Physiological response of anthocyanin synthesis to different light intensities in blueberry.

Fruit color is an important economic character of blueberry, determined by the amount of anthocyanin content. Anthocyanin synthesis within the blueberry fruits is significantly affected by light. To reveal the physiological response mechanism of anthocyanin synthesis in blueberry fruits in different light intensities, four light intensities (100% (CK), 75%, 50% and 25%) were set for the 'O'Neal' southern highbush blueberry as the experimental material in our study. The relationship between endogenous hormones content, associated enzyme activities, and variations with the anthocyanin content in blueberry fruits under various light intensities during the white fruit stage (S1), purple fruit stage (S2), and blue fruit stage (S3) were studied. The results showed that adequate light could significantly promote anthocyanin synthesis in blueberry fruits (P < 0.05). Blueberry fruits had an anthocyanin content that was 1.76~24.13 times higher under 100% light intensity than it was under non-full light intensity. Different light intensities significantly affected the content of endogenous hormones and the activity of associated enzymes in anthocyanin synthesis pathway (P < 0.05). Among them, the JA (jasmonic acid) content and PAL (phenylalanine ammonia lyase) activity of fruits under 100% light intensity were 2.49%~41.83% and 2.47%~48.48% higher than those under other light intensity, respectively. And a significant correlation was found between the variations in anthocyanin content in fruits and the content or activities of JA, ABA (abscisic acid), ETH (ethylene), GA3 (gibberellin 3), IAA (indoleacetic acid), PAL, CHI (chalcone isomerase), DFR (dihydroflavonol reductase) and UFGT (UDP-glucose: flavonoid 3-glucosyltransferase) (P < 0.05). It indicated that 100% light intensity significantly promoted anthocyanin synthesis in blueberry fruits by affecting endogenous hormones content and associated enzyme activities in the anthocyanin synthesis pathway. This study will lay a foundation for further research on the molecular mechanism of light intensity regulating anthocyanin synthesis in blueberry.

Effects of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium formula fertilization on the yield and berry quality of blueberry.

Through the application ratio of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in the field, L9 (33) orthogonal experimental design was used to study the effects of different N, P and K ratios on the yield and quality of blueberry fruit, aiming to optimize the amount of supplied fertilizers. The results showed that N, P and K fertilizer had different effects on fruit yield and quality, among which K fertilizer was the most important factor. Fertilization could significantly improve the yield and fruit quality of blueberry, and the average yield of fertilization treatment was 37.78% higher than that of the control group (CK). Even the treatment with the worst results F6 (N2P3K1), its single fruit weight, anthocyanins, total phenols, soluble solids and soluble protein content were 1.09, 1.32, 1.23, 1.08 and 1.21 times higher than the control (CK), respectively. Based on the comprehensive evaluation of principal component analysis and multi factor analysis of variance, the best fertilization combination for high-yield and good-quality blueberries was N1P2K2 (F2), that is, the best fertilization effect was that including N 100 g/plant, P2O5 25 g/plant, K2O 25 g/plant, applied in the form of ammonium sulfate (472 g/plant), superphosphate (41 g/plant) and potassium sulfate (40 g/plant), respectively.

Genetic Diversity Analysis and Core Germplasm Collection Construction of Camellia oleifera Based on Fruit Phenotype and SSR Data.

Many Camellia oleifera germplasm resources were collected from Guizhou Province, but the fruit morphological variation and genetic diversity of C. oleifera germplasm resources remain unclear. The genetic diversity of C. oleifera germplasms resources in Guizhou was studied based on fruit traits and simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers to build a core collection. This paper aims to provide a scientific basis for the collection, management, development, and utilization of C. oleifera resources in Guizhou province. The variation coefficients among and within varieties of seven fruit phenotypic traits of C. oleifera ranged from 11.79% to 61.76% and from 8.15% to 42.31%, respectively, showing rich phenotypic variation. Furthermore, 12 SSR markers were used to analyze the genetic diversity. These primers generated 214 polymorphic bands, and the average number was 17.833. The average number of effective alleles (Ne), Shannon's information index (I), observed heterozygosity (Ho), expected heterozygosity (He), polymorphic information content (PIC), and major allele frequency (MAF) were 8.999, 2.301, 0.965, 0.50, 0.836, and 0.238, respectively. The results showed that 12 SSR markers had high polymorphism, and the genetic diversity of 167 C. oleifera germplasm resources was high. Based on SSR molecular marker information and fruit traits clustering, 167 C. oleifera germplasm resources were divided into three groups. When constructing core collections based on fruit traits and molecular marker information, the PowerCore-25 of core collections greatly preserves fruit traits and improves genetic diversity. This paper can provide a reference for the genetic diversity and fruit traits variation of C. camellia germplasm resources in Guizhou Province. It is significant for establishing a core collection, thus promoting germplasm innovation and the development of the oil tea industry in Guizhou.