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BerryPortraits (Phenotyping of Ripening Traits) is open source Python-based image-analysis software that rapidly detects and segments berries and extracts morphometric data on fruit quality traits such as berry color, size, shape, and uniformity. Utilizing the YOLOv8 framework and community-developed, actively-maintained Python libraries such as OpenCV, BerryPortraits software was trained on 512 postharvest images (taken under controlled lighting conditions) of phenotypically diverse cranberry populations (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) from the two largest public cranberry breeding programs in the U.S. The implementation of CIELAB, an intuitive and perceptually uniform color space, enables differentiation between berry color and berry brightness, which are confounded in classic RGB color channel measurements. Furthermore, computer vision enables precise and quantifiable color phenotyping, thus facilitating inclusion of researchers and data analysts with color vision deficiency. BerryPortraits is a phenotyping tool for researchers in plant breeding, plant genetics, horticulture, food science, plant physiology, plant pathology, and related fields. BerryPortraits has strong potential applications for other specialty crops such as blueberry, lingonberry, caneberry, grape, and more. As an open source phenotyping tool based on widely-used python libraries, BerryPortraits allows anyone to use, fork, modify, optimize, and embed this software into other tools or pipelines., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Background: Fruit appearance of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) is accession-specific and one of the main criteria for consumer choice. Consequently, fruit appearance is an important selection criterion in the breeding of new cultivars. It is also used for the description of older varieties or landraces. In commercial apple production, sorting devices are used to classify large numbers of fruit from a few cultivars. In contrast, the description of fruit from germplasm collections or breeding programs is based on only a few fruit from many accessions and is mostly performed visually by pomology experts. Such visual ratings are laborious, often difficult to compare and remain subjective., Results: Here we report on a morphometric device, the FruitPhenoBox, for automated fruit weighing and appearance description using computer-based analysis of five images per fruit. Recording of approximately 100 fruit from each of 15 apple cultivars using the FruitPhenoBox was rapid, with an average handling and recording time of less than eleven seconds per fruit. Comparison of fruit images from the 15 apple cultivars identified significant differences in shape index, fruit width, height and weight. Fruit shape was characteristic for each cultivar, while fruit color showed larger variation within sample sets. Assessing a subset of 20 randomly selected fruit per cultivar, fruit height, width and weight were described with a relative margin of error of 2.6%, 2.2%, and 6.2%, respectively, calculated from the mean value of all available fruit., Conclusions: The FruitPhenoBox allows for the rapid and consistent description of fruit appearance from individual apple accessions. By relating the relative margin of error for fruit width, height and weight description with different sample sizes, it was possible to determine an appropriate fruit sample size to efficiently and accurately describe the recorded traits. Therefore, the FruitPhenoBox is a useful tool for breeding and the description of apple germplasm collections., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The flowering plant family Annonaceae includes important commercially grown tropical crops, but development of promising species is hindered by a lack of genomic resources to build breeding programs. Annonaceae are part of the magnoliids, an ancient lineage of angiosperms for which evolutionary relationships with other major clades remain unclear. To provide resources to breeders and evolutionary researchers, we report a chromosome-level genome assembly of the soursop (Annona muricata). We assembled the genome using 444.32 Gb of DNA sequences (676× sequencing depth) from PacBio and Illumina short-reads, in combination with 10× Genomics and Bionano data (v1). A total of 949 scaffolds were assembled to a final size of 656.77 Mb, with a scaffold N50 of 3.43 Mb (v1), and then further improved to seven pseudo-chromosomes using Hi-C sequencing data (v2; scaffold N50: 93.2 Mb, total size in chromosomes: 639.6 Mb). Heterozygosity was very low (0.06%), while repeat sequences accounted for 54.87% of the genome, and 23,375 protein-coding genes with an average of 4.79 exons per gene were annotated using de novo, RNA-seq and homology-based approaches. Reconstruction of the historical population size showed a slow continuous contraction, probably related to Cenozoic climate changes. The soursop is the first genome assembled in Annonaceae, supporting further studies of floral evolution in magnoliids, providing an essential resource for delineating relationships of ancient angiosperm lineages. Both genome-assisted improvement and conservation efforts will be strengthened by the availability of the soursop genome. As a community resource, this assembly will further strengthen the role of Annonaceae as model species for research on the ecology, evolution and domestication potential of tropical species in pomology and agroforestry., (© 2021 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Resources published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Ancient apple cultivars usually have higher nutraceutical value than commercial ones, but in most cases their variability in pomological traits does not allow us to discriminate among them. Fruit of two Tuscany ancient apple cultivars, 'Casciana' and 'Rotella', picked from eight different orchards (four for each cultivar) were analyzed for their pomological traits, organoleptic qualities, polyphenolic profile and antiradical activity. The effectiveness of a polyphenol-based cluster analysis was compared to molecular markers (internal transcribed spacers, ITS1 and ITS2) to unequivocally discern the two apples. 'Casciana' and 'Rotella' fruit had a higher nutraceutical value than some commercial cultivars, in terms of phenolic abundance, profile and total antiradical activity. Although pedo-climatic conditions of different orchards influenced the phenolic profile of both apples, the polyphenolic discriminant analysis clearly separated the two cultivars, principally due to higher amounts of procyanidin B2, procyanidin B3 and p -coumaroylquinic acid in 'Casciana' than in 'Rotella' fruit. These three polyphenols can be used proficiently as biochemical markers for distinguishing the two apples when pomological traits cannot. Conversely, ITS1 and ITS2 polymorphism did not allow us to distinguish 'Casciana' from 'Rotella' fruit. Overall, the use of polyphenolic fingerprint might represent a valid tool to ensure the traceability of products with a high economic value.

Several fruit characteristics of five loquat (Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl.) cultivars/selections grown in Dörtyol, Hatay, Turkey were investigated in 2008. The cultivars/selections included 'Baduna 5', Güzelyurt 1, 'Hafif Cukurgöbek', 'Ottaviani,' and Type 1. The characteristics evaluated included fruit weight, width, length, seed number and weight, flesh/seed ratio, total soluble solids (TSS), pH, acidity, total phenolic (TP) content, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), determined by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The analyses were conducted by three replicates, with 30 fruits in each replicate. The results indicated that there were significant differences among the cultivars, for all the traits tested. For example, 'Hafif Cukurgöbek' and 'Ottaviani' had smaller fruits than others, although 'Hafif Cukurgöbek' had heavier seeds. The flesh/seed ratio was the highest in Type 1, while 'Hafif Cukurgöbek' had the highest pH and high soluble solids. 'Baduna 5' and 'Hafif Cukurgöbek' had the highest acidity. The TP ranged from 129 ('Baduna 5') to 578 ('Hafif Cukurgöbek') mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/kg fresh fruit (fw). 'Hafif Cukurgöbek' also had the highest FRAP mean (12.1 mmol Trolox Equivalent (TE)/kg fw). The results suggest that loquat cultivars have a variable range of TP content and a relatively high total antioxidant capacity, which is crucial for human health.