Search Results (793)

Tomato is susceptible to various fungal pathogens, including Alternaria alternata and Curvularia spicifera, which can cause extensive post-harvest losses. Chemical fungicides have limited effectiveness in controlling post-harvest fungal pathogens and pose risk to human health and the environment. Therefore, this study assessed indigenous isolates of three species of Trichoderma (Tr1: T. longibrachiatum; Tr2: T. harzianum; and Tr3: T. asperellum) as biocontrol agents against two fungal pathogens in vitro and in vivo and determined their physicochemical analysis and plant-growth-promoting traits. The three species of Trichoderma exhibited catalase production in vitro, while T. longibrachiatum and T. asperellum showed the highest potential for plant-growth promotion by producing indole-3-acetic acid and phosphate solubilization but not nitrogen-fixing capability. T. harzianum showed lower potential in these traits. Mycelial growth was found to be maximum (5.77–12.27 cm) at 30 °C and a pH of 7–9, but inhibition (2.60–5.13 cm) was recorded at the highest temperature (45 °C) and pH (11). In vivo, studies on tomato fruits indicated that T. longibrachiatum and T. asperellum significantly (p < 0.05) reduced lesion diameters of A. alternata by 53.60% and 48.71%, respectively, and C. spicifera by 55.58% and 56.19%, respectively, relative to the infected control. Besides their antifungal efficacy, the three species of Trichoderma enhanced tomato seedling growth, particularly at 1/10 filtrate dilution, and improved fruit quality parameters by increasing firmness and nitrate content, while reducing oxidative stress. Physicochemical analysis indicated that Trichoderma-treated fruits had better firmness, pH, and nitrate value coupled with a reduction in oxidative stress (reduced malondialdehyde content) compared to pathogen-infected controls. The indigenous isolates of the three species of Trichoderma provided high efficacy as biocontrol agents of the two fungal pathogens that cause post-harvest losses of tomato, suggesting that biological control can replace synthetic chemicals in preserving tomato under storage conditions and contribute to agricultural sustainability. Full article

Water limitations in the Brazilian semi-arid region require saline water utilization. Hydroponic cultivation combined with salicylic acid (SA) elicitation represents a strategy to manage salt stress in cherry tomatoes. This study evaluated the effects of foliar SA application on the production and quality of cherry tomatoes under saline nutrient solutions. An NFT hydroponic greenhouse experiment at UFCG, Pombal, Brazil, evaluated five nutrient solution salinities (ECns: 2.1, 2.6, 3.1, 3.6, and 4.1 dS m⁻¹) and five SA concentrations (0, 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2 mM) in a split-plot design with three replications. SA concentrations from 1.3 to 3.2 mM enhanced fruit diameter, fruit number, average weight, and yield under baseline salinity (2.1 dS m⁻¹). At 3.2 mM, SA functioned as an optimal ratio regulating nutritional quality, increasing titratable acidity and ascorbic acid under 2.1 and 2.6 dS m⁻¹, respectively. Conversely, high salinity (4.1 dS m⁻¹) established a promotion pattern on soluble solids, maturity index, and flavonoids, while reducing yield components by up to 58.3%, demonstrating explicit operational limitations of SA under severe stress. These baseline findings validate the applicability of SA within specific salinity thresholds, establishing a foundational framework for subsequent physiological profiling, fruit quality characterization at harvest, and commercial greenhouse upscale validation. Full article

Diallyl trisulfide (DATS), a volatile natural sulfur-containing compound derived from garlic, possesses antifungal and preservative potential. However, its biocontrol efficacy against postharvest gray mold of tomato and the molecular mechanisms underlying fruit quality maintenance remain unclear. In this study, we systematically investigated the inhibitory effect of DATS fumigation on postharvest gray mold, its role in fruit quality maintenance, and the associated molecular mechanisms through in vitro antifungal assays, physiological and biochemical measurements, transcriptome sequencing, and correlation analysis. In vitro experiments showed that DATS at 50 μL L⁻¹ completely inhibited spore germination and germ tube elongation of Botrytis cinerea in a concentration-dependent manner, and disrupted spore membrane integrity (FDA-positive spores dropped from 73.4% to 2.9% at 50 μL L⁻¹). In vivo experiments demonstrated that Bc + DATS treatment completely inhibited lesion development compared to the control Bc, enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase (e.g., CAT activity 2.20-fold higher than Bc on day 3), decreased malondialdehyde accumulation (0.65-fold of Bc on day 4), and delayed the declines in total soluble solids, titratable acidity, soluble sugars and vitamin C content (VC content 4.14-fold higher than Bc on day 4). Transcriptomic analysis revealed that DATS treatment up-regulated genes involved in plant hormone signal transduction, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, and phenylalanine metabolism, while down-regulating core MAPK kinases and histidine decarboxylase. Correlation analysis demonstrated significant associations between the expression of these pathway genes and antioxidant enzyme activities, vitamin C content, and lesion diameter. Collectively, DATS achieves effective control of postharvest gray mold and maintenance of fruit quality in tomato through direct antifungal activity, synergistic activation of hormone/MAPK signaling, reprogramming of phenylalanine metabolism, and modulation of membrane lipid homeostasis. This study provides a theoretical and practical basis for developing DATS as a green postharvest preservative to reduce food loss and ensure food safety. Full article

Tomato is an important vegetable crop suited to both open-field and protected cultivation. Indeterminate genotypes with high yield potential and desirable quality traits are especially suited to off-season production under protected cultivation. The present study evaluated 57 indeterminate tomato genotypes over two consecutive years under protected conditions to assess genetic variability, genetic divergence, and trait associations across 16 important yield-attributing and quality traits. The analysis of variance depicted significant differences among genotypes for all traits under study. The traits, viz., fruit weight and number of fruits per cluster, exhibited high heritability and high genetic gain, suggesting the predominance of additive gene action and the possibility of direct selection. A significant, positive correlation between fruit weight and the number of plant clusters and yield was observed. Analysis of genetic divergence following Mahalanobis D² statistics classified the genotypes into seven clusters. The number of flowers per cluster and fruit width were the top contributors to the total genetic divergence. Cluster VI outperformed for earliness and yield, Cluster V outperformed for nutritional quality, while Cluster VII was superior for fruit size. Principal Component Analysis revealed that the first five components cumulatively explained 83.3% of the total variation, with PC1 defined by fruit number trait and PC2 by yield and earliness traits. The Multi-Trait Genotype-Ideotype Distance Index (MGIDI) was used to select the best-performing genotypes, highlighting PIDGT-39, PIDGT-42, and PIDGT-29 as elite. Thus, the findings of the present study provide deeper insights into the genetic makeup of indeterminate tomato genotypes and potential parental accessions for tomato improvement, to enhance yield and quality under protected conditions. Full article

Background/Objectives: The high temperatures associated with climate change represent an important constraint for tomato production in tropical regions, affecting plant growth, reproductive development, and fruit metabolic composition. In this context, protected cultivation systems capable of modifying greenhouse microclimates may help reduce thermal stress and maintain crop productivity. Methods: This study evaluated the effects of two protective environments, diffuse agricultural film (AF) and twin-walled polycarbonate panels with laminar water flow (P), on the agronomic performance and fruit metabolic traits of five grape–tomato hybrids grown under tropical conditions. Microclimatic variables, vegetative growth, yield components, postharvest behavior, and fruit quality attributes were evaluated, with emphasis on carotenoid accumulation. Results: Compared with the agricultural film environment, the polycarbonate system reduced global radiation and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and was associated with an increase in yield of approximately 25%, an increase in fruit number of approximately 13%, and an 8% increase in fruit diameter. In addition, some hybrids cultivated under the polycarbonate system showed greater lycopene and β-carotene accumulation, indicating that microclimate moderation may favor carotenoid-related fruit quality depending on genotype. Principal component analysis revealed a clear separation between cultivation environments, with the polycarbonate system more closely associated with yield-related and canopy development traits, whereas the agricultural film environment was linked to biomass accumulation and selected physicochemical attributes. Among the evaluated hybrids, BS IGR0104, Jacy, and GI7545 showed the most favorable combination of agronomic performance and fruit quality traits. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the importance of climate-adaptive protected cultivation systems and hybrid selection for improving tomato productivity under tropical heat conditions. Full article

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a major pest of greenhouse-grown tomato, causing significant yield and quality losses worldwide. This study evaluated the population dynamics of B. tabaci on tomato crops maintained at a maximum temperature of 24 ± 1 °C and assessed the effectiveness of two generalist predators, Nesidiocoris tenuis and Orius laevigatus, applied individually or in combination under greenhouse conditions in Saudi Arabia. Whitefly populations increased progressively throughout the study, reaching peak densities of 32.24 eggs and 124.00 ± 7.78 nymphs per leaf. Predator release significantly reduced B. tabaci populations at both the egg and nymphal stages. N. tenuis showed greater efficacy against eggs, achieving a 67.44% reduction, whereas O. laevigatus was slightly more effective against nymphs, with a 63.30% reduction. Notably, the combined release of both predators resulted in the greatest suppression of whitefly populations, reducing egg and nymphal densities by 79.50% and 78.02%, respectively, suggesting additive or synergistic interactions between the two predators. The dual-predator treatment also significantly improved yield-related parameters, including fruit number, fruit size, and total yield per plant, without adversely affecting fruit quality. In addition, vitamin C content increased under the combined predator treatment. These findings demonstrate that the integration of N. tenuis and O. laevigatus enhances biological control efficacy and supports sustainable integrated pest management strategies for greenhouse tomato production. Full article

Cuticle cracking (CC) is a major physiological disorder in cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) that reduces fruit quality and marketability. We compared multiple cultivars grown across five cultivation seasons and conducted both cultivar-level and within-cultivar analyses to identify the fruit traits associated with CC occurrence. Mean comparisons revealed significant differences in CC incidence among cultivars, ranging from <10% in some ultrathin skin types to >80% in susceptible cultivars. Within each cultivar, CC severity was positively or negatively correlated with cuticle membrane (CM) deposition per unit area and fruit aspect ratio in some cases; however, these effects were generally weak. In contrast, the analysis of surface area highlighted that the incidence of CC increased with smaller fruit size in several cultivars and was influenced by seasonal factors. However, neither cultivar-level nor within-cultivar analysis explained the extremely low CC ratio in ultra-thin-skin cultivars such as ‘Amapuru’, ‘CF Petite Puyo’, and ‘Usuhada’. These results suggest that ultra-thin-skin cultivars may possess mechanisms conferring low CC susceptibility that are structurally distinct from those in typical-skin cultivars. Full article

Fruit chloroplasts are crucial for the formation of fruit quality. However, the molecular regulatory network of fruit chloroplast development remains obscure. Here, we characterized a tomato homolog (SlKUF7) of KARRIKIN UP-REGULATED F-BOX 1. SlKUF7 is a nucleus-localized F-box protein with Kelch repeats. SlKUF7-overexpressing (OE-SlKUF7) tomato fruits exhibited a pale green appearance, while SlKUF7 knockout tomato fruits did not significantly change. Overexpression of SlKUF7 inhibited chlorophyll content and chloroplast ultrastructure formation in tomato fruits. Immunoprecipitation tandem mass spectrometry analysis revealed the GOLDEN2-LIKE transcription factor SlGLK2 as a potential substrate of SlKUF7. Interaction and protein stability assays showed that SlKUF7 interacted with SlGLK2, a master regulator of fruit chloroplast development in tomato, and mediated its degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Transcriptome profiling revealed that chlorophyll a/b-binding protein genes responsible for light harvesting were down-regulated in OE-SlKUF7 tomato fruits. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing combined with RNA sequencing identified the transcription factor gene SlERF.D3 as a potential target of SlGLK2. SlGLK2 directly activated the expression of SlERF.D3 encoding a repressor for abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation. Furthermore, the content of ABA significantly increased in OE-SlKUF7 tomato fruits in comparison to the wild type. These results indicate that SlKUF7 may negatively regulate fruit chloroplast development in tomato by lowering SlGLK2 abundance and promoting SlERF.D3-mediated ABA accumulation. Our findings deepen the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying fruit chloroplast development in tomato. Full article

The shape and size of grape are critical external quality traits that directly determine their commercial value. Although NF-Y family members are known to regulate fruit shape, their specific roles in grapes remain poorly understood. Here, we identified 31 NF-Y family genes in grape. Systematic analysis of their phylogeny, gene structures, and conserved motifs highlighted the evolutionary conservation of this family. Phylogenetic comparison of the NF-YA subfamily across Arabidopsis, rice, tomato, and grape revealed that VvNF-YA3 and VvNF-YA5 are orthologs of SlNF-YA8. Expression profiling showed that VvNF-YA3 expression peaks at anthesis and three days after anthesis. Heterologous overexpression of VvNF-YA3 in K326 tobacco significantly reduced leaf length, leaf shape index, corolla tube length, and pod dimensions. Moreover, its overexpression in Nicotiana benthamiana resulted in larger but fewer leaf cells, accompanied by the downregulation of cell cycle genes responsible for cell division. Mechanistically, we identified VvSKIP34 as a VvNF-YA3-interacting protein and VvIQD8 as its downstream target gene. Overexpression of VvIQD8 in K326 tobacco yielded narrower leaves and pods, while significantly increasing corolla tube length, pod length, and fruit shape index. Collectively, these findings identify a VvNF-YA3-VvSKIP34-VvIQD8 module that controls cell division and fruit shape in tobacco, providing a functional link between VvNF-YA3 and VvIQD8 and suggesting a potential regulatory mechanism for fruit morphogenesis in grape. Full article

Salinity is a critical agricultural threat that reduces the productivity of several crops. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the world’s second most significant horticultural commodity, which struggles due to salt concentrations in irrigation water, even in hydroponic systems. This research evaluated seed priming treatments (hydro-, halo-, bacterio-, and halo-bacteriopriming) at different phenological stages under two salinity conditions (0 and 16 mM NaCl) to improve crop production. After evaluating physiological variables and multivariate statistical analyses, this study’s main breakthroughs are: Priming treatments modified the physiological, nutritional, and productive metabolism of tomato plants. Bacterio- and halo-bacteriopriming using an endophytic and halophytic bacterial consortium reduced germination time, enhancing uniformity and synchronizing seedling emergence. Bacteriopriming enhanced N, P, Ca and Zn absorption in seedlings. In the vegetative and reproductive stages, bacteriopriming consistently increased concentrations of K, Mg, and Zn in leaves and fruits but depleted Na uptake. Improving the nutritional balance resulted in not only a higher concentration of chlorophyll but also an increase in the yield and beta-carotene concentration in tomato fruits. The results demonstrated that halo-bacteriopriming may be a biotechnological strategy for mitigating saline stress, optimizing tomato growth and nutraceutical quality, because it outperformed the plant response in all stages of development compared to the control and hydro- and haloprimed treatments. Full article

Fruit coloration is a key determinant of tomato quality, yet how light and temperature interact to regulate pigmentation during ripening remains unclear. Using a semi-in-fruit experimental system, we demonstrate that while high light accelerates chlorophyll degradation and lycopene accumulation at 25 °C, supra-optimal temperature (40 °C) completely abolishes lycopene biosynthesis irrespective of light conditions, primarily through transcriptional suppression of SlPSY1 and SlGGPS2. Elevated postharvest temperatures (≥30 °C) not only change the carotenoid composition but also reduce the antioxidant capacity and vitamin C content in fruit. Temperature-switch experiments revealed a critical developmental window, days 2–4 after ethylene treatment, during which temperature exerts dominant control over carotenoid metabolism. Exposure to high temperature within this window irreversibly shifts pigment accumulation from lycopene to yellow/orange carotenoids. These findings identify a temporally precise regulatory nexus integrating environmental signals with the ripening program, offering a framework for targeted temperature management to optimize tomato color and nutritional quality. Full article

Soil salinization is increasingly threatening global agricultural productivity and food security, currently affecting over 6% of the world’s land and one-third of irrigated areas. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), a major vegetable crop worldwide, exhibits moderate sensitivity to salinity, which limits both its yield and fruit quality. In recent years, epigenetic regulation has gained attention as a key mechanism enabling flexible and reversible control of gene expression without altering DNA sequences. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the epigenetic control of salt stress responses in tomato, focusing on three interconnected levels: DNA methylation dynamics, RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM), and histone modifications. We explore how DNA methyltransferases reshape the methylome under salinity, using examples such as PKE1 and SlGI to illustrate functional gene-body methylation. The RdDM pathway is discussed with emphasis on the unexpected role of SlAGO4A as a negative modulator of stress tolerance and the growing evidence for RdDM-mediated regulation of transcription factors. We also examine the balanced regulation of histone acetylation and deacetylation, highlighting the conserved role of GCN5 in maintaining cell wall integrity and the diverse functions of histone deacetylases, such as SlHDA1, SlHDA3, and SlHDA5, in stress adaptation. Additionally, insights from wild tomato species and grafting-induced epigenetic changes are presented, revealing new dimensions of stress memory. Collectively, these epigenetic mechanisms constitute a complex regulatory framework that integrates stress responses with growth and development, providing potential targets for epigenetic breeding of salt-tolerant tomatoes. Full article

Fruit shape is determined by patterns of cell division and expansion during early development, yet the upstream transcription factors coordinating cell wall dynamics and cytoskeletal organization remain largely unknown. Here, we report that SlbHLH113, a bHLH transcription factor, positively regulates tomato fruit elongation. Overexpression (OE) of SlbHLH113 produced elongated fruits with increased length/width ratio, whereas RNAi lines exhibited flattened fruits. Histological analysis revealed that SlbHLH113 alters columella cell polarity—promoting elongated cell morphology without affecting cell area—and reduces columella–placenta width and locule width, without altering pericarp thickness. Transcriptomic profiling identified 87 differentially expressed genes in OE lines, with enrichment in cell wall-related processes. Notably, a pectate lyase gene (PL5) and an expansin gene (EXT90) were down-regulated, while genes involved in oriented cellulose deposition (COBRA4) and ethylene signaling were up-regulated. Importantly, SlbHLH113 physically interacts with the microtubule-associated protein SlIQD21a, as demonstrated by yeast two-hybrid and luciferase complementation assays. Finally, SlbHLH113 did not affect major nutrient contents in red-ripe fruits. Collectively, our findings identify SlbHLH113 as a novel regulator of tomato fruit shape that might act through cell polarity control, cell wall remodeling, and interaction with a microtubule-associated protein, offering a potential target for improving fruit morphology without compromising nutritional quality. Full article

Accurate tomato maturity detection is critical for optimizing key agricultural operations in precision agriculture, including harvesting, grading, and quality control. Despite advances in deep learning and machine vision, reliable detection in real-world environments remains challenging due to cluttered backgrounds, dense fruit clustering, and subtle color differences between maturity stages. In response to these challenges, we present TAA-YOLOv8, an attention-enhanced detection architecture integrating a novel Tomato-Adaptive Attention (TAA) module that performs sequential channel–spatial feature refinement using an adaptive 1D convolution for channel recalibration and a balanced 5 × 5 spatial kernel for improved localization, enhancing discriminative representation while preserving computational efficiency. The framework is evaluated on three datasets representing diverse agricultural environments: a newly introduced Cross-Regional Tomato dataset collected from open-field farms in Bangladesh and greenhouse facilities in Japan, and two public benchmarks, Laboro Tomato and Tomato Plantfactory. TAA-YOLOv8m outperforms baseline YOLOv8m, achieving mAP@50–95 improvements of +9.29%, +9.00%, and +6.65% with F1-scores of 0.968, 0.976, and 0.955, respectively. It further surpasses attention-enhanced variants and RT-DETR-L, and remains competitive with YOLOv11m. Gradient-Weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) shows concentrated fruit-centered activations, providing transparent decision-making evidence and supporting stakeholder confidence in practical deployment within vision-based agricultural management systems. Full article

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivation is highly vulnerable to fungal, bacterial, and viral leaf diseases that can significantly reduce crop yield and fruit quality when not detected at early stages. Although recent deep learning approaches have achieved remarkable performance in plant disease classification, many state-of-the-art architectures remain computationally expensive and therefore difficult to deploy on resource-constrained edge devices commonly used in smart agriculture environments. To address this challenge, this paper introduces EcoTomHybridNet, an adaptive resource-aware CNN–Transformer framework designed for efficient tomato leaf disease classification under edge-computing constraints. The proposed architecture combines a lightweight convolutional backbone with a dual-branch inference mechanism composed of a fast convolutional branch for computationally efficient prediction and a Transformer-enhanced branch with local self-attention for richer contextual feature extraction. Unlike conventional lightweight hybrid models relying on static inference pipelines, EcoTomHybridNet integrates a lightweight policy-guided routing mechanism that dynamically allocates inputs between the fast convolutional branch and the Transformer-enhanced branch according to input complexity. This adaptive inference strategy dynamically reduces unnecessary Transformer computations for simpler samples while preserving strong predictive performance on more challenging inputs through policy-guided branch allocation. To further improve representation capability without significantly increasing computational complexity, the proposed student network is trained using knowledge distillation from a ViT-Tiny teacher model. Experimental results on the PlantVillage tomato dataset demonstrate that EcoTomHybridNet achieves 99.42% test accuracy and 99.0% validation accuracy under the full hybrid inference configuration. Additional validation strategies, including 5-fold cross-validation and robustness evaluation under Gaussian noise and motion blur perturbations, indicate stable performance across different data splits and moderate image degradations, suggesting improved generalization capability beyond simple dataset memorization. Furthermore, adaptive routing experiments using a lightweight threshold-based policy mechanism achieved 99.20% test accuracy while reducing computational complexity from 0.36 GFLOPs to 0.25 GFLOPs per image, corresponding to approximately 30% computational savings. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of policy-guided adaptive inference for balancing predictive performance and computational efficiency in edge-oriented plant disease classification. Overall, EcoTomHybridNet provides an efficient and adaptive framework for intelligent plant disease monitoring in IoT-enabled smart agriculture systems. Full article