Search
Search Results
-
Yield and fruit quality response to foliar application of biostimulants in an apple orchard
17-23.Views:603Nutrient supply plays an important role in fruit production technology. Among the methods of nutrient management, the application of foliar fertilization has become an essential tool to harmonize the vegetative and generative performance of fruit trees. This study was conducted to determine the effect of four foliar fertilizers (Bistep, brown juice, Trichoderma harzianum, Clonostachys rosea) on yield and fruit quality in an apple orchard with the cultivar ‘Pinova’, at the University of Debrecen in Hungary. Trees were trained to a slender spindle canopy with a spacing of 4 × 1 m. Treatments were applied five times during different phenological phases in 2021 and 2022. Based on our results, biostimulants had a positive effect on fruit yield and fruit quality, but extreme weather events also influenced the data. In 2021, the effect of the treatments on yield data could not be observed (10.1–13.5 kg/tree; 0.16–0.24 kg/cm²). However, in 2022, plants sprayed with Bistep, T. harzianum, and C. rosea reached 28.7–31.2 kg/tree (0.33–0.46 kg/cm²), while control trees produced only 19.8 kg/tree (0.20 kg/cm²). Fruit size development improved with an increase of 2–6 mm over the two years. Among the treatments, Bistep was able to enhance fruit surface coloration to a greater extent in 2021, as red skin color reached 44% for this foliar fertilizer, while control trees presented only 27%.
-
Phytobiome management in horticultural systems: beyond the rhizosphere toward whole-plant microbiome optimization
85-101.Views:150The plant microbiome is not confined to the soil. Across every anatomical compartment, the rhizosphere, phyllosphere, endosphere, anthosphere, spermosphere, and carposphere, structurally distinct and functionally specialized microbial communities orchestrate processes fundamental to plant health, productivity, and resilience. Yet horticultural science has remained disproportionately anchored to the rhizosphere, leaving the vast microbial landscape inhabiting aerial, floral, seed, and fruit tissues largely unexplored and unmanaged. This blind spot carries profound consequences at a time when global horticultural production confronts an unprecedented convergence of pressures: accelerating climate instability, stringent restrictions on synthetic agrochemicals, mounting soil degradation, and escalating consumer demand for sustainably produced, chemical-free, premium-quality produce. The biological potential embedded within the whole-plant phytobiome to address these intersecting crises remains critically underutilized. A fundamental barrier to progress is the absence of a unifying scientific framework. Existing reviews address plant-associated microbiomes in disciplinary silos, focusing narrowly on rhizosphere bacteria, individual crop species, or single microbial kingdoms, without synthesizing the full cross-compartment, cross-kingdom phytobiome in the horticultural context. No comprehensive framework has yet integrated microbial community dynamics spanning bacteria, fungi, archaea, and viruses across fruit, vegetable, and ornamental crops within a single, coherent, and practically applicable model. This review addresses that gap directly. Through critical synthesis of compartment-resolved phytobiome research across major horticultural systems, we characterize the taxonomic composition, ecological assembly drivers, and agronomic functional roles of microbial communities inhabiting each plant compartment. We demonstrate that phyllosphere microbiomes confer photoprotection and pathogen exclusion; endophytic communities directly modulate secondary metabolite profiles and systemic immunity; anthosphere microbiomes influence pollinator attraction and fruit set; spermosphere communities determine seedling establishment success through vertical microbial inheritance; and carposphere microbiomes govern post-harvest storability and food safety outcomes. We further establish how host genotype, crop developmental stage, management-induced dysbiosis, and climate-driven perturbations collectively shape phytobiome assembly and functional integrity across compartments. Building on this synthesis, proposing to introduce the Whole-Plant Phytobiome Optimization (WPPO) framework, the first integrative, three-tier conceptual model designed specifically for horticultural systems. WPPO encompasses whole-plant phytobiome profiling using multi-omics platforms, identification of functional microbial modules linked to target agronomic traits, and precision compartment-targeted intervention through synthetic microbial communities (SynComs), encapsulated biostimulants, and digitally guided delivery systems integrated with IoT sensor networks and machine learning decision-support tools. Applied across the full crop life cycle, from spermosphere conditioning at seed priming to carposphere biopreservation at post-harvest, WPPO offers a scalable, evidence-based, and technologically integrated roadmap toward substantially reduced agrochemical dependence, enhanced crop resilience, superior produce quality, and the deployment of ecologically precise next-generation biocontrol and biostimulant strategies.
-
Age-dependent physiological responses of Corchorus olitorius to aqueous extracts of Murraya koenigii and Tithonia rotundifolia
61-66.Views:141Sustainable crop production increasingly utilizes allelopathic plants as sources of bioactive compounds, yet their bimodal inhibitory–stimulatory effects and oxidative mechanisms require further elucidation. This study investigated the concentration-, tissue-, and stage-dependent effects of aqueous shoot extracts from Murraya koenigii and Tithonia rotundifolia on the germination, growth, and oxidative defense of Corchorus olitorius. Seed emergence and elongation of radicles and plumules were monitored in the laboratory using 50% and 100% aqueous extracts, while potted seedlings were treated separately with 100% extracts. Laboratory bioassays demonstrated a dose-dependent response: a 50% M. koenigii extract transiently increased germination by 4%, while higher concentrations of both species inhibited germination by 7–25%. Juvenile growth inhibition was tissue-specific, with 100% M. koenigii primarily suppressing plumule elongation and 100% T. rotundifolia significantly reducing radicle growth. Conversely, pot experiments using 100% extract concentrations of both plants significantly enhanced vegetative growth, physiological traits, and biochemical constituents, including protein and ascorbic acid. These extracts bolstered the antioxidant defense system—increasing superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase activities—while markedly reducing malondialdehyde levels. These findings provide evidence of allelopathic hormesis, where initial inhibitory effects transition into growth stimulation and oxidative stress mitigation during later developmental stages. The results suggest that M. koenigii and T. rotundifolia shoot extracts serve as effective eco-friendly biostimulants that improve crop performance by modulating antioxidant responses.
