Tackling Energy Loss in Organic Solar Cells via Volatile Solid Additive Strategy.

The energy loss induced open-circuit voltage (VOC) deficit hampers the rapid development of state-of-the-art organic solar cells (OSCs), therefore, it is extremely urgent to explore effective strategies to address this issue. Herein, a new volatile solid additive 1,4-bis(iodomethyl)cyclohexane (DIMCH) featured with concentrated electrostatic potential distribution is utilized to act as a morphology-directing guest to reduce energy loss in multiple state-of-art blend system, leading to one of highest efficiency (18.8%) at the forefront of reported binary OSCs. Volatile DIMCH decreases radiative/non-radiative recombination induced energy loss (ΔE2/ΔE3) by rationally balancing the crystallinity of donors and acceptors and realizing homogeneous network structure of crystal domain with reduced D-A phase separation during the film formation process and weakens energy disorder and trap density in OSCs. It is believed that this study brings not only a profound understanding of emerging volatile solid additives but also a new hope to further reduce energy loss and improve the performance of OSCs.

Achieving single-cell-resolution lineage tracing in zebrafish by continuous barcoding mutations during embryogenesis.

Unraveling the lineage relationships of all descendants from a zygote is fundamental to advancing our understanding of developmental and stem cell biology. However, existing cell barcoding technologies in zebrafish lack the resolution to capture the majority of cell divisions during embryogenesis. A recently developed method, SMALT, successfully reconstructed high-resolution cell phylogenetic trees for Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we implement the SMALT system in zebrafish, recording a median of 14 substitution mutations on a one-kilobase-pair barcoding sequence for one-day post-fertilization embryos. Leveraging this system, we reconstruct four cell lineage trees for zebrafish fin cells, encompassing both original and regenerated fin. Each tree consists of hundreds of internal nodes with a median bootstrap support of 99%. Analysis of the obtained cell lineage trees reveals that regenerated fin cells mainly originate from cells in the same part of the fins. Through multiple times sampling germ cells from the same individual, we confirm the stability of the germ cell pool and the early separation of germ cell and somatic cell progenitors. Our system offers the potential for reconstructing high-quality cell phylogenies across diverse tissues, providing valuable insights into development and disease in zebrafish.

Iodide/triiodide redox shuttle-based additives for high-performance perovskite solar cells by simultaneously passivating the cation and anion defects.

Halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have received remarkably increasing interests due to their facile fabrication procedures, use of cost-effective raw materials, and high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) during the past 10 years. Nevertheless, the state-of-the-art organic-inorganic PSCs suffer from high defect concentration and inferior humid/thermal stability, significantly restricting the widespread applications of PSCs. More specifically, point defects including metallic lead (Pb0) and halide iodine (I0) are easily generated in Pb/I-based PSCs during fabrication processes and operational conditions due to the inferior interaction between the anions and cations in halide perovskites and promote detrimental carrier recombination and ion migration, leading to inferior PCEs and durability of the PSCs. Herein, to tackle the above-mentioned issues, iodide/triiodide (I-/I3-) redox shuttles as a new additive were introduced to simultaneously passivate the cation and anion defects of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3)-based PSCs. In particular, I-/I3- redox shuttles play a vital role in regenerating the cation (Pb0) and anion (I0) defects through the redox cycles of Pb0/Pb2+ and I0/I-. Consequently, the cell with an optimized amount of I-/I3- additive generated a superior PCE of 20.4%, which was 12% higher than the pristine device (18.2%). Furthermore, the introduction of the I-/I3- additive remarkably improved the humid and thermal stability of MAPbI3-based PSCs. This work manifests the importance of the design of redox shuttle-based additives to boost the efficiency and durability of organic-inorganic PSCs.

Pancancer analysis of SKA1 mutation and its association with the diagnosis and prognosis of human cancers.

This study aims to explore the role of SKA1 in cancer diagnosis and prognosis and to investigate the mechanism by which SKA1 affects the malignant behaviors of ovarian cancer. Herein, we analyzed the oncogenic role of SKA1 at pan-cancer level by multiple informatics databases and verified the analysis by in vitro experiments. As a result, SKA1 was upregulated across cancers and was related to poor clinical outcome and immune infiltration. Specifically, the constructed nomogram showed superior performance in predicting the prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. Furthermore, the in vitro experiments revealed that silencing SKA1 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migratory ability and enhanced the cisplatin sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells. Therefore, we explored the oncogenic and potential therapeutic role of SKA1 across cancers through multiple bioinformatic analysis and revealed that SKA1 may promote ovarian cancer progression and chemoresistance to cisplatin by activating the AKT-FOXO3a signaling pathway.

Monovalent Copper Cation Doping Enables High-Performance CsPbIBr2-Based All-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells.

Organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have delivered the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.7% currently, but they are unfortunately limited by several key issues, such as inferior humid and thermal stability, significantly retarding their widespread application. To tackle the instability issue, all-inorganic PSCs have attracted increasing interest due to superior structural, humid and high-temperature stability to their organic-inorganic counterparts. Nevertheless, all-inorganic PSCs with typical CsPbIBr2 perovskite as light absorbers suffer from much inferior PCEs to those of organic-inorganic PSCs. Functional doping is regarded as a simple and useful strategy to improve the PCEs of CsPbIBr2-based all-inorganic PSCs. Herein, we report a monovalent copper cation (Cu+)-doping strategy to boost the performance of CsPbIBr2-based PSCs by increasing the grain sizes and improving the CsPbIBr2 film quality, reducing the defect density, inhibiting the carrier recombination and constructing proper energy level alignment. Consequently, the device with optimized Cu+-doping concentration generates a much better PCE of 9.11% than the pristine cell (7.24%). Moreover, the Cu+ doping also remarkably enhances the humid and thermal durability of CsPbIBr2-based PSCs with suppressed hysteresis. The current study provides a simple and useful strategy to enhance the PCE and the durability of CsPbIBr2-based PSCs, which can promote the practical application of perovskite photovoltaics.

Recent Advances in Nanostructured Inorganic Hole-Transporting Materials for Perovskite Solar Cells.

Organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have received particular attention in the last decade because of the high-power conversion efficiencies (PCEs), facile fabrication route and low cost. However, one of the most crucial obstacles to hindering the commercialization of PSCs is the instability issue, which is mainly caused by the inferior quality of the perovskite films and the poor tolerance of organic hole-transporting layer (HTL) against heat and moisture. Inorganic HTL materials are regarded as promising alternatives to replace organic counterparts for stable PSCs due to the high chemical stability, wide band gap, high light transmittance and low cost. In particular, nanostructure construction is reported to be an effective strategy to boost the hole transfer capability of inorganic HTLs and then enhance the PCEs of PSCs. Herein, the recent advances in the design and fabrication of nanostructured inorganic materials as HTLs for PSCs are reviewed by highlighting the superiority of nanostructured inorganic HTLs over organic counterparts in terms of moisture and heat tolerance, hole transfer capability and light transmittance. Furthermore, several strategies to boost the performance of inorganic HTLs are proposed, including fabrication route design, functional/selectively doping, morphology control, nanocomposite construction, etc. Finally, the challenges and future research directions about nanostructured inorganic HTL-based PSCs are provided and discussed. This review presents helpful guidelines for the design and fabrication of high-efficiency and durable inorganic HTL-based PSCs.

Thiourea with sulfur-donor as an effective additive for enhanced performance of lead-free double perovskite photovoltaic cells.

Lead-free inorganic Cs2AgBiBr6 double perovskites have emerged as promising materials in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to tackle the inferior stability and toxicity issues of organic-inorganic hybrid PSCs. However, the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of Cs2AgBiBr6 solar cells are remarkably restricted by the intrinsic and extrinsic defects of Cs2AgBiBr6 films. More specifically, the fast crystallization process in the formation of Cs2AgBiBr6 films strongly prevents the homogeneous growth of perovskite crystals, leading to inferior Cs2AgBiBr6 film quality. This work introduces a facile strategy to retard the crystallization of Cs2AgBiBr6 perovskites by introducing Lewis base additives into the precursor solution. The incorporation of a strongly coordinated thiourea additive with a sulfur donor leads to the generation of a Lewis acid base adduct, which retards the crystallization process for Cs2AgBiBr6 crystals, improves the quality of the Cs2AgBiBr6 film, decreases the defect density and inhibits charge carrier recombination. After optimization, the cell delivers a superior PCE of 3.07%, surpassing that reported for most Cs2AgBiBr6-based solar cells in the literature, and exhibits outstanding stability with a PCE retention rate of 95% after 20 days of storage in air. This work provides an effective strategy for further improvements in the performance of inorganic lead-free Cs2AgBiBr6-based photovoltaic cells.

Water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.) can fix and transfer nitrogen to rice in their intercropping system.

BACKGROUND: Cereal-legume intercropping systems are an environmentally friendly practice in sustainable agriculture. However, research on the interspecific interaction of nitrogen (N) between rice and aquatic legumes has rarely been undertaken. To address this issue, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate N utilization and the N interaction between rice and water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.) in an intercropping system. The root barrier patterns consisted of solid barrier (SB), mesh barrier (MB), and no barrier (NB) treatments. The N fertilizer application rates were low, medium, and high N rates. RESULTS: The results showed that the NB treatment better facilitated rice growth compared with the MB and SB treatments. And the nitrate N content and urease activity of rice rhizospheric soil in the NB treatment were the highest of the three separated patterns. The ammonium N content in water mimosa rhizospheric soil and N2 fixation of water mimosa ranked as NB > MB > SB. CONCLUSIONS: The amount of N fixation by water mimosa was 4.38-13.64 mg/pot, and the N transfer from water mimosa to rice was 3.97-9.54 mg/pot. This can promote the growth of rice and reduce the application of N fertilizer. We suggest that the rice-water mimosa intercropping system is a sustainable ecological farming approach and can be applied in the field to facilitate rice production. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Mix-cropping of rice and water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.) increases rice photosynthetic efficiency, yield, grain quality and soil available nutrients.

BACKGROUND: Cereal cultivation with legumes plays an important role in improving biodiversity and productivity. However, there are limited references concerning rice/legume mix-cropping in paddy fields. An aquatic leguminous plant, water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.), was introduced and a related field experiment of two seasons (early and late seasons in 2019) was carried out to explore the effects of rice/water mimosa mix-cropping on rice growth, yield, grain quality and soil nutrients in the present study. Three treatments - rice monocropping, rice/water mimosa intercropping and mix-cropping - were employed in this study. RESULTS: Results showed that rice grew better with greater height, tiller number, chlorophyll content, actual photosynthetic efficiency [Y(II)], maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv /Fm ) and photochemical quenching coefficient (qP) in the intercropping and mix-cropping treatments. In addition, the intercropping and mix-cropping treatments increased nutrient uptake of nitrogen (N) by11.89-24.42%, phosphorous (P) by 17.75-36.61% and potassium (K) by 19.22-47.44%, and rice yield by 19.9% and 21.8%. Conversely, the non-photochemical quenching coefficient (NPQ), chalkiness degree and chalky rate of rice were lower in the intercropping and mix-cropping treatments relative to those in the monocropping treatments. Notably, soil alkali-hydrolysable N (AN), available P (AP) and K (AK) contents were the highest in the mix-cropping treatments among the three cropping systems. CONCLUSION: We suggest that rice/water mimosa mix-cropping is an environmentally friendly agroecological system with a higher output and can be extended for green rice production and largely applied in the paddy field. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Benefitting from Synergistic Effect of Anion and Cation in Antimony Acetate for Stable CH3 NH3 PbI3 -Based Perovskite Solar Cell with Efficiency Beyond 21.

Both the film quality and the electronic properties of halide perovskites have significant influences on the photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) because both of them are closely related to the charge carrier transportation, separation, and recombination processes in PSCs. In this work, an additive engineering strategy using antimony acetate (Sb(Ac)3 ) is employed to enhance the photovoltaic performance of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3 )-based PSCs by improving the film quality and optimizing the photoelectronic properties of halide perovskites. It is found that Ac- and Sb3+ of Sb(Ac)3 play different roles and their synergistic effect contributed to the eventual excellent photovoltaic performance of MAPbI3 -based PSCs with a power conversion efficiency of above 21%. The Ac- anions act as a crystal growth controller and are more involved in the improvement of perovskite film morphology. By comparison, Sb3+ cations are more involved in the optimization of the electronic structure of perovskites to tailor the energy levels of the perovskite film. Furthermore, with the assistance of Sb(Ac)3 , MAPbI3 -based PSCs deliver much improved moisture, air, and thermal stability. This work can provide scientific insights on the additive engineering for improving the efficiency and long-term stability of MAPbI3 -based PSCs, facilitating the further development of perovskite-based optoelectronics.

Reduced pests, improved grain quality and greater total income: benefits of intercropping rice with Pontederia cordata.

BACKGROUND: Intercropping, which is growing two or more different crops in the same field simultaneously, is an effective traditional agricultural practice for productivity, resource utilization, and pest control. However, study on intercropping in paddy fields is limited. So in this study, field experiments of 2 years/four seasons (early and late seasons in 2016 and 2017) were conducted to examine the effects of rice-Pontederia cordata intercropping on rice plant growth, pest control, yield, income, and grain quality. RESULTS: We found rice-P. cordata intercropping significantly decreased the occurrence of rice diseases and pests, with a 22.0-45.9% reduction in sheath blight and a 33.8-34.4% reduction in leaf folders. The mean land equivalent ratio (LER) (1.09) result indicates that intercropping rice and P. cordata generated positive yield effects. In addition, due to the economic profit from the replacement stripe of P. cordata in the rice paddy field, intercropping rice with P. cordata could greatly enhance farmer income. The average total income of rice intercropped with P. cordata was 2.5-fold higher than that of rice monoculture. Furthermore, intercropping significantly improved grain quality compared with the rice monoculture. It significantly increased the milled rice rate and whole milled rice rate by 11.2% and 12.8%, respectively, but decreased the chalky rice rate by 30.9-39.8% and chalkiness degree by 32.2%. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that rice-P. cordata intercropping provides an environmentally effective way to control rice diseases and pests, results in higher overall productivity and total income, and improves grain quality. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Acid Rain Increases Impact of Rice Blast on Crop Health via Inhibition of Resistance Enzymes.

Worldwide, rice blast (Pyricularia oryzae) causes more rice crop loss than other diseases. Acid rain has reduced crop yields globally for nearly a century. However, the effects of acid rain on rice-Pyricularia oryzae systems are still far from fully understood. In this study, we conducted a lab cultivation experiment of P. oryzae under a series of acidity conditions as well as a glasshouse cultivation experiment of rice that was inoculated with P. oryzae either before (P. + SAR) or after (SAR + P.) simulated acid rain (SAR) at pH 5.0, 4.0, 3.0 and 2.0. Our results showed that the growth and pathogenicity of P. oryzae was significantly inhibited with decreasing pH treatments in vitro culture. The SAR + P. treatment with a pH of 4.0 was associated with the highest inhibition of P. oryzae expansion. However, regardless of the inoculation time, higher-acidity rain treatments showed a decreased inhibition of P. oryzae via disease-resistance related enzymes and metabolites in rice leaves, thus increasing disease index. The combined effects of high acidity and fungal inoculation were more serious than that of either alone. This study provides novel insights into the effects of acid rain on the plant-pathogen interaction and may also serve as a guide for evaluating disease control and crop health in the context of acid rain.

Promoting the Efficiency and Stability of CsPbIBr2-Based All-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells through a Functional Cu2+ Doping Strategy.

Although organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have shown dramatically enhanced power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) in the last decade, their long-term stability is still a critical challenge for commercialization. To address this issue, tremendous research efforts have been devoted to exploring all-inorganic PSCs because of their intrinsically high structural stability. Among them, CsPbIBr2-based all-inorganic PSCs have drawn increasing attention owing to their suitable band gap and favorable stability. However, the PCEs of CsPbIBr2-based PSCs are still far from those of their organic-inorganic counterparts, thus inhibiting their practical applications. Herein, we demonstrate that by simply doping an appropriate amount of Cu2+ into a CsPbIBr2 perovskite lattice (0.5 at. % to Pb2+), the perovskite crystallinity and grain size are increased, the perovskite film morphology is improved, the energy level alignment is optimized, and the trap density and charge recombination are reduced. As a consequence, a decent PCE improvement from 7.81 to 10.4% is achieved along with an enhancement ratio of 33% with a CsPbIBr2-based PSC. Furthermore, the long-term stability of CsPbIBr2-based PSCs against moisture and heat also remarkably improved by Cu2+ doping. This work provides a facile and effective route to improve the PCE and long-term stability of CsPbIBr2-based all-inorganic PSCs.

Quality dependence of litter decomposition and its carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus release under simulated acid rain treatments.

Litter decomposition is of utmost importance to elemental cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, with litter quality being frequently considered to predominantly control litter decomposition. However, how acid rain (AR) would affect litter decomposition and its elements release remains inconclusive, although AR has widely occurred in Europe, North America, and East Asia. This study was conducted to observe leaf litter decomposition and release of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) of three crops (maize, rice, and soybean) under simulated AR treatments. Results showed that the accumulated mass loss during decomposition was significantly different among species, supporting the view of litter quality predominantly controlling decomposition. Specifically, quality dependence of litter decomposition was observed in the late stage of decomposition, while mass loss of litters was comparable in the first month among species. With decomposition, the litter C/N ratio significantly increased for the three species while the C/P and N/P ratios significantly decreased or tended to decrease, suggesting that litter N was released preferentially over C and P. However, AR treatments did not significantly affect litter decomposition and its elements release in our investigation period. Moreover, litter P content appeared to strongly affect the release of C, N, and P during litter decomposition, and such P dependence could to some extent be alleviated by AR treatments. Our results suggest that AR may change the quality dependence of litter decomposition and further studies are needed to illustrate its potential mechanisms.

Invasive Chromolaena odorata species specifically affects growth of its co-occurring weeds.

Plant-plant interaction is essential to weed invasion success and is related to impacts on the environment. To understand interactions of the well-known invasive plant siamweed (Chromolaena odorata) and its neighbors (exotic Praxelis clematidea and native cadillo) in South China, and their competitive mechanisms above- and belowground, a multicultivation experiment was conducted. Competitive indices, plant morphological traits, soil nutrient contents, enzyme activities, and microbial biomass were measured. Competitive balance index and morphological traits revealed balanced competition between P. clematidea and siamweed, and suppressive effect of siamweed on cadillo. In coculture of siamweed and P. clematidea, the branch length of siamweed slightly lengthened, while the branch number of P. clematidea increased compared with their respective monocultures accordingly. Overall impacts of the two invaders on soil properties were near averages of their single impacts. In coculture of siamweed and cadillo, siamweed was more competitive in both light and nutrient capture; soil urease activity and acid phosphatase activity were magnified and mitigated compared with the averages of those in their respective monocultures, respectively. The species-specific results of siamweed competing with its co-occurring weeds would contribute to a better understanding of mechanism in synergistic effect of siamweed with the other invasive plants.

Crop-litter type determines the structure and function of litter-decomposing microbial communities under acid rain conditions.

Acid rain has been one of the major environmental problems in industrial countries. While it may affect the litter decomposition, a highly important microbial-driven biogeochemical process, knowledge about the impact of acid rain on litter-decomposing microbial communities and their functions remains unclear. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to investigate how acid rain treatments would alter microbial communities and their functions during litter decomposition of three major commodity crops (maize, rice, and soybean) for six months from June to December 2018. We used litterbag method to determine litter decomposition,while the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and fluorometric methods were used to reveal changes in the litter-adhering microbial community parameters and activities of enzymes involved in the litter decomposition and nutrient release (including carbon [C], nitrogen [N], and phosphorus [P]), respectively. Our results showed that microbial community composition and functions were significantly different among litter types, but not significantly altered by acid rain treatments during the experimental period. The enzyme activities significantly correlated with each other, thus suggesting that microbial requirements for C, N, and P were coupled together during litter decomposition. Moreover, the enzyme activities, at large, did not correlate to microbial community composition, thus indicating the asymmetric relationship between microbial community structure and functions. Our results imply that crop litter type and substrate availability determined the microbial community composition and functions, while litter-inhabiting microbial communities demonstrated substantial resilience under acid rain pressure throughout the experimental period. These results also predict that litter (crop residues) decomposition may not be altered by acid rains in the subtropical agroecosystem, due to relatively high resilience of litter-decomposing microbial communities.

Theoretical predicted high-thermal-conductivity cubic Si3N4 and Ge3N4: promising substrate materials for high-power electronic devices.

Ceramic substrates play key roles in power electronic device technology through dissipating heat, wherein both high thermal conductivity and mechanical strength are required. The increased power of new devices has led to the replacement of Al2O3 by high thermal conducting AlN and further ß-Si3N4 based substrates. However, the low mechanical strength and/or anisotropic mechanical/thermal properties are still the bottlenecks for the practical applications of these materials in high power electronic devices. Herein, using a combination of density functional theory and modified Debye-Callaway model, two new promising substrate materials γ-Si3N4 and γ-Ge3N4 are predicted. Our results demonstrate for the first time that both compounds exhibit higher room temperature thermal conductivity but less anisotropy in expansion and heat conduction compared to ß-Si3N4. The mechanism underpins the high RT κ is identified as relatively small anharmonicity, high phonon velocity and frequency. The suitability of these two nitrides as substrate materials was also discussed.

Soil properties and carbon and nitrogen pools in a young hillside longan orchard after the introduction of leguminous plants and residues.

The intensification of young hillside Dimocarpus longan orchard cultivation has led to increase soil erosion and decrease soil fertility in South China. Leguminous crops are often used for improving soil properties. An approximately 2-year-long field experiment in lateritic soil in South China was conducted to evaluate the effects of legume introductions on soil properties and carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools. Two leguminous and one non-leguminous plant species, including Arachis hypogaea L. (a leguminous oilseed crop species, DA), Stylosanthes guianensis (a perennial herbaceous leguminous species, DS) and Lolium perenne L. (an annual non-leguminous forage species, DL), were introduced into a D. longan orchard as three treatments and compared to the monoculture of D. longan (the control, D0). And the harvested biomass residues of the three cover plants were returned to their corresponding plots as green manure. Soil samples were collected from depths of 0-10 and 10-20 cm approximately 2 years after treatment application. The results showed that, compared with D0, DA significantly improved the contents of soil available phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen, ammonium and the N pool. In addition, DS significantly increased the contents of DOC, microbial biomass carbon and ammonium in the soil. However, DL did not affect any soil properties or the C and N pools. In addition, neither DA nor DS altered the soil bulk density or the contents of available nitrogen, total organic carbon and the C pool. The improvement of soil properties by DS and DA was positively correlated with the plant residues amount, plant N content but negatively correlated with the plant C:N ratios. Besides, the plant growth of longan was significantly improved by DA. In conclusion, compared with that of S. guianensis, the introduction of A. hypogaea L. was more helpful for restoring and improving soil properties, N pool and longan growth within the young hillside orchard in South China.

In situ earthworm breeding in orchards significantly improves the growth, quality and yield of papaya (Carica papaya L.).

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of four fertilizer applications-control (C), chemical fertilizer (F), compost (O), and in situ earthworm breeding (E)-on the growth, quality and yield of papaya (Carica papaya L.). In this study, 5 g plant-1 urea (CH4N2O, %N = 46.3%) and 100 g plant-1 microelement fertilizer was applied to each treatment. The fertilizer applications of these four treatments are different from each other. The results showed that the E treatment had the highest growth parameters over the whole growth period. At 127 days after transplantation, the order of plant heights from greatest to smallest was E > F > O > C, and the stem diameters were E > F > O > C, with significant differences between all treatments. Soluble-solid, sugar, vitamin C, and protein content significantly increased in the E treatment. In addition, the total acid and the electrical conductivity of the fruit significantly decreased in the E treatment. Fruit firmness clearly increased in the O treatment, and decreased in the F treatment. The fresh individual fruit weights, fruit numbers, and total yields were greatly improved in the F and E treatments, and the total yield of the E treatment was higher than that in the F treatment. In conclusion, the in situ earthworm breeding treatment performed better than conventional compost and chemical fertilizer treatments. Furthermore, in situ earthworm breeding may be a potential organic fertilizer application in orchards because it not only improves the fruit quality and yield but also reduces the amount of organic wastes from agriculture as a result of the activities of earthworms.