Chitosan biopolymer improves the fruit quality of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.)

Chitosan (CHT) is a natural compound that has been used to control postharvest pathogenic diseases due to its capability of eliciting natural defense responses in plants. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of foliar CHT application on yield and quality of the litchi fruit. Chitosan was applied by spraying on to fruit and foliage just after fruit set four times at 7-day intervals with four varying doses viz. 100, 250, 500, and 1,000 µg L−1 and a control (0 µg L−1). Although the application of CHT had no significant effect on the size of the fruits (length and width), the total contents of phenolics, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid and the antioxidant activity of litchi fruit arils were significantly increased in CHT-treated fruit compared with the untreated control. The highest phenolic, flavonoid, and ascorbic acid contents were 334 µg gallic acid g−1, 881 μg quercetin g−1, and 178 µg g−1, respectively, in fruits treated with 500 µg L−1 CHT. However, the highest antioxidant activity (622 μg butylated hydroxytoluene g−1) was recorded in 250 µg L−1 CHT-treated fruits. Our findings revealed that the application of low doses of CHT in a litchi orchard might improve fruit quality by increasing the content of antioxidants and antioxidant activities

Plant probiotic bacteria Bacillus and Paraburkholderia improve growth, yield and content of antioxidants in strawberry fruit

Strawberry is an excellent source of natural antioxidants with high capacity of scavenging free radicals. This study evaluated the effects of two plant probiotic bacteria, Bacillus amylolequefaciens BChi1 and Paraburkholderia fungorum BRRh-4 on growth, fruit yield and antioxidant contents in strawberry fruits. Root dipping of seedlings (plug plants) followed by spray applications of both probiotic bacteria in the field on foliage significantly increased fruit yield (up to 48%) over non-treated control. Enhanced fruit yield likely to be linked with higher root and shoot growth, individual and total fruit weight/plant and production of phytohormone by the probiotic bacteria applied on plants. Interestingly, the fruits from plants inoculated with the isolates BChi1 and BRRh-4 had significantly higher contents of phenolics, carotenoids, flavonoids and anthocyanins over non-treated control. Total antioxidant activities were also significantly higher (p \u3c 0.05) in fruits of strawberry plants treated with both probiotic bacteria. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of significant improvement of both yield and quality of strawberry fruits by the application of plant probiotic bacteria BChi1 and BRRh-4 in a field condition. Further study is needed to elucidate underlying mechanism of growth and quality improvement of strawberry fruits by probiotic bacteria

Chitosan biopolymer promotes yield and stimulates accumulation of antioxidants in strawberry fruit.

Strawberry is a well-known source of natural antioxidants with excellent free radical scavenging capacity. This study determined the effects of chitosan application in field condition on plant growth, fruit yield and antioxidant activities in strawberry fruit. Foliar applications of chitosan on strawberry significantly increased plant growth and fruit yield (up to 42% higher) compared to untreated control. Increased fruit yield was attributed to higher plant growth, individual fruit weight and total fruit weight/plant due to the chitosan application. Surprisingly, the fruit from plants sprayed with chitosan also had significantly higher contents (up to 2.6-fold) of carotenoids, anthocyanins, flavonoids and phenolics compared to untreated control. Total antioxidant activities in fruit of chitosan treated plants were also significantly higher (ca. 2-fold) (p< 0.05) than untreated control. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of chitosan applied on field plants providing significant improvement of both yield and health benefiting biochemical contents in strawberry fruit. Further study on the elucidation of mechanisms involved with enhancement of growth, yield and biochemical contents by chitosan is needed to promote sustainable production of strawberry

Flowering Behavior and Selection of Hybrid Potato Clones through LXT Breeding Approaches

Potato breeding in Bangladesh is very challenging because it is grown in the short winter season, and flowering does not occur naturally, explaining why artificial lighting and extra care are needed. In addition, the breeding scheme is mainly focused on improving potato yield, followed by tuber quality. The goal of this study was to choose male parents, as well as the effect of environment, on flowering and fruit (berry) setting and to estimate the combining ability among promising BARI-released potato varieties in the second filial generation. Lines of seven Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) varieties were crossed with two BARI variety potato parents as the tester (Line × tester). The BARI Alu-86, BARI Alu-72, BARI Alu-73, and BARI Alu-53 were selected as the best male parents based on the abundance of pollen and fruit set. In both years, flower initiation days varied among clones. For the majority of the traits, such as plant height, tuber number, and yield per plant, the variance of general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) varied. The inheritance of the considered trait was predominant by non-additive gene action. Concerning general combining ability, for plant height, parents ‘BARI Alu-41’ and ‘BARI Alu-53’, for stem per hill, ‘BARI Alu-79′, for tuber number, ‘BARI Alu-37’, and for yield, ‘BARI Alu-37’ and ‘BARI Alu-79’ contributed complementary favorable alleles. The specific combining ability indicated ‘BARI Alu-37’ × ‘BARI Alu-86’ and ‘BARI Alu-77’ × ‘BARI Alu-72’ were the best potential hybrid families for the production of improved genotypes of tuber yield and tuber number. This study will help to design a breeding program following potato population development and the selection of progeny before their utilization as progenitors

Flowering Behavior and Selection of Hybrid Potato Clones through LXT Breeding Approaches

Potato breeding in Bangladesh is very challenging because it is grown in the short winter season, and flowering does not occur naturally, explaining why artificial lighting and extra care are needed. In addition, the breeding scheme is mainly focused on improving potato yield, followed by tuber quality. The goal of this study was to choose male parents, as well as the effect of environment, on flowering and fruit (berry) setting and to estimate the combining ability among promising BARI-released potato varieties in the second filial generation. Lines of seven Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) varieties were crossed with two BARI variety potato parents as the tester (Line &times; tester). The BARI Alu-86, BARI Alu-72, BARI Alu-73, and BARI Alu-53 were selected as the best male parents based on the abundance of pollen and fruit set. In both years, flower initiation days varied among clones. For the majority of the traits, such as plant height, tuber number, and yield per plant, the variance of general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) varied. The inheritance of the considered trait was predominant by non-additive gene action. Concerning general combining ability, for plant height, parents &lsquo;BARI Alu-41&rsquo; and &lsquo;BARI Alu-53&rsquo;, for stem per hill, &lsquo;BARI Alu-79&prime;, for tuber number, &lsquo;BARI Alu-37&rsquo;, and for yield, &lsquo;BARI Alu-37&rsquo; and &lsquo;BARI Alu-79&rsquo; contributed complementary favorable alleles. The specific combining ability indicated &lsquo;BARI Alu-37&rsquo; &times; &lsquo;BARI Alu-86&rsquo; and &lsquo;BARI Alu-77&rsquo; &times; &lsquo;BARI Alu-72&rsquo; were the best potential hybrid families for the production of improved genotypes of tuber yield and tuber number. This study will help to design a breeding program following potato population development and the selection of progeny before their utilization as progenitors