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Malus hybrid 'SH6' (M. honanensis × M. domestica)is a commonly used apple interstock in China, known for its excellent dwarfing characteristics and cold tolerance. In this study, a combined strategy utilizing PacBio HiFi, Hi-C and parental resequencing data were employed to assemble two haploid genomes for 'SH6'. After chromosome anchoring, the final hapH genome size was 596.63 Mb, with a contig N50 of 34.38 Mb. The hapR genome was 649.37 Mb, with a contig N50 of 36.84 Mb. Further analysis predicted that repeated sequences made up 59.69% and 62.52% of the entire genome, respectively. Gene annotations revealed 45,435 genes for hapH and 48,261 genes for hapR. Combined with genomic synteny we suggest that the hapR genome originates from its maternal parent M. domestica cv. Ralls Janet, while the hapH genome comes from its paternal parent, M. honanensis. The assembled genome significantly contributes to the discovery of genes associated with apple dwarfing and the molecular mechanisms governing them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple replant disease (ARD), caused by Fusarium pathogens, is a formidable threat to the renewal of apple varieties in China, necessitating the development of effective and sustainable control strategies. In this study, the bacterial strain BA-4 was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of healthy apple trees in a replanted orchard, demonstrating a broad-spectrum antifungal activity against five crucial apple fungal pathogens. Based on its morphology, physiological and biochemical traits, utilization of carbon sources, and Gram stain, strain BA-4 was tentatively identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA and gyrB genes conclusively identified BA-4 as B. amyloliquefaciens. In-depth investigations into B. amyloliquefaciens BA-4 revealed that the strain possesses the capacity to could secrete cell wall degrading enzymes (protease and cellulase), produce molecules analogous to indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and siderophores, and solubilize phosphorus and potassium. The diverse attributes observed in B. amyloliquefaciens BA-4 underscore its potential as a versatile microorganism with multifaceted benefits for both plant well-being and soil fertility. The extracellular metabolites produced by BA-4 displayed a robust inhibitory effect on Fusarium hyphal growth and spore germination, inducing irregular swelling, atrophy, and abnormal branching of fungal hyphae. In greenhouse experiments, BA-4 markedly reduced the disease index of Fusarium-related ARD, exhibiting protective and therapeutic efficiencies exceeding 80% and 50%, respectively. Moreover, BA-4 demonstrated plantpromoting abilities on both bean and Malus robusta Rehd. (MR) seedlings, leading to increased plant height and primary root length. Field experiments further validated the biocontrol effectiveness of BA-4, demonstrating its ability to mitigate ARD symptoms in MR seedlings with a notable 33.34% reduction in mortality rate and improved biomass. Additionally, BA-4 demonstrates robust and stable colonization capabilities in apple rhizosphere soil, particularly within the 10-20 cm soil layer, which indicates that it has long-term effectiveness potential in field conditions. Overall, B. amyloliquefaciens BA-4 emerges as a promising biocontrol agent with broad-spectrum antagonistic capabilities, positive effects on plant growth, and strong colonization abilities for the sustainable management of ARD in apple cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple (Malus Mill.) is one of the most important fruits in China, and it boasts the world's largest cultivation area and yield. It needs to be grafted onto rootstocks to maintain a variety of characteristics. China has many apple rootstock resources that exhibit high resistance and strong adaptability; for these reasons, they are highly suited to China's complex and diverse natural environment. In China, apple rootstock breeding began in the 1970s, and now, several rootstocks, such as the 'GM256' and 'SH' series, are widely used. However, domestic rootstock resources and varieties are difficult to root. This affects the selection, utilization, and promotion of apple rootstocks. Cutting is an important method of rooting for apple rootstocks. This study discusses the main factors that affect rooting in rootstock cutting propagation; it also summarizes the rooting ability of different apple rootstocks and presents analyses of the demand for rootstocks in the major areas of apple production in China. We present the apple rootstock resources that are suitable for the soil and climate conditions of this production. We also call for research on the cutting roots of these specific apple rootstock resources to be expanded and strengthened. It is hoped that cutting rootstocks suitable for major areas of apple production may be more easily screened and bred successfully in China in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the relationship between prudence in risk attitudes and patience of time preference of Chinese apple growers regarding off-farm cold storage of production and marketing in non-harvest seasons. The authors also consider the effect of farmer participation in cooperative-like organizations known as Farm Bases (FBs). Design/methodology/approach: The authors use multiple list methods and elicitation strategies to measure Chinese apple farmers' risk attitudes and time preferences. Because these farmers can either sell their apples immediately to supermarkets or intermediaries or place them in storage, the authors assess correlations between their storage decisions and their preferences regarding risk and time. The authors also differentiate risks involving gains and losses and empirically examine individual risk attitudes in different scenarios. Findings: Marketing decisions are moderately associated with risk attitudes but not time preference. Farmers with memberships in local farmer cooperatives are likely to speculate more in cold storage. Thus, risk aversion behavioral and psychological motives affect farmers' decision-making of cold storage and intertemporal marketing activities. However, membership in cooperatives does not always result in improved income and welfare for farmers. Research limitations/implications: The research confirms that behavioral factors may strongly drive vulnerable smallholder farmers to speculate into storage even under seasonal and uncertain marketing volatility. There is the need to think deeper about the rationale of promoting cooperatives and other agricultural forms, because imposing these without careful consideration can have negative impacts. Originality/value: Do risk and time preferences affect the decision of farmers to utilize storage facilities? This question is important because it is not clear if and how risk preferences affect the tradeoff between consuming today and saving for tomorrow, especially for farmers in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The large amphibious freshwater apple snail is an important invasive species in China, but there is currently no method available for their surveillance. The development and popularization of smartphones provide a new platform for research on surveillance technologies for the early detection and effective control of invasive species. Methods: The ASI surveillance system was developed based on the infrastructure of the WeChat platform and Amap. The user can directly enter the game interface through the WeChat port on their mobile phone, and the system automatically obtains their location. The user can then report the location of apple snails. The administrator can audit the reported information, and all information can be exported to Microsoft Excel version 2016 for analysis. The map was generated by ArcGIS 10.2 and was used to characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of apple snails in Jiangsu Province. Results: The architecture of ASI consists of three parts: a mobile terminal, a server terminal and a desktop terminal. We published more than 10 tweets on the official WeChat account of the system to announce it to the public, and a total of 207 users in 2020 and 2021 correctly reported sightings of apple snails. We identified 550 apple snails breeding sites in 2020 and 2021, featuring ponds (81%), parks (17%) and farmland (2%). In addition, most of the locations contained snail eggs, and the reporting times mainly occurred between May and September. Conclusions: The ASI is an effective surveillance system that can be used to identify the breeding locations of apple snails and provides the basis of prevention and control for its dispersal. Its successful development and operation provide new potential avenues for surveillance of other public health issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the labor intensity and improve the efficiency of pruning, this study designed a multi-section luffing apple pruning equipment suitable for apple orchards in hilly and mountainous areas of China. In the essay, the structure and working principle of the equipment are expounded, the cutter was analyzed, and the parameters were determined. Using the self-made test bench to simulate the field experiment, this study selected the ratio of cutting speed to feeding speed and feeding speed as the influencing factors and took the cut-off rate, cutting efficiency and cutting power as the objectives to carry out single factor experiment and quadratic regression orthogonal experiment. The test results show that the cutting power increases with the increase of ratio of cutting speed to feeding speed, and the cut-off rate and cutting efficiency first increase and then decrease. As the feeding speed increases, the cutting efficiency and power increase, and the cut-off rate decreases. When the cutoff rate was greater than 80%, the optimal combination of operating parameters was the feeding speed of 0.55 m/s and ratio of cutting speed to feeding speed of 1.29. Under this combination, the cut-off rate was 84.9%, the cutting efficiency was 13.1, and the cutting power was 175.7 W. The error between the predicted target value of the model and the average measured target value was less than 7%, so the test results are reliable. According to the obtained optimal operating parameters, the actual cutting experiment of the pruning equipment in the field was carried out, and the cutting rate was 96.3%, which meet the design requirements. This study can also meet the needs of mechanized pruning of fruit trees with different crown shapes, improve the applicability of pruning equipment, and provide support for the development of mechanized pruning equipment in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For molecular breeding of future apples, wild apple (Malus sieversii), the primary progenitor of domesticated apples, provides abundant genetic diversity and disease-resistance traits. Valsa canker (caused by the fungal pathogen Valsa mali) poses a major threat to wild apple population as well as to cultivated apple production in China. In the present study, we developed an efficient system for screening disease-resistant genes of M. sieversii in response to V. mali. An optimal agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation of M. sieversii was first used to manipulate in situ the expression of candidate genes. After that, the pathogen V. mali was inoculated on transformed leaves and stems, and 3 additional methods for slower disease courses were developed for V. mali inoculation. To identify the resistant genes, a series of experiments were performed including morphological (incidence, lesion area/length, fungal biomass), physiological (H2O2 content, malondialdehyde content), and molecular (Real-time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction) approaches. Using the optimized system, we identified two transcription factors with high resistance to V. mali, MsbHLH41 and MsEIL3. Furthermore, 35 and 45 downstream genes of MsbHLH41 and MsEIL3 were identified by screening the V. mali response gene database in M. sieversii, respectively. Overall, these results indicate that the disease-resistant gene screening system has a wide range of applications for identifying resistant genes and exploring their immune regulatory networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Valsa mali causes Valsa canker, one of the most destructive diseases on apple trees, leading to severe losses for the apple industry in China. Considering the development of fungicide resistance and the harmful effects of chemical residues, it is urgent to identify alternatives to control this disease. Trans‐cinnamic acid (t‐CA), a compound with good antibacterial, antitumour and anti‐inflammatory properties, is widely used in food, medicine and other industries. However, the antifungal activity of t‐CA against V. mali and its regulatory role in apple defence against biotic stresses are unclear. Based on a metabolomic assay, we found that Malus yunnaensis (Valsa canker‐resistant) twigs infected with V. mali dramatically accumulated t‐CA. Exogenous application of t‐CA effectively inhibited V. mali growth on potato dextrose agar. The EC50 value of t‐CA inhibiting mycelial growth was 200 μg/mL. Malus prunifolia (Valsa canker‐susceptible) leaves and twigs pretreated with t‐CA had significantly enhanced V. mali resistance. The t‐CA application increased salicylic acid but reduced jasmonic acid levels in leaves and twigs. Moreover, the contents of phenolic acids and flavonoids increased in t‐CA‐treated samples. In addition, t‐CA increased the activities of phenylalanine ammonia‐lyase, β‐1,3‐glucanase and chitinase. These results indicate that t‐CA plays a significant role in inhibiting V. mali growth and priming apple defence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted at the Taidong Base of Shandong Institute of Pomology, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, China, from May to October 2022. Using Fuji Apple Tianhong.2/SH/Malus robusta (M. robusta) as experimental materials, the differences and mechanisms of the effects of non-bagging and bagging cultivation on the growth and changes in some substance content of Fuji apple fruits were studied. The results showed that compared with bagging, non-bagging cultivation increased single fruit weight and decreased fruit shape index, increased fruit sugar content, reduced acid content, and increased taste. It increased the content of vitamin C (VC) and protein in the fruit, increased the types and content of aromatic components in the fruit, significantly increased the activity of sugar- and acid-related enzymes, and improved the antioxidant capacity of the fruit. Compared to bagging cultivation, non-bagging cultivation improved the weight, taste (sugar acid ratio), and aroma of Fuji fruit, which is related to increasing the content of auxin (IAA), cytokinin (ZR), and salicylic acid (SA) and reducing the content of abscisic acid (ABA) in the fruit, as well as increasing the content of medium and trace elements calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), manganese (Mg), and boron (B). One of the mechanisms involved is the significant increase in gene expression related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, pentose and glucuronate interconversion, starch and sucrose metabolism, zeatin biosynthesis, microtubules, motor proteins microtubule movement, xyloglucan metabolic process, cell division, and peroxidase activity. In short, non-bagging cultivation is more conducive to improving the intrinsic quality and flavor development of Fuji apples, and one of the mechanisms is that non-bagging cultivation is beneficial for increasing the expression of related genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the standardized apple orchards in China, which are mainly dwarfed and densely planted, firstly, according to the spatial distribution characteristics of fruits within the tree canopy, a clamping-pull-off apple picking robot was developed by analyzing the parameters of apple cultivation and picking methods, in order to replace the manual harvesting operation. Then, the Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) method was used to establish the kinematic Equations of the apple-picking robot, the forward and inverse kinematic calculations were carried out, and the Monte Carlo method was used to analyze the workspace of the robot. Through the robot picking task planning and the simulation of the trajectory of the robotic arm, the scheme of the robot's picking strategy was given, and MATLAB software was applied to simulate the motion trajectory as well as to verify the feasibility of the trajectory planning scheme and the picking strategy. Finally, an apple-picking test bed was set up, the corresponding picking control system program was designed, and 45 apples were selected for picking tests. The results showed that during the robot's picking process, the average time for picking each fruit was 7.59 seconds, the fruit recognition success rate was 86.67%, and the picking damage rate was 5.13%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orchard grass cultivation management is an effective measure to safeguard the sustainable development of the fruit industry in China. However, details of the influence of natural sod culture management on carbon (C)–nitrogen (N) nutrition of trees and fruit quality in Hanfu apple orchards are lacking. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted, which consisted of two treatments: clean tillage (CT) and natural grass cultivation (NG). Results revealed that NG treatment contributed to the increases in soil organic matter (SOM), total N, and soil NH4+-N at depths of 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm, while the soil NO3−-N concentration under NG treatment was significantly decreased at the same depth, within the range of 0–200 cm of the soil profile, compared with CT. NG treatment also significantly promoted leaf photosynthesis and enhanced leaf N and fruit sugar metabolism. The results of isotope labeling showed that NG treatment obviously elevated the 13C accumulation and distribution rate in fruits, as well as the 15N accumulation in the whole tree, whereas the 15N accumulation in fruits decreased. Furthermore, NG treatment significantly increased the fruit anthocyanin content. These results provide theoretical references for the feasibility of natural sod culture management to improve fruit quality in Hanfu apple orchards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple is an important cash crop in China, and the prediction of its freshness can effectively reduce its storage risk and avoid economic loss. The change in the concentration of odor information such as ethylene, carbon dioxide, and ethanol emitted during apple storage is an important feature to characterize the freshness of apples. In order to accurately predict the freshness level of apples, an electronic nose system based on a gas sensor array and wireless transmission module is designed, and a neural network prediction model using an improved Sparrow Search Algorithm (SSA) based on chaotic sequence (Tent) to optimize Back Propagation (BP) is proposed. The odor information emitted by apples is studied to complete an apple freshness prediction. Furthermore, by fitting the relationship between the prediction coefficient and the input vector, the accuracy benchmark of the prediction model is set, which further improves the prediction accuracy of apple odor information. Compared with the traditional prediction method, the system has the characteristics of simple operation, low cost, reliable results, mobile portability, and it avoids the damage to apples in the process of freshness prediction to realize non-destructive testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of dwarf stock with good cold resistance has affected the production of apples in northern China. Annual dormant branches of 'Tianhong 2' apple were grafted on 10 different dwarf interstocks (the rootstocks were the seedlings of Malus hupehensis var. Pingyiensis) as test materials. Among these 10 interstocks, Huang 6, 244, NO.1, 53, 24-5, ZC9-3, Jizhen 1 were newly developed by us (Apple Research Group of Hebei Agricultural University), and three interstocks with different degrees of cold resistance (GM256–with strongest cold resistance, SH40–with stronger cold resistance, M9–with poor cold resistance) were used as controls. The semi-lethal temperature (LT50) and related physiological indexes of the branches in the overwintering process were studied. Based on the comprehensive physiological indexes, the effects of 10 interstocks on cold resistance of the 'Tianhong 2' apple were analyzed. The results showed that the effects of 10 kinds of interstocks on the cold resistance of 'Tianhong 2' apple were quite different. The order of effects on cold resistance from strong to weak was as follow: GM256 > Huang 6 > 244 >NO.1> 53 > 24-5 > ZC9-3 >Jizhen 1 > SH40 > M9. The purpose of this study was to screen out the interstocks with strong cold resistance, in order to provide some basis for the selection and utilization of interstocks with strong cold resistance in apple cultivation to further promote the development of the apple industry in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) is one of the most cultivated fruit crops in China. Apple trees frequently encounter waterlogging stress, mainly due to excess rainfall, soil compaction, or poor soil drainage, results in yellowing leaves and declined fruit quality and yield in some regions. However, the mechanism underlying the response to waterlogging has not been well elucidated. Therefore, we performed a physiological and transcriptomic analysis to examine the differential responses of two apple rootstocks (waterlogging-tolerant M. hupehensis and waterlogging-sensitive M. toringoides) to waterlogging stress. The results showed that M. toringoides displayed more severe leaf chlorosis during the waterlogging treatment than M. hupehensis. Compared with M. hupehensis, the more severe leaf chlorosis induced by waterlogging stress in M. toringoides was highly correlated with increased electrolyte leakage and superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide accumulation, and increased stomata closure. Interestingly, M. toringoides also conveyed a higher ethylene production under waterlogging stress. Furthermore, RNA-seq revealed that a total of 13,913 common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were differentially regulated between M. hupehensis and M. toringoides under waterlogging stress, especially those DEGs involved in the biosynthesis of flavonoids and hormone signaling. This suggests a possible link of flavonoids and hormone signaling to waterlogging tolerance. Taken together, our data provide the targeted genes for further investigation of the functions, as well as for future molecular breeding of waterlogging-tolerant apple rootstocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wild apple (Malus sieversii) is under second-class national protection in China and one of the lineal ancestors of cultivated apples worldwide. In recent decades, the natural habitation area of wild apple trees has been seriously declining, resulting in a lack of saplings and difficulty in population regeneration. Artificial near-natural breeding is crucial for protecting and restoring wild apple populations, and adding nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) is one of the important measures to improve the growth performance of saplings. In this study, field experiments using N (CK, N1, N2, and N3: 0, 10, 20, and 40 g m− 2 yr− 1, respectively), P (CK, P1, P2, and P3: 0, 2, 4, and 8 g m− 2 yr− 1, respectively), N20Px (CK, N2P1, N2P2, and N2P3: N20P2, N20P4 and N20P8 g m− 2 yr− 1, respectively), and NxP4 (CK, N1P2, N2P2, and N3P2: N10P4, N20P4, and N40P4 g m− 2 yr− 1, respectively) treatments (totaling 12 levels, including one CK) were conducted in four consecutive years. The twig traits (including four current-year stem, 10 leaf, and three ratio traits) and comprehensive growth performance of wild apple saplings were analyzed under different nutrient treatments. Results: N addition had a significantly positive effect on stem length, basal diameter, leaf area, and leaf dry mass, whereas P addition had a significantly positive effect on stem length and basal diameter only. The combination of N and P (NxP4 and N20Px) treatments evidently promoted stem growth at moderate concentrations; however, the N20Px treatment showed a markedly negative effect at low concentrations and a positive effect at moderate and high concentrations. The ratio traits (leaf intensity, leaf area ratio, and leaf to stem mass ratio) decreased with the increase in nutrient concentration under each treatment. In the plant trait network, basal diameter, stem mass, and twig mass were tightly connected to other traits after nutrient treatments, indicating that stem traits play an important role in twig growth. The membership function revealed that the greatest comprehensive growth performance of saplings was achieved after N addition alone, followed by that under the NxP4 treatment (except for N40P4). Conclusions: Consequently, artificial nutrient treatments for four years significantly but differentially altered the growth status of wild apple saplings, and the use of appropriate N fertilizer promoted sapling growth. These results can provide scientific basis for the conservation and management of wild apple populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the most important transcription factors in plants, the v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog (MYB) regulates the expression network of response genes under stresses such as fungal infection. In China, the canker disease Valsa mali threatens the survival of Malus sieversii, an ancestor of cultivated apples. Using the M. sieversii genome, we identified 457 MsMYB and 128 R2R3-MsMYB genes that were randomly distributed across 17 chromosomes. Based on protein sequence and structure, the R2R3-MsMYB genes were phylogenetically divided into 29 categories, and 26 conserved motifs were identified. We further predicted cis-elements in the 2000-kb promoter region of R2R3-MsMYBs based on the genome. Transcriptome analysis of M. sieversii under V. mali infection showed that 27 R2R3-MsMYBs were significantly differentially expressed, indicating their key role in the response to V. mali infection. Using transient transformation, MsMYB14, MsMYB24, MsMYB39, MsMYB78, and MsMYB108, which were strongly induced by V. mali infection, were functionally identified. Among the five MsMYBs, MsMYB14 and MsMYB78 were both important in enhancing resistance to diseases, whereas MsMYB24 inhibited resistance. Based on the results of this study, we gained a better understanding of the MsMYB transcription factor family and laid the foundation for a future research program on disease prevention strategies in M. sieversii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinization–alkalization is a major hindrance to agricultural development globally. Tea crabapple is widely used in China. However, little remains known regarding the molecular mechanisms used to withstand mixed saline–alkali stress (MSAS). Herein, we exposed tea crabapple seedlings to MSAS, and RNA-seq was performed for the transcriptome analysis of roots. Between 43.26 million and 43.37 million clean reads were thus obtained. In comparison with the control group (day 0), 2931, 2335, and 3746 genes were differentially expressed at day 1, day 3, and day 6 of MSAS exposure, respectively, and 1022 genes were common in the three comparison groups. On functional annotation, we observed that numerous differentially expressed genes were involved in "global and overview maps"; "carbohydrate metabolism"; "folding, sorting, and degradation"; "biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites"; "environmental adaptation"; and "signal transduction." Heat shock proteins, cytochrome P450s, disease-resistant proteins, non-specific lipid-transfer proteins, pectate lyase, and beta-glucosidases were also induced in response to MSAS, in addition to nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium absorption and metabolism-related genes. Transcription factor-coding genes appear to regulate the response of tea crabapple roots to MSAS by participating in, for example, plant hormone signal transduction and heat shock response. We also performed quantitative real-time PCR to validate the expression of six differentially expressed genes. Our findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms used by tea crabapple to cope with MSAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of wet brewers grains (WBG) on fermentation quality, chemical composition and in vitro ruminal digestibility of mixed silages prepared with corn stalk, dried apple pomace and sweet potato peel were evaluated. A mixture of corn stalk, sweet potato peel and dried apple pomace (50/30/20) was ensiled with 0, 10%, 20% and 30% WBG on a fresh weight (FW) basis for 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 30 days respectively. The results showed that the application of WBG increased (p < 0.05) lactic acid, acetic acid and total volatile fatty acids contents, and decreased (p < 0.05) pH, dry matter, water‐soluble carbohydrates content and ammonia‐nitrogen/total nitrogen during ensiling. The pH in all silages was below 4.03 during ensiling. Treating with WBG increased (p < 0.05) crude protein content, and decreased (p < 0.05) neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, cellulose and hemicellulose content after 30 days of ensiling. After 72 h of incubation, cumulative gas production, potential gas production and in vitro crude protein digestibility increased (p < 0.05) with the increasing proportions of WBG. However, in vitro digestibility of dry matter and neutral detergent fibre, and metabolisable energy were similar in all silages. The 20% and 30% WBG‐treated silages showed better fermentation quality and greater or higher in vitro digestibility, which were indicated by greater or higher (p < 0.05) lactic acid content, in vitro crude protein digestibility, and lower (p < 0.05) pH, ammonia‐nitrogen/total nitrogen ratio as compared with the control. Therefore, ensiling agro‐food by‐products with at least 20% WBG were recommended for improving fermentation quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information attributes characterize traceable agri-food. The perceived value of information attributes influences consumers' preferences for traceable agri-food, consisting of two dimensions, predictive value and confidence value. We examine heterogeneous preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) in China's traceable agri-food market. Using the choice experiments, we explore how the traceability information, certification type, region of origin, and price influence Chinese consumers' Fuji apple choices. We identify three consumer classes by a latent class model: certification-oriented class (65.8%), price-sensitive and origin-oriented class (15.0%), and no-buy class (19.2%). The results show that consumer sociodemographic characteristics, predictive value, and confidence value are the heterogeneous sources that determine their preferences for Fuji apple information attributes. Specifically, consumers' age, family income per month, and whether the family has children under 18 significantly impact the membership probability of consumers in both certification-oriented and price-sensitive and origin-oriented classes. Consumers' predicted value and confidence value significantly impact the membership probability of consumers in the certification-oriented class. In contrast, consumers' predicted value and confidence value have no significant impact on the membership probability of consumers in price-sensitive and origin-oriented class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanization and intelligentization of the production process are the main trends in research and development of agricultural products. The realization of an unmanned and automated picking process is also one of the main research hotspots in China's agricultural product engineering technology field in recent years. The development of automated apple-picking robot is directly related to imaging research, and its key technology is to use algorithms to realize apple identification and positioning. Aiming at the problem of false detection and missed detection of densely occluded targets and small targets by apple picking robots under different lighting conditions, two different apple recognition algorithms are selected based on the apple shape features to study the traditional machine learning algorithm: histogram of oriented gradients + support vector machine (HOG + SVM) and a fast recognition method for multiple apple targets in a complex occlusion environment based on improved You-Only-Look-Once-v5 (YOLOv5). The first is the improvement of the CSP structure in the network. Using parameter reconstruction, the convolutional layer (Conv) and the batch normalization (BN) layer in the CBL (Conv + BN + Leaky_relu activation function) module are fused into a batch-normalized convolutional layer Conv_B. Subsequently, the CA (coordinate attention) mechanism module is embedded into different network layers in the improved designed backbone network to enhance the expressive ability of the features in the backbone network to better extract the features of different apple targets. Finally, for some targets with overlapping occlusions, the loss function is fine-tuned to improve the model's ability to recognize occluded targets. By comparing the recognition effects of HOG + SVM, Faster RCNN, YOLOv6, and baseline YOLOv5 on the test set under complex occlusion scenarios, the F 1 value of this method was increased by 13.47%, 6.01%, 1.26%, and 3.63%, respectively, and the F 1 value of this method was increased by 19.36%, 13.07%, 1.61%, and 4.27%, respectively, under different illumination angles. The average image recognition time was 0.27 s faster than that of HOG + SVM, 0.229 s faster than that of Faster RCNN, and 0.006 s faster than that of YOLOv6. The method is expected to provide a theoretical basis for apple-picking robots to choose a pertinent image recognition algorithm during operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malus sieversii (Ldb.) Roem. is the original species of modern cultivated apple and a key national essential conservation plant in China. In recent years, degradation and death of wild apple has been exacerbated by imbalances in the rhizosphere micro-ecosystems of wild apple forests due to soil nutrient loss, grazing, climate change and pest and disease outbreaks. However, the structure, diversity and response to environmental factors of wild apple rhizosphere microbial communities are so far unclear. In this study, the rhizosphere bacterial and eukaryotic communities of M. sieversii (Ldb.) Roem. in eight regions of the Yili River were analyzed using 16S/18S rDNA high-throughput sequencing technology. The results indicated that the bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs), Shannon index, and community composition were significantly lower in regions A, E, and F than in other regions. By contrast, the dominant eukaryotic communities in all regions were relatively similar in composition and differed less than the relative abundance of bacterial communities. Geographical and climatic distance were found to be key factors influencing the composition and diversity of wild apple rhizosphere microbial communities through mantel analysis. Moreover, these factors above were more correlated with bacterial diversity than with eukaryotes. This study identified the structure of wild apple rhizosphere microbial communities in Xinjiang and their interaction mechanisms under geographical and environmental gradients. It provides guidance for the sustainable management and ecological construction of wild apple forests in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the impact of different meteorological conditions on apple yield and predicting the future yield in Yantai City is essential for production. Furthermore, it provides a scientific basis for the increase in apple yield. In this study, first, a grey relational analysis (GRA) was used to determine the quantitative relationship between different meteorological factors and meteorological yield which is defined as affected only by meteorological conditions. Then, the comprehensive meteorological factors extracted by a principal component analysis (PCA) were used as inputs for multiple linear regression (MLR). The apple yield accuracy was compared with the lasso regression prediction. Trend analysis showed that the actual apple yield increased annually, but the meteorological yield decreased annually over a long time. Correlation ranking illustrated that the meteorological yield was significantly correlated with the frost-free period, the annual mean temperature, the accumulated temperature above 10 °C, etc. The good consistency between GRA and MLR–PCA showed that the accumulated temperature above 10 °C, the March–October mean temperature, and the June–August mean temperature are key meteorological factors. In addition, it was found that the principal components F 2 ,   F 4 , and F 5 were negatively correlated with meteorological yield, while the principal components F 1 and F 3 were positively correlated with meteorological yield. Moreover, the MLR–PCA model predicted the apple yield in 2020 as 47.256 t·ha−1 with a 7.089% relative error. This work demonstrates that the principal component regression model can effectively extract information about different meteorological factors and improve the model's accuracy for analyzing key meteorological factors and predicting apple yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apples are a major horticultural crop worldwide. Grafting techniques are widely utilized in apple production to keep the varieties pure. Interstocks are frequently used in Northern China to achieve intensive apple dwarfing cultivation. High-throughput sequencing was used to investigate differentially expressed genes in the phloem tissues of two different xenograft systems, M ('Gala'/'Mac 9'/Malus baccata (L.) Borkh.) and B ('Gala'/Malus baccata (L.) Borkh.). The results showed that dwarfing interstocks could significantly reduce the height and diameters of apple trees while have few effects on the growth of annual branches. The interstocks were found to regulate the expression of genes related to hormone metabolism and tree body control (GH3.9, PIN1, CKI1, ARP1, GA2ox1 and GA20ox1), these effects may attribute the dwarf characters for apple trees with interstocks. Besides, the interstocks reduce photosynthesis-related genes (MADH-ME4 and GAPC), promote carbon (C) metabolism gene expression (AATP1, GDH and PFK3), promote the expression of nitrogen (N)-metabolism-related genes (NRT2.7, NADH and GDH) in rootstocks, and improve the expression of genes related to secondary metabolism in scions (DX5, FPS1, TPS21 and SRG1). We also concluded that the interstocks acquired early blooming traits due to promotion of the expression of flowering genes in the scion (MOF1, FTIP7, AGL12 and AGL24). This study is a valuable resource regarding the molecular mechanisms of dwarf interstocks' influence on various biological processes and transplantation systems in both scions and rootstocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testing equipment is still lacking on the fruits post-production, particularly in a major fruit consuming of China. The current online device cannot fully meet to collect the full surface image information of spherical fruits, leading fail to accurately calculate the defect area. This study aims to rapidly and accurately detect the surface defect area of spherical fruits. The full surface image synthesis and defect area correction were proposed using the ideal ball model. A series of online detection and grading device were designed for the external quality of spherical fruits. This device was also different from the traditional full-surface detection device. Specifically, four cameras were used to collect images at the same time to obtain the full surface images of spherical fruits. The collected images were used to synthesize and correct, in order to obtain more accurate values of the surface defect area. Taking the apple as an example, an online detection device was designed to explore the best excitation light source required for the apple image acquisition. The refraction effect was then evaluated to clarify the influence on the fruit cup material. Then, the ball model was established to accurately calculate the surface defect area of apples using the apple full surface image synthesis and the defect area correction. A series of experiments were carried out to verify after segmentation and synthesis of the apple surface image, indicating no missing rate in the overall images. A defect area correction was proposed to calculate the real area of apple defects at any position in the image. 120 samples were selected for verification, including 30 scratch samples, 30 bruise samples, 30 spot samples, and 30 surface corruption samples, respectively. The determination coefficient (R 2 ) was 0.978 7 between the predicted and the real value of the scratch sample defect area, where the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) was 3.577 4 mm2, R 2 was 0.975 8 in the deflection angle experiment, and the RMSE was 3.466 3 mm2 . The R2 was 0.973 0 between the predicted and the real value for the defect area of the impact sample, where the RMSE was 3.9819 mm2, the R 2 was 0.974 2 in the deflection angle experiment, and the RMSE was 4.062 4 mm2 . The R 2 was 0.970 8 between the predicted and real value for the defect area of the speckled spot sample, where the RMSE was 3.836 6 mm2, and the R 2 was 0.977 9 in the deflection angle experiment, the RMSE was 3.895 3 mm2 . In the surface corruption sample defect area, the R 2 was 0.981 2 between the predicted and real values, the RMSE was 3.178 1 mm2, whereas, the R 2 was 0.974 8 in the deflection angle experiment, and the RMSE was 6.304 4 mm2 . The detection speed of the device was 2 apples/s, the rating accuracy was 95%, indicating a higher detection and apple rating accuracy than before. The relatively stable running was realized for the detection and grading evaluation of external defects of apples. The finding can provide technical support for the external quality detection of spherical fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important cash crop in China, apple has a good flavor and is rich in nutrients. Fungal attacks have become a major obstacle in apple cultivation. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is one of the most devastating fungal pathogens in apple. Thus, discovering resistance genes in response to C. gloeosporioides may aid in designing safer control strategies and facilitate the development of apple resistance breeding. A previous study reported that 'Hanfu' autotetraploid apple displayed higher C. gloeosporioides resistance than 'Hanfu' apple, and the expression level of mdm-MIR390b was significantly upregulated in autotetraploid plants compared to that in 'Hanfu' plants, as demonstrated by digital gene expression (DGE) analysis. It is still unclear, however, whether mdm-MIR390b regulates apple anthracnose resistance. Apple MIR390b was transformed into apple 'GL-3′ plants to identify the functions of mdm-MIR390b in anthracnose resistance. C. gloeosporioides treatment analysis indicated that the overexpression of mdm-MIR390b reduced fungal damage to apple leaves and fruit. Physiology analysis showed that mdm-MIR390b increased C. gloeosporioides resistance by improving superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activity to alleviate the damage caused by O2− and H2O2. Our results demonstrate that mdm-MIR390b can improve apple plants' anthracnose resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Highter genetic diversity was observed in Malus landraces and genetic differentiation of them in China mainly occurred within their respective populations. • Population structure and PCoA results showed that Malus domestica subsp. chinensis, Malus asiatica and Malus prunifolia may be derived from similar genetic sources. • The 216 germplasms were divided into five groups based on Nei's genetic distance, and the cluster analysis results were correlated with the geographical distribution of the accessions to some degree. • BIO4 (Temperature seasonality) was the greatest factor influencing the distribution of Malus landraces, and the suitable habitat area of Malus landraces under the current climate situation accounted for 33.40 % of the total area of China. • With climate change, the distribution of Malus landraces showed a tendency to move to higher latitudes and the total potential distribution area was projected to grow. China is the largest center of genetic diversity of apple (Malus Mill.), with rich germplasm resources. In the process of evolution and domestication, a large number of apple landraces appeared, and they played a very important role before the introduction of modern cultivated apple varieties to China. However, the habitat of Malus landraces is under serious threat. In this study, 19 pairs of polymorphic simple sequence repeat primers were used to analyze the genetic structure and genetic relationships of Malus landraces and the potential distribution was predicted according to eight environmental variables using MaxEnt modeling. The results showed that the genetic variation of Malus landraces was high (Ho = 0.728 and He = 0.884), and the genetic differentiation was mainly distributed within respective populations and with almost no differentiation among populations. The five population groups were ranked, from highest genetic diversity level to lowest, as follows: Malus domestica subsp. c hinensis > Malus prunifolia > Malus robusta > Malus asiatica > Malus micromalus. The 216 germplasms were divided into five groups based on Nei's genetic distance, whereas the Bayesian structure analysis categorized them into two groups. Population structure and principal coordinate analyses showed that Malus domestica subsp. chinensis, Malus asiatica and Malus prunifolia may be derived from similar genetic sources. In the modeling analysis, the cumulative contribution of temperature to the distribution of Malus landraces in suitable growth areas reached 66.1 %, and BIO4 (temperature seasonality) was identified as the major factor influencing the distribution of Malus landraces. Under four future emission scenarios, the potential distribution range of Malus landraces basically unchanged, but the total potential distribution area is projected to grow greatly over time and will tend to shift to higher latitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Agroforestry has been advocated as a climate-smart agricultural approach to counter extreme climate and as an important sustainable intensification practice to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, its efficacy remains under dispute in drylands where resources, especially water, are limited. Aim and methods: This study aimed to study how annual bioenergy crops, soybean (Glycine max) and canola (Brassica rapa), influence soil water availability and fine root distribution in a young apple orchard exposed to varying to drought intensity on the semiarid Loess Plateau of China. Drought was simulated by reducing natural precipitation by 15% (moderate drought) and 25% (severe drought). Result and conclusions: Intercropping soybean and canola increased the fine root biomass (FRB) of apple trees in the 80–180 cm soil layer, improved moisture status below the 80 cm soil layer in the wet season, and promoted apple tree growth. Under moderate drought, FRB in the 0–80 cm soil layer increased, making use of the shallow soil water replenished by precipitation. However, the trees switched to absorbing soil water in the 80–180 cm in the dry season. Under severe drought, the apple trees increased FRB in the 0–80 cm and 180–280 cm soil layers and increased the proportion of the total roots in the 180–280 cm layer, aggravating the deep soil desiccation and inhibiting apple tree growth. These findings offer insights into drought effects on root plasticity and soil management practices in rainfed orchards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In apple cultivation, dwarf rootstocks are chosen for dense planting and intensive cultivation, which is beneficial to production management. Dwarf rootstocks are widely used in apple production in China. However, the dwarfing mechanisms of dwarf interstock are still unclear. Here, M9 and SH40 were selected as the dwarf interstocks for potted Fuji apples. The key transcription factor MdWRKY24 was screened via transcriptional sequencing. The open reading frame sequence of the MdWRKY24 gene was 657 bp in length, encoded 218 amino acids, and was located on the cell membrane. The MdWRKY24-overexpressing Arabidopsis line showed a dwarf phenotype and delayed flowering. The DELLA protein RGA-like (RGL) gene is a repressor of the gibberellin signaling pathway. Yeast two-hybrid analysis revealed that MdWRKY24 could interact with MdRGL1/2/3. The results indicated that MdWRKY24 might affect plant dwarfing through the synergistic effect of MdRGL1/2/3. The MdWRKY24-MdRGL may be an important pathway underlying the gibberellin-mediated regulation of apple dwarfing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the extremely high content of soil mineral elements in high geological background areas, it is crucial to understand the transportation and health risks of mineral elements in soil-plant systems. In this study, 30 soil and apple-paired samples were collected from the main apple production areas of Yunnan's high geological background region to determine the contents of mineral elements. The aim was to research the enrichment characteristics, nutritional values, and health risks associated with 12 mineral elements in apples. The results revealed that Cd, As, Pb and Cr contents in soil samples exceeded their corresponding risk screening values with percentages of 50%, 17%, 48%, and 30%, respectively. However, only 13.3% of Pb content in apple samples exceeded the safety limit （0.1 mg·kg -1 , fresh fruit）. In addition to the toxic elements, apples had higher contents of K, Ca, Mg, Mn, and Zn, with average contents of 1.241 g·kg -1 , 0.045 g·kg -1 , 0.061 g·kg -1 , 0.648 mg·kg -1 , and 0.944 mg·kg -1 , respectively. The nutritional evaluation results showed that the index （INQ） of K and Cu were higher than 2 through the consumption of apples, suggesting that apple consumption was one of the primary sources of K and Cu intake. The health risk assessment revealed that the target hazard quotient （THQ） of a single heavy metal was： Cu &gt; As &gt; Cr &gt; Pb &gt; Zn &gt; Cd； the hazard index （HI） of all heavy metals was far lower than 1, indicating that apple consumption did not pose significant heavy metal exposure risks. The results of this study will provide a scientific insight into the nutritional aspects and health risks associated with mineral elements in soil-plant systems within high geological background areas.

Apples in China accounts for more than 50% of the global production and consumption at present. However, the quantity and quality of apples have been threaten by the various diseases, such as alternaria boltch, brown spot, mosaic disease, gray spot, and rust. The CNN-based methods can be expected to recognize the crop leaf disease for the high recognition rates. But, there is still lacking on the recognition accuracy, due mainly to the lack of linkage between global and patch features of disease images in the general disease recognition models. In this study, a disease recognition model was proposed using the patch and global features interactively coupling model (GPF-IC). The main characteristics were also addressed for the small inter-class and large intra-class differences in the apple leaf disease images under natural conditions. Firstly, an attention fusion module was designed in the global feature extraction branch. The convolutionally extracted feature maps were then enhanced to fuse the information on the channels and spaces. The global features and attention activation maps were generated from the enhanced feature maps. Secondly, a cropping module was designed to crop the original image using the attention activation maps. The blocks of images were obtained with the disease information in the patch feature extraction branch, particularly with the patch features. Thirdly, the multi-head cross-attention feature coupling module was designed to realize the bi-directional cross-coupling of patch and global features. As such, the recognition accuracy was improved to enhance the representation capability of fine-grained features of disease images. Finally, three operations of data enhancement were used to evaluate the learning effect of the model for the less overfitting, due to the insufficient training data. A total of 30 540 disease images of six types of apple leaves were obtained with the sufficient number of samples and balanced distribution. The improved model was included as follows. 1) The global feature extraction branch was proposed to promote the disease recognition accuracy by 0.79 percentage points using the attention fusion module. 2) A patch feature extraction branch and a cropping module were introduced to implement the local feature extraction. The model accuracy was then improved by 1.22 percentage points than before. 3) A multi-head cross-attention coupling module was proposed to couple the features from the different branches for the feature extraction and expression capability of the model. The recognition accuracy was improved by 3.39 percentage points, which was the highest recognition accuracy of 98.23%. The experiment demonstrated that the feature extraction can effectively exclude the non-target noises to locate the most discriminative region using the global feature extraction branch. The patch feature extraction branch was efficiently acquired the patch information using the image block embedding. The feature coupling module was realized the interactive coupling of global and patch tokens for the better fine-grained feature representation using multi-headed cross-attention. The GPF-IC was achieved in the 98.23% recognition accuracy of apple leaf disease. The finding can provide a technical support for the automatic recognition of apple leaf diseases in natural scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pectins are acidic hetero-polysaccharides present in plant primary cell walls. With strong and interesting gelation capacity, some plant-sourced pectins including Nicandra physalodes (Linn.) Gaertn. pectin (NPGP) , Premna microphylla turcz pectin (PMTP) , and creeping fig pectin (CFP), have been traditionally used in making gel foods in China. However, little is known about their gelation behaviors and the mechanisms involved. In this review, the extraction, structures , gelation behaviors and the underlying mechanisms of NPGP, PMTP and CFP are introduced. Moreover, the structure-property relation of major pectin types (i.e. commercial citrus and apple pectins) is also summarized for providing a deep understanding on pectin gelation. Both the intrinsic pectin structures and extrinsic environmental factors significantly affect the gelation of pectins. The interplay between these factors is also important, which sometimes can impart pectins with unexpected gelation behaviors. For NPGP , PMTP and CFP, all of them possess a relatively high galacturonic acid (GalA) content and a very low DM value, which allow them to behave like the typical "polyelectrolytes" and make them highly sensitive to the presence of cations. Monovalent cations (e.g. Na+ and/or H+) are able to induce the gelation of these pectins at appropriate conditions. Besides, NPGP , PMTP, and CFP can also form Ca2+-induced gels at ambient temperature with a moderate gelling rate, which is rarely reported for citrus and apple pectins. The underlying mechanism is still unclear at this moment. Therefore, the structure-property relation on pectin gelation needs to be further explored. • Some plant-sourced low methoxyl pectins can gel in the absence of calcium ions. • Synergism can be adopted to enhance the rheological and gelling ability of pectins. • Spontaneous gelation was found to occur for creeping fig pectins. • These plant-sourced pectins can form Ca2+-induced gels at room temperature. • The understanding on the structure-property relation of pectins is still insufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple production in China, the world's largest apple producer and consumer, is challenged by a huge and growing population coupled with rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. China's apple output has increased continuously over the past 42 years with distinctive spatial differences. Herein, changes in the spatial patterns of apple production increases, and their potential impact factors in China are described at the provincial level. Between 1978 and 2019, the centre‐of‐gravity of apple production shifted southwest towards the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the main water source for agricultural irrigation in North China. Analysis of absolute and relative growth of apple output reveals that the Loess Plateau, characterised by fragile habitat and low land productivity, has gradually become a major contributor to apple production. Despite annual increases in apple output, apple production system has become more fragile and unstable overtime, especially in the Shaanxi‐Gansu region where apple cultivation is prevalent. With continuous changes in policy, the amount of forest transfer (i.e. the area of other land use types converted to forest) has significantly affected the impact of standardised precipitation evapotranspiration index on apple production increases in China. Thus, to prevent the degradation of new forests, a differentiated management and protection system should be implemented for apple planting sub‐regions. This should include altering subsidy policies on apple production, enhancing soil erosion control in the Loess Plateau and strengthening ecological management of forests and grassland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the world's largest apple producer, and agricultural cooperatives play an important role in promoting sustainable production in its whole life cycle system. However, few studies on cooperatives have evaluated the environmental and economic performance from the life cycle thinking perspective. In this study, the combined methods of life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost (LCC) were used to comparatively analyze the environmental and economic performance of apple production between cooperatives and smallholder farmers. The results showed that, compared to the smallholder farmers, cooperatives significantly reduced resource depletion and environmental impacts by 12.50–22.16% in each category. The total environmental index for the cooperatives was 7.44% and 22.09% lower than smallholder farmers; meanwhile, the total LCC was 2659.71 Chinese Yuan (CNY), 19.27% lower than smallholder farmers. However, the net profit was 2990.29 CNY for the cooperatives, 21.23% higher than smallholder farmers. The results indicated that cooperatives exhibited a higher net profit while having lower resource input, environmental impact, and LCC than smallholder farmers. Moreover, pesticides and fertilizers were identified as the most critical environmental hotspots. Moreover, human labor cost was the most significant contributor to the total economic cost of the apple production system. These findings provide insights into optimizing farm inputs for apple production and active participation in agricultural cooperatives to alleviate multiple environmental impacts while maintaining apple yield and improving economic benefits, intending to make a marginal contribution to promoting sustainable development of the apple industry in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Apple replant disease is a soilborne disease caused by Fusarium proliferatum f. sp. malus domestica strain MR5 (abbreviated hereafter as Fpmd MR5) in China. This pathogen causes root tissue rot and wilting leaves in apple seedlings, leading to plant death. A comparative transcriptome analysis was conducted using the Illumina Novaseq platform to identify the molecular defense mechanisms of the susceptible M.26 and the resistant M9T337 apple rootstocks to Fpmd MR5 infection. Results: Approximately 518.1 million high-quality reads were generated using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Comparative analysis between the mock-inoculated and Fpmd MR5 infected apple rootstocks revealed 28,196 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 14,572 up-regulated and 13,624 down-regulated genes. Among them, the transcriptomes in the roots of the susceptible genotype M.26 were reflected by overrepresented DEGs. MapMan analysis indicated that a large number of DEGs were involved in the response of apple plants to Fpmd MR5 stress. The important functional groups identified via gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment were responsible for fundamental biological regulation, secondary metabolism, plant-pathogen recognition, and plant hormone signal transduction (ethylene and jasmonate). Furthermore, the expression of 33 up-regulated candidate genes (12 related to WRKY DNA-binding proteins, one encoding endochitinase, two encoding beta-glucosidases, ten related to pathogenesis-related proteins, and eight encoding ethylene-responsive transcription factors) were validated by quantitative real-time PCR. Conclusion: RNA-seq profiling was performed for the first time to analyze response of apple root to Fpmd MR5 infection. We found that the production of antimicrobial compounds and antioxidants enhanced plant resistance to pathogens, and pathogenesis-related protein (PR10 homologs, chitinase, and beta-glucosidase) may play unique roles in the defense response. These results provide new insights into the mechanisms of the apple root response to Fpmd MR5 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Water shortage is the main factor affecting agricultural production in the vast arid and semi‐arid areas of northern China. Using proper irrigation methods can optimize the efficiency of water use and improve the quality of agricultural products. This study investigated the effect of different irrigation levels on the quality of 'Honeycrisp' apples grown in the Loess Plateau of northern China. RESULTS: Different irrigation levels were applied to the 'Honeycrisp' apple trees via root irrigation using ceramic emitters that provide saturation levels of 75–90% θf (S1, where θf is the field capacity), 60–75% θf (S2), 45–50% θf (S3) and no irrigation treatment (CK). Compared to the apples from the CK group, the water content, transverse diameter, individual fruit weight and titratable acid content of S1 and S2 group apples increased significantly. However, their hardness, soluble solids and total sugar content decreased significantly. The phenolic acid content of apples also changed with the irrigation levels. The chlorogenic acid content of apples increased with increased irrigation volume, while the hyperoside, protocatechuic acid and caffeic acid content decreased. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of fruits were the highest in S2 group apples. They also had the strongest ABTS and DPPH free radical scavenging capacities. CONCLUSION: The volume of irrigation applied through ceramic emitters significantly impacted the quality of 'Honeycrisp' apples grown in loess areas. Considering water conservation and improving fruit quality, the most suitable ceramic root irrigation level was observed to be 60–75% θf (S2). © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple has a large planting area and high yield in China, but it is easily affected by diseases. Artificial intelligence technology has achieved good results in apple leaf disease identification. However, the training and testing data in complex environments often come from different collection scenarios. There are significant differences in the training and testing datasets, which leads to a significant decline in the identification performance. To improve the generalization ability of apple leaf disease identification, we develop a cross-dataset discriminant subspace learning (CDDSL) algorithm by utilizing the idea of transfer learning, low-rank sparse representation, and maximum margin neighborhood preserving embedding (NPE) to cross-dataset scenarios. Firstly, based on the transfer learning and low-rank sparse representation, each target sample can be represented by a linear combination of source domain samples. The sparse constraint on the noise matrix weakens the influence of noise in the sample data. Then, CDDSL progressively projects the subspace features into the semantic space and establishes a discriminant classifier. Meanwhile, CDDSL utilizes the maximal margin NPE to improve the intraclass compactness and interclass separability of projection features, which can enhance the image identification performance. The experiments conducted on real-world apple leaf datasets verify the effectiveness of the CDDSL algorithm in cross-dataset scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the regional characteristics of soluble sugars, organic acids, and stable isotopes (δ2H, δ18O, and δ13C) in Fuji apple and the viability of tracing the geographical origin. Totally, 181 Fuji apple samples from 2017 and 2018 from three main apple production regions in China, Bohai Bay (BHB), Loess Plateau (LP), and Northwest region (NW) were collected. The parameters of soluble sugars, organic acids, and stable isotopes in samples were analyzed with HPLC, IC, and IRMS, respectively. The results of regional difference analysis, multiway variance analysis, and correlation analysis indicated that sorbitol (Sor), glucose (Glu), fructose (Fru), sucrose (Sucr), δ2H, and δ13C can be used to distinguish the samples from the three regions. Stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) showed that the correct discriminant rate of samples from the advantageous production areas of apples in China (BHB and LP) was 82.2%, and the most effective indexes were Glu, Fru, Sucr, and δ2H. Moreover, satisfactory classification can be achieved in samples from BHB and NW, with a correct classification rate of 90.0%, and Sor, Glu, and Fru were included in the discrimination model. Furthermore, the validity of the discriminant model was verified by the prediction set. The study also found that organic acids were not suitable to distinguish the apple samples from the three regions. In addition, soluble sugars and stable isotopes could not effectively distinguish LP and NW samples, which was also the reason that the samples from the three main apple production regions could not be distinguished well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple necrotic mosaic virus (ApNMV) is highly associated with the occurrence of apple mosaic disease in China. However, ApNMV–host interactions and defence mechanisms of host plants against this virus are poorly studied. Here, we report that nitrate treatment restrains ApNMV genomic RNA accumulation by destabilizing viral replication protein 1a through the MdBT2‐mediated ubiquitin‐proteasome pathway. MdBT2, a nitrate‐responsive BTB/TAZ domain‐containing protein, was identified in a yeast two‐hybrid screen of an apple cDNA library using viral protein 1a as bait, and 1a was further confirmed to interact with MdBT2 both in vivo and in vitro. It was further verified that MdBT2 promoted the ubiquitination and degradation of viral protein 1a through the ubiquitin‐proteasome pathway in an MdCUL3A‐independent manner. Viral genomic RNA accumulation was reduced in MdBT2‐overexpressing transgenic apple leaves but enhanced in MdBT2‐antisense leaves compared to the wild type. Moreover, MdBT2 was found to interfere with the interaction between viral replication proteins 1a and 2apol by competitively interacting with 1a. Taken together, our results demonstrate that nitrate‐inducible MdBT2 functions as a limiting factor in ApNMV viral RNA accumulation by promoting the ubiquitination and degradation of viral protein 1a and interfering with interactions between viral replication proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Overconsumption of drinks containing fructose increases the risk for hyperuricemia and gout. Comparative analysis evaluating the indicators of serum uric acid (SUA) load caused by natural food-derived fructose and pure fructose in sweeteners is lacking. We aimed to uncover the effect of fructose from apple and honey and pure fructose powder on the SUA concentration of healthy young Chinese individuals.Methods and Study Design: Two randomized crossover trials were performed. The participants were randomly assigned to consume apple or honey (test food) or pure fructose powder (reference food); one week later, the groups' dietary intervention was switched. Blood samples were collected at 0, 30, 60, and 120 min after meal to measure the SUA and blood glucose concentrations.Results: At 30 and 60 min, the SUA concentration in participants consuming apple or honey was lower than in those consuming fructose powder. At 120 min, the SUA concentration of participants consuming apple returned to baseline. The areas under the curve (AUC) within 2 h (2h- AUCs) of SUA exhibited the trend of fructose >honey >apple. The 2h-AUC ratio between test food and reference food was determined using the uric acid index to assess the efficiency of food-derived fructose in increasing the SUA concentration. The uric acid index of honey was higher than that of apple. Men had higher postprandial SUA concentration than women.Conclusions: Food-derived fructose caused a lighter load on uric acid metabolism than pure fructose. Uric acid index can be useful for distinguishing fructose-containing foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple ring rot caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea is prevalent in main apple-producing areas in China, bringing substantial economic losses to the growers. In the present study, we demonstrated the inhibitory effect of dimethyl trisulfide (DT), one of the main activity components identified in Chinese leek (Allium tuberosum) volatile, on the apple ring rot on postharvest fruits. In in vitro experiment, 250 μL/L DT completely suppressed the mycelia growth of B. dothidea. In in vivo experiment, 15.63 μL/L DT showed 97% inhibition against the apple ring rot on postharvest fruit. In addition, the soluble sugar content, vitamin C content, and the soluble sugar/titratable acidity ratio of the DT-treated fruit were significantly higher than those of the control fruit. On this basis, we further explored the preliminary underlying mechanism. Microscopic observation revealed that DT seriously disrupted the normal morphology of B. dothidea. qRT-PCR determination showed the defense-related genes in DT-treated fruit were higher than those in the control fruit by 4.13–296.50 times, which showed that DT inhibited apple ring rot on postharvest fruit by suppressing the growth of B. dothidea , and inducing the defense-related genes in apple fruit. The findings of this study provided an efficient, safe, and environment-friendly alternative to control the apple ring rot on apple fruit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-destructive and rapid methods for estimating apple firmness are helpful to determine harvesting dates. However, few studies have used an approach of spectral indices for monitoring apple firmness from ground-based handheld hyperspectral data. Therefore, this study analyzed the performance of spectral indices in determining apple firmness based on the spectra of unpeeled apples. The reflectance spectra of apple samples were acquired at wavelength 350–2500 nm. Ten apple varieties were collected from orchards located in seven provinces of China. A two-band combination method (normalized, ratio, and difference type) was used to identify the effective spectral indices. Results showed that the newly developed two-band normalized difference spectral indices (R840 − R841)/(R840 + R841) (Rλ is the reflectance value at wavelength λ) was recommended as the optimal index for monitoring apple firmness, generated the coefficients of determination, root mean square error and residual prediction deviation values between the measured and predicted values of 0.6721, 0.886 kg/cm2, and 1.7, respectively. This study indicated that spectral indices offer low-cost and portable detection of apple fruit firmness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Apple leaf spot, a disease caused by Alternaria alternata f. sp. mali and other fungal species, leads to severe defoliation and results in tremendous losses to the apple (Malus × domestica) industry in China. We previously identified three RPW8, nucleotide‐binding, and leucine‐rich repeat domain CCR‐NB‐LRR proteins (RNLs), named MdRNL1, MdRNL2, and MdRNL3, that contribute to Alternaria leaf spot (ALT1) resistance in apple. However, the role of NB‐LRR proteins in resistance to fungal diseases in apple remains poorly understood. We therefore used MdRNL1/2/3 as baits to screen ALT1‐inoculated leaves for interacting proteins and identified only MdRNL6 (another RNL) as an interactor of MdRNL2. Protein interaction assays demonstrated that MdRNL2 and MdRNL6 interact through their NB‐ARC domains. Transient expression assays in apple indicated that complexes containing both MdRNL2 and MdRNL6 are necessary for resistance to Alternaria leaf spot. Intriguingly, the same complexes were also required to confer resistance to Glomerella leaf spot and Marssonina leaf spot in transient expression assays. Furthermore, stable transgenic apple plants with suppressed expression of MdRNL6 showed hypersensitivity to Alternaria leaf spot, Glomerella leaf spot, and Marssonina leaf spot; these effects were similar to the effects of suppressing MdRNL2 expression in transgenic apple plantlets. The identification of these novel broad‐spectrum fungal resistance genes will facilitate breeding for fungal disease resistance in apple. Significance Statement: Apple leaf spot includes three major fungal diseases affecting the apple industry: Alternaria leaf spot, caused by Alternaria alternata f. sp. mali, Glomerella leaf spot, caused by Glomerella cingulata, and Marssonina leaf spot, caused by Marssonina coronaria. These three devastating diseases of apple (Malus × domestica) cause early severe defoliation, weaken tree vigor, and reduce apple production. In the present study we identified the mode of action of two CCR‐NB‐LRR R proteins, MdRNL2 and MdRNL6, to enhance resistance to Alternaria leaf spot, Glomerella leaf spot, and Marssonina leaf spot infection in the resistant apple cultivar HF. The identification and cloning of these novel broad‐spectrum fungal resistance genes will facilitate breeding for fungal disease resistance in apple. Also, we generated genetically transformed HF plantlets to prove that suppression of MdRNL2 expression results in susceptibility to three apple leaf spot pathogens, similar to the effect of suppressing MdRNL6 in transgenic apple plantlets. Taken together, our data provide detailed evidence for a previously unknown regulatory mechanism in which three apple leaf spot pathogens induce the production of MdRNL2 and MdRNL6, which form a heterocomplex at the NB‐ARC domain and contribute to Alternaria leaf spot, Glomerella leaf spot, and Marssonina leaf spot resistance. Our results provide a basis for deciphering the R‐protein‐based defense mechanism against three apple leaf spot pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple (Malus domestica (Suckow) Borkh., 1803) is economically important horticultural fruit crop in the world. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of Korean apple cultivar 'Kamhong' was characterized through the de novo assembly of Illumina sequencing data. The chloroplast genome is a circular molecule of 161,069 bp length with 36.55% GC content and has a total of 112 genes including 78 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA genes, and 4 ribosomal RNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis with protein-coding sequences of chloroplast genome revealed that 'Kamhong' was closely grouped with M. domestica cultivars reported in China. The genomic data generated in this study can extend a molecular basis for phylogenetic relationships of Korean cultivar 'Kamhong' with other M. domestica cultivars bred in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the continuous global warming in recent years, the average annual number of rain days in China has been on the decline, while the number of rainstorm days has gradually increased. These conditions make it extremely easy to form a waterlogging environment, which has an adverse impact on plant growth and development. In many apple-producing areas in China, apples are subject to severe flooding during planting. In this study, two-year-old apple rootstock M9T337 was used to explore the effects of interval water stress on the morphological and physiological parameters of apple leaves. The purpose was to determine the plant’s adaptability to waterlogged environments and provide theoretical reference for management and maintenance after waterlogging. The results showed that the effect on flooded (T2) on apple stock was greater than that of waterlogged (T1), Short-term (7 d) waterlogging (T1) did not affect the growth of seedlings but was conducive to the accumulation of dry matter. Furthermore, the initial stress was be imprinted on the plants, which could directly affect their response to later stress. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that PC1, PC2, and PC3 explained 26.92%, 17.46%, and 13.03% of the physiological changes under water stress, respectively. By calculating the weight of each indicator, we concluded that high-frequency resistance r, relative chlorophyll content (SPAD) and maximum photochemical efficiency Fv/Fm are important parameters for apple rootstocks affected by water stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrazine is one of the most used herbicides in China. It is a persistent organic pollutant but has been widely used on Chinese farmlands for a long time. To assess its dietary and ecological risks to human and environment, in this study, atrazine residues were extracted with acetonitrile and then plant samples were detected with gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and soil samples were determined with gas chromatography coupled with nitrogen-phosphorus detector (GC-NPD). The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 0.01 mg/kg for all matrices. The recoveries ranged from 82.0 to 105.4% for plant samples and 75.6 to 85.6% for soil samples. The final residues of atrazine in all plant samples were lower than LOQ. Dietary risk assessment suggested that under good agricultural practices (GAP) conditions, intake of atrazine from apples, grapes, and tea would exhibit an acceptably low health risk on consumers. However, the final residues of atrazine in soil samples were <0.01–9.2 mg/kg, and the half-lives were 2.0–9.1 days. Based on the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) model, the potential affected fraction (PAF) of atrazine in soil samples ranges from 0.01 to 65.8%. Atrazine residues in 43.1% soil samples were higher than 0.11 mg/kg, which was the hazardous concentration for 5% of species (HC5) of atrazine in soil. These results suggested that the ecological risks of atrazine in apples, grapes, and tea garden soil would exhibit a high risk on environmental species even under the same GAP conditions. This study could provide guidance for comprehensive risk assessment of atrazine properly used in apple, grape, and tea gardens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequent extreme climate events have attracted considerable attention around the world. Malus sieversii in Xinjiang is the ancestor of cultivated apple, and it is mainly distributed in the Ili river valley at end of the Tianshan Mountains. Wild fruit forests have been degraded, but the cause remains unclear. In order to identify whether extreme climate events caused this degradation reanalysis data and atmospheric circulation indices were used to determine the trends and the reasons for extreme climate changes. Subsequently, we further investigated the effect of extreme climate events on wild fruit forest using characteristics of extreme climate indices and tree-ring chronology. We found increasing trends in both extreme precipitation and warm indices, and decreasing trends in cool indices. Extreme climate events were mainly associated with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Analysis of data of wind and geopotential height field at 500 hPa showed that strengthening wind, increasing geopotential height, cyclone and anti-cyclone circulation drivers contributed to extreme climate events. In the non-degraded region, there were significant positive correlations between tree-ring chronology and both extreme precipitation and extreme warm indices (except for warm spell duration indicator). The other extreme indices (except for heavy rain days) had a large correlation range with tree-rings in a 4–8-year period. These results indicated that extreme precipitation and extreme warm indices intensified M. sieversii growth of the non-degraded region on multi-time scales. In contrast, the degraded region showed insignificant negative relationship between tree-ring chronology and both extreme precipitation and extreme warm indices [except for warm spell duration index (WSDI)], and significant negative correlations in a 4–8-year period were detected between tree-ring chronology and most of the extreme precipitation indices, including heavy rain days, very wet days, cold spell duration indicator, simple precipitation intensity index (SDII), and annual total precipitation. Under the long disturbance of inappropriate anthropic activities, extreme climate has caused the outbreak of pests and diseases resulting in the degeneration of wild fruit forest. Our study provides scientific guidance for the ecosystem conservation in wild fruit forest in China, and also across the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deficit drip irrigation is an advanced agricultural technology widely promoted and applied around the world to maintain/increase yield and quality while simultaneously minimizing water consumption. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive research on the effects of deficit drip irrigation at different stages on apple yield, water productivity, and quality. The aim was to investigate the effects of deficit drip irrigation treatments (DDITs) on apple yield, quality, and water productivity (WP), and optimize the deficit drip irrigation strategy for apples in the Loess Plateau of China. a two-year field experiment was conducted with 17 irrigation treatments, including a control treatment (CK, full irrigation (FI)) and four DDITs (D15%, D30%, D45%, D60%) during the bud burst to leafing stage (I), flowering to fruit set stage (II), fruit expansion stage (III), and fruit maturation stage (IV). The optimal irrigation management was determined using the fuzzy Borda combined model, which was based on four different single evaluation models of the TOPSIS method, principal component analysis (PCA), grey correlation analysis (GCA), and membership function analysis (MFA). The DDITs at stage IV decreased midday leaf water potential (Ψs) by 2.57–20.00% compared with CK, and the difference of Ψs between IV-D30%, IV-D45%, IV-D60%, and CK were significant in two years (P<0.05). DDITs at stages I, II, and IV improved fruit weight (FW), fruit shape index (FSI), and fruit firmness (FN), but did not significantly affect fruit water content (FWC). The DDITs at stages III and IV significantly enhanced total soluble solids (TSS), soluble sugars (SS), and vitamin C (V c) in 2021 and 2022, but a notable decrease in titratable acidity (TA) was observed. DDITs at stage IV exhibited the highest comprehensive benefit of apple, followed by DDITs at stages I and II, and DDITs at stage III had the lowest values. The DDITs of D15%, D30%, CK, and D15% at stages I, II, III, and IV were identified as the optimal irrigation strategy to improve apple yield, quality, and WP. Our findings can guide the development of appropriate irrigation strategies for apple cultivation in Loess Plateau of China, promoting efficient and sustainable apple production. • Deficit drip irrigation treatments (DDITs) greatly decreased midday leaf water potential. • Proper DDITs at fruit maturation stage improved apples physical/ chemical quality. • Proper DDITs during the early growth stage greatly improved WP without yield loss. • The optimal irrigation strategy was determined using the fuzzy Borda combined model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural geographical indications (GIs) are crucial instruments for enhancing the competitiveness of rural products and fostering industrial revitalization. Climate change introduces notable alterations in the regions suitable for GIs, consequently influencing the industrial layout of the countryside. Understanding the impact of climate change on GIs is vital for effectively planning agricultural GI cultivation and facilitating rural revitalization. Our aim was to clarify how future climate change affects the suitable distribution of apple GIs in China and how these changes affect rural revitalization. The MaxEnt model was used to simulate the transformation of suitable areas for apple GI in China from the present period to the 2090s based on apple GI occurrence data and climate prediction data. All regions were classified as unsuitable, low, or high suitability. Among the considered climate variables, the minimum temperature of the coldest month was the most important factor shaping the distribution of suitable areas. The distribution of high-suitability areas for apple production underwent a transition from two main regions to four main production regions, namely, the Loess Plateau region including Qinghai province (LPR); the Northeast region (NER); the Southwest region (SWR); and the Xinjiang region (XJR), with an expansion of more than 25.11 Mha. The transition from the current apple GI high-suitability areas to western regions offers an opportunity for farmers in these regions to leverage local resources and thus acquire higher profits, ultimately contributing to the rural economic development of western regions. However, in the 2090s under the SSP5–8.5 scenario, the added suitable areas will encroach upon 16.87 Mha of conflict-prone areas in the SWR and 10.91 Mha in the NER. Moreover, a proportion of the newly suitable area may be situated on farmlands in the NER and XJR under the SSP2–4.5, SSP3–7.0, and SSP5–8.5 scenarios. These regions need to effectively balance the relationships among ecological conservation, food security, and the development of high-quality apple cultivation. We predict suitable habitats for apple GIs under climate change scenarios and discuss strategies to address climate change and promote the apple industry in different regions. This study offers valuable scientific insights into climate-smart apple cultivation, addresses the challenges of climate change in apple geographical indication development, and fosters rural revitalization. [Display omitted] • The geographical indication (GI) distribution of apple plants was predicted under climate scenarios. • The minimum temperature of the coldest month affected the apple GI distribution. • Apple GI areas with high-suitability were shifted to the western region. • A balance is needed between ecological protection, food safety and apple GI growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying large amounts of potash fertilizer in apple orchards for high apple quality and yield aggravates KCl stress. As a phytoalexin, resveratrol (Res) participates in plant resistance to biotic stress. However, its role in relation to KCl stress has never been reported. Herein we investigated the role of Res in KCl stress response of Malus hupehensis Rehd., a widely used apple rootstock in China which is sensitive to KCl stress. KCl-stressed apple seedlings showed significant wilting phenotype and decline in photosynthetic rate, and the application of 100 μmol Res alleviated KCl stress and maintained photosynthetic capacity. Exogenous Res can strengthen the activities of peroxidase and catalase, thus eliminating reactive oxygen species production induced by KCl stress. Moreover, exogenous Res can decrease the electrolyte leakage by accumulating proline for osmotic balance under KCl stress. Furthermore, exogenous Res application can affect K+/Na+ homeostasis in cytoplasm by enhancing K+ efflux outside the cells, inhibiting Na+ efflux and K+ absorption, and compartmentalizing K+ into vacuoles through regulating the expression of K+ and Na+ transporter genes. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the application of exogenous Res to relieve the KCl stress of apples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately quantifying transpiration (T) in apple orchards and its proportion of precipitation (P) is important for comprehending hydrological and ecological processes. A field experiment was conducted during the growing seasons (May to September) of 2013–2016 on the Loess Plateau of China to investigate the characteristics of T in apple (Malus domestica, cv. Fuji) orchards of different ages at multiple temporal scales. The results indicated that tree age clearly influenced T for the young (8-year-old) and old (18-year-old) apple orchards. Transpiration was consistently higher in the old than the young orchard at the same time scales (p < 0.05). At the monthly scale, T was not significantly correlated with leaf area index (LAI) or soil relative extractable water (REW) for either orchard. Average ratios of T to P for the four years were 37.7% and 50.2% for the young and old orchards, respectively. These results identified that trees age should be considered when evaluating T and sustainably developing revegetation activities on the Loess Plateau and in other similar regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]