Scientia Horticulturae最新文献

{"title":"Heat-induced HpbHLH43 involves in promoting floral bud induction via activating HpSOC1 in pitaya","authors":"Zhengxu Yang, Xiaowei Cai, Chunqiong Shang, Qiandong Hou, Ling Xiao, Xiaopeng Wen","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113773","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113773","url":null,"abstract":"Pitaya, belonging to the genus <ce:italic>Hylocereus</ce:italic> of Cactaceae family, is increasingly cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions due to its high tolerance to drought and heat stresses. The transition from the vegetative to reproductive stage significantly impacts the fruit yield, therefore it is essential to unravel the flowering regulatory mechanism of pitaya. In present work, a HpbHLH43 transcription factor was identified, which is related to stress tolerance and flowering induction. To further investigate the biological function of <ce:italic>HpbHLH43</ce:italic>, a 747 bp full length coding sequence (CDS) was obtained from pitaya. Under high-temperature stress (42 °C), the expression of <ce:italic>HpbHLH43</ce:italic> were up-regulated in stem and floral buds of pitaya. Transient expression showed that HpbHLH43 was located in the nucleus and had transcriptional activity at the N-terminal. Biologically, heat induced the <ce:italic>HpbHLH43</ce:italic> promoter to activate <ce:italic>GUS</ce:italic> gene expression in leaves and flowers. Overexpression of <ce:italic>HpbHLH43</ce:italic> in <ce:italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</ce:italic> significantly accelerated flowering time and was more tolerant to high temperature than the wild-type. Yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase assays showed that HpbHLH43 can interact with <ce:italic>HpSOC1</ce:italic>. Conclusively, high-temperature inducible HpbHLH43 directly targets <ce:italic>HpSOC1</ce:italic>, accordingly, promotes the floral bud induction in pitaya, which provides an insight into the molecular regulations of floral induction in pitaya.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643182","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":"Organic fertilization enhances the crop yield and quality of zapallo tetsukabuto","authors":"G. Pellejero, R. Rodríguez, M. Tellería, L. Gallego, G. Aschkar, F.J. Garcia-Navarro, R Jiménez Ballesta","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113766","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113766","url":null,"abstract":"Globally speaking, optimizing the use of organic fertilizers plays a significant role in sustainable agriculture and is essential for enhancing crop productivity and improving soil health, while organic fertilizers are also easily available at a low cost. This study specifically aimed to determine the influence of organic fertilizer incorporation (high and medium levels) practices <ce:italic>versus</ce:italic> chemical fertilization with urea on the crop yields and quality of <ce:italic>zapallo tetsukabuto</ce:italic>. This included a control treatment without fertilization. Agronomic quality was evaluated by measuring the main performance parameters of the hybrid <ce:italic>zapallo tetsukabuto</ce:italic> (<ce:italic>Cucurbita maxima x Cucurbita moschata</ce:italic>): REND yield (in kg) of the total fruit per plant per plot; NFRC, number of commercial fruit per plant per plot; NFRT, total number of fruit per plant per plot, grown following the production guidelines of the area. The research findings show that the yields with organic fertilizer with the highest dose of the compost incorporation treatments increased 30% compared to the unfertilized control, but with no significant differences to the urea-fertilized treatment (1%) for zapallo. That is, performance parameters were similar in the zapallo crop fertilized with compost and with urea. These trials demonstrate that compost is a sustainable alternative and an adequate source of nutrients for zapallo cultivation.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"248 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643184","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":"Effects of shading, mulching and growing season on physiological indicators, anatomical characterization and quality of gladiolus flower stems","authors":"Dalva Paulus, Dislaine Becker, Leosane Cristina Bosco, Celso Eduardo Pereira Ramos","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113777","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113777","url":null,"abstract":"Crop management affects the anatomical and physiological characteristics of gladiolus floral stems. Particulary, shading screens are important in gladiolus production. The aim of the study was to evaluate the meteorological conditions, physiological indicators, stomatal characteristics, and quality of gladiolus flower stems grown in different seasons under shading screens and mulching. Field experiments were conducted during the four growing seasons: 1 (March-June 2019), 2 (August-November 2019), 3 (August-November 2020), and 4 (October-December 2021). Gladiolus cv. White goddess was grown in beds with and without mulch. Shading treatments included 35% black, silver, and red shading screens, and an unshaded control. Weather conditions during four growing seasons over two years were within the range of maximum and minimum temperatures suitable for the crop. The black and red shading screens resulted in higher stomatal density (374.9; 362.0 stomatal mm<ce:sup loc=\"post\">-2</ce:sup>), which improved the photosynthetic rate of the leaf resulting in greater flower stem length (116.32 cm) and number of florets (19.00) in the red shading screen. The highest relative chlorophyll index (57.75) was recorded in season 2, which contributed to a greater accumulation of assimilates and resulted in longer stems and better-quality florets. Planting under a red shading screen and mulched soil produced longer stems (8.60 %; 9.05 %, respectively), and a greater number of florets in seasons 2 (8.43 %) and 4 (14.74 %), compared to growing unshaded control. The lowest percentage of damage to flower stems was found in the silver shading screen (3.6%) and mulched soil (6.7%). Long flower stems without damage to the sepals and petals, and with a large number of florets are of better quality, have greater ornamental value and are more attractive to flower consumers. Our results showed that planting in seasons 2 and 4, and using red shading screens and mulching soil, are sustainable and conservation soil-management practices to provide a favorable environment which allowed us to obtain high-quality gladiolus flowers. The results of this study are parameters for future research with different soil mulchings and shading screen colors.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643185","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 characterization of melatonin biosynthetic pathway genes in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) and their expression analysis in response to exogenous melatonin","authors":"Priti, Payal Kapoor, Surbhi Mali, Vipasha Verma, Megha Katoch, Gaurav Zinta, Bhavya Bhargava","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113776","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113776","url":null,"abstract":"Carnation (<ce:italic>Dianthus caryophyllus</ce:italic> L.) is a prominent floricultural crop valued for its diverse colors, offering significant economic and ornamental value globally. However, the global demand for its flowers makes flower yield an important attribute that relies on the quantity of lateral branches in the crop. Melatonin as a multi-regulatory phytohormone play vital functions in governing plant growth and development. It is synthesized from tryptophan via four key enzymes. Tryptophan decarboxylase (TDC), Tryptamine 5-hydroxylase (T5H), Serotonin <ce:italic>N</ce:italic>-acetyltransferase (SNAT), and <ce:italic>N</ce:italic>-Acetylserotonin <ce:italic>O-</ce:italic>methyltransferase (ASMT). Although the significance of melatonin is recognized, its impact on the growth and development of carnation remains understudied. In the current study, we investigated the effect of exogenous melatonin at different concentrations, on growth pattern of carnation, followed by genome-wide characterization, <ce:italic>in-silico</ce:italic> analysis and expression profiling of melatonin biosynthetic pathway genes. Results showed increased branching and reduced height with increased melatonin concentrations up to a point. <ce:italic>In-silico</ce:italic> analysis identified ten genes in the melatonin biosynthetic pathway, including two <ce:italic>TDC</ce:italic>, two <ce:italic>T5H,</ce:italic> one <ce:italic>SNAT</ce:italic>, and five <ce:italic>ASMT</ce:italic> members. Domain analysis confirmed the presence of characteristic domains such as pyridoxal-dependent decarboxylase, cytochrome P450, Acetyltransferase_1, and O-methyltransferase. Physiochemical properties, gene structure, conserved motifs, promoter regions, gene ontology, synteny, and evolutionary relationships through phylogeny were also analysed. Sub-cellular localization predictions showed distribution of melatonin biosynthetic enzymes across various cellular compartments. Expression analysis of these genes under different exogenous melatonin concentrations (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 1000 µM) revealed significant upregulation at 100 µM and 500 µM, while no change was observed at 1000 µM. These findings suggest that optimal exogenous melatonin concentrations enhance the expression of biosynthetic pathway genes ultimately led to increased branching in carnation due to increased endogenous melatonin levels. This study establishes a basis for future functional characterization of melatonin biosynthetic pathway genes to elucidate their roles in carnation growth and development.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643194","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":"Methyl jasmonate alleviates the husk browning and regulates expression of genes related to phenolic metabolism of pomegranate fruit","authors":"Sai Jing, Yuwen Shi, Bihe Zhu, Yongjia Yang, Shuwei Nian, Kehan Wang, Xiaocheng Guo, Qinggang Zhu, Liping Kou","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113783","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113783","url":null,"abstract":"Pomegranate is sensitive to low temperature and is susceptible to chilling injury (CI), resulting in husk browning. The effects of Methyl jasmonate (MeJA), hot water treatment (HWT), and control treatments on the quality of pomegranate fruit during low temperature storage were investigated. The results showed that MeJA and HWT treatments could effectively inhibit the increase of browning index, color difference, relative conductivity, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) activities, maintain phenolic substances and the activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). The browning index of MeJA treatment was 55.42 % lower than control treatment on the 70th day, the relative conductivity and MDA content were 24.32 % and 51.67 % lower than control treatment, respectively. Furthermore, MeJA treatment delayed the increase of <ce:italic>PgPPO</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>PgPOD</ce:italic> gene expression levels, upregulated the expression levels of <ce:italic>PgPAL</ce:italic> gene. Overall, MeJA treatment could improve antioxidant capacities, alleviate CI by regulating phenolic metabolism and gene expression levels.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"64 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643190","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":"Effects of foliar applications of methyl jasmonate alone or with urea on anthocyanins content during grape ripening","authors":"Miriam González-Lázaro, Itziar Sáenz de Urturi, Sandra Marín-San Román, Rebeca Murillo-Peña, Eva P. Pérez-Álvarez, Teresa Garde-Cerdán","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113782","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113782","url":null,"abstract":"Anthocyanins, the main phenolic compounds responsible for the color of red grapes and wines, exhibit antioxidant and antimicrobial properties and offer various health benefits for humans. Currently, climate change can affect grape quality by causing a decoupling between the technological and phenolic maturities of the grapes. Foliar application of methyl jasmonate (MeJ) and urea (Ur) can be a tool to mitigate the global warming effects in the vineyard. The aim of this work was to study i) the development of anthocyanin content in ‘Tempranillo’ grapes along the ripening process, and ii) the effect of foliar application of MeJ and MeJ+Ur on these phenolic compounds over two vintages (2019 and 2020). Overall, in the first vintage, anthocyanins peaked in their concentrations in the pre-harvest or harvest moments; whereas in the second vintage, the highest contents of these phenolic compounds were reached at harvest time, after that, a maintenance or decreased of their concentrations was observed. In both vintages, non-acylated anthocyanins was the most abundant family of anthocyanins. Foliar application of MeJ+Ur was more effective in enhancing anthocyanin biosynthesis than MeJ treatment, which also increased anthocyanin content compared to control grapes. Therefore, MeJ and Ur foliar treatment could present a synergy in anthocyanin biosynthesis by the plant. Moreover, the impact of these applications varied across vintages, and also the content of anthocyanins in grapes, probably due to different climatological conditions. Consequently, the two foliar treatments, MeJ and MeJ+Ur, could be a suitable tool to increase anthocyanins biosynthesis in grapes, and thus improve grape quality.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643198","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":"PlFabG improves high-temperature resistance in herbaceous peony by increasing saturated fatty acids","authors":"Ziao Hu, Yi Qian, Jun Tao, Daqiu Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113778","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113778","url":null,"abstract":"The herbaceous peony (<ce:italic>Paeonia lactiflora</ce:italic> Pall<ce:italic>.</ce:italic>) is renowned for its striking flowers, which are highly valued in the cut flower industry. However, in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the elevated summer temperatures negatively affect the plant's flowering capacity in the subsequent year. 3-oxoacyl-ACP reductase (FabG) is a component of the type II fatty acid synthesis (FAS II) system, where it plays a role in facilitating the production of saturated fatty acids. However, its role in conferring resistance to high-temperature stress remains unclear. In order to investigate the function of <ce:italic>PlFabG</ce:italic> in dealing with high-temperature stress, we isolated <ce:italic>PlFabG</ce:italic> from <ce:italic>P. lactiflora</ce:italic>. The gene contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 780 bp, which encodes 259 amino acids. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the expression levels of <ce:italic>PlFabG</ce:italic> increased with prolonged exposure to high temperature. Additionally, plants overexpressing <ce:italic>PlFabG</ce:italic> maintained a relatively healthy phenotype under high-temperature stress, whereas plants with silencing <ce:italic>PlFabG</ce:italic> exhibited more severe leaf scorching and wilting under the same conditions. Various physiological indices indicated that <ce:italic>PlFabG</ce:italic> reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and enhanced the saturation of photosystem II. Most importantly, <ce:italic>PlFabG</ce:italic> helped <ce:italic>P. lactiflora</ce:italic> withstand high-temperature stress by increasing the proportion of saturated fatty acids, thereby maintaining cell membrane integrity. These findings elucidate the beneficial role of <ce:italic>PlFabG</ce:italic> in enhancing plant tolerance to high temperature and provide a strong theoretical support for the development of high-temperature tolerance in transgenic <ce:italic>P. lactiflora.</ce:italic>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643186","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":"Variability in fruit quality traits of tropical Australian jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) genotypes","authors":"Jashanpreet Kaur, Zora Singh, Muhammad Sohail Mazhar, Eben Afrifa-Yamoah, Andrew Woodward","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113771","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113771","url":null,"abstract":"Jackfruit exhibits a high degree of genetic diversity due to cross-pollination and heterozygosity; nevertheless, little is known about the characterisation of fruit quality in jackfruit genotypes grown in tropical Australia. In this study, patterns of morphological and biochemical variation in the fruit of 12 jackfruit genotypes were investigated. Maximum fruit weight and pulp weight were recorded in ‘Accession 304 (yellow-fleshed)’, which can be more suitable for domestic markets. ‘Accession 348 (orange-fleshed)’ exhibited the highest fruit edible portion, showing its potential for both table and processing purposes. There was evidence of wide variability among jackfruit genotypes in total dry matter content ranging from 20.48% in ‘Seedling 1 (yellow-fleshed)’ to 29.66% in ‘Rajang (orange-fleshed)’. The highest ratio of soluble solids content: titratable acidity was recorded in the fruit of ‘Seedling 2 (orange-fleshed)’ which can be a viable option for processing purposes. Orange-fleshed genotypes having higher <ce:italic>a*</ce:italic>, ascorbic acid and carotenoid content can be favourable for fresh consumption due to bright-coloured bulbs. ‘Accession 306 (yellow-fleshed)’ exhibited the highest total phenolics content, while ‘Rajang (orange-fleshed)’ showed the highest total flavonoids content. Overall, these findings highlight the unique characteristics of each jackfruit genotype and this information would be useful when selecting the genotypes for marketing and processing purposes.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643189","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":"Deciphering nitrogen dynamics in aeroponics: physio-biochemical and enzymatic responses influencing nitrogen use efficiency in contrasting potato genotypes","authors":"Hafsa Nazir Cheema, Haiyan Ma, Ke-Xiu Wang, Mingxia Tang, Kaiqin Zhang, Ambreen Jahandad, Tahseen Saba, Xiaoting Fang, Muhammad Amir Shahzad, Muhammad Ansar, Wei He, Shunlin Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113768","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113768","url":null,"abstract":"Excessive use of nitrogen (N) in crops, such as potatoes, can lead to economic and environmental repercussions. We hypothesized that potato genotypes with resilient root systems and high genetic capabilities for nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) could effectively mitigate these challenges. Consequently, we investigated intraspecific variations and characteristics within six distinct potato genotypes exhibiting diverse NUEs in response to varying nitrogen levels in an aeroponic system. The morpho-physiological and biochemical properties showed significant genotypic variations, especially related to the N-assimilating enzyme levels and root characteristics. Notably, the root systems of all genotypes demonstrated greater responsiveness to low nitrogen levels, with genotype C17 showcasing the most substantial root system irrespective of nitrogen concentration. Root morphological traits displayed robust positive correlations with NUtE, primarily influenced by genotype rather than nitrogen concentration. Conversely, nitrogen levels, displaying positive correlations with NUpE, influenced growth and activities of N-assimilating enzymes. Based on their distinct root systems, metabolic activities, and NUE profiles, genotypes C17 and C11 were determined to be N-efficient and N-inefficient, respectively. This study provides novel insights into the physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying nitrogen use efficiency in potato genotypes under aeroponic conditions, offering potential targets for breeding programs, optimizing fertilizer management and cultivation strategies to improve crop performance under nitrogen-deficient conditions. Future investigations, employing multi-omics approaches, will elucidate key genes and pathways in nitrogen metabolism, potentially offering avenues to enhance root architecture and improve NUE.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643188","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":"Species, variety and maturity affect β-carotene and lycopene in pumpkin fruit","authors":"Xue-Jie Zhang, Huan Lin, John C. Snyder, Hui-Ru Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113763","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113763","url":null,"abstract":"Carotenoids in pumpkin are nutritionally important as antioxidants, while the relationship between species, maturity and carotenoids and also the accumulation of carotenoids during fruit growth have not been extensively analyzed. We investigated β-carotene and lycopene contents of nineteen pumpkin varieties by HPLC. The adopted HPLC method was dependable and provided good separation of β-carotene and lycopene. The formation of β-carotene during pumpkin growth did not present a special formation phase except for one variety, while the accumulation rate of β-carotene differed among varieties, ranging from 1.5 to 32.0 µg/100 g per day. Low concentrations of lycopene were detected in six pumpkin varieties having high content of β-carotene. Maturity and species all had significant effect on β-carotene content (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). The β-carotene content in <ce:italic>C. maxima</ce:italic> was about 3.3 times that in <ce:italic>C. moschata</ce:italic> (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05) and 2.0 times higher in early maturity varieties compared to middle-late varieties (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). The varieties were separated into three groups of similarity by β-carotene content and average single fruit weight after applying hierarchical cluster analysis, and some early maturity <ce:italic>C. maxima</ce:italic> varieties especially containing β-carotene over 950 µg/100 g fresh wt., could be good sources of pro-vitamin A.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"247 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643191","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}