Horticultural Science, 2023 (vol. 50), issue 3

Evaluation of plant growth regulators for control of dormancy in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.)Original Paper

Tomáš Nečas, Eliška Zezulová, Ivo Ondrášek, Tomáš Kiss, Jan Náměstek

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2023, 50(3):175-188 | DOI: 10.17221/135/2022-HORTSCI  

In an environment where fruit production is increasingly affected by unpredictable weather patterns, it is important to look for ways to minimise the impact of climate change on production. Under Central European conditions, a limiting factor for apricot (P. armeniaca L.) and Asian plum (P. salicina Lindley) growing in certain years is the occurrence of late spring frosts. One measure to eliminate their impact is to delay the actual flowering of the trees. This can be done by breeding or just by applying various plant growth regulators (PGRs). In our experiment, the effect of a total of 6 active substances in 16 different concentrations...

Effect of microbiologically enriched fertilizers on soil microorganisms in the rhizosphere of apple treesOriginal Paper

Lidia Sas Paszt, Urszula Smolińska, Paweł Trzciński, Augustyn Mika, Sławomir Głuszek, Edyta Derkowska, Anna Lisek, Krzysztof Górnik, Beata Sumorok, Magdalena Szczech, Beata Kowalska, Waldemar Treder

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2023, 50(3):189-198 | DOI: 10.17221/97/2021-HORTSCI  

In long-term cultivation of apple trees, replantation disease may occur, caused by a set of biotic and abiotic factors, occurring in the soil, e.g. the accumulation of pathogenic and harmful microorganisms. Beneficial microorganisms can be of great importance in limiting orchard replant disease. In our study, the Urea fertilizer was enriched with Aspergillus niger and Purpureocillium lilacinum fungi, while the Polifoska 6 and Super Fos Dar 40 fertilizers with strains of the bacteria Bacillus spp., Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, and Paenibacillus polymyxa. The aim of the three-year study was to determine what effects...

Postharvest application of boric acid on grapes to improve the shelf-life and maintain the qualityOriginal Paper

Hui-Jie Li, Da-Long Guo, Jia-Bing Jiao, Yi-Man Fang, Yang-Yang Zhang

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2023, 50(3):199-207 | DOI: 10.17221/73/2022-HORTSCI  

Boric acid (BA) is commercially acceptable and economically feasible material to enhance the shelf life of pears, oranges and other horticultural plants. Here, we investigated the effect of BA on the shelf life and post-harvest quality of table grapes (cv. ‘Kyoho’). The grapes were immersed in a BA solution with different concentrations [0 (as the control), 10, 30, 50 mM] for 10 min and stored at 25 ± 1 °C for 10 days. Compared to the control, the BA treatments maintained higher berry firmness by inhibiting the activity of polygalacturonase (PG) and cellulase. In addition, the BA-treated grapes maintained higher antioxidant enzyme...

Evaluation of five rootstocks on the growth, gas exchanges and chlorophyll fluorescence of Juglans regia L. cv. ‘Xiangling’Original Paper

Bing Hua Liu, Liang Cheng, Ji Xia Zhang, Lian Jia Yui, Hai Lin Ma, Fangchun Liu

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2023, 50(3):208-218 | DOI: 10.17221/152/2022-HORTSCI  

Our study comparative analyzed the morphological and physiological performance of Juglans regia L. cv. ‘Xiangling’ (JRX) grafted onto five rootstock species originated from China. A wide range of coefficient of variation (CV), 1.155–39.848%, was detected for fourteen indexes among the studied seedlings. CV of plant height, total dry biomass, total leaf area, root/shoot ratio, chlorophyll index, and stomatal conductance was higher than 15.00%, suggesting higher variation. Principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and subordinate function analysis were used to screen engrafted seedlings for their quality. All...

Optimising energy efficiency and ecological ‎footprint of off-season cucumber production agro-ecosystem upon different farm levels (Case of central Iran)Original Paper

Bardia Bayat, Mohammad Hossein Ansari, Marjan Diyanat, Ali Mohammadi ‎Torkashvand

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2023, 50(3):219-232 | DOI: 10.17221/155/2022-HORTSCI  

The present study aimed to use a non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate the energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in off-season cucumber-producing greenhouses in different farm level management systems in Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire completed by 83 cucumber producers through face-to-face interviews. The results showed that the energy use rate was 75.1%, 82.6%, and 86.2% in small (0.5–0.9 ha), medium (0.9–2 ha), and large farms (≥ 2 ha), respectively. In all the farm levels, the greatest energy use shares belonged to electricity, chemical fertilisers, and human labour, respectively....

Influence of growth biostimulators used for the production of vine planting materialOriginal Paper

Svetlana Stoyanova, Iliyana Petrova, Galina Dyakova, Ralitsa Mincheva

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2023, 50(3):233-240 | DOI: 10.17221/143/2022-HORTSCI  

Growth biostimulators activate some physiological processes that increase the efficiency of the usage of nourishing substances, stimulate the development of plants and allow reduced fertiliser consummation. Most biostimulators are capable of reacting against the effect of biotic and antibiotic stresses as they increase the crop production of the cultures and represent an opportunity of growing quality and healthy food. The article affects the results of the influence of RadiCifo L24 and Euroradix over the growth and development of grafted cuttings in vine rootings. The study was carried out through the dessert seedlees grapevine variety ‘Zornitsa’...

LbCu/ZnSOD and LbMnSOD involved in drought stress tolerance induced by strigolactones of cut lilyOriginal Paper

Bowen Chiai, Tian Xiea, Li Liua, Junhui Yan, Zixian Zhao, Minghua Deng, Jinfen Wena

Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2023, 50(3):241-251 | DOI: 10.17221/17/2022-HORTSCI  

In this study, LbCu/ZnSOD, LbFeSOD, and LbMnSOD genes were cloned, the role of strigolactones (SLs), a novel plant hormone that is ubiquitous in plants in modulating plant responses to abiotic stress, on the three superoxide dismutases (SODs) under polyethylene glycol PEG-6000 stress were researched in the petals of cut lily flowers. The results indicated that during the development of the lily bud, the expression levels of LbMnSOD gradually increased and those of LbCu/ZnSOD decreased, while the LbFeSOD expression remained at a very low level. When the cut lily flowers were subjected to 10% PEG-6000 stress,...