，大黄蜂授粉的甜瓜含有更高的蔗糖水平，但果糖和葡萄糖水平较低。挥发性有机化合物分析显示，两组甜瓜的挥发性有机化合物主要为醇类、醛类和酯类，但大黄蜂授粉甜瓜果肉的总挥发性有机化合物含量是cppu处理甜瓜的1.9倍。非度量多维尺度（nMDS）分析表明，两种授粉方式的VOC组成存在显著差异。正交偏最小二乘判别分析（OPLS-DA）鉴定出5种判别性VOCs: 2-乙基-1-己醇、2-壬醇、1-壬醇、6-壬烯-1-醇和3,6-(E， Z)-壬二烯-1-醇。这些研究结果表明，大黄蜂授粉显著改善了保护栽培甜瓜的果实外观、果肉甜度和香气，应积极推广作为CPPU应用的可持续替代方案。

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来源期刊

Scientia Horticulturae 农林科学-园艺

CiteScore

8.60

自引率

4.70%

发文量

796

审稿时长

47 days

期刊介绍： Scientia Horticulturae is an international journal publishing research related to horticultural crops. Articles in the journal deal with open or protected production of vegetables, fruits, edible fungi and ornamentals under temperate, subtropical and tropical conditions. Papers in related areas (biochemistry, micropropagation, soil science, plant breeding, plant physiology, phytopathology, etc.) are considered, if they contain information of direct significance to horticulture. Papers on the technical aspects of horticulture (engineering, crop processing, storage, transport etc.) are accepted for publication only if they relate directly to the living product. In the case of plantation crops, those yielding a product that may be used fresh (e.g. tropical vegetables, citrus, bananas, and other fruits) will be considered, while those papers describing the processing of the product (e.g. rubber, tobacco, and quinine) will not. The scope of the journal includes all horticultural crops but does not include speciality crops such as, medicinal crops or forestry crops, such as bamboo. Basic molecular studies without any direct application in horticulture will not be considered for this journal.