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Effect of Rootstocks and Planting Systems on Fruit Quality
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Effect of Rootstocks and Planting Systems on Fruit Quality

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 2170

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Darius Kviklys

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
1. Institute of Horticulture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Kauno Str. 30, LT-54333 Kaunas, Lithuania
2. Department of Horticulture, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research—NIBIO Ullensvang, Ullensvangvegen 1005, NO-5781 Lofthus, Norway
Interests: fruit tree cultivars; rootstocks; fruit physiology; crop load regulation; preharvest fruit quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Edgars Rubauskis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Horticulture (LatHort), Dobele, Latvia
Interests: fruit tree cultivars; rootstocks; fruit tree physiology; crop load regulation; irrigation of fruit trees; orchard management; fruit tree nutrition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, fruit growing experiences have dramatic shifted to the increase of fruit growing profitability by introducing new orchard designs, tree training methods, and crop load management technologies, and by exploiting all features of new rootstocks. The increase in orchard productivity is usually achieved through the introduction of dwarfing rootstocks that results in increased planting densities and higher yields. This trend is common in all fruit species, but most advantages are observed in apples. Meanwhile, a new concept of 2D orchard design with multileader canopies renews the value of semi-dwarfing and even semi-vigorous rootstocks. The development of optimal combinations of different-vigour rootstocks and new training methods will result in the increased utilisation of light interception and uniform light distribution within the single tree canopy and the whole orchard. Nevertheless, new concepts of fruit tree growing technologies should be created without compromising on fruit quality. This Special Issue is devoted to the presentation of advanced research in rootstocks and orchard designs, emphasizing their impact on pre- and postharvest fruit quality. The presentation of results from technological, physiological, and genetic studies is welcome.

Dr. Darius Kviklys
Dr. Edgars Rubauskis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • rootstocks for fruit tree crops
  • orchard designs
  • canopy training methods
  • external and internal fruit quality

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1950 KiB  
Article
‘BRS Vitoria’ Grapes Across Four Production Cycles: Morphological, Mineral, and Phenolic Changes
by Mariana de Souza Leite Garcia-Santos, Victoria Diniz Shimizu-Marin, Yara Paula Nishiyama-Hortense, Carolina Olivati, Reginaldo Teodoro de Souza, Francielli Brondani da Silva, Natália Soares Janzantti and Ellen Silva Lago-Vanzela
Plants 2025, 14(6), 949; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14060949 - 18 Mar 2025
Viewed by 336
Abstract
The ‘BRS Vitoria’ grape has sensory characteristics that favor its consumption. However, different rootstocks and harvest periods can directly influence its phenolic composition, physicochemical and morphological characteristics, and mineral content. This study evaluates the mineral and anthocyanin composition of the ‘BRS Vitoria’ grape [...] Read more.
The ‘BRS Vitoria’ grape has sensory characteristics that favor its consumption. However, different rootstocks and harvest periods can directly influence its phenolic composition, physicochemical and morphological characteristics, and mineral content. This study evaluates the mineral and anthocyanin composition of the ‘BRS Vitoria’ grape from a production cycle (PC1: ‘IAC 572’ rootstock, main harvest) and compares its physicochemical, morphological, and mineral characteristics to other cycles (PC2: ‘Paulsen 1103’ rootstock, second harvest; PC3: ‘IAC 572’ rootstock, second harvest; and PC4: ‘Paulsen 1103’ rootstock, main harvest), highlighting its potential for use and providing initial insights into the influence of rootstocks and environmental conditions. PC1 grapes contained important amounts of potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, and zinc (345.16, 50.50, 20.34, 13.61, 0.54, 0.27, and 0.03 mg⋅100 g−1, respectively), and a complex anthocyanin profile, predominantly derived from malvidin, which supports their use in processing due to the thermal stability. In the second part of the study, PC2 grapes stood out for their skin percentage and acidity. PC3 grapes exhibited higher values in parameters associated with size, mass, and mineral content, which may have been influenced by the use of the ‘IAC 572’ rootstock. PC4 grapes showed the highest maturation index (38.68), total phenolic compounds (1750.88 mg EGA⋅kg−1), and total monomeric anthocyanins (742.86 mg mv-3,5-glc⋅kg−1). These results may have been influenced by the environmental conditions during the main harvest season. Bunches from all cycles were cylindrical, very compact, with dark red-violet berries and featuring thick skin with pruine and firm colorless, seedless flesh. The study of the influence of these factors is complex due to the impact of various other variables and the synergistic effect between them. Despite physicochemical and morphological differences, ‘BRS Vitoria’ grapes from different PCs are suitable for fresh consumption and processing, potentially as a nutraceutical ingredient. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Rootstocks and Planting Systems on Fruit Quality)
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28 pages, 9556 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome Profiling Reveals the Effects of Rootstocks on Scion Architecture in Malus domestica Borkh Var. ‘Harlikar’
by Bin Xie, Junhao Li, Jiangtao Zhou, Guodong Kang, Zhongwen Tang, Xiaojian Ma, Xin Li, Jing Wang, Yanzhen Zhang, Yanhui Chen, Sumiao Yang and Cungang Cheng
Plants 2025, 14(5), 696; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14050696 - 24 Feb 2025
Viewed by 453
Abstract
Rootstocks largely determine the tree architecture of the grafted scions, significantly affects yield, suitability for mechanical harvesting, and planting pattern of apple orchards. It is thus important to reveal the mechanisms behind the rootstocks influence on the tree architecture of scions in apple [...] Read more.
Rootstocks largely determine the tree architecture of the grafted scions, significantly affects yield, suitability for mechanical harvesting, and planting pattern of apple orchards. It is thus important to reveal the mechanisms behind the rootstocks influence on the tree architecture of scions in apple trees. This study analyzed the grafting survival rate, the physiological parameters including plant growth, photosynthesis and nutrient accumulation in the apple variety ‘Harlikar’ with eight apple rootstocks. We also explored the mechanism of scion architecture formation using transcriptomics based on different scion/rootstock combinations. The results indicated that ‘Harlikar’ had the lowest grafting survival rate with rootstock ‘M26’, with less callus formed at the graft interface, foliage etiolation, and weak photosynthetic capacity. While ‘Harlikar’ had better affinities with ‘M9-T337’, ‘M9-Nic29’, ‘M9-Pajam2’, ‘B9’, ‘71-3-150’, ‘Qingzhen 2’, and ‘Malus baccata’. Among these, the highest plant height and the highest number of lateral branches were observed in ‘Harlikar’ with rootstock ‘Qingzhen 2’, they were 1.12-times and 2.0-times higher than ‘Harlikar’ with vigorous rootstock ‘M. baccata’, respectively. The highest accumulations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium in scions were observed in ‘Harlikar’/‘Qingzhen 2’, they were 2.22-times, 2.10-times, and 11.80-times higher than that in ‘Harlikar’/‘M. baccata’. The lowest plant height was observed in ‘Harlikar’/‘71-3-150’, only 50.47% of ‘Harlikar’/‘Qingzhen 2’ and 56.51% of ‘Harlikar’/‘M. baccata’, and the lowest internode length was observed in ‘Harlikar’/‘M9-Nic29’, only 60.76% of ‘Harlikar’/‘Qingzhen 2’ and 79.11% of ‘Harlikar’/‘M. baccata’. The transcriptome, weighted gene co-expression network and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that, compared to ‘Harlikar’/‘M. baccata’, most differentially expressed genes screened from ‘Harlikar’/‘Qingzhen 2’, ‘Harlikar’/‘71-3-150’, and ‘Harlikar’/‘M9-Nic29’ were enriched in hormone signal transduction pathways. Specifically, auxin-repressed protein gene ARP, cytokinin synthesis related genes CKXs and CYP92A6, and brassinosteroid synthesis related gene CYP87A3 were involved in the dwarfing of ‘Harlikar’/‘71-3-150’ and ‘Harlikar’/‘M9-Nic29’. Cytokinin synthesis related gene ARR-A and abscisic acid-responsive element binding factor gene ABF were the key to increased branching in ‘Harlikar’/‘Qingzhen 2’. In addition, acid phosphatase genes ACPs, and serine/threonine-protein kinase genes PBLs were involved in the vegetative growth of scions in ‘Harlikar’/‘Qingzhen 2’ by affecting the absorption and utilization of nutrients. These results provide theoretical guidance for cultivating high-quality ‘Harlikar’ apple trees and elucidate the molecular mechanisms regulating plant height and lateral branch formation in apple. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Rootstocks and Planting Systems on Fruit Quality)
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16 pages, 5342 KiB  
Article
‘140R’ Rootstock Regulates Resveratrol Content in ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ Grapevine Leaves Through miRNA
by Chunmei Zhu, Zhijun Zhang, Zhiyu Liu, Wenchao Shi, Dongliang Zhang, Baolong Zhao and Junli Sun
Plants 2024, 13(21), 3057; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13213057 - 31 Oct 2024
Viewed by 937
Abstract
Grafting is important for increasing the resistance of grapevines to environmental stress, improving fruit quality, and shortening the reproductive period. In this study, ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ (CS) grafted on the resistant rootstock 140R (CS/140R), self-grafted grapevines of the resistant rootstock 140R (140R/140R), and self-grafted [...] Read more.
Grafting is important for increasing the resistance of grapevines to environmental stress, improving fruit quality, and shortening the reproductive period. In this study, ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ (CS) grafted on the resistant rootstock 140R (CS/140R), self-grafted grapevines of the resistant rootstock 140R (140R/140R), and self-grafted grapevines of CS (CS/CS) were subjected to high-throughput sequencing; small RNA (sRNA) libraries were constructed, and miRNAs responsive to the grafting process were identified. A total of 177 known miRNAs and 267 novel miRNAs were identified. Many miRNAs responsive to the grafting process were significantly down-regulated in CS/140R leaves relative to CS/CS leaves, such as vvi-miR171c, vvi-miR171e, et al., suggesting that the expression of these miRNAs might be affected by grafting. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that the differentially expressed miRNAs regulated the expression of genes in the phenylpropanoid synthesis pathway. Grapevine leaves transiently overexpressing vvi-miR171c were assayed, and the expression of the target gene, VvMYB154, and the resveratrol content were decreased, indicating that vvi-miR171c negatively regulates the expression of VvMYB154. In sum, 140R increased the resveratrol content of the scion by grafting, down-regulating the expression of vvi-miR171c. These results provide new information that will aid future analyses of the effects of grafting on the content of secondary metabolites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Rootstocks and Planting Systems on Fruit Quality)
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