Scientia Horticulturae最新文献

{"title":"Comparative transcriptomic analysis of two tree peony species (Paeonia sect. Moutan) provides insights into long floral longevity","authors":"Wenyue Wang ,&nbsp;Yingzi Guo ,&nbsp;Guodong Zhao ,&nbsp;Wenqing Jia ,&nbsp;Yanli Wang ,&nbsp;Yan Zhang ,&nbsp;Jinyan Mu ,&nbsp;Zheng Wang ,&nbsp;Songlin He ,&nbsp;Shufang Jing","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114219","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114219","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Though floral longevity (FL) is among the most important trait of academic and commercial interests in flowering plants, only little is known about the molecular mechanisms that backs up the process in species of Tree Peony. In this study, the long FL JG (<em>Paeonia</em> sect. <em>Moutan</em> ‘Souvenir de Maxime Cornuand’) petals and the short FL LYH (<em>Paeonia</em> sect. <em>Moutan</em> ‘Luoyanghong’) petals were used for RNA seq uencing at three major developmental stages, as well as for observing petal anatomy at five select stages. DEGs could be seen enhanced in epidermal lignin and cell wall biosynthesis pathways offering to a thicker petal mesophyll, epidermis, and cuticle, as well as a greater number of vascular bundles in long flower JG. Further examination of the expression pattern of DEGs revealed that the genes whose expression was up-regulated in all stages gets primarily involved in lignin and cell wall synthesis. The results at large indicate that the expression of these differentially expressed genes can change the morphology of peony petals and enhance their water retention capacity maintaining petal turgor pressure effecting a prolonged longevity of peony flowers. It emerges that these findings could serve as a reference for future molecular breeding applications in tree peonies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"348 ","pages":"Article 114219"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242019","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":"Physiological and anatomical consequences of nanosilver plus ascorbic acid treatments in the vase life of cut foxtail lily inflorescences","authors":"Somaye Sayed Mahmoudian ,&nbsp;Nematollah Etemadi ,&nbsp;Mohammad Hossain Ehtemam ,&nbsp;Rahim Amirikhah","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114203","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114203","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Foxtail lily (<em>Eremurus</em> spp.) is a new and commercially significant specialty cut flower (SCF) with indeterminate inflorescence, but its vase life is relatively short. This study aimed to investigate the role of postharvest treatments in cut inflorescence growth and vase life of two species of foxtail lily (<em>E. persicus</em> and <em>E. spectabilis</em>) subjected to nanosilver (NS), ascorbic acid (AsA), and NS plus AsA as pulsing and continuous procedures, respectively. Both species exhibited a comparable response to AsA and NS treatments in terms of delayed senescence, although the effectiveness of these treatments varied depending on foxtail lily species. The most significant delay in senescence was observed with the NS and NS plus AsA treatments, increasing the vase life of <em>E. persicus</em> and <em>E. spectabilis</em> by 4 and 3 days, respectively, compared with the control treatment. Furthermore, AsA and NS treatments significantly enhanced the number of open florets and inflorescence length, which correlated with improvements in water balance, relative water content, and vascular size, as evidenced by heatmap clustering and principal component analysis (PCA). Improved postharvest performance of NS- and AsA-treated foxtail lily species could be attributed to enhanced water relations and decreased H₂O₂ and malondialdehyde accumulation, which resulted from increased xylem characteristics (the number and diameter of xylem vessels) and antioxidant enzyme activities. Collectively, it is concluded that the postharvest senescence process in cut flowers can be delayed by pulsing NS and continuous AsA treatments. Given that these treatments may alter the vascular characteristics of the indeterminate inflorescences, more research is highly recommended to further investigate and comprehend these findings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"348 ","pages":"Article 114203"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144203959","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":"Evaluation of Peaonia ostii ‘Fengdan’ resources considering production area, plant age, harvest time, and genotype","authors":"Guoqiang Shang ,&nbsp;Yuan Chen ,&nbsp;Shunli Wang ,&nbsp;Jingqi Xue ,&nbsp;Caihuan Tian ,&nbsp;Xiuxia Ren ,&nbsp;Xiuxin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114202","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114202","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cortex Moutan is an important crude drug traditionally used in China to treat diverse diseases for thousands of years. The main source of Cortex Moutan is <em>Peaonia ostii</em> ‘Fengdan’.The quality and efficacy of this medication were highly affected by the production area, plant age, harvest time, and genotype. To produce high quality Cortex Moutan, the growth parameters and the contents of nutrients and paeonol were studied in the Yanqing District, a new production area, and the two main established production areas, Bozhou and Heze, in this study. The results showed that the paeonol was significantly higher in Yanqing in August than that of Bozhou and Heze in both August and October, showing that Yanqing is a promising area for the production of Cortex Moutan. To futher determine the best harvest time, the annual changes in growth parameters and metabolites were detected. The results showed that paeonol content was the greatest in July, followed by the whole August. Moreover, we found that the shoot growth parameters and the accumulation of flavonoid increased with ages. The root growth parameters and the content of flavonoid and paeonol increased during the first 5 years and then remained stable afterwards. These findings indicated that the Cortex Moutan should be harvested from the 5-year-old plants. In addition, the content of paeonol in 60 genotypes was evaluated. The paeonol content in most (85 %) roots exceeded 1.2 %. Two-thirds of roots contained &gt;1.5 % of paeonol, while one-third of the individual plants contained &gt;2.0 % of paeonol. Two promising genotypes with a content of &gt;3 % of paeonol and five genotypes with 2.5–3.0 % of paeonol were identified. Overall, this study provids a promising area for Cortex Moutan production, identified seven genotypes with a high content of paeonol, and specified the best time for harvest, which is highly significant to produce Cortex Moutan and breed high-quality cultivars.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"348 ","pages":"Article 114202"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144195800","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 analysis of metabolome and transcriptome reveals the special flavor substances in pomelo fruits","authors":"Ying-Jing Ru ,&nbsp;Ju Tang ,&nbsp;Ya-Lin Deng ,&nbsp;Zhen Zeng ,&nbsp;Ping-Wei Xiang ,&nbsp;Li Zhang ,&nbsp;Li-Ping Gan ,&nbsp;Jing-Tao Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114222","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114222","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Liangping Pomelo (LP) is one of the three most famous pomelo varieties in China and is favored by consumers for its sweet and refreshing aroma and numbing aftertaste. However, the substances responsible for its numbing flavor remain unknown. In this study, LP (with numbing flavor) and Humi Pomelo (HM, without numbing flavor) were adopted as research materials to investigate the potential material basis and molecular mechanism of numbing flavor. Combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were significantly enriched in the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway, suggesting a potential link between this pathway and the numbing substances in LP. Metabolomic analysis further indicated that Eugenol, Cinnamaldehyde, and Furanocoumarins, potential numbing compounds in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, were present at higher levels in LP than in HM. Transcriptome analysis identified 11 key genes involved in the synthesis of potential numbing flavor substances. These findings could provide a scientific foundation for future research on the numbing flavor components in LP and offer valuable insights into the selection and breeding of new varieties and the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid compounds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"348 ","pages":"Article 114222"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144263890","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":"Evaluation of genetic diversity of Ethiopian mango genotypes and comparison with a worldwide germplasm collection","authors":"Alemayehu Kassa ,&nbsp;Librada Alcaraz ,&nbsp;Nerea Larranaga ,&nbsp;Emiel de Meyer ,&nbsp;Iñaki Hormaza ,&nbsp;Eduardo de la Peña","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114211","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114211","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mango is a fruit crop holding significant economic importance in east Africa. However, the genetic diversity of Ethiopian mango remains so far unexplored. Therefore, we carried out the genetic characterization of Ethiopian populations and germplasm resources using eight SSR markers. A total of 162 domestic mango accessions were compared with the available information on the genetic profile of 73 international reference cultivars maintained in the European mango reference collection. We detected 69 alleles and found a high level of heterozygosity (0.68) among Ethiopian mango populations. As expected, there was broader genetic variability in the international reference germplasm (i.e., higher expected heterozygosity, allelic richness and number of private alleles). The study revealed frequent cases of mismatches among the commercially distributed varieties in Ethiopia and their synonymous cultivars in the international reference germplasm. The UPGMA dendrogram and model based structure analysis showed the relationship of locally grown mango trees with commercially available cultivars in Ethiopia. The clustering and differentiation estimates indicate a consistent relationship among accessions, aligning with their geographical distribution. Structure analysis identified three subgroups within the entire dataset of genotypes and highlighted the distinctness of the domestic gene pool in comparison to the accessions in the international collection. Furthermore, our analysis identified unique cultivars within the reference germplasm that exhibited close genetic proximity to the domestic samples, thereby providing evidence of their significant role in diversifying Ethiopian mango populations. These findings contribute to the effective management and utilization of mango germplasm in Ethiopia and will enhance current breeding efforts in the country.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"348 ","pages":"Article 114211"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242021","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":"SlWRKY30, a positive regulator of resistance to Meloidogyne incognita in Solanum lycopersicum","authors":"Yule Dang ,&nbsp;Zhize Wang ,&nbsp;Weidan Nie ,&nbsp;Yinxia Chen ,&nbsp;Yushan Li ,&nbsp;Yue Ma ,&nbsp;Yu Song ,&nbsp;Xiang Li ,&nbsp;Chong Du","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114224","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114224","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>WRKY transcription factors play important roles in plant biological stress responses. Through RNA-seq, <em>SlWRKY30</em> was shown to be differentially expressed in <em>Mi-1</em>- and <em>Mi-3</em>-resistant tomato lines after inoculation with <em>Meloidogyne incognita</em>. Bioinformatics analysis and expression profiling of roots from different lines revealed that this gene may serve as a key node for disease resistance regulation. This study employed VIGS to investigate whether the silencing of <em>SlWRKY30</em> could affect the susceptibility of ‘AC’ (<em>mi-1</em>/<em>mi-1</em>) susceptible line and ‘18,060′ (<em>Mi-1</em>/<em>Mi-1</em>) resistant line to <em>M. incognita</em>. Subcellular localization analysis indicated that the protein encoded by this gene is located in the nucleus. Its overexpression in tomato significantly increased disease resistance, and the tomato plant’s resistance level increased from highly susceptible to resistant. Indirectly, these findings suggested that the regulation of resistance by <em>SlWRKY30</em> might occur downstream of the <em>Mi</em>-mediated process or that the signal pathway involved by <em>SlWRKY30</em> was different from that mediated by <em>Mi</em>. Combined with the measurement of growth (plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, etc.) and physiological (soluble sugars and proteins, root activity, etc.) indicators, these findings further clarify the role of <em>SlWRKY30</em> as a positive regulatory factor in tomato defense against <em>M. incognita</em>. A preliminary exploration of metabolic signals revealed that <em>SlWRKY30</em> may stimulate different types of signaling, such as salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and brassinosteroid signaling, etc., and may synergistically regulate reactive oxygen species accumulation through influencing scavenging enzyme activity, hindering the formation of feeding sites and ultimately leading to a reduction in root galls growth. To our knowledge, <em>SlWRKY30</em> exhibits significant potential for enhancing tomato resistance to root-knot nematodes and holds great value in breeding applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"348 ","pages":"Article 114224"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144272495","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":"Investigation of fatty acid biosynthesis and lipid accumulation in walnut kernels using combined transcriptomics and lipidomics analyses","authors":"Xuesong Xia ,&nbsp;Liying Chen ,&nbsp;Zhaohui Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114213","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114213","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Walnut (<em>Juglans regia</em> L.) is an important resource for plantial edible oil. In this study, transcriptomics and lipidomics analyses were conducted to investigate the mechanisms underlying the dynamic accumulation of fatty acids and lipid species in kernels of 'Lyuling' walnut cultivar. The total fatty acid composition exhibited an increase in linoleic and oleic acids, alongside a decrease in palmitic and α-linolenic acids. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses demonstrated that fatty acid biosynthesis was initiated between 25 and 53 days after flowering (DAF), and rapid oil accumulation occurred between approximately 53 and 109 DAF. The dominant genes involved in fatty acid accumulation were identified and analyzed. Linoleic acid was the most abundant in kernel oils, that may be attributed to the considerable expression of gene encoding δ12 fatty acid desaturase (δ12-FAD2). The temporal variations at transcriptional levels of phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT), Phosphatidylcholine: diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase (PDCT), and Choline/ethanolamine phosphotransferase (CEPT) demonstrated that diacylglycerol (DAG) derived from PC and PE was critical for triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis, facilitating the incorporation of fatty acids from phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Lipidomics revealed that TAG (18:1/18:2/18:2), (18:0/18:2/18:3), (18:1/18:1/18:2), and (18:0/18:2/18:2) were the primary nutritional components of ripened walnut oil. Unlike in ordinary oil crops, the major DAG content increased during kernel ripening, enhancing nutritional quality. These findings provide valuable insights for genetic manipulation and molecular markers for fatty acid synthesis in kernels of 'Lyuling' walnut cultivar.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"348 ","pages":"Article 114213"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144229716","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 of the PLL gene family in Aquilegia oxysepala and functional analysis of AoPLL17 under salt stress","authors":"Haihang Yu ,&nbsp;Yanmei Ma ,&nbsp;Xuanyu Shen ,&nbsp;Tianshu Wang ,&nbsp;Na Li ,&nbsp;Yunwei Zhou ,&nbsp;Yun Bai","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114214","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114214","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Pectate lyase-like</em> (<em>PLL</em>) plays a central role in plant growth by depolymerizing homogalacturonan, which can affect the structure and composition of plant cell walls. However, the <em>PLL</em> family in <em>Aquilegia oxysepala</em> has not yet been systematically analysed, and the association of <em>PLL</em> with salt stress in ornamentals remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we have identified 17 <em>PLL</em> genes from the <em>A. oxysepala</em> and have classified <em>AoPLL</em> into five groups through phylogenetic analysis. The majority of <em>AoPLL</em> genes exhibited altered expression levels in response to salt stress, with the <em>AoPLL17</em> gene demonstrating significant changes in expression. The analysis of tissue-specific expression patterns of the <em>AoPLL17</em> gene revealed that it was expressed at the highest level in leafstalks. The protein AoPLL17 is localised to the cytoplasmic membrane system. Functional studies demonstrated that the overexpression of <em>AoPLL17</em> increased the sensitivity of transgenic tobacco plants to salt stress. The transgenic lines exhibited more pronounced restrictions in plant growth, reduced scavenging of ROS, and diminished photosynthetic capacity due to salt stress than the wild type plants. Additionally, transgenic <em>AoPLL17</em> tobacco plants displayed altered cell morphology, thinner cell walls, and decreased pectin content. In conclusion, <em>AoPLL17</em> performs a significant function in the response to salt stress by influencing the level of ROS scavenging, photosynthetic capacity, and maintenance of cell wall integrity. This study provides a data reference for exploring the function of the <em>PLL</em> in <em>A. oxysepala</em> and a new target for the improvement of ornamental plant resistance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"348 ","pages":"Article 114214"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144272537","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":"Design and optimization of NPK fertilization for ginger (Zingiber officinale) seed rhizome production from tissue-cultured plantlets in soilless culture","authors":"Hui Wang ,&nbsp;Fardous Mohammad Safiul Azam ,&nbsp;Xiaojun Xiao ,&nbsp;Farhana Tasnim ,&nbsp;Pranta Das ,&nbsp;Xie Zhou ,&nbsp;Hongyuan Gan","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114208","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114208","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This abstract presents a standardized NPK fertilization protocol for producing ginger seed rhizomes from pre-basic seed rhizomes derived from tissue-cultured plantlets. We examined the effects of NPK fertilization in a soilless medium on the cultivation of ‘pre-basic’ to ‘basic' seed rhizomes, providing disease-free planting materials via an L₉(3⁴) orthogonal experimental design. During the early growth phase, N2P1K3 (90 mg <span>l</span>^-1 N + 20 mg <span>l</span>^-1 P + 180 mg <span>l</span>^-1 K) has significantly enhanced photosynthesis and leaf growth, resulting the highest net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO₂ concentration, and transpiration rate. K and P significantly regulates the photosynthetic traits, which were associated with increased leaf counts and taller plants, indicators of overall plant vigor. In the late growth stage, N3K2 (300 mg <span>l</span>^-1 N + 400 mg <span>l</span>^-1 K) supported vigorous rhizome development, yielding bulky rhizomes with numerous fingers. Nitrogen significantly influenced tiller number, finger number and overall plant biomass. These findings highlight the importance of a balanced NPK regimen in enhancing the quantity and quality of seed rhizomes. Our technical approach could facilitate the large-scale production of healthy basic seed rhizomes in ginger cultivation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"348 ","pages":"Article 114208"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242018","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":"Investigating growth, root development, and chlorophyll fluorescence of tomato scions and rootstocks under UV-B stress in a plant factory with artificial lighting","authors":"Hwichan Yang ,&nbsp;Youngho Kim ,&nbsp;Yunhyeong Bae ,&nbsp;Soonjae Hyeon ,&nbsp;Minseong Choi ,&nbsp;Dongcheol Jang","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114191","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114191","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs) provide a controlled environment for seedling production, helping overcome challenges posed by fluctuating weather conditions. UV-B irradiation enhances plant physiology by increasing flavonoid accumulation, strengthening disease resistance, and improving seedling vigor. However, because of species specific and context dependent responses, researchers must further investigate the appropriate timing and dosage of UV-B exposure. Herein, we aimed to determine the optimal UV-B irradiation timing and dose for tomato scions and rootstocks in PFALs. We categorized the irradiation period into three stages ST1 {3–7 days after sowing (DAS)}, ST2 (8–12 DAS), and ST3 (13–17 DAS) and tested doses of 1.44, 2.88, and 5.76 kJ·<em>m</em>⁻²·d⁻¹. At ST2, the 5.76 kJ·<em>m</em>⁻²·d⁻¹ dose reduced plant height by 2.3 cm (28 %) in scions and 4.5 cm (34 %) in rootstocks compared with the control. In the rhizosphere, higher UV-B doses inhibited root development, whereas ST3 1.44–2.88 kJ·<em>m</em>⁻²·d⁻¹ promoted growth. Scions exposed to ST2 5.76 kJ·<em>m</em>⁻²·d⁻¹ showed a 2.3 % increase in dry matter content compared to the control, reaching 9.5 %. The compactness of the rootstock increased to 6.4 mg·cm⁻¹ under conditions of ST2 2.88 kJ·<em>m</em>⁻²·d⁻¹, 1.9 mg·cm⁻¹ (42 %) increase compared to the control 4.5 mg·cm⁻¹. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters reflected stress responses: F_V/F_M and PI_ABS significantly decreased at ST3 5.76 kJ·<em>m</em>⁻²·d⁻¹, whereas DI₀/RC significantly increased. These results demonstrate that carefully adjusting UV-B timing and dosage can help reduce plant damage and regulate growth, supporting the production of high-quality tomato seedlings in PFALs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 114191"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067482","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}