Search Results (1,811)

This study evaluated the effects of supplementing a mildly high-fat diet (HFD; 33.5% energy from lipids) with fermented passion fruit peel powder (FPFPP) on mice liver physiological chracteristics. Mice were fed HFD supplemented with FPFPP at three ratios of 0.5% (T-0.5 group), 1% (T-1 group), and 2.5% (T-2.5 group) for 30 days and compared with normal-diet control and an unsupplemented HFD group. The results showed that FPFPP supplementation induced an attenuation of weight gain in mice. Serum lipid profiles demonstrated the decrease in total serum cholesterol, and LDL-c in mice from T-1 and T-2.5 groups compared to HFD group, while there was no difference in HDL-c level in mice from these groups. FPFPP supplementation could retrieve several normal characteristics in the histological architecture and the expression of apoptosis and cell cycle-related proteins in mice liver. These results suggested that fermented passion fruit peel supplementation attenuates high-fat diet-induced hepatic dysfunction via modulation of lipid metabolism and apoptotic signaling in mice. Full article

Selenium is an essential micronutrient for humans, underscoring its importance in enhancing the nutritional and physiological attributes of agricultural and horticultural crops through exogenous application. At low doses, selenium improves growth and development, and increases crop yield and quality, particularly under stress conditions. It is believed that abscisic acid and sucrose work together to regulate strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) fruit ripening. This study aimed to provide comprehensive biochemical and molecular insights into the selenium mediated effects on ripening and quality changes in ‘Camarosa’ strawberry fruits. Selenium treatment increased chlorophyll levels in leaves, suggesting a positive impact on overall plant health. Foliar application of 1 mM selenium significantly accelerated ripening. Treated fruits exhibited higher levels of total soluble solids, along with a decrease in titratable acidity. About lipid peroxidation indices, foliar application of 1 mM selenium decreases hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde. Consistently, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, and antioxidant capacity, as well as the activity of the enzymes SOD, CAT, APX and PAL, were increased by selenium treatment. Interestingly, the ABA content in strawberry fruits also increased with selenium treatment. The selenium treatment upregulated genes involved in abscisic acid biosynthesis, phenolic compound biosynthesis, and anthocyanin production, namely, FaNCED1, FaG2BD, FaCHS, FaPAL, and FaSUT1. This study highlights the potential of selenium as a biostimulant and quality-enhancing agent in strawberries, improving fruit biochemical composition and ripening dynamics while contributing to better nutritional value and market appeal. Full article

The increasing consumption of fresh organic produce has given rise to concerns regarding the microbiological safety of minimally processed foods. Organic cultivation may be associated with increased exposure to environmental microorganisms due to soil-based inputs and reduced chemical interventions, including both beneficial taxa and potential foodborne pathogens. Fresh produce is known to harbour complex microbial ecosystems, which are shaped by farming practices, plant physiology, handling, packaging and storage, particularly in raw-consumed products such as leafy greens and strawberries. In this study, bacterial (16S rRNA) and eukaryotic (18S rRNA) communities were characterized by amplicon sequencing. In parallel, an amoeba-associated bacterial microbiome was analyzed and DVC-FISH was used to assess the viability and metabolic activity of pathogenic bacteria internalized within free-living amoebae (FLA). No significant differences in alpha or beta diversity were observed between organic and conventional products, suggesting microbiome convergence at the retail stage driven by post-harvest handling and processing. Potentially pathogenic genera, including Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Acinetobacter (bacterial), as well as Tilletiopsis, Candida, and Naegleria (eukaryotic), were identified in both organic and non-organic microbiomes. The viability of FLA-internalized Pseudomonas spp. was confirmed by DVC-FISH, demonstrating that FLA act as reservoirs, enhancing pathogen persistence in fresh produce. This integrated assessment of organic and conventional fruits and vegetables at the retail stage highlights the importance of post-harvest handling and retail conditions in shaping microbiological safety. The integration of microbiome profiling with targeted viability analyses demonstrates that downstream stages are critical control points for food safety and consumer exposure, beyond the influence of the production system alone. Full article

Proper handling during harvesting and subsequent postharvest management is essential to reduce losses in fruits and vegetables, particularly because these products remain metabolically active after harvest. Physiological processes such as respiration, transpiration, ethylene production, softening, physiological disorders, and postharvest diseases determine quality deterioration, shelf life, and marketability. However, these processes do not affect all commodities in the same way; for example, climacteric fruits are strongly influenced by ethylene during ripening, whereas non-climacteric fruits generally show lower ethylene production and different postharvest behavior. In Mexico, postharvest management is especially relevant because fruit and vegetable producers differ widely in terms of production scale, infrastructure, access to technology, financing capacity, and market destination. Producers with limited access to technology require practical and low-cost alternatives, while more technologically advanced producers may use specialized systems but still experience postharvest losses due to physiological deterioration, handling conditions, logistics, and market constraints. Therefore, this review summarizes the main postharvest physiological processes affecting fruits and vegetables and discusses their implications for knowledge transfer, technology adoption, and sustainability among local producers in Mexico. The review highlights that reducing postharvest losses requires commodity-specific management, continuous technical support, low-cost and locally adaptable technologies, and coordinated participation among researchers, extension personnel, producers, government institutions, industry, and market actors. Strengthening postharvest knowledge transfer to small and local producers is essential to reduce losses, improve marketability, and promote more sustainable fruit and vegetable systems in Mexico. Full article

Integrating semi-transparent photovoltaics (STPV) into greenhouse structures offers an effective approach to optimizing the Food–Energy Nexus and maximizing sustainable land-use efficiency. However, a knowledge gap remains regarding how specific STPV spectral signatures drive plant morpho-physiological acclimation across multiple cultivation cycles. This study presents a 19-month multi-cycle, proof-of-concept evaluation of the structural growth dynamics and physiological responses of generative (tomato) and vegetative (lettuce) crops under greenhouse prototypes with two distinct thin-film STPV technologies: Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and amorphous Silicon (a-Si), compared to an unshaded transparent control. Biometric monitoring revealed that morphological acclimation (Shade-Avoidance Syndrome) was highly plastic, driven by the interplay between spectral filtering and seasonal irradiance limits. While structural adaptations, such as foliar expansion and stem elongation under the a-Si spectrum, were pronounced during specific transitional seasons (e.g., early spring), these morphological differences largely homogenized across treatments during periods of extreme high or low natural irradiance. Despite the shading penalty, this morphological acclimation successfully sustained agronomic fresh mass. Systemic efficiency, quantified by the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) as a relative biophysical synergy index, demonstrated notably crop-specific synergies. Under an extended single fruiting cycle, the CdTe prototype showed potential to improve yield, achieving a maximum LER of 1.66 for the high-light-demanding tomato (Y_crop = 1.40). Conversely, the a-Si module excelled with the shade-tolerant lettuce during early vegetative stages in high-radiation periods, achieving peak LERs up to 1.55. These findings provide a biophysical baseline to help guide future scalability assessments prior to full-scale commercial agrivoltaic (APV) implementation for sustainable food systems. Full article

In complex mountainous environments, the asynchronous development between external color turning and internal sugar accumulation (often termed “false maturity”) in coffee cherries poses a severe challenge to post-harvest quality sorting and the consistency of final coffee products. To overcome the limitations of single-phenotype detection in raw material screening, this study proposed a multimodal quality discrimination framework integrating fruit hyperspectral imaging, micro-topography, and plant physiological characteristics. Taking typical mountain-grown fresh coffee cherries as the research object, and after comparing various spectral preprocessing and feature dimensionality reduction algorithms, the multimodal fusion efficacy of nine machine learning classifiers was systematically evaluated. The results demonstrated that: (1) Full-spectrum difference analysis quantitatively confirmed the limitations of visual harvesting; spectral reflectance differences between high- and low-sugar fruits were highly concentrated in the red and red-edge regions, with the maximum difference precisely located at 676 nm. (2) Compared to the single-spectrum model (mean accuracy of 75.93%), the fully fused Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) network effectively mitigated background noise induced by heterogeneous environments, improving the mean classification accuracy to 77.22% with a mean Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.827. (3) Correlation analysis clarified the quantitative association between topography and quality; micro-topographic slope (r = 0.346) was identified as the key environmental driver of spatial differentiation in fruit sugar content, while plant chlorophyll A content (r = 0.183) exhibited a corresponding physiological response trend. This study not only explains the root cause of visual assessment failure from a physical optics perspective but also reveals the spatial variation laws of quality driven by micro-topography, providing preliminary data support for the intelligent sorting of raw materials and ensuring post-harvest quality consistency of mountainous crops. Full article

Excessive or improper nitrogen (N) fertilization can disrupt calcium (Ca) nutrition in apple trees and induce Ca-related physiological disorders, yet its effects on Ca availability and partitioning remain unclear. This study evaluated the impact of different N fertilization regimes on soil Ca availability, Ca partitioning, and Ca bioavailability in fruit tissues of 10-year-old ‘Fuji’ apple trees, using Ca fractionation analysis combined with multi-criteria decision-making (TOPSIS). High N applied as a single dose (H1) significantly reduced soil water-soluble and exchangeable Ca, while increasing Ca oxalate (CaOx) accumulation in fruit pedicels, particularly at maturity. Although total CaOx in fruit flesh decreased, its relative proportion increased, indicating enhanced Ca sequestration. In contrast, split application of moderate N (M3) maintained more stable soil Ca availability, reduced CaOx accumulation, and improved Ca allocation to fruit tissues. Integrated evaluation ranked treatments as M3 > M1 > H3 > H1. Overall, moderate and split N fertilization reduced Ca sequestration into CaOx, enhanced Ca availability, and improved Ca distribution in fruit tissues, providing a physiological basis for optimizing N management to mitigate Ca-related disorders and improve fruit quality. Full article

Preharvest climatic conditions and irrigation management are decisive determinants of avocado postharvest performance. Avocado trees are highly susceptible to the water regimen, conditions that disrupt carbon assimilation, mineral nutrient uptake, and biomass partitioning. This study evaluated the effects of deficit irrigation imposed during early stages of fruit growth, coinciding with active cell division, on fruit development and postharvest quality of ‘Hass’ avocado. Deficit and excess irrigation induced physiological stress, reducing stem water potential (≈−1 MPa) and altering photochemical efficiency, while F_V/F_M remained unaffected. Fruit growth was strongly affected, with weight reductions of up to 26% during development and 22% at harvest under severe deficit, resulting in fruits becoming more yellowish-green. In contrast, excessive irrigation promoted larger fruit with darker green skin, with delayed maturation. Metabolomic revealed that the fruit developmental stage was the main driver of metabolic variation, while irrigation effects were minor and stage-dependent, limited to osmotic-related metabolites such as GABA. These findings indicate that early-season water imbalances primarily affect fruit growth through changes in water relations rather than metabolic reprogramming, highlighting the importance of precise irrigation management during critical developmental stages. Fine-tuning water supply during early developmental stages is a strategic tool for optimizing fruit size and postharvest quality in avocado. Full article

Understanding the dynamics of root zone soil water content is crucial for precision irrigation scheduling in protected strawberry cultivation. The HYDRUS-3D model is capable of simulating three-dimensional water flow and root water uptake. Although the model has been tested in various settings, its validation under realistic greenhouse cultivation rack systems with direct soil moisture measurements remains limited. In this study, a HYDRUS-3D model was developed to simulate root zone soil water dynamics in a greenhouse U-shaped strawberry cultivation system under both irrigated and non-irrigated conditions, with and without plastic mulch. In the first year, the model’s accuracy was evaluated using a newly developed line-scale dielectric soil moisture sensor. The simulated volumetric soil water content showed good agreement with sensor measurements across all scenarios (R² ≥ 0.8302, RMSE ≤ 0.0309, NSE ≥ 0.5979). In the following two years, we utilized the established model to schedule irrigation and investigated its water-saving effects. Model-scheduled irrigation reduced water use by 8.45–13.36% compared with conventional irrigation scheduling. No significant differences were observed in most morphological, physiological, fruit quality, or yield indicators (p > 0.05). However, occasional improvements were detected in chlorophyll content, root activity, ascorbic acid and total soluble solids. These findings demonstrate that HYDRUS-3D effectively simulates root zone water content dynamics throughout the strawberry growth cycle and serves as a practical tool for precision soil water management in greenhouse cultivation rack systems. Full article

Accurate and non-destructive diagnosis of leaf nitrogen content (LNC) is critical for improving nitrogen use efficiency in greenhouse cucumber production. However, strong physiological variation across growth stages limits the reliability of single-sensor approaches. In this study, leaf spectral reflectance and soil plant analysis development (SPAD) measurements were collected under four nitrogen levels (0, 135, 270, and 540 kg·ha⁻¹) at early, mid-, and late fruiting stages. Multiple machine learning models were developed using raw spectral bands (SP), vegetation indices (VIs), and SPAD data, and evaluated using the coefficient of determination (R²), root mean square error (RMSE), and relative error (RE). Results showed that SPAD showed a significant positive correlation with LNC across all stages, with the strongest relationship observed at the mid-fruiting stage (R = 0.7975). Model performance exhibited clear stage dependence. Using single features, the best R² reached 0.800 (SP, early stage) and 0.794 (VI, early stage), but declined substantially at later stages. In contrast, integrating SPAD with spectral features significantly improved prediction accuracy, particularly at mid- and late stages. For example, the RF model based on SP + SPAD achieved R² values of 0.917 and 0.901 at the mid- and late fruiting stages, respectively, with low RMSE and RE. Similarly, the VI + SPAD combination achieved R² up to 0.893 at the late stage. Moreover, optimal algorithms varied across growth stages: SVR performed best at the early stage (R² = 0.819), RF at the mid stage (R² = 0.889), and XGBoost at the late stage (R² = 0.842) under full feature fusion. These results demonstrate that model accuracy is jointly regulated by growth stage, feature composition, and algorithm selection. Overall, this study highlights that a growth-stage-specific data fusion strategy integrating SPAD and spectral features is essential for robust LNC estimation, providing a practical framework for precision nitrogen management in greenhouse cucumber production. Full article

Water limitations in the Brazilian semi-arid region require saline water utilization. Hydroponic cultivation combined with salicylic acid (SA) elicitation represents a strategy to manage salt stress in cherry tomatoes. This study evaluated the effects of foliar SA application on the production and quality of cherry tomatoes under saline nutrient solutions. An NFT hydroponic greenhouse experiment at UFCG, Pombal, Brazil, evaluated five nutrient solution salinities (ECns: 2.1, 2.6, 3.1, 3.6, and 4.1 dS m⁻¹) and five SA concentrations (0, 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2 mM) in a split-plot design with three replications. SA concentrations from 1.3 to 3.2 mM enhanced fruit diameter, fruit number, average weight, and yield under baseline salinity (2.1 dS m⁻¹). At 3.2 mM, SA functioned as an optimal ratio regulating nutritional quality, increasing titratable acidity and ascorbic acid under 2.1 and 2.6 dS m⁻¹, respectively. Conversely, high salinity (4.1 dS m⁻¹) established a promotion pattern on soluble solids, maturity index, and flavonoids, while reducing yield components by up to 58.3%, demonstrating explicit operational limitations of SA under severe stress. These baseline findings validate the applicability of SA within specific salinity thresholds, establishing a foundational framework for subsequent physiological profiling, fruit quality characterization at harvest, and commercial greenhouse upscale validation. Full article

Yellow passion fruit production is frequently limited by water scarcity, necessitating biotechnological strategies to ensure seedling quality. This study investigated the synergistic effects of Bacillus aryabhattai (Auras^®) and silicon (Si) as mitigators of water deficit in Passiflora edulis seedlings. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in Catolé do Rocha, PB, Brazil, using 4 dm³ plastic bags. A randomized block design was used with a 4 × 3 + 2 factorial scheme, testing four available water contents (AWC: 50, 60, 70, and 80%) combined with three mitigation strategies (Auras, Si, and Auras + Si), plus two additional controls (50% and 100% AWC). Water deficit severely compromised growth and soil biological activity; however, mitigation treatments significantly improved physiological and biochemical responses. When applied separately, B. aryabhattai inoculation enhanced the accumulation of photoprotective pigments (carotenoids) and secondary metabolites (flavonoids and anthocyanins) under severe drought, while individual Si application provided homeostatic stability to plant biomass, maintaining dry matter production at levels comparable to moderate irrigation. The Auras + Si combination was the most effective, promoting the highest membrane stability, pigment maintenance, and vigorous growth even under 50% AWC. Furthermore, this interaction optimized soil microbial biomass and reduced the metabolic quotient by 56.7% compared to the stress control. These findings demonstrate that the combined application of B. aryabhattai and Si effectively mitigates the negative impacts of water scarcity on the initial development of passion fruit seedlings and soil microbial activity. Full article

Diallyl trisulfide (DATS), a volatile natural sulfur-containing compound derived from garlic, possesses antifungal and preservative potential. However, its biocontrol efficacy against postharvest gray mold of tomato and the molecular mechanisms underlying fruit quality maintenance remain unclear. In this study, we systematically investigated the inhibitory effect of DATS fumigation on postharvest gray mold, its role in fruit quality maintenance, and the associated molecular mechanisms through in vitro antifungal assays, physiological and biochemical measurements, transcriptome sequencing, and correlation analysis. In vitro experiments showed that DATS at 50 μL L⁻¹ completely inhibited spore germination and germ tube elongation of Botrytis cinerea in a concentration-dependent manner, and disrupted spore membrane integrity (FDA-positive spores dropped from 73.4% to 2.9% at 50 μL L⁻¹). In vivo experiments demonstrated that Bc + DATS treatment completely inhibited lesion development compared to the control Bc, enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase (e.g., CAT activity 2.20-fold higher than Bc on day 3), decreased malondialdehyde accumulation (0.65-fold of Bc on day 4), and delayed the declines in total soluble solids, titratable acidity, soluble sugars and vitamin C content (VC content 4.14-fold higher than Bc on day 4). Transcriptomic analysis revealed that DATS treatment up-regulated genes involved in plant hormone signal transduction, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, and phenylalanine metabolism, while down-regulating core MAPK kinases and histidine decarboxylase. Correlation analysis demonstrated significant associations between the expression of these pathway genes and antioxidant enzyme activities, vitamin C content, and lesion diameter. Collectively, DATS achieves effective control of postharvest gray mold and maintenance of fruit quality in tomato through direct antifungal activity, synergistic activation of hormone/MAPK signaling, reprogramming of phenylalanine metabolism, and modulation of membrane lipid homeostasis. This study provides a theoretical and practical basis for developing DATS as a green postharvest preservative to reduce food loss and ensure food safety. Full article

Cuticle cracking (CC) is a major physiological disorder in cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) that reduces fruit quality and marketability. We compared multiple cultivars grown across five cultivation seasons and conducted both cultivar-level and within-cultivar analyses to identify the fruit traits associated with CC occurrence. Mean comparisons revealed significant differences in CC incidence among cultivars, ranging from <10% in some ultrathin skin types to >80% in susceptible cultivars. Within each cultivar, CC severity was positively or negatively correlated with cuticle membrane (CM) deposition per unit area and fruit aspect ratio in some cases; however, these effects were generally weak. In contrast, the analysis of surface area highlighted that the incidence of CC increased with smaller fruit size in several cultivars and was influenced by seasonal factors. However, neither cultivar-level nor within-cultivar analysis explained the extremely low CC ratio in ultra-thin-skin cultivars such as ‘Amapuru’, ‘CF Petite Puyo’, and ‘Usuhada’. These results suggest that ultra-thin-skin cultivars may possess mechanisms conferring low CC susceptibility that are structurally distinct from those in typical-skin cultivars. Full article

This study aimed to characterize corn (CS), wolf fruit (WF), and butterfly lily (BL) starches; to develop bioactive coatings from pure starches and their binary and ternary blends; and to evaluate the synergistic effects of these formulations on the physiological quality of common bean seeds. Films were prepared by thermocompression (80 °C, 6 min, 3 t) of film-forming solutions obtained via microwave processing and formulated using a simplex-centroid mixture design. The starches were characterized in terms of amylose content, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Rapid Visco Analyser, while the films were evaluated for thickness, water solubility, and water vapor permeability. The film-forming solutions were applied as coatings, and seed physiological quality was assessed through germination, first count, seedling length, and dry mass. BL exhibited higher gelatinization temperatures and produced films with adequate thickness and moderate permeability, indicating greater structural stability. The CS:BL blend produced films with balanced hydration, promoting rapid and uniform water uptake. Coatings based on BL and CS:BL showed the highest germination percentages, whereas CS:WF resulted in lower physiological performance. These results demonstrate that film properties directly influence seed vigor and germination. BL, alone or blended with CS, represents a promising starch-based material for seed coating, promoting high physiological quality and environmentally friendly characteristics. Full article