Horticultural Science, 2020 (vol. 47), issue 3

Commercial and nutraceutical quality of grafted melon cultivated under hydric stressOriginal Paper

Marco Antonio Villegas Olguín, Marcelino Cabrera De la Fuente, Adalberto Benavides Mendoza, Antonio Juárez Maldonado, Alberto Sandoval Rangel, Eloy Fernandez Cusimamani

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2020, 47(3):139-149 | DOI: 10.17221/139/2019-HORTSCI  

Water stress decreases the quality of fruit by generating reactive oxygen species. Grafting is a technique that can improve the efficiency of crop water usage. This work was performed in order to assess the effect of different water stresses on the commercial and nutraceutical quality of a melon fruit. Cantaloupe melon plants, grown under shade houses were grafted onto a creole pumpkin rootstock and grown with different water stresses (20, 30, and 40 kPa). The grafted melon plants under 30-kPa water stress (G30) showed greater fruit firmness and increased catalase activity. The G30 fruits showed an increase in GPX activity of up to 80% over the non-grafted...

LED lighting affected the growth and metabolism of eggplant and tomato transplants in a greenhouseOriginal Paper

Renata Wojciechowska, Anna Kołton, Olga Długosz-Grochowska, Edward Kunicki, Katarzyna Mrowiec, Paweł Bathelt

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2020, 47(3):150-157 | DOI: 10.17221/78/2019-HORTSCI  

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were used for the spring greenhouse cultivation of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) 'Milar F1' and tomato (S. lycopersicon L.) 'Benito F1' transplants. Seedlings were grown under natural light conditions with the supplemental LED light. A 16-h photoperiod provided plants with a DLI of 12.6 (eggplant) and 9.6 (tomato) mol m2/day. Four supplemental light spectra were tested: L1 (90% red + 10% blue); L2 (80% red + 20% blue); L3 (43% red + 42% blue+15% green) and L4 (56% red + 26% blue + 15% green + 3% UV-A). The PPFD in each LED light treatment was 150 ± 20 µmol/m2.s. Compared to the control plants (without LED...

Physio-biochemical responses of sage genotypes to chillingOriginal Paper

Andrzej Kalisz, Agnieszka Sękara, Robert Pokluda, Aleš Jezdinský, Jarmila Neugebauerová, Aneta Grabowska, Rita Jurkow, Katalin Angéla Slezák

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2020, 47(3):158-168 | DOI: 10.17221/81/2018-HORTSCI  

This study evaluated sage (Salvia officinalis L.) genotypes (cultivars: 'Berggarten', 'Icterina', 'Purpurascens', 'Tricolor', local Czech accessions from the Lednice region, South Moravia: 'LDN-1' and 'LDN-2') subjected to chilling (4 °C, 2 weeks, 18 °C ‒ control) for comparison of antioxidant defence systems. Chilling caused the most significant increase in the peroxidase activity in 'Purpurascens' and 'Tricolor', by 108.5% and 15.7%, respectively, while the catalase was unaffected by the low temperature. The phenolics increased in 'Purpurascens' and 'LDN-1' by 17.2% and 18.1%, respectively, and decreased in 'LDN-2' and 'Tricolor', by 10.6%...

Selection of cut flower species affected promotion of flowering and stem elongation by far-red lighting or heating treatments on end of day under limited sunshine from autumn to winterOriginal Paper

Yoshihiro Takemura, Masayuki Kishimoto, Fumio Tamura

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2020, 47(3):169-179 | DOI: 10.17221/174/2018-HORTSCI  

The effect of a brief exposure to treatments of end-of-day (EOD) far-red (FR) light and EOD-heating on flowering and stem elongation in certain species cultivated in areas with limited sunshine from autumn to winter has been investigated. Thirteen EOD-FR treated cultivars among all 24 cultivars tested in experiment 1, showed earlier flowering than control plants. Additionally, Kanzaki No.21, F1 Winter cherry and Gypsy deep rose were earlier to flower under the all night-FR treatment than under the EOD-FR treatment. Further, 13 cultivars among all cultivars tested in experiment 1 showed greater stem length, whereas 16 cultivars of them showed greater...

The use of plants on balconies in the cityOriginal Paper

Agnieszka Krzymińska, Jan Bocianowski, Katarzyna Mądrachowska

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2020, 47(3):180-187 | DOI: 10.17221/166/2018-HORTSCI  

As a popular and excellent place for plants, balconies enable people easy access to and close contact with nature, thus forming an integral part of the urban green infrastructure. The aim of the study was to assess the use of plants on balconies of detached houses and blocks of flats in the small Polish town of Sieraków. Plants were grown on about 33% of the balconies of detached houses and on 51% of the balconies of blocks of flats. Most of the balconies were decorated with one plant species only and the plants were most frequently placed on the railing. The most popular plant species were Pelargonium peltatum (L.) L'Hér., Pelargonium zonale (L.)...