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Effect of packaging baby mustard into bags of different color under light exposure on its visual quality and the content of chlorophyll, carotenoids, and glucosinolates at 20°C was investigated. Packaging with seven color bags under light exposure prolonged the shelf life, especially green (GB), blue (BB), and transparent (TB) bags with holes, and their shelf life was 1.7, 1.6, and 1.6 times that of the control, respectively. The GB and BB treatments delayed the deterioration of the sensory quality in baby mustard during storage. The BB and TB treatments not only increased chlorophyll and carotenoids content in baby mustard during storage but also enhanced the accumulation of glucosinolates by inhibiting their degradation, especially the BB treatment. Overall, the results demonstrate that the BB treatment is a promising technique for maintaining the postharvest quality of baby mustard.

To study the development of starch granules in polyploid wheats, we investigated the expression of starch synthetic genes between the synthetic hexaploid wheat SHW-L1, its parents T. turgidum AS2255 and diploid Ae. tauschii AS60. The synthetic hexaploid wheat SHW-L1 showed significantly higher starch content and grain weight than its parents. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that SHW-L1 rapidly developed starch granules than AS2255 and AS60. The amount of B-type granule in AS60 was less than that in SHW-L1 and AS2255. RT-qPCR result showed that the starch synthetic genes AGPLSU1, AGPLSU2, AGPSSU1, AGPSSU2, GBSSI, SSIII, PHO1 and PHO2 expressed at earlier stages with larger quantity in SHW-L1 than in its parents during wheat grain development. The expression of the above mentioned genes in AS60 was slower than in SHW-L1 and AS2255. The expression pattern of starch synthase genes was also associated with the grain weight and starch content in all three genotypes. The results suggested that the synthetic hexaploid wheat inherited the pattern of starch granule development and starch synthase gene expression from tetraploid parent. The results suggest that tetraploid wheat could plays more important role for starch quality improvement in hexaploid wheat.

Grains of 12 accessions of Triticum timopheevii (Zhuk.) Zhuk. ssp. timopheevii (AAGG, 2n = 4x = 28) and one bread wheat cultivar Chinese Spring (CS) and one durum wheat cultivar Langdon (LDN) grown across two years were analyzed for grain iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) concentrations. All the 12 tested T. timopheevii ssp. timopheevii genotypes showed significantly higher concentration of grain Fe and Zn than CS and LDN. Aboundant genetic variability of both the Fe and Zn concentrations was observed among the T. timopheevii ssp. timopheevii accessions, averagely varied from 47.06 to 90.26 mg kg−1 and from 30.05 to 65.91 mg kg−1, respectively. Their grain Fe and Zn concentrations between years exhibited a significantly positive correlation with the correlation coefficients r = 0.895 and r = 0.891, respectively, indicating the highly genetic stability. Flag leaf possessed twice or three times higher concentrations for both Fe and Zn than grain, and a significantly high positive correlation appeared between the two ...

To test the feasibility of multi-rootstock grafting, bottle gourd and pumpkin were used as rootstocks in a comparative analysis of the effects of single, dual, and threefold rootstock grafting on the plant growth, fruit yield, and quality of watermelon. Results showed that different grafts have significant effects on the abovementioned properties. The appropriate dual/threefold rootstock grafting allowed for higher survival rates. The combined rootstock of bottle gourd and pumpkin can enhance the plant growth potential and lower the incidence of wilt. The single fruit weight of the grafted plants with a combined rootstock from bottle gourd and pumpkin was the median of the weights obtained with the pumpkin rootstock and the bottle gourd rootstock. The plot yield of grafted plants with a pumpkin rootstock was higher than that of the plants with a bottle gourd rootstock. The low soluble solids content of the fruit grafted with a pumpkin rootstock had relatively high acidity, which could be improved by adding bottle gourd to the rootstock. The vitamin C content of the grafted fruit from the combined bottle gourd and pumpkin rootstock was higher than that of plants grafted with either bottle gourd or pumpkin alone. The subsequent analysis showed that the combined rootstock of bottle gourd and pumpkin has significant or extremely significant interaction effects on the stem diameter, number of leaves, single fruit weight, plot yield, and fruit vitamin C content of the grafted watermelon plants, which probably led to the higher related index values of some of grafting combinations.