Analysis of Meteorological Disasters in the Flowering and Fruiting Period of Sugar Orange in Guilin

The yield of sugar orange is closely related to meteorological conditions in the flowering and fruiting period, and meteorological disasters at the flowering and early fruiting stage seriously affect its yield. To study influences of meteorological disasters in the flowering and early fruiting stage on sugar orange industry in Guilin, meteorological disasters in the flowering and early fruiting stage and its defense measures were analyzed and studied. The flowering and early fruiting stage of sug- ar orange in Guilin is from March to June, and sudden change of temperature, thunderstorm, hale, hail, rainstorm and other natural disasters can cause the falling of large numbers of flowers and young fruit, damage of tree body, reduction of fruit in quantity, and decrease of its yield. Timely understanding information of disastrous weather and implementing management of water and fertilizer can effectively reduce the loss caused by meteorological disasters and ensue high quality and high yield of sugar orange.

Study on the Flowering,Fruiting and Seed Setting Characteristic of Wild Watermelon

[Objective] The flowering,fruiting and seed setting characteristic of wild watermelon were discussed in our paper.[Method] The flowering and fruiting habit of wild watermelon were observed,and the effect of different pollination methods（mixed pollination,single flower pollination and natural pollination）on fruit set percentage,weight per fruit,seeds per fruit and thousand-seed weight of wild watermelon were studied in our paper.[Result] Wild watermelon had few female flowers and low fruit set percentage;artificial pollination could not increase the fruit set percentage of wild watermelon obviously,but it could improve weight per fruit,seed yield and quality significantly,and mixed pollination was the best.[Conclusion] Our study could provide reference for the improvement of hybrid seed yield and quality of wild watermelon.

Effect of Shoot Control on Flower Bud Differentiation,Flowering,and Fruit Setting in Zanthoxylum armatum DC.

In this study,newly sprouted shoots of Zanthoxylum armatum(Z.armatum),which were collected after the harvesting period,were used as the primary experimental specimens.A randomized block design and paraffin sectioning method were used to investigate the flower bud differentiation process and the quantity and vitality of buds.Furthermore,the study examined the response of flowering and fruiting to cultivation methods for shoot growth,including layering and plant growth regulator application.The results showed that(a)layering and application of plant growth regulators for Z.armatum accelerated the process of flower bud differentiation by approximately 20 days compared to the control group.Additionally,both shoot control methods generated more and larger bud primordia and perianth primordia during the same differentiation phase.(b)The application of plant growth regulators resulted in well-developed buds,exhibiting higher levels of flower bud differentiation than the layering method.The quality of flower bud formation for both shoot control methods was superior to that of the control group.(c)The flowering phenological period was relatively consistent between the two cultivation methods,but the fruit maturity phase for shoot-controlled trees occurred 20 days earlier than the control group.(d)Both layering and the application of plant growth regulators significantly decreased the rates of unfertilized flower shedding and fruit shedding.However,no significant difference was noted in fruit setting per inflorescence and per flower between the two methods and the control.The effect of altitude for both methods on the fruit setting was not significant.Under both shoot control methods,the Z.armatum exhibited earlier morphological differentiation of flower buds,faster differentiation process,improved flower bud quality,and significantly decreased rates of flower and fruit shedding.Thus,these cultivation methods demonstrated the potential to promote flowering,improve fruit setting,and reduce fruit shedding in Z.armatum.

Effect of strawberry vein banding virus and strawberry mottle virus co-infection on the growth and development of strawberry

Strawberry mottle virus(SMoV)and strawberry vein banding virus(SVBV)cause diseases on strawberry plants,but the effect of coinfection of SMoV and SVBV on the growth,development,and defense system of strawberry(Fragaria×ananassa Duchesne)remains unknown.We investigated the effect of SMoV and SVBV coinfection on strawberry cultivar‘Benihope’.The results showed that stem diameter,leaf size,leaf number,relative chlorophyll content,total chlorophyll content,photosynthetic parameters,and stomatal aperture of SMoV and SVBV co-infected strawberry(VIS)plants were in a weaker level than uninfected control plants,indicating that viruses inhibited the growth and photosynthesis of strawberry plants.Furthermore,the initiation of flowering and fruiting stages of VIS plants were delayed by about three weeks compared with the controls,and the fruiting period was shortened,demonstrating that the reproduction of VIS plants was inhibited.Fruit quality was damaged in VIS plants due to a significant increase in fruit firmness and titratable acidity and decrease in total soluble solid content than control fruits.More dead cells and H_(2)O_(2) accumulated along the veins of VIS leaves,and the content of abscisic acid and catalase activity significantly increased,whereas anthocyanin content was lower than that of control plants.The results demonstrate that SVBV and SMoV coinfection inhibits the growth and development of‘Benihope’strawberry plants,and the plants respond to viruses by regulating stomatal aperture,the accumulation of ABA and antioxidants.To our knowledge,this study contributes information to understand how both viruses impair the strawberry growth and development for the first time.