Citrus Plant Growth and Fruit Quality

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Fruit Production Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 6653

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Bioscience and Industry, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Republic of Korea
Interests: molecular breeding and physiology in citrus, kiwifruits, and tea plant
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Guest Editor
Institute of Citrus Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: stress physiology; molecular biology in citrus

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Citrus plants take a very important position in the horticulture industry. There have been several changes in their cultivars and cultural techniques over the years. Moreover, the situation of the recent global warming and climate change is getting much worse, and the plant growth and fruit quality are exhibiting different responses to their cultural environment.

The purpose of this Special Issue titled “Citrus Plant Growth and Fruit Quality” is to explore new expertise and technology for the production of high-quality fruits with the efficient management of tree growth to cope with climate change. In this Special Issue, innovative articles on the management of plant growth and fruit quality including tree form and vigor, fruit sets, fruit growth and development, bioactive compounds, the interaction of source and sink activity, and abiotic stress are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Kwan Jeong Song
Prof. Dr. Ji-Hong Liu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • tree vigor
  • flowering
  • fruit sets
  • fruit maturation and ripening
  • abiotic stress

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 505 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Contribution of Cover Crop Littering Decomposition to the N Uptake of Bearing and Non-Bearing Satsuma Mandarin Trees
by Adriele Tassinari, Gustavo Nogara de Siqueira, Amanda Veridiana Krug, Letícia Morsch, Talita Trapp, Moreno Toselli, Elena Baldi and Gustavo Brunetto
Horticulturae 2024, 10(12), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10121356 - 17 Dec 2024
Viewed by 633
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) derived from the decomposition of litter from cover crops can contribute to the mineral nutrition of citrus trees. This study aimed to assess the prior contribution of N derived from the decomposition of forage radish (Raphanus sativus) and black [...] Read more.
Nitrogen (N) derived from the decomposition of litter from cover crops can contribute to the mineral nutrition of citrus trees. This study aimed to assess the prior contribution of N derived from the decomposition of forage radish (Raphanus sativus) and black oats (Avena strigosa) to Satsuma mandarin tree N demand. Forage radish and black oats were grown and enriched with 15N stable isotope. Two studies were conducted on (1) non-bearing, potted satsuma mandarin seedlings for 120 days in the greenhouse (Experiment 1) and (2) bearing field-growing Satsuma mandarin trees for 270 days (Experiment 2). Tree growth and total N and 15N concentrations were determined in annual and perennial organs of citrus and soil. The highest value of N derived from the decomposition of cover crop root residues was observed in the leaves and roots of non-bearing trees, while the highest amount of N derived from shoot residue decomposition was observed in the leaves of bearing trees. The results showed little contribution of the decomposition of residues of forage radish and black oats on the total N budget of annual and perennial organs of both bearing and non-bearing Satsuma mandarin trees, probably because the climatic conditions promoted a fast N mineralization and possible losses through volatilization and leaching. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Citrus Plant Growth and Fruit Quality)
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12 pages, 633 KiB  
Article
The Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms of Fruit Cracking Alleviation by Exogenous Calcium and GA3 in the Lane Late Navel Orange
by Guoji Shi, Xun Zhou, Cuiling Tong and Dejian Zhang
Horticulturae 2024, 10(12), 1283; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10121283 - 2 Dec 2024
Viewed by 782
Abstract
Fruit cracking is very common in the production and cultivation of citrus, and can lead to decreases in its yield and quality. Bacteria can easily invade cracked fruit and cause mildew, accelerate the spread of diseases and pests, affect the appearance of the [...] Read more.
Fruit cracking is very common in the production and cultivation of citrus, and can lead to decreases in its yield and quality. Bacteria can easily invade cracked fruit and cause mildew, accelerate the spread of diseases and pests, affect the appearance of the fruit, and reduce its economic benefits. In order to explore a method for alleviating citrus cracking, the Lane Late navel orange, which is a citrus that easily cracks, was studied via treatment with 1.0 g·L−1 chelated calcium (Ca) or 50 mg·L−1 gibberellin (GA3). The fruit cracking rate, external and internal quality, active oxygen metabolism and expression levels of related genes, cell wall structure components, and metabolism-related enzyme activity and the expression levels of related genes were determined. The results showed that Ca and GA3 treatment significantly reduced the fruit cracking rate and increased the longitudinal and transverse diameter, single-fruit weight, pulp quality, and peel quality, but had no significant effect on the internal quality of the fruit. Ca and GA3 treatment also improved the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT), enhanced the scavenging ability for active oxygen species, and thus reduced the contents of H2O2 and MDA and decreased the superoxide anion production rate. At the same time, Ca and GA3 treatment decreased the activities of protopectin-degrading enzymes (PME, PL, and PG) and cellulase (CX), prevented the degradation of pectin and cellulose in the cell wall, and increased their contents in the peel, thus improving the ductility and toughness of the peel and reducing the occurrence of cracked fruit. Ca and GA3 treatment significantly increased the relative expression levels of antioxidase-related genes (CsSOD and CsCAT) in fruit peel and decreased the relative expression levels of CsPPO and cell wall metabolism-related genes (CsPME, CsPL, CsPG, and CsCX). In summary, this study confirmed that exogenous calcium and gibberellin can reduce the fruit cracking rate by regulating the scavenging ability for active oxygen species and the cell wall metabolism of the Lane Late navel orange at the physiological and molecular level, laying a theoretical foundation for further analysis of citrus fruit cracking mechanisms and clarifying that spraying exogenous calcium and gibberellin on the citrus fruit surface is an effective production measure for preventing and alleviating fruit cracking. In particular, gibberellin is better than exogenous calcium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Citrus Plant Growth and Fruit Quality)
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17 pages, 2598 KiB  
Article
A Study on Sugar Content Improvement and Distribution Flow Response through Citrus Sugar Content Prediction Based on the PyCaret Library
by Yongjun Kim, Yung-Cheol Byun and Sang-Joon Lee
Horticulturae 2024, 10(6), 630; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10060630 - 12 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1210
Abstract
Despite the increasing attention on smart farms as a solution to rural issues such as aging agricultural populations, a shortage of young farmers, decreased production area, and reduced investment leading to stagnant income, exports, and growth rates, many farms still rely on traditional [...] Read more.
Despite the increasing attention on smart farms as a solution to rural issues such as aging agricultural populations, a shortage of young farmers, decreased production area, and reduced investment leading to stagnant income, exports, and growth rates, many farms still rely on traditional methods like cultivating tangerines in open fields. Despite this, increasing farm income requires producing high-quality tangerines and selling them at premium prices, with fruit sweetness being a crucial factor. Therefore, there is a need to examine the close correlation between tangerine quality and sweetness. In this paper, we use deep learning with the PyCaret library to predict and analyze tangerine sweetness using data from seven regions in Jeju and 13 comprehensive factors influencing sweetness, including terrain, temperature, humidity, precipitation, sunlight, wind speed, acidity, sugar-acid ratio, and others. Although applying all 13 factors could achieve over 90% accuracy, our study, limited to seven factors, still achieves a respectable 82.4% prediction accuracy, demonstrating the significant impact of weather data on sweetness. Moreover, these optimistic predictions enable the estimation of tangerine quality and price formation in the market for the coming year, allowing tangerine farmers and related agencies to respond to market conditions proactively. Furthermore, by applying these data to smart farms to control factors influencing tangerine sweetness, it is anticipated that high-quality tangerine production and increased farm income can be achieved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Citrus Plant Growth and Fruit Quality)
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16 pages, 5943 KiB  
Article
Mycorrhizal Symbiosis Enhances P Uptake and Indole-3-Acetic Acid Accumulation to Improve Root Morphology in Different Citrus Genotypes
by Chun-Yan Liu, Xiao-Niu Guo, Feng-Jun Dai and Qiang-Sheng Wu
Horticulturae 2024, 10(4), 339; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10040339 - 29 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3425
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known to enhance plant growth via stimulation of root system development. However, the extent of their effects and underlying mechanisms across different citrus genotypes remain to be fully elucidated. This study investigates the impact of Funneliformis mosseae ( [...] Read more.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known to enhance plant growth via stimulation of root system development. However, the extent of their effects and underlying mechanisms across different citrus genotypes remain to be fully elucidated. This study investigates the impact of Funneliformis mosseae (F. mosseae) inoculation on plant growth performance, root morphology, phosphorus (P), and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) concentrations, as well as the expression of related synthesis and transporter genes in three citrus genotypes: red tangerine (Citrus tangerine ex. Tanaka), kumquat (Fortunella margarita L. Swingle), and fragrant citrus (Citrus junos Sieb. ex. Tanaka). Following 12 weeks of inoculation, significant improvements were observed in plant height, shoot and root biomass, total root length, average root diameter, second-order lateral root development, root hair density, and root hair length across all genotypes. Additionally, F. mosseae inoculation significantly increased root P and IAA concentrations in the three citrus genotypes. Notably, phosphatase activity was enhanced in F. margarita but reduced in C. tangerine and C. junos following inoculation. Gene expression analysis revealed a universal upregulation of the P transporter gene PT5, whereas expressions of the auxin synthesis gene YUC2, transporter gene LAX2, and phosphatase gene PAP1 were commonly downregulated. Specific to genotypes, expressions of YUC5, LAX5, PIN2, PIN3, PIN6, and expansin genes EXPA2 and EXPA4 were significantly upregulated in C. tangerine but downregulated in F. margarita and C. junos. Principal component analysis and correlation assessments highlighted a strong positive association between P concentration, P and auxin synthesis, and transporter gene expressions with most root morphology traits, except for root average diameter. Conversely, IAA content and phosphatase activities were negatively correlated with these root traits. These findings suggest that F. mosseae colonization notably enhances plant growth and root system architecture in citrus genotypes via modifications in P transport and IAA accumulation, indicating a complex interplay between mycorrhizal symbiosis and host plant physiology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Citrus Plant Growth and Fruit Quality)
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