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Horticulturae
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Reproductive Growth in Perennial Fruit Trees: Importance and Impact of...
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Reproductive Growth in Perennial Fruit Trees: Importance and Impact of Climate Change

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics, Genomics, Breeding, and Biotechnology (G2B2)".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2026) | Viewed by 5921

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Songling Bai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: pear; floral bud differentiation; dormancy; fruit quality; anthocyanin; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Junkai Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Horticultural Science & Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China
Interests: peach; self-incompatibility; cold tolerance; genetic resources; breeding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Reproductive growth refers to the process by which plants produce offspring, encompassing a series of stages including floral transition, flowering, fertilization, fruit development, and seed formation. This process is critical for the development of reproductive organs in fruit trees.

Recent global climate change has led to abnormal weather patterns, such as higher summer temperatures and milder winters, which significantly affect the reproductive growth processes of deciduous fruit trees. These changes can have a direct impact on both the yield and quality of fruit tree products. Therefore, understanding the theories behind and regulatory mechanisms of reproductive growth in deciduous fruit trees is essential for addressing climate change and ensuring the sustainable development of the fruit tree industry.

This Special Issue welcomes contributions from researchers working in the field of reproductive growth in perennial fruit trees. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Phase transition;
  • Yearly floral bud differentiation;
  • Dormancy;
  • Flowering and pollination;
  • Self-incompatibility;
  • Fruit development;
  • Fruit quality formation.

We welcome research findings, reviews, and discussions that provide new insights into these topics, with the aim of contributing to the sustainable management and productivity of fruit tree systems in the face of ongoing climate challenges.

Dr. Songling Bai
Prof. Dr. Junkai Wu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • reproductive growth
  • deciduous fruit trees
  • global climate change
  • fruit yield
  • fruit quality
  • dormancy
  • pollination

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2623 KB  
Article
Integrating Metabolomics, Physiology and Satellite Vegetation Indices to Characterize Dormancy Onset in Two Sweet Cherry Genotypes
by Gabriela M. Saavedra, Luciano Univaso, Laura Sepúlveda, José Gaete-Loyola, Carlos Nuñez, Victoria Lillo-Carmona, Valentina Castillo, Francisco Zambrano and Andrea Miyasaka Almeida
Horticulturae 2026, 12(4), 443; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12040443 - 3 Apr 2026
Viewed by 896
Abstract
Perennial deciduous trees such as Prunus avium undergo seasonal transitions, culminating in bud dormancy establishment that involves coordinated physiological and metabolic adjustments. Dormancy monitoring in orchard systems still relies primarily on temperature-based models and forcing assays, which rarely incorporate physiological or biochemical indicators. [...] Read more.
Perennial deciduous trees such as Prunus avium undergo seasonal transitions, culminating in bud dormancy establishment that involves coordinated physiological and metabolic adjustments. Dormancy monitoring in orchard systems still relies primarily on temperature-based models and forcing assays, which rarely incorporate physiological or biochemical indicators. Here, we tested whether seasonal metabolic dynamics associated with dormancy progression differ between sweet cherry genotypes and whether these physiological differences are reflected in canopy-scale vegetation indices derived from satellite observations. Field measurements were conducted in two genotypes with contrasting chilling behavior (‘Regina’ and ‘210’) during the transition from vegetative growth to dormancy. Leaf gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence were monitored across the season, polar metabolites in floral buds were profiled by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and satellite-derived vegetation indices were used to characterize canopy dynamics. Dormancy progression was associated with declines in CO2 assimilation, transpiration, PSII photochemical efficiency, and electron transport rate, accompanied by increases in intercellular CO2 concentration and non-regulated energy dissipation. Metabolomic analysis revealed that genotype explained a larger proportion of metabolite variation than dormancy stage (PERMANOVA R2 = 0.483, p = 0.001), while principal component analysis accounted for 79.7% of total variance. Fructose showed the strongest genotype difference during paradormancy I, corresponding to an approximately 9.5-fold increase in ‘Regina’. Pathway enrichment analysis highlighted starch and sucrose metabolism and pyruvate metabolism as the most represented pathways during dormancy progression. Satellite-derived vegetation indices captured seasonal canopy decline and were significantly associated with several physiological variables. These results provide an integrated description of physiological and metabolic adjustments during dormancy establishment in sweet cherry and highlight the potential of combining metabolomics, plant physiology, and open-access satellite observations to monitor phenological transitions in orchard systems at scalable spatial and temporal resolutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Growth in Perennial Fruit Trees: Importance and Impact of Climate Change)
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17 pages, 2461 KB  
Article
Peach Yield Prediction Models: The Importance of Climate Variables and Different Machine Learning
by Jean Michel Moura-Bueno, Débora Leitzke Betemps, Gilmar A. B. Marodin, Moreno Toselli, William Natale and Gustavo Brunetto
Horticulturae 2026, 12(2), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12020155 - 29 Jan 2026
Viewed by 599
Abstract
Peach yield production prediction models are little known worldwide. This gap can be filled by combining machine learning techniques and well-documented databases. The aims of this study are: (i) to assess the effect of different prediction variable inputs applied to peach yield prediction [...] Read more.
Peach yield production prediction models are little known worldwide. This gap can be filled by combining machine learning techniques and well-documented databases. The aims of this study are: (i) to assess the effect of different prediction variable inputs applied to peach yield prediction models adopted to peach trees grown in orchards under different subtropical climate; (ii) to test the prediction accuracy performance of models calibrated through different machine learning methods; and (iii) to quantify the relevance of peach trees’ yield predictor variables. A database (soil and leaf nutrient content, climatic and plant variables) with information from 208 peach trees (Prunus persica) in production, belonging to the cultivars ‘Maciel’ and ‘Chimarrita’ grown in Southern Brazil, was used. The models were developed by using three machine learning methods: Radom Forest, Multiple Linear Regression, and Support Vector Machine. We demonstrate that the calibration of the models was affected by machine learning method as well as by different predictor variable inputs. The model Random Forest showed the greatest potential to predict peach yield. The variable presenting the greatest relevance to explain peach yield variations was ‘hours of chilling’, which was followed by K and N content in leaves and mean temperature, which recorded relevance of >55%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Growth in Perennial Fruit Trees: Importance and Impact of Climate Change)
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17 pages, 3013 KB  
Article
Identification and Functional Investigation of Grapevine Circular RNA Vv-circRCD1 in Response to Salt Stress
by Jingjing Liu, Yuanyuan Xu, Yue Song, Junpeng Li, Dongying Fan, Zhen Zhang, Lipeng Zhang, Yuanxu Teng, Huaifeng Liu, Lingzhe Wang, Chunyan Liu, Long Zhou, Yi Ren and Chao Ma
Horticulturae 2026, 12(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12010072 - 7 Jan 2026
Viewed by 597
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed RNA molecules that regulate various biological processes in plants. However, the functions of most identified circRNAs remain unclear. Here, we report a nucleoplasmic-localized circRNA, Vv-circRCD1, derived from exons 2 and 3 of the grape VvRCD1 gene. [...] Read more.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed RNA molecules that regulate various biological processes in plants. However, the functions of most identified circRNAs remain unclear. Here, we report a nucleoplasmic-localized circRNA, Vv-circRCD1, derived from exons 2 and 3 of the grape VvRCD1 gene. Overexpression of Vv-circRCD1 significantly shortened primary root length and increased root hair number and length, notably, and improved the salt tolerance in Arabidopsis. Transient overexpression also significantly enhanced salt tolerance of grapevines. In silico analyses confirmed direct sequence complementarity between Vv-circRCD1 and the Vvi-miR399 family, and Vv-circRCD1 and Vvi-miR399 target genes (involved in salt stress responses) showed consistent expression patterns under salt stress, indicating a Vv-circRCD1–Vvi-miR399–target gene regulatory module may mediate salt tolerance. These results not only identified Vv-circRCD1 as a novel regulator of grapevine salt tolerance, but also highlighted its potential in improving crop stress resistance, providing a practical reference for crop breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Growth in Perennial Fruit Trees: Importance and Impact of Climate Change)
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13 pages, 8883 KB  
Article
Design and Selection of SNP Markers for Grape Integrated Chip Arrays
by Lipeng Zhang, Yuhuan Miao, Yue Song, Yuanxu Teng, Yicheng Lu, Shiren Song, Juan He, Huaifeng Liu and Chao Ma
Horticulturae 2025, 11(12), 1509; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11121509 - 12 Dec 2025
Viewed by 813
Abstract
Grape (Vitis vinifera spp.) accessions exhibit rich diversity, and understanding their genetic variation and evolutionary relationships is crucial for cultivar selection and utilization. A highly representative SNP marker set was developed in this study based on re-sequencing data analysis, to clarify the [...] Read more.
Grape (Vitis vinifera spp.) accessions exhibit rich diversity, and understanding their genetic variation and evolutionary relationships is crucial for cultivar selection and utilization. A highly representative SNP marker set was developed in this study based on re-sequencing data analysis, to clarify the phylogenetic relationships among 96 grape accessions and to evaluate the genetic resolution of core markers. Using PN40024 as the reference genome, high-quality SNP loci were screened from resequencing data of the 96 accessions. A phylogenetic tree was constructed, and genetic diversity was analyzed using PCA and population structure analysis. The results showed that the 96 accessions were mainly divided into four groups: European (‘Merlot’, ‘Chardonnay’), American (‘Beta’, ‘Concord’), Euro-American hybrids (‘Vidal’, ‘Miguang’), and wild populations along with their hybrid progeny (‘Zuoyouhong’, ‘Huajia 8’). PCA and ADMIXTURE validated population differentiation, revealing clear separation between wild and cultivated accessions. Through screening of core SNP markers, 384,304 candidate SNPs suitable for probe design were identified. Further refinement yielded 2000 and 10,000 SNP markers. Detailed analysis of core marker characteristics showed that their minor allele frequency (MAF) was predominantly between 0.1 and 0.3, with the majority distributed in CDS (38.65%), intronic (30.2%), and intergenic regions. The most common mutation types were [A/G] (35%) and [C/T] (34%) transitions. The 2000 core SNPs were associated with 1220 functional genes and were significantly enriched in pathways such as protein binding, RNA transport, and plant–pathogen interaction. These findings provide an efficient tool for grape genetic diversity analysis, cultivar identification, and molecular breeding, laying the groundwork for the precise utilization of grape germplasm resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Growth in Perennial Fruit Trees: Importance and Impact of Climate Change)
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17 pages, 4432 KB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of Chloroplast Genomes Reveals Phylogenetic Relationships and Variation in Chlorophyll Fluorescence In Vitis
by Yuanxu Teng, Lipeng Zhang, Yue Song, Yuanyuan Xu, Zhen Zhang, Dongying Fan, Junpeng Li, Xinrui Liu, Junjie Lu, Lujia Wang, Chenlu Du, Yuhuan Miao, Juan He, Huaifeng Liu and Chao Ma
Horticulturae 2025, 11(11), 1330; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11111330 - 4 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1330
Abstract
Grapes (Vitis spp.) are a globally significant fruit crop with a long history of cultivation and substantial cultivar diversity. Their high genetic differentiation and complex evolutionary history make them a valuable system for studying plant evolution. The chloroplast genome, known for its [...] Read more.
Grapes (Vitis spp.) are a globally significant fruit crop with a long history of cultivation and substantial cultivar diversity. Their high genetic differentiation and complex evolutionary history make them a valuable system for studying plant evolution. The chloroplast genome, known for its structural conservation and uniparental inheritance, offers a reliable molecular marker for phylogenetic reconstruction. In this study, we sequenced and assembled the complete chloroplast genomes of nine representative grape cultivars, analyzed their phylogenetic relationships, and compared structural variations. All chloroplast genomes displayed a typical quadripartite structure, with high conservation in genomic architecture, gene order and content, codon usage, and simple sequence repeats (SSRs). However, additional sequence comparisons revealed seven regions with high variation, including the genes rbcL and ndhF, and the intergenic regions rps16-trnQ, ndhC-trnV, accD-psaI, ndhF-rpl32, and trnL-ccsA. At the same time, seven natural variation sites were identified in the amino acid sequences of rbcL and ndhF. Additionally, the study’s maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic trees and photosynthetic index measurements suggest that developmental characteristics of grape photosynthesis may be related to the evolutionary origins of different populations. This phylogenetic classification not only elucidates the evolutionary origins of these germplasm resources but also provides a foundation for molecular-assisted breeding by identifying distinct genetic groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Growth in Perennial Fruit Trees: Importance and Impact of Climate Change)
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16 pages, 4312 KB  
Article
Transcriptome Analysis Reveals That PpSLFL3 Is Associated with Cross-Incompatibility in the Peach Landrace ‘Liuyefeitao’
by Haijing Wang, Chunsheng Liu, Yating Liu, Yudie Zhang, Meilan Wu, Haiping Li, Man Zhang, Kun Xiao, Kai Su, Chenguang Zhang, Gang Li, Xiaoying Li, Libin Zhang and Junkai Wu
Horticulturae 2025, 11(8), 969; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11080969 - 16 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1037
Abstract
The peach landrace ‘Liuyefeitao’ exhibits the unique reproductive trait of self-compatibility combined with cross-incompatibility, contrasting with typical Prunus species in this way. In preliminary studies involving controlled pollination assays, we showed complete pollen tube arrest in cross-pollinated styles, whereas self-pollination enabled full tube [...] Read more.
The peach landrace ‘Liuyefeitao’ exhibits the unique reproductive trait of self-compatibility combined with cross-incompatibility, contrasting with typical Prunus species in this way. In preliminary studies involving controlled pollination assays, we showed complete pollen tube arrest in cross-pollinated styles, whereas self-pollination enabled full tube elongation. S-genotyping identified a homozygous S2S2 genotype with intact S2-RNase but a truncated PpSFB2 due to a frameshift mutation. Transcriptome profiling of the styles revealed 7937 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between self- and cross-pollination treatments, with significant enrichment in plant MAPK signaling, plant–pathogen interactions, and plant hormone signaling transduction pathways (|Fold Change| ≥ 2, FDR < 0.01). Notably, PpSLFL3 (a pollen F-box gene) showed down-regulation in cross-pollinated styles, as validated by means of qRT-PCR. Protein interaction assays revealed direct binding between PpSLFL3 and S2-RNase via Y2H and BiFC analysis, suggesting its role in mediating SCF complex-dependent degradation. We propose that insufficient PpSLFL3 expression during cross-pollination disrupts SCF ubiquitin ligase complex-mediated degradation of non-self S2-RNase, leading to the toxic degradation of RNA in pollen tubes by S2-RNase. This mechanism is mechanistically similar to unilateral reproductive barriers in Solanaceae but represents a novel regulatory module in Rosaceae. Our findings provide critical insights into the evolution of cross-incompatibility systems and molecular breeding strategies for Prunus species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Growth in Perennial Fruit Trees: Importance and Impact of Climate Change)
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