Search Results (373)

Understanding how flowering phenology varies across spatial scales is essential for assessing plant responses to environmental heterogeneity under climate change. In this study, we investigated the flowering phenology of the plant species Taraxacum officinale across five sites in an agricultural region of Wanju, Republic of Korea. Each site contained five 1 m × 1 m quadrats, where the number of flowering heads was recorded at 1- to 2-day intervals during the spring flowering period (February to May). We applied the nlstimedist package in R to model flowering distributions and to estimate key phenological metrics including flowering onset (5%), peak (50%), and end (95%). The results revealed substantial variation in flowering timing and duration at both the intra-site (quadrat-level) and inter-site (site-level) scales. Across all sites, the mean onset, peak, end, and duration of flowering were day of year (DOY) 89.6, 101.5, 117.6, and 28.0, respectively. Although flowering onset showed relatively small variation across sites (DOY 88 to 92), flowering peak (DOY 97 to 108) and end dates (DOY 105 to 128) exhibited larger differences at the site level. Sites with dry soils and regularly mowed Zoysia japonica vegetation with minimal understory exhibited shorter flowering durations, while those with moist soils, complex microtopography, and diverse slope orientations showed delayed and prolonged flowering. These findings suggest that microhabitat variability—including landform type, slope direction, soil water content, and soil temperature—plays a key role in shaping local flowering dynamics. Recognizing this fine-scale heterogeneity is essential for improving phenological models and informing site-specific climate adaptation strategies. Full article

Developing early-heading wheat cultivars is an important breeding strategy to utilize light and heat resources, facilitate multiple-cropping systems, and enhance annual grain yield. Psathyrostachys huashanica Keng (2n = 2x = 14, NsNs) possesses numerous agronomically beneficial traits for wheat improvement, such as early maturity and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we found that a cytogenetically stable wheat–P. huashanica 7Ns disomic addition line showed (9–11 days) earlier heading and (8–10 days) earlier maturation than its wheat parents. Morphological observations of spike differentiation revealed that the 7Ns disomic addition line developed distinctly faster than its wheat parents from the double ridge stage. To explore the potential molecular mechanisms underlying the early heading, we performed transcriptome analysis at four different developmental stages of the 7Ns disomic addition line and its wheat parents. A total of 10,043 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified during spike development. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that these DEGs were linked to the carbohydrate metabolic process, photosynthesis, response to abscisic acid, and the ethylene-activated signaling pathway. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that these DEGs were involved in plant hormone signal transduction (ARF, AUX/IAA, SAUR, DELLA, BRI1, and ETR), starch and sucrose metabolism (SUS1 and TPP), photosynthetic antenna proteins (Lhc), and circadian rhythm (PRR37, FT, Hd3a, COL, and CDF) pathways. In addition, several DEGs annotated as transcription factors (TFs), such as bHLH, bZIP, MADS-box, MYB, NAC, SBP, WRKY, and NF-Y, may be related to flowering time. Our findings reveal spike development-specific gene expression and critical regulatory pathways associated with early heading in the wheat–P. huashanica 7Ns addition line, and provide a new genetic resource for further dissection of the molecular mechanisms underlying the heading date in wheat. Full article

Ornamental plants play a crucial role in the mitigation of urban heat islands. Recent decades have seen an increased frequency of abnormal climatic events like warm springs, but how these climatic events impact plant phenology in ornamental plants in urban areas is unclear. This study examines how climate fluctuations affect the flowering patterns (1963–2018) and thermal requirements of 28 woody ornamental species in Xi’an, a principal city in Central China. Years were classified as cold (<13.3 °C), normal (between 13.3 and 17.2 °C), or warm (>17.2 °C) based on March–May temperatures. The results show that the first flowering dates (FFDs) advanced by 10.63 days in warm years but were delayed by 6.14 days in cold years compared to normal years. Notably, thermal requirements (5 °C threshold) were 11.3% higher in warm years (343.05 vs. 308.09 °C days) and 9.4% lower in cold years (279.19 °C days), likely due to reduced winter chilling accumulation in warm conditions. While thermal time models accurately predicted FFDs in normal years (error: 0.33–1.37 days), they showed systematic biases in abnormal years—overestimating advancement by 1.56 days in warm years and delays by 3.42 days in cold years. These findings highlight that the current phenological models assuming fixed thermal thresholds may significantly mispredict flowering times under climate variability. Our results emphasize the need to incorporate dynamic thermal requirements and chilling effects when forecasting urban plant responses to climate change, particularly for extreme climate scenarios. Full article

Morkhor 60-3 is an upland rice variety primarily cultivated in northeastern Thailand. This glutinous rice is valued for its adaptability and rich aroma but remains susceptible to significant diseases, particularly blast and bacterial blight. Using resistant varieties represents the most cost-effective approach to address this limitation. This study incorporated the QTLs/genetic markers qBl1, qBl2, and xa5 from Morkhor 60-1 through marker-assisted backcrossing. From the BC₁F₃ population, ten lines were selected based on their parentage and evaluated for blast resistance using a spray inoculation method with 12 isolates of Pyricularia oryzae, and for bacterial blight (BB) resistance using a leaf-clipping method with nine isolates of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Broad-spectrum resistance (BSR) was also assessed in the lines for both diseases. Subsequently, BC₁F₄ lines were evaluated for field performance, including agronomic traits and aroma. Results identified three superior lines, BC₁F₄ 22-7-140-4, BC₁F₄ 22-7-322-5, and BC₁F₄ 22-7-311-9, that demonstrated resistance to both BB and blast pathogens with average BSR values of 0.61 and 1.00, 0.66 and 1.00, and 0.55 and 0.87, respectively. These lines also exhibited enhanced performance in flowering date, plant height, panicle number per plant, grain number per plant, and grain weight. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of marker-assisted selection (MAS) for gene pyramiding in rice improvement. Full article

The optimal exploitation of genetic variability is essential for the success of breeding programs and for identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in genetic association studies. These benefit from populations with a high number of individuals; however, they are expensive since extensive plant maintenance, characterization, and evaluation are required. Core collections offer a practical solution by reducing the number of individuals while representing the original diversity of the population. This study aimed to construct a core collection for Japanese plum to serve as pre-breeding material and enable genetic association studies for traits that are difficult to evaluate. Starting from a population of 1062 individuals genotyped by sequencing, genetic distance and allele coverage metrics were applied to construct several core collections. Genetic parameters and phenotype distribution comparisons allowed for the selection of a core collection of 108 individuals that maximized genetic variability while representative of the original population, confirmed by linkage disequilibrium and population structure analyses. Its usefulness was validated by successfully mapping flowering and maturity dates through marker–trait association. The core collection constructed here will help in the study of fruit quality traits and biotic and abiotic responses, ultimately generating molecular markers to assist the crop’s molecular breeding. Full article

Wildfires are increasing in extent and severity under anthropogenic climate change, with potential adverse impacts on native pollinators like wild bees. In 2019/2020, wildfires burned swathes of the Australian bushland. Whilst herbaceous angiosperms may flower in the post-fire environment, providing sustenance to native bees, pre-made holes created by wood-boring beetles that obligate cavity-nesting “renter” bees may take a longer time to recover. This may prevent native bees from colonising new areas or reduce the populations that have survived. To date, trap-nests, also known as bee hotels, have never been used as a tool to assist in providing nesting resources in post-fire environments. The project “Bee hotels to boost bees after bushfires” supported the recovery of native bee populations by installing artificial nesting substrates (bee hotels) in areas of high biodiversity value that were impacted by the 2019/2020 bushfires. This was achieved through monitoring of 1000 bee hotels (500 bamboo and 500 wooden) and visual surveys at five burnt sites and three control sites (nearby burnt sites without bee hotels) by a native bee ecologist from September–March 2021/2022. The bee hotel uptake was low initially, but by March, all hotels were occupied. Over 800 nests were created by bees in the bee hotels installed for this project and significantly more bees were observed in sites with bee hotels compared to control sites. Across sites, there was a significant negative association between honeybee density and nest occupancy, suggesting honeybees may be exerting competitive pressure on native bees in post-fire habitats. In conclusion, bee hotels, if designed correctly, can aid in boosting cavity-nesting bee populations following fires. Full article

Flowering represents the most important process in the reproductive stage of fruit trees, including olive trees. Previous studies have demonstrated that the genotype–environment interaction (GEI) has a considerable influence on olive flowering time. This study investigated the GEI and genetic parameters influencing olive flowering phenology in Southwestern China (a non-Mediterranean region), using multi-trait-based stability selection methods. Sixteen olive cultivars from five countries were evaluated over two years in two distinct climatic regions of Southwestern China. Flowering phenology was assessed based on three parameters: full-bloom date (FBD), flowering-period length (FP), and full-bloom-period length (FBP). In the analyses, the best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) to predict genetic value and genotype + genotype by environment interaction (GGE) biplot methods to visualize and assess stability and performance were employed across four environments. The results showed that genotype, environment, and GEI had highly significant effects on flowering traits, with GEI accounting for 54.12% to 89.62% of the variance. Heritability values were low (0.0589 to 0.262), indicating that genetic factors had limited control over flowering phenology compared to environmental factors. A stability analysis using a mean performance and stability (MPS) index identified genotypes with earlier flowering dates and longer flowering periods. Multi-trait selection using a multi-trait mean performance and stability (MTMPS) index further highlighted six superior genotypes with high performance and stability across environments. The findings emphasize the critical role of environmental factors on olive flowering phenology, highlighting the challenges in breeding for stable flowering traits. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of multi-trait selection methods in identifying genotypes with superior performance and stability under different environmental conditions. These results provide valuable insights for olive breeding programs, particularly in non-Mediterranean regions, suggesting that targeted selection and multi-trait evaluation could enhance the adaptability and productivity of olive cultivars under changing climatic conditions. Full article

Given the growing impact of climate change, this study examines the flowering phenology of Rosa rugosa Thunb. in Kupinovo (Vojvodina, Serbia). Data collected over 18 years (2007–2024) were analyzed to assess changes in primary flowering, while secondary flowering was monitored from 2022 to 2025. Phenological stages were recorded every other day, and dates were converted into day-of-year (DOY) values. Heat accumulation (GDD) was calculated using daily max/min temperatures and thresholds. In 2024, R. rugosa exhibited a 37-day earlier onset and a 50.4-day later completion of primary flowering compared to previous years. The variability of key phenological events of primary flowering was observed in the interaction with climatic parameters, with regular fruiting. The species proved tolerant to heat and drought, suggesting potential range expansion. Optimal temperatures for secondary flowering were identified: abundant flowering occurred at 13.6 °C max and 4.9 °C min, while moderate flowering occurred at 9.0 °C max and 4.2 °C min. Regression analysis confirmed the positive effect of rising temperatures on flowering intensity. While freezing halted secondary flowering and damaged open buds, unopened buds remained unaffected. These findings highlight R. rugosa as a resilient, ornamental species, relevant to climate adaptation strategies, nature-based solutions, and the preservation of ecosystem services under global warming scenarios. Full article

Sowing date significantly affects plant growth, development, and yield, holding a crucial role in soybean cultivation. This study was conducted in the southern coastal region of Korea under recent climate change conditions to investigate the effects of five different sowing dates on climatic characteristics, growth, and yield. Compared to historical data, the southern coastal region has experienced a consistent increase in average temperature during the soybean cultivation period, along with frequent abnormal summer climate events such as concentrated heavy rainfall and monsoons. These climate changes prolonged the vegetative growth period in earlier sowings, leading to an increased risk of lodging at maturity due to vigorous vegetative growth. Furthermore, earlier sowing delayed flowering and exposed plants to longer post-flowering photoperiods, consequently reducing the number of pods. Therefore, in the southern coastal region of Korea, it is crucial to re-evaluate conventional sowing practices and establish region-specific optimal dates, with careful consideration given to postponing the soybean sowing date to late June in order to enhance yield stability and improve the feasibility of double-cropping systems by shortening the growing period. Full article

The allelic diversity within genes controlling the vernalization requirement (VRN1) and photoperiod response (PPD1) determines the ability of wheat to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions and influences grain yield. In this study, allelic variations at the VRN-A1, VRN-B1, VRN-D1 and PPD-D1 genes were studied for 89 accessions of Triticum compactum from different eco-geographical regions of the world. The collection was evaluated for heading date in both field and greenhouse experiments under a long photoperiod and without vernalization. Based on heading date characteristics, 52 (58.4%) of the genotypes had a spring growth habit, and all of them carried at least one dominant VRN1 allele, while 37 (41.6%) accessions had a winter growth habit and carried the triple recessive allele combination. The photoperiod-sensitive Ppd-D1b allele was detected in 85 (95.5%) accessions and the insensitive Ppd-D1a allele in four (4.5%) accessions. A total of 10 phenology gene profiles (haplotypes) were observed at four major genes in the T. compactum germplasm collection. The LSD test revealed significant differences in the mean heading date among the different spring phenology gene profiles, both in greenhouse and field conditions. In addition, 21 microsatellite markers (simple sequence repeats, SSRs) were used to assess the genetic diversity in the collection. The 21 SSR markers amplified a total of 183 alleles across all the genotypes, with a mean of 3.2 alleles per locus. The polymorphic information content ranged from 0.49 to 0.94, with a mean of 0.84. The results of this study may be useful for both T. compactum and common wheat breeding programs as a source of agronomic traits. Full article

Chilling and spring temperature accumulation are both considered key factors determining the timing of the spring bloom in many flowering plants. The accumulated developmental progress (ADP) method predicted the first flowering date (FFD) of a species of Rosaceae well in a previous study. However, whether this approach can be applied to other species, and whether the prediction errors in FFD based on the ADP method can be further accounted for by fall and winter temperatures (FWTs), remains unknown. The ADP method and two others were tested using a 39-year apricot FFD data series. The goodness of fit obtained with each method was assessed using the root mean square error (RMSE) between the observed and predicted FFDs. We used the residuals obtained using the ADP method as a response variable to fit generalized additive models (GAMs) including six FWTs as predictors. The GAMs generated based on different combinations of predictors were compared using Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) to test whether using FWTs can reduce prediction error. The ADP method had the lowest RMSE, which equaled 3.0904 days. Together, the number of cold days, the number of chilling hours, the mean value of the daily maximum temperatures, and the mean value of the daily mean temperatures from 1 November of the preceding year to the starting date accounted for 96% of the deviance in the residuals obtained using the ADP method. Including these predictors reduced the RMSE to 0.6162 days. The ADP method is a valid technique to quantify the effect of spring temperatures from a given starting date on the FFD. The FWTs and the number of cold days can also influence the FFD. The present work provides evidence that FWTs including daily maximum temperatures and spring mean temperatures together determine the FFD of apricot. Full article

Viola yedoensis Makino (V. yedoensis), a perennial herb in the Violaceae family, is recognized for its violet flowers and has a longstanding role in ethnomedicine for treating various inflammatory diseases, such as boils, furuncles, carbuncles, and both acute and chronic hepatitis, among others. A comprehensive literature review was conducted utilizing resources including the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Flora of China, Web of Science, PubMed, Baidu Scholar, Google Scholar, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). This paper serves as the inaugural comprehensive review of the latest findings regarding the botany, traditional applications, phytochemistry, pharmacological properties, quality control, and prospective uses of V. yedoensis. The objective is to provide a robust foundation for future research and to suggest novel avenues for exploring its potential applications. To date, 162 chemical constituents have been isolated from V. yedoensis, with flavonoids and coumarins identified as particularly abundant. These compounds exhibit promising activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-lung injury, anti-liver injury, anti-bacterial, anti-coagulant, anti-complement, and anti-oxidant properties. Despite considerable advancements in fundamental research on V. yedoensis, further investigations are required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of action and to discover additional uncharacterized compounds. This review underscores the plant’s significant development potential, highlighting the necessity for more in-depth exploration. Full article

Tartary buckwheat is an important characteristic multigrain crop, mainly planted in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Tibet, and other alpine and remote ethnic mountainous areas. In order to clarify the effect of sowing date on the yield and quality of Tartary buckwheat and its relationship with meteorological factors The variety Jinqiao No. 2 was used for a two-year trial at Dingxiang Test Base in Shanxi Province on four sowing dates (15 June, 26 June, 6 July and 17 July 2022 and 19 June, 30 June, 10 July and 21 July 2023) starting from the bud stage. Responses to sowing date were investigated by examining the growth period structure, yield, yield component, quality, and their relationship to climatic factors. The results showed that meteorological factors during the grain grain-filling stage were different when the sowing date was different. Compared with other sowing times, the treatment with the sowing of early and mid-July had less than 13.5~27.9 h of sunshine, less than 28.8~48.5 mm of rainfall, more than 10.5~19 days of ≤15 °C days, but the most serious low-temperature stress (≤15 °C days up to 27 days). The yield of sowing in July was 69.8~77.0% and 69.9~79.1% lower than that of sowing in June in 2022 and 2023 respectively, and the later sowing had a lower yield. Delayed sowing is beneficial to the accumulation of flavonoids and protein in Tartary buckwheat grains, and the average value in 2022 and 2023 is 11.55% and 14.64% higher than that in the first sowing, but the content of fat and starch is significantly reduced. The result of path analysis showed that the low temperature (≤15 °C days up to 27 days) and less solar radiation duration were the key points for attaining high yield and quality, due to the mean daily temperature and ≤15 °C days from flowering to maturity had negative effect on 1000-seed weight, seed setting rate, starch and crude lipid content of Tartary buckwheat, and the direct effect of sunshine duration on the content of protein and flavonoid in Tartary buckwheat was the greatest. The yield of Tartary buckwheat sown in June was higher than that of other treatments, because of avoiding low-temperature stress and long rainy and sunless weather during the grain filling stage, which enabled the blossoming and grain filling normally and finally attained higher yield. Full article

Temperature changes strongly affect apple development and quality. In this study, we analyze the relationships between the main factors modulating both of the aforementioned processes in the fruits of four apple cultivars. We assessed three-dimensional data concerning the expression profile (fold change) of eight genes related to fruit ripeness regulation (involved in the cell respiration process and sorbitol metabolism as well as encoding cell kinase receptors) and fruit parameters such as fruit weight, ethylene concentration, concentration of soluble solids and acidity, which are affected by seasonal temperature variations (2018–2020). We observed that low temperatures (before the apple ripening phase) promoted an increase in gene activity and improved the fruit quality of the following cultivars: early-flowering/mid-ripening ‘Pink Braeburn’ and ‘Pinokio’, early-flowering/late-ripening ‘Ligol’ and late-flowering/late-ripening ‘Ligolina’. We confirmed the positive effect of low temperatures on the activity of the AAAA1, AALA1, StG and AAXA genes and on the evaluated fruit quality parameters, and we confirmed their dependence on the genotype of the studied cultivars. The obtained results shed light on the complexity of the variability mechanism in fruit features and fruit harvest dates. This knowledge may improve breeding programs for the production of better-quality apples. Full article

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a versatile oilseed crop valued for its adaptability, high oil quality, and antioxidant properties. This study investigates the influence of flower color (FC) on the phenotypic diversity of 172 safflower accessions, analyzing agronomic traits, metabolite profiles, and antioxidant capacities. Frequency distribution, effect size, principal component analysis (PCA), and network analysis were employed to elucidate trait associations and interrelationships. FC significantly impacted traits such as oleic acid (OA), linoleic acid (LA), oleic desaturation ratio (ODR), and N-feruloylserotonin (FS), with large effect sizes (η² > 0.16). Medium effects were observed for 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) scavenging capacity, palmitic acid (PA), and flowering date (FD). PCA and network analyses highlighted relationships between FC and other fatty acid and antioxidant traits. Qualitative traits such as seed coat color (SCC) and thorn of involucre (TI) also showed significant associations with FC, underscoring its role as a phenotypic marker. These findings provide a robust framework for trait-based breeding strategies in safflower and emphasize the need for further genetic validation of these associations. Full article