Scientia Horticulturae最新文献

{"title":"Comprehensive metabolite profiling reveals biochemical evolution in coconut water during fruit development","authors":"Mingming Hou ,&nbsp;Jerome Jeyakumar John Martin ,&nbsp;Wenrao Li ,&nbsp;Zhiguo Dong ,&nbsp;Qi Wang ,&nbsp;Yongxiu Chen ,&nbsp;Yuqiao Song ,&nbsp;Chengxu Sun ,&nbsp;Hongxing Cao","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114290","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114290","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, Wenchang Sweet Coconut (<em>Cocos nucifera</em> L. 'Wenchang-Sweet') was selected as the experimental material, with Hainan Tall Coconut (<em>Cocos nucifera</em> L. 'Hainan-Tall') water served as the control. Changes in key secondary metabolites—includingphenolic acids, alkaloids, terpenoids, lignans, and coumarins—in coconut water were analyzed across six maturity stages (I to VI, corresponding to 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 months of age). Metabolite profiling and differential screening were performed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) combined with a metabolomics approach. The results showed that 168 secondary metabolites were identified in the coconut water of both HTC and WSC, comprising 120 phenolic acids, 26 alkaloids, 6 terpenoids, 12 lignins and 4 coumarins. During the ripening process, the content of secondary metabolite in the coconut water declined in of both HTC and WSC coconuts, however, WSC consistently exhibited significantly higher levels. The number of differentially expressed secondary metabolites between WSC and HTC at each ripening stage was 78, 47, 54, 68, 80, and 62, respectively. Key metabolites such as Choline, Chlorogenic acid and Caffeic acid were identified, along with 30 characteristic secondary metabolites. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that secondary metabolites were primarily enriched in eight metabolic pathways including aminobenzoate degradation (ko00627), phenylpropanoid biosynthesis (ko00940) and biosynthesis of various plant secondary metabolites (ko00999). This study provides a strong theoretical foundation for functional research and product development related to coconut secondary metabolites.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114290"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144686991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating plant growth regulators and biostimulants to enhance resilient and sustainable raspberry and blackberry production","authors":"Rose Novita Sari Handoko ,&nbsp;Syuan-You Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114296","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114296","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Raspberry (<em>Rubus idaeus</em> L.) and blackberry (<em>Rubus</em> subgenus <em>Rubus</em> Watson) are high-value small fruit crops facing escalating climate variability and tightening sustainability standards. This review synthesizes recent advances (2009–2025) on plant growth regulators (PGRs) and biostimulants as complementary tools to enhance propagation, canopy architecture, yield, fruit quality, and stress resilience in these crops. PGRs, including auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, and growth inhibitors, provide targeted, rapid modulation of developmental processes such as rooting, budbreak, shoot elongation, and fruit maturation. Biostimulants, encompassing humic substances, seaweed extracts, microbial inoculants, and protein hydrolysates, confer cumulative benefits by enhancing nutrient uptake, antioxidant capacity, and stress tolerance. While previous reviews have treated PGRs and biostimulants independently, this article evaluates their potential integration, by proposing a stage-specific decision-support framework that combines season-long biostimulant applications with targeted PGR “pulses” at key phenological stages to optimize yield, fruit quality, and resilience, while minimizing chemical inputs. Finally, we identify research priorities including factorial dose-reduction trials, genotype-by-environment interaction studies, and multi-omics analyses to refine cultivar-specific recommendations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114296"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144686992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of the molecular mechanisms underlying hydrogen cyanamide–induced dormancy release in grape flower buds","authors":"Zuqin Qiao,&nbsp;Yongfu Zhang,&nbsp;Xuan Yi,&nbsp;Xingmei Tao,&nbsp;Liling Mo","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114288","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114288","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Low-temperature accumulation during winter is essential for dormancy release and germination of grape flower buds. In southern China, insufficient chilling accumulation is a common problem that leads to incomplete bud differentiation and highly variable germination rates, ultimately affecting grape yield and fruit quality. Hydrogen cyanamide (HC) is widely used to induce dormancy release in grape buds during winter, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, bud structure and germination performance of five-year-old ‘Shuijing’ grapevines were investigated following treatment with 2.5 % HC. Subsequently, transcriptomic, proteomic, and integrated multi-omics analyses were performed. The results indicated that HC treatment reduced the time to germination and fruit ripening by 14 and 21 d, respectively. Transcriptome analysis identified 26,336 genes, of which 5258 were significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs). HC regulated genes involved in the cell cycle, electron transport chain, and microtubule-based movement. It also induced the upregulation of genes associated with transferase activity, metal ion binding, ATP binding, protein binding, phosphorylation, and transcriptional regulation, particularly in DNA-templated processes. These genes were enriched in pathways related to energy, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolisms. Proteomic analysis revealed 990 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) that were predominantly enriched in the chloroplasts, cytoplasm, and nuclei. DEGs were involved in defense responses, detoxification of cellular oxidants, and oxidative stress responses. They also play key roles in amino acid biosynthesis, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, carbon metabolism, and fructose and mannose metabolisms. Additionally, HC activated the pentose phosphate pathway, fatty acid biosynthesis, and arginine and proline metabolism. Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analyses revealed that HC-induced dormancy release in ‘Shuijing’ grape buds was primarily regulated by photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. Multiple pathways, including carbon metabolism, energy metabolism, peroxisome function, and photosynthesis, were identified to contribute to the dormancy release process. This study provides novel insights into the mechanisms underlying HC-induced dormancy release in grape flower buds from the transcriptomic and proteomic perspectives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114288"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144672229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification and characterization of the KNOX genes in tree peony during root development","authors":"Ding-Ding Zuo ,&nbsp;Yu-Ying Li ,&nbsp;Lu Yang ,&nbsp;Rui-Ya Li ,&nbsp;Rang Wang ,&nbsp;Yong-Ke Wu ,&nbsp;Jiao Wu ,&nbsp;Da-Long Guo ,&nbsp;Xiao-Gai Hou","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114284","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114284","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tree peony is a horticultural crop with both ornamental and industrial value, especially its roots contain pharmaceuticals. The <em>KNOX</em> genes are essential in regulating the development of various organs in plants, including root and shoot, but their function of roots in tree peony poorly characterized. The identification of <em>KNOX</em> genes in tree peony may contribute to root development. In this study, a total of 8 <em>PoKNOX</em> genes were identified from tree peony and named based on their chromosome location. They were divided into class I, class II and KNATM. Gene structure and collinearity analysis highlighted the functional correlation of KNOX protein. Moreover, PoKNOX8 and PoKNOX7 were localized in the nucleus and highly expressed in root tissues and were therefore selected for functional analysis. Cis-acting element analysis and GUS staining revealed their response to plant hormone signals. A regulatory network was constructed with <em>PoKNOX</em> genes as the core, and these genes were related to root development and hormone response according to GO enrichment analysis, indicating that <em>KNOX</em> genes should be involved in root regulation. The BiFC assay revealed that PoKNOX8 interacted with PoKNOX7 and PoKNOX1 respectively, and confirmed the prediction. These works provide a reference for exploring the mechanism of <em>KNOX</em> genes regulating root development of tree peony.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114284"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144679476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"F-box protein SlAMR1 negatively regulates tomato ascorbic acid biosynthesis throught ubiquitin pathway","authors":"Jie Ye ,&nbsp;Hankai Zheng ,&nbsp;Zhibiao Ye ,&nbsp;Yuyang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114294","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114294","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ascorbic acid (AsA), as an antioxidant, plays vital roles in diverse physiological processes of plants. Engineering its biosynthesis in staple vegetables, such as tomato (<em>Solanum lycopersicum</em> L.), could offer new strategies for developing functional foods to promote human health. Although the regulatory role of <em>AMR1</em> in AsA biosynthesis has been confirmed in <em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em> L., its regulatory mechanism in vegetable crops like tomato remains unclear. This study identified through homologous sequence alignment that SlAMR1 (ascorbic acid mannose pathway regulator 1), an F-box family protein in tomato, shares the highest amino acid sequence similarity (27 %) with <em>Arabidopsis</em> AMR1. In comparison with wild-type plants, <em>SlAMR1</em> RNAi plants exhibited enhanced oxidative stress tolerance, and significantly elevated AsA accumulation in leaves and fruits, while over-expression lines showed opposite phenotypes. QPCR and enzyme activity analysis revealed that <em>SlAMR1</em> suppresses AsA biosynthesis by regulating the mannose/galactose pathway. A 48-hours photoperiodic experiment indicated light-dependent transcriptional dynamics of <em>SlAMR1</em>. Further yeast two-hybrid assay and ubiquitination analysis confirmed that SlAMR1 modulates tomato AsA biosynthesis through the ubiquitin-proteasome complex pathway. The results elucidates the critical role of <em>SlAMR1</em> in tomato AsA biosynthesis and provides a theoretical foundation for improving quality traits via molecular breeding approaches.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114294"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144672227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bulb division and morphological variations in onions (Allium cepa L.) in response to exogenous gibberellin treatments","authors":"Yurika Miyazaki ,&nbsp;Shiho Hirama ,&nbsp;Riku Kiuchi ,&nbsp;Hiroki Ikeda","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114286","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114286","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bulb division is a key factor impacting the external quality and marketability of onion (<em>Allium cepa</em> L.) crops. However, their underlying physiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the factors that contribute to bulb division using two experiments. In the first experiment, 11 onion cultivars commonly grown in Japan were cultivated under autumn-sowing (over-winter) conditions to compare the differences in bulb division rates between the cultivars. The results revealed that inner bulb division was significantly lower in short-day cultivars than in intermediate- and long-day cultivars. In the second experiment, exogenous gibberellic acid-3 (GA₃) was applied to onion seedlings to assess its effect on bulb division. GA₃ treatment markedly increased the incidence of internal bulb division in ‘Sonic’, a cultivar with a naturally low division rate, whereas it also promoted external bulb division in ‘Momiji No 3’, a cultivar with a naturally high internal division rate. Furthermore, GA₃-treated bulbs exhibited a spindle-shaped morphology, suggesting that gibberellin (GA) affects both bulb division and shape through its regulatory role in cell elongation. These findings indicate that GA plays a crucial role in bulb division and shape development in onions. Future research must explore the differences in GA sensitivity among cultivars, endogenous GA biosynthesis during growth, and the developmental dynamics of lateral bud formation to further elucidate the genetic and physiological mechanisms underlying bulb division.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114286"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144665141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Silica nanoparticles promote the growth of pepper under salt stress by improving photosynthesis and modulating the water relationship","authors":"Yiting Li ,&nbsp;Haijun Hu ,&nbsp;Rongsheng Wang ,&nbsp;Junliang Yin ,&nbsp;Yongxing Zhu ,&nbsp;Lei Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114295","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114295","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Salinity stress is a global limitation to agricultural productivity. Silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) have been shown to enhance plant tolerance to salt stress. However, the precise mechanisms by which SiNPs regulate this response in pepper remain poorly understood. This study examined the effects of SiNP300 (300 mg L⁻¹ SiNPs) on salt-stressed pepper plants. The findings revealed that SiNP300 significantly promoted pepper growth and biomass under salt stress conditions. Specifically, treatment with SiNP300 resulted in increases in total chlorophyll content (37.39%), net photosynthetic rate (583.14%), transpiration rate (121.08%), stomatal conductance (249.67 %), <em>Fv</em>/<em>Fm</em> (23.18 %), and <em>Ф</em>PSⅡ (43.67 %). In addition, SiNP300 enhanced relative water content, leaf water potential, and root vitality, indicating its role in maintaining water status under salt stress. Moreover, SiNP300 reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, contributing to a reduction in relative electrolyte conductivity (REC), while simultaneously boosting osmotic potential and preserving plasma membrane integrity. Further analysis demonstrated that SiNP300 increased soluble sugar levels in both leaves and roots, likely by modulating the activities of acid invertase (AI), neutral invertase (NI), and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), which may improve water status and osmotic regulation under salt stress. Additionally, SiNP300 modulated the expression of aquaporin (AQP) genes (<em>CaPIP1–1</em> and <em>CaTIP1–1</em>)., thus regulating the water balance of pepper plants in saline conditions. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms by which SiNP300 alleviates salt stress and lays the groundwork for developing technologies aimed at enhancing plant resilience to abiotic stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114295"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144662838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome-wide identification of histone acetyltransferase genes in Solanum melongena reveals two critical regulators of Botrytis cinerea resistance","authors":"Yaqin Yan ,&nbsp;Pengfei Wang ,&nbsp;Wuhong Wang,&nbsp;Haijiao Hu,&nbsp;Tianhua Hu,&nbsp;Qingzhen Wei,&nbsp;Chonglai Bao","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114255","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114255","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Histone acetylation, a crucial post-translational modification catalyzed by histone acetyltransferases (HATs), plays a pivotal role in plant stress responses. While HATs are known to mediate disease resistance, their functional characterization in eggplant remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate through Western blotting and ChIP-PCR analyses that <em>Botrytis cinerea</em> infection dynamically modulates global histone acetylation patterns in eggplant leaves. A genome-wide investigation identified 25 <em>SmHAT</em> genes and systematically characterized their conserved domains, motif organization, and evolutionary relationships. Expression profiling revealed distinct spatial-temporal patterns of <em>SmHAT</em> members between resistant and susceptible cultivars during <em>B. cinerea</em> infection, suggesting functional diversification in disease resistance pathways. Functional validation through transient overexpression and virus-induced gene silencing demonstrated that <em>SmHAT7</em> acts as a positive regulator, while <em>SmHAT17</em> functions as a negative regulator of resistance of eggplant to <em>B. cinerea</em>. Collectively, our results demonstrate that histone acetylation mediating by <em>HATs</em> plays an important role in <em>B. cinerea</em> resistance in eggplant. This work provides novel insights into epigenetic regulation of disease resistance and proposes potential molecular targets for breeding <em>B. cinerea</em>-resistant cultivars.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114255"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144654632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exogenous gallic acid induces changes in the metabolome of Mentha arvensis L. regulating the expression of key genes involved in menthol biosynthesis","authors":"Alessia D’Agostino,&nbsp;Gabriele Di Marco,&nbsp;Antonella Canini,&nbsp;Angelo Gismondi","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114282","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114282","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Mentha arvensis</em> L. (corn mint) is an aromatic plant of great economic interest. Nowadays, one of the most important goals of the 2030 Agenda is to identify new phytostimulants able to substitute the common fertilizers and pesticides, in promoting sustainable crop productions. Thus, the objective of the present contribution was to evaluate the potential effect of several concentrations (1–750 μM) of gallic acid (GA) as phystostimulant for corn mint plants treated for 15 and 21 days. Here, we demonstrated that GA was able to stimulate the accumulation of total phenolics, flavonoids and terpenoids. In addition, 21 phenolics were quantified by HPLC-DAD analysis, demonstrating how GA was able to increase some specific metabolites, such as kaempferol and quercetin known to exert roles in cellular signalling. By GC–MS technique, instead, the lipophilic fraction was investigated, putting in evidence that GA caused a rise in the levels of menthol, the key molecule of the mint chemotype used in this work, and a decrease of its precursor, the limonene. This result suggested a putative effect of GA on the biosynthetic steps of menthol; therefore, the gene expression of 5 enzymes involved in its biochemical pathway was measured through RT-qPCR analysis, highlighting a substantial increase in the transcript of <em>Menthone reductase</em> and a simultaneous decrease in that of <em>Limonene synthase</em>. All together these data proved that GA, especially after 21 days of treatment at a medium-low dose (50 μM), was able to exert on <em>M. arvensis</em> a positive modulation of the metabolome.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114282"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of exogenous gibberellin application on leaf-flush growth, morphometry, and delayed phenology in post-pruning kaffir lime seedlings","authors":"Rahmat Budiarto ,&nbsp;Siti Auliya Rahma ,&nbsp;Syariful Mubarok ,&nbsp;Stefina Liana Sari ,&nbsp;Muhammad Achirul Nanda ,&nbsp;Mansour Ghorbanpour ,&nbsp;Mohammad Miftakhus Sholikin","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114289","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114289","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Kaffir lime (<em>Citrus hystrix</em> DC.) is a valuable aromatic leaf spice used in both the culinary and pharmaceutical industries, but its pruning-harvest activity alters source-sink balance leading to leaf-flushing disturbance. Gibberellin is expected to promote faster recovery and enhance flushing in post-pruning kaffir lime, thus, present study aimed to determine optimal gibberellin concentration and its impact on leaf-flushing growth and phenology. The experiment was conducted at an open field (coordinates: -6.9316851, 107.775863, 718 m asl) in a randomized complete block design with six gibberellin concentrations, namely G0 = control (no gibberellin), G1 = 200 ppm, G2 = 400 ppm, G3 = 600 ppm, G4 = 800 ppm, and G5 = 1000 ppm. Results showed that gibberellin application via foliar feeding significantly enlarged leaf and flush performances, compared to the control. The optimal gibberellin concentration is 600 ppm, which increases leaf and flush size by 82% and 100%, respectively, although it also results in a near threefold increase in spike size. Exogenous gibberellin application also extends the flushing cycle by delaying leaf maturation, with higher concentrations prolonging developmental stages. This delay is linked to increased leaf morphometric response, potentially enhancing plant source capacity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 114289"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144654707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}