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Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling...
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Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2026 | Viewed by 2790

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jiri Sedlák

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology Holovousy Ltd., 508 01 Hořice, Czech Republic
Interests: fruit tree virology; pomology; micropropagation; horticultural biotechnology; cryopreservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Boris Krška

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology Holovousy Ltd., 508 01 Hořice, Czech Republic
Interests: fruit breeding; genetic diversity; germplasm; plant diseases; viral resistance; chemical profiles; mineral composition; climate change; Prunus species

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue of Plants, titled "Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement", presents a comprehensive exploration of contemporary research aimed at enhancing fruit crop productivity and sustainability. This collection brings together interdisciplinary studies that highlight innovative breeding techniques, sophisticated pathogen management strategies, and advanced chemical profiling methods to improve fruit quality and yield. Within the field of fruit tree breeding research, this Special Issue emphasizes the integration of genomic tools, marker-assisted selection, and modern biotechnological approaches to develop productive cultivars with enhanced resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Complementary to these genetic improvements, the papers in this issue address novel strategies for pathogen management, focusing on sustainable, environmentally friendly methods to control diseases that threaten fruit production worldwide. Additionally, this Special Issue aims at the chemical profiling of fruit trees, showcasing how metabolomics and advanced analytical techniques can unravel the complex biochemical pathways responsible for flavor, aroma, and nutritional value. Collectively, these contributions will provide a holistic view of crop improvement, bridging traditional horticultural practices with state-of-the-art research. The insights presented are expected to pave the way for innovative practices that will secure the future of fruit cultivation and contribute to global food security.

Dr. Jiri Sedlák
Prof. Dr. Boris Krška
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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • fruit crops
  • pathogen management
  • sustainable fruit growing
  • biotechnology
  • healthy compounds in fruit

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2488 KB  
Article
The Bigger, the Better: Genetic and Phenotypic Analysis of Fruit Size in Sweet (Prunus avium L.) and Sour Cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) Germplasm
by Sámuel Szilágyi, Francesco Desiderio, Balázs Marton, Piroska Mohay, Alejandro Therese Navarro and Zsuzsanna Békefi
Plants 2026, 15(6), 856; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15060856 - 10 Mar 2026
Viewed by 429
Abstract
Fruit size and weight are valuable characteristics for cherry breeders, mainly because of their higher market price. Several molecular markers have been developed in recent years and have been correlated with fruit weight. In cherries, FW_G2a was identified as a promising hotspot for [...] Read more.
Fruit size and weight are valuable characteristics for cherry breeders, mainly because of their higher market price. Several molecular markers have been developed in recent years and have been correlated with fruit weight. In cherries, FW_G2a was identified as a promising hotspot for fruit size and weight characteristics. Two markers flanking that region were taken into consideration in this study. The local sweet and sour cherry collection in Érd, Hungary, was analyzed using molecular markers to identify possible correlations between the markers and phenotypes. The duration of phenotypic observations varied from 3 years in sour cherry to 5 years in sweet cherry. In our study, we observed correlations between fruit size and weight and the molecular markers of our germplasm collection. We confirmed the previously published association of haplotypes 190–255 and 192–233 with large and small fruit size, respectively, in sweet cherry. Individual alleles of both markers were identified, showing moderate to strong correlations with large and small fruit size in sweet cherry. In tetraploid sour cherry, a higher number of unique allelic combinations were found due to the higher level of ploidy compared to sweet cherry. Individual alleles were detected with moderate positive correlations with fruit size, while one allele showed a strong negative correlation with fruit dimension-related traits. These markers were found to be useful for the characterization of fruit size characteristics, for population selection and for the differentiation of the Hungarian germplasm collection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)
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21 pages, 1486 KB  
Article
Effects of Climatic Conditions and Genotypes on Vitamin C Levels in Stone Species and Apple Cultivars
by Aneta Bílková, Pavol Suran, Dáša Jiroušová, Lucie Šepsová and Martin Mészáros
Plants 2026, 15(5), 793; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15050793 - 4 Mar 2026
Viewed by 428
Abstract
Genetic and climatic factors influence the nutritional content of fruit, with vitamin C being a key component. Using HPLC, we quantified the amount of vitamin C in cherries, apricots, plums, and apples from 2022 to 2024. Contents ranged from 1.6 to 24.6 mg/100 [...] Read more.
Genetic and climatic factors influence the nutritional content of fruit, with vitamin C being a key component. Using HPLC, we quantified the amount of vitamin C in cherries, apricots, plums, and apples from 2022 to 2024. Contents ranged from 1.6 to 24.6 mg/100 g fresh weight basis (FW), with apples and plums displaying the highest coefficient of variation (32.53% and 45.25%). The highest content was consistently found in accession ‘HL827’, which exceeded 20 mg/100 g FW. Cherries reached up to 12.1 mg/100 g FW in 2023 (‘13590′), but decreased to 1.9 mg/100 g FW in 2024 (‘Jacinta’). Apricots showed high fluctuation, with ‘Betinka’, ‘Candela’, and ‘HL08-052’ exceeding the 30% variance coefficient. Accessions that remained stable (‘HL96-266’) maintained a low variance only. Plums were the most sensitive, experiencing low vitamin C content under hot and dry conditions. Regression analysis identified temperature (NTavg-20) as the dominant climatic driver in plums and cherries (R2 = 0.999, p < 0.05 and R2 = 0.995, p < 0.05) respectively, whereas apples and apricots showed negligible responses (R2 ≤ 0.210). These findings underscore the importance of genotype/environment interactions at the local level and highlight the value of stable accessions as valuable resources for breeding cultivars with high and resilient vitamin C content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)
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20 pages, 3093 KB  
Article
Influence of Genotype, Maturity Stage and Year on Surface Pitting Susceptibility and Related Physiological Traits in Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium L.)
by Pavol Suran, Veronika Danková, Aneta Bílková and Lucie Plecitá
Plants 2026, 15(1), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15010063 - 25 Dec 2025
Viewed by 692
Abstract
This study investigates the resistance of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) accessions to surface pitting, a critical postharvest issue. A two-year analysis of 32 accessions and 3 cultivars, fruit chemical composition (total antioxidant capacity, anthocyanins, polyphenols, dry matter, and ascorbic acid), and [...] Read more.
This study investigates the resistance of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) accessions to surface pitting, a critical postharvest issue. A two-year analysis of 32 accessions and 3 cultivars, fruit chemical composition (total antioxidant capacity, anthocyanins, polyphenols, dry matter, and ascorbic acid), and maturity stages on pitting susceptibility was conducted. The damage index (DI) is a quantitative measure of fruit susceptibility to surface pitting after mechanical injury and storage; lower DI values indicate higher resistance, while higher DI values indicate greater susceptibility. The damage index (DI) in our study ranged from 1.18 to 2.87, with ‘10072’ exhibiting the highest resistance (DI = 1.18 ± 0.20) and ‘16806’ the lowest (DI = 2.87 ± 0.49). Biochemical analysis showed an inverse correlation between total dry matter content (TDM) and DI (r = −0.445, p < 0.001), with high-TDM accessions demonstrating lower pitting susceptibility. Ascorbic acid levels also negatively correlated with DI (r = −0.148, p < 0.01), as ‘10072’ contained 41% higher ascorbic acid than ‘16806’. In contrast, total antioxidant capacity (TEAC) correlated positively with DI (r = 0.309, p < 0.001), suggesting that higher antioxidant levels may increase susceptibility. Maturity stages affected fruit chemical composition but did not significantly alter DI values (first maturity stage DI = 2.17 ± 0.56; second maturity stage DI = 2.19 ± 0.53, p > 0.05). Some accessions maintained stable resistance across seasons, emphasizing the role of genetics. These findings provide valuable insights for breeding strategies to improve cherry resistance to surface pitting. The identification of highly resistant accessions like ‘10072’ offers promising candidates for breeding programs, while predictive chemical markers could aid rapid selection for enhanced postharvest quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)
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12 pages, 1296 KB  
Article
Mechanical Resistance of New Apple Genotypes for Automated Harvesting
by Martin Císler, František Horejš, Jakub Lev, Petr Novák, Milan Kroulík and Lubor Zelený
Plants 2025, 14(22), 3455; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14223455 - 12 Nov 2025
Viewed by 682
Abstract
Mechanical damage to apples that occurs without visible skin rupture represents a significant issue during handling and harvesting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential for detecting initial internal tissue failure using parameters derived from the deformation curve obtained during [...] Read more.
Mechanical damage to apples that occurs without visible skin rupture represents a significant issue during handling and harvesting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential for detecting initial internal tissue failure using parameters derived from the deformation curve obtained during a quasi-static penetration test. Particular attention was given to the parameter Pa, defined as the pressure at the yield point, which indicates the onset of structural failure in the tissue. The occurrence of Pa was monitored across five apple genotypes, and the results demonstrated the parameter’s sensitivity to latent internal damage. The parameter Pc, characterising resistance in the later phase of penetration, also showed a strong correlation with fruit bulk density. Significant differences in all mechanical characteristics were observed between the genotypes. The results highlight the potential of these parameters for assessing varietal suitability for mechanised harvesting and sorting. The proposed methodology is readily applicable in the selection of new genotypes within breeding programmes as well as in post-harvest situations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)
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