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Black nightshade, or the Solanum nigrum complex, includes a number of species that botanists consider problematic due to their morphological resemblance and the high rate of hybridization. As part of the revision of the family Solanaceae for the Flora central Africa,we realized a molecular study of the Solanum nigrum complex in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. A total of 21 samples of this complex were collected and identified using the recent revision by [11]. The DNA of each specimen was extracted and then amplified by PCR for 4 molecular markers: the two nuclear regions waxy and ITS, and the two chloroplastics markers trnL-F and trnH-psbA. Additional sequences of specimens reliably identified were obtained from GenBank. The combined molecular data set allowed for the identification of two distinct groups. The first we conclude that in the western part of D.R. Congo, two species of the Solanum nigrum complex occur, both showing high morphological variability, while the true Solanum nigrum is absent from that region. The two species are Solanum americanum Mill. and Solanum scabrum Mill. The results confirm the taxonomic decisions of [11]. The generally low resolution in the analyses did not allow to visualize a geographical signal in the variation.

Crystals may modify the food quality, reduce a plant palatability, and choice to insects, or defend against pests. Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is considered one of the most damaging pests in field crops in the world, and is usually associated with several hosts. We examined relations between the choices of whitefly with calcium oxalate crystals (COC) presence in weeds. The treatments were weed species Amaranthus viridis L., Amaranthus viridis L., Bidens pilosa L., Chenopodium album L., Nicandra physalodes L., and Solanum americanum Mill., and, as control, Brassica oleraceae var. capitata L. B. tabaci infestation was evaluated at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after infestation (DAI), the height and shoot dry mass at 28 DAI, and leaf blades were prepared from all treatments. B. oleraceae var. capitata, S. americanum, and B. pilosa showed greater B. tabaci infestation in this order, respectively. In the presence of COC, the reverse occurred, since in these plants there was a lower presence of COC. It is concluded that the presence of COC influences B. tabaci preference in the choice of its hosts.

Sustainable weed management strategies are important for reducing chemical inputs and development of weed resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of extracts from winter cover crops (ce...

Solanum americanum Mill. — Habit: Herb. Habitat: LMWF, LMDF, BZ; up to 3 200 m. Distribution: I. Voucher: Chogoria Track, Alt. 2 827 m, 27 Jan. 2015, SAJIT 002887 (HIB). References: Bussmann (1993, 1994), Agnew (2013)., Published as part of Zhou, Ya-Dong, Mwachala, Geoffrey, Hu, Guang-Wan & Wang, Qing-Feng, 2022, Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Mount Kenya, East Africa, pp. 1-108 in Phytotaxa 546 (1) on page 79, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.546.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6550464, {"references":["Bussmann, R. W. (1993) The forest of Mt. Kenya (Kenya): A phytosociological approach with special reference to ecological problems. Ph. D. Thesis, Eberhard Karls Universitat Tubingen, Tubingen, 119 pp.","Bussmann, R. W. (1994) The forest of Mt. Kenya (Kenya): Vegetation, ecology, destruction and management of a tropical mountain forest ecosystem. Ph. D. dissertation, Universitat Bayreuth Startseite, Bayreuth, 252 pp.","Agnew, A. D. Q. (2013) Upland Kenya wild flowers and ferns, 3 rd edn. Nature Kenya Publications, Nairobi, 733 pp."]}

Rhagoletis antioquiensis Rodriguez & Norrbom, a new species of fruit fly in the striatella species group of Rhagoletis Loew, is described and illustrated. New distribution records are reported for two other species of the striatella group: R. nicaraguensis Hernández-Ortiz & Frías, 2000 is reported from Costa Rica, and R. solanophaga Hernández-Ortiz & Frías, 2000 from Bolivia. A lectotype is designated for Urophora scutellaris Macquart, 1851 (= R. macquartii (Loew)). New host plant relationships for three species of Rhagoletis, all reared from fruits, are reported: Acnistus arborescens (L.) Schrtdl. and Witheringia solanacea L’Her for R. jamaicensis Foote, 1981 from Colombia; Lycianthes pseudolycioides (Chod. & Hassl.) Bitter for R. solanophaga from Bolivia; and Solanum pseudocapsicum L., Solanum tuberosum L. subsp. andigenum (Juz. & Burkasov) Hawkes, Solanum interandinum Bitter from Colombia and Solanum americanum Mill. in Peru for undetermined species of the psalida group. The key to species of the striatella group of Hernández-Ortiz & Frías (2000) is modified to include R. antioquiensis.

Solanum americanum Mill. is a weed that occurs with a number of crops, and it is known for its high seed production and its staggered germination. The objective of this work was to evaluate the germination behavior of S. americanum seeds under the influence of chemical and environmental factors. In the laboratory, we tested the effect on germination of (i) constant and alternating temperatures, (ii) seed washing, (iii) exposure time and concentration of chemical treatments and (iv) seeding depth and soil covered with plant residue on seedling emergence. The variables analyzed were germination percentage, germination rate index, seedling emergence and length of the seedlings. The results indicated that alternating temperatures are the main way to promote germination of S. americanum; however, chemical treatments can help to increase the germination percentage and rate index. There was no increase in germination with seed washing, with the exception of KNO₃ application. A GA₃ concentration of 0.84 g L⁻¹ and an exposure time of 21.22 h in 0.2% of KNO₃ promoted the highest germination of S. americanum. Germination occurs when seeds remain on the soil surface and are not covered by crop residue.

Ralstonia solanacearum causes bacterial wilt disease in many plant species. Type III-secreted effectors (T3Es) play crucial roles in bacterial pathogenesis. However, some T3Es are recognized by corresponding disease resistance proteins and activate plant immunity. In this study, we identified the R. solanacearum T3E protein RipAZ1 (Ralstonia injected protein AZ1) as an avirulence determinant in the black nightshade species Solanum americanum. Based on the S. americanum accession-specific avirulence phenotype of R. solanacearum strain Pe_26, 12 candidate avirulence T3Es were selected for further analysis. Among these candidates, only RipAZ1 induced a cell death response when transiently expressed in a bacterial wilt-resistant S. americanum accession. Furthermore, loss of ripAZ1 in the avirulent R. solanacearum strain Pe_26 resulted in acquired virulence. Our analysis of the natural sequence and functional variation of RipAZ1 demonstrated that the naturally occurring C-terminal truncation results in loss of RipAZ1-triggered cell death. We also show that the 213 amino acid central region of RipAZ1 is sufficient to induce cell death in S. americanum. Finally, we show that RipAZ1 may activate defence in host cell cytoplasm. Taken together, our data indicate that the nucleocytoplasmic T3E RipAZ1 confers R. solanacearum avirulence in S. americanum. Few avirulence genes are known in vascular bacterial phytopathogens and ripAZ1 is the first one in R. solanacearum that is recognized in black nightshades. This work thus opens the way for the identification of disease resistance genes responsible for the specific recognition of RipAZ1, which can be a source of resistance against the devastating bacterial wilt disease., This work was supported by a grant from the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program (Plant Molecular Breeding Center no. PJ01317501), the Rural Development Administration and National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-2019R1A2C2084705 & 2018R1A5A1023599 (SRC)), Republic of Korea. C.S. was supported by the Creative-Pioneering Researchers Program through Seoul National University. M.V.’s research was funded by the research grants (PID2019-108595RB-I00 and SEV/2015/0533) from the Spanish Government and the CERCA Program from the Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya).

American black nightshade (Solanum americanum) is one of the main weeds for tomato crops. However, no herbicide approved for this crop in Brazil is effective for the control of this species and selective to tomato plants. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the selectivity of the herbicide oxadiazon to plants of three processing tomato hybrids and the control of American black nightshade plants. Four trials were installed: one under greenhouse and three under field conditions. The greenhouse trial was conducted in a completely randomized design with four replications, using a 2x5 factorial arrangement consisting of preemergence and postemergence applications of five oxadiazon rates (75, 125, 250, 375, and 500 g ha-1) to control American black nightshade plants, and two control treatments without herbicide application. The field trials were conducted in a randomized blocks design with four replications on commercial production areas in the municipality of Cristalina-GO, Brazil. The tomato hybrids tested were Acangata 9992, H-9553, and HMX 7885, one in each trial. The treatments consisted of application of five oxadiazon rates (125, 250, 375, 500, and 625 g ha-1) at pre-planting of the tomato seedlings, and a control treatment without herbicide application. The application of oxadiazon in preemergence, in the greenhouse, was more efficient for controlling American black nightshade plants under greenhouse conditions than the application on plants with 2-3 leaves. However, the weed control was satisfactory (>90%) when rates up to 246 g ha-1 were used, in both application times. The herbicide application caused no visual injuries to tomato plants under field conditions, and had no negative effect on fruit yield. Therefore, the herbicide oxadiazon was highly selective to the three processing tomato hybrids when applied at pre-planting, using rates of up to 625 g ha-1. The herbicide presented excellent control of American black nightshade plants, using rates from 125 to 371 g ha-1. RESUMO Maria-pretinha (Solanum americanum) é uma das principais plantas daninhas da cultura do tomate rasteiro. Porém, não há herbicidas registrados no Brasil eficazes para o seu controle e seletivos para o tomateiro. Por isso, objetivou-se avaliar a seletividade do herbicida oxadiazon para três híbridos de tomateiro rasteiro e o controle de maria-pretinha. Quatro experimentos, um em casa de vegetação e três em campo, foram desenvolvidos. Em casa de vegetação, o delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 2x5, com quatro repetições. O oxadiazon foi pulverizado em pré e pós-emergência das plantas de maria-pretinha, nas dosagens de 75, 125, 250, 375 e 500 g ha-1, além da manutenção de duas testemunhas sem herbicida. Em campo, os três experimentos foram instalados em áreas de produção comercial, no município de Cristalina-GO, com os híbridos Acangata 9992, H-9553 e HMX 7885, um por experimento. O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições e os tratamentos constituídos pela aplicação de cinco dosagens do herbicida oxadiazon (125, 250, 375, 500 e 625 g ha-1) no pré-plantio das mudas e a manutenção de uma testemunha sem herbicida. Em casa de vegetação, a aplicação de oxadiazon em pré-emergência foi mais eficaz para o controle de maria-pretinha do que a aplicação em plantas com 2-3 folhas. Contudo, nas duas épocas, a partir de 246 g ha-1 o controle foi satisfatório, maior que 90%. Em campo, o herbicida não ocasionou injúria visual às plantas de tomateiro, com reflexo na produtividade de frutos, que não foi prejudicada. Por isso, concluiu-se que o oxadiazon foi altamente seletivo para os três híbridos de tomateiro rasteiro, quando pulverizado no pré-plantio em dosagens de até 625 g ha-1, e resultou em excelente controle de maria-pretinha com dosagens de 125 a 371g ha-1.

Late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans greatly constrains potato production. Many Resistance (R) genes were cloned from wild Solanum species and/or introduced into potato cultivars by breeding. However, individual R genes have been overcome by P. infestans evolution; durable resistance remains elusive. We positionally cloned a new R gene, Rpi-amr1, from Solanum americanum, that encodes an NRC helper-dependent CC-NLR protein. Rpi-amr1 confers resistance in potato to all 19 P. infestans isolates tested. Using association genomics and long-read RenSeq, we defined eight additional Rpi-amr1 alleles from different S. americanum and related species. Despite only ~90% identity between Rpi-amr1 proteins, all confer late blight resistance but differentially recognize Avramr1 orthologues and paralogues. We propose that Rpi-amr1 gene family diversity assists detection of diverse paralogues and alleles of the recognized effector, facilitating durable resistance against P. infestans.

Maria-pretinha (Solanum americanum) é uma das principais plantas daninhas da cultura do tomate rasteiro. Porém, não há herbicidas registrados no Brasil eficazes para o seu controle e seletivos para o tomateiro. Por isso, objetivou-se avaliar a seletividade do herbicida oxadiazon para três híbridos de tomateiro rasteiro e o controle de maria-pretinha. Quatro experimentos, um em casa de vegetação e três em campo, foram desenvolvidos. Em casa de vegetação, o delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 2x5, com quatro repetições. O oxadiazon foi pulverizado em pré e pós-emergência das plantas de maria-pretinha, nas dosagens de 75, 125, 250, 375 e 500 g ha-1, além da manutenção de duas testemunhas sem herbicida. Em campo, os três experimentos foram instalados em áreas de produção comercial, no município de Cristalina-GO, com os híbridos Acangata 9992, H-9553 e HMX 7885, um por experimento. O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições e os tratamentos constituídos pela aplicação de cinco dosagens do herbicida oxadiazon (125, 250, 375, 500 e 625 g ha-1) no pré-plantio das mudas e a manutenção de uma testemunha sem herbicida. Em casa de vegetação, a aplicação de oxadiazon em pré-emergência foi mais eficaz para o controle de maria-pretinha do que a aplicação em plantas com 2-3 folhas. Contudo, nas duas épocas, a partir de 246 g ha-1 o controle foi satisfatório, maior que 90%. Em campo, o herbicida não ocasionou injúria visual às plantas de tomateiro, com reflexo na produtividade de frutos, que não foi prejudicada. Por isso, concluiu-se que o oxadiazon foi altamente seletivo para os três híbridos de tomateiro rasteiro, quando pulverizado no pré-plantio em dosagens de até 625 g ha-1, e resultou em excelente controle de maria-pretinha com dosagens de 125 a 371g ha-1. Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-23T19:00:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SELECTIVITY-OF-HERBICIDE.pdf: 444849 bytes, checksum: a19f8a86207c7cb28da5a8f53a2b13af (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021

Late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans greatly constrains potato production. Many Resistance (R) genes were cloned from wild Solanum species and/or introduced into potato cultivars by breeding. However, individual R genes have been overcome by P. infestans evolution; durable resistance remains elusive. We positionally cloned a new R gene, Rpi-amr1, from Solanum americanum, that encodes an NRC helper-dependent CC-NLR protein. Rpi-amr1 confers resistance in potato to all 19 P. infestans isolates tested. Using association genomics and long-read RenSeq, we defined eight additional Rpi-amr1 alleles from different S. americanum and related species. Despite only ∼90% identity between Rpi-amr1 proteins, all confer late blight resistance but differentially recognize Avramr1 orthologs and paralogs. We propose that Rpi-amr1 gene family diversity facilitates detection of diverse paralogs and alleles of the recognized effector, enabling broad-spectrum and durable resistance against P. infestans.

Food-medicine plants play an important role in providing nutrition and treating chronic diseases, especially in many minority communities and developing regions. The coastal region of South China has abundant resources of medicinal plants. A long history of cross-cultural medicinal practices among different minority groups has facilitated the development of a remarkable dietary culture by using food-medicine plants. However, integrative ethnobotanical research on both nutritional and functional properties of the food-medicine plants in this region is still limited. In this study, 27 commonly used wild food-medicine plants were recorded and analyzed from the coastal region of South China. Most of them are good sources for calcium (47.83-1099.89 mg/100 g fresh weight), dietary fiber (3.00-31.87 mg/100 g fresh weight), iron (1.17-24.73 mg/100 g fresh weight), and vitamin C (0.44-68.32 mg/100 g fresh weight). Solanum americanum has the highest average nutritive value and is also considered to be good sources for proteins (7.90 g/100 g fresh weight). Medicinal properties of the studied species can be classified into 8 categories: treatment of the damp-heat syndrome, digestive diseases, urologic diseases, arthropathy, respiratory diseases, gynecological diseases, snake or insect bites, and uses as a tonic. Treating the damp-heat syndrome or expelling warm pathogenic factors is the most commonly used ethnomedicinal practice in the study area. The present study highlights that the local ethnomedicinal practices are deeply influenced by local natural conditions and customs. Food-medicine plants with superior key nutrients have been used regularly in the diet as medicinal food to alleviate common endemic diseases.

A perennial herb or shrub, that has been recorded in history by both Pliny and Dioscorides, is a native to Eurasia but now widely distributed. Dioscorides stated that it may be eaten without danger and described it as very cooling whether applied externally or used internally; and the fruits are extremely diuretic and through diuresis excrete matter causing jaundice. It was chiefly used by the Greeks as a local application to inflammed parts. In traditional systems of medicine, it is used as hepatoprotective, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antipyretic and antitumor agent; also reported to be used for the treatment of skin and mucosal ulcers, liver cirrhosis and edema. It is one of the best drugs for the treatment of organ inflammation, especially liver and stomach inflammations, where it is used both internally and as a poultice. Heated leaves are also applied to painful and swollen testicles. In Ayurveda, berries are regarded tonic, diuretic, and useful in anasarca and heart diseases. Leaves are consumed as vegetable in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, and other places, as they are rich in nutrients. It is also one of the suspected causative substances for the endemic esophageal cancer in Transkei region of South Africa, where it is extensively used as a wild vegetable. In Mexico, decoction of the plant is applied as fomentation to sore eyes and various skin diseases, and for vaginal irrigation. In East Africa, raw fruit is chewed and swallowed for treatment of stomach ulcers or for general abdominal upsets leading to continued stomachache. In the Philippines, fruit is reputed as a cure for diabetes, and the leaves applied as poultice have sedative and healing properties, and an alcoholate made with leaves alleviate neuralgic pain. The plant has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine for its diuretic, antipyretic, and hepatoprotective effects, and for the treatment of digestive system cancers; its root and seeds are also used as medicine. Leaves are richer in polyphenols than stem and fruits, and contain highest concentration of gentisic acid, luteolin, apigenin, kaempferol, and m-coumaric acid.

The pollen micro-morphology of family Solanaceae from the different phytogeographical region of Pakistan has been assessed. In this study, thirteen species belonging to ten genera of Solanaceae have been studied using light and scanning electron microscopy for both qualitative and quantitative features. Solanaceae is a eurypalynous family and a significant variation was observed in pollen size, shape, polarity and exine sculpturing. Examined plant species includes, Brugmansia suaveolens, Capsicum annuum, Cestrum parqui, Datura innoxia, Solanum lycopersicum, Nicotiana plumbaginifolia, Petunia hybrida, Physalis minima, Solanum americanum, Solanum erianthum, Solanum melongena, Solanum surattense and Withania somnifera. The prominent pollen type is tricolporate and shed as a monad. High pollen fertility reflects that observed taxa are well-known in the study area. Based on the observed pollen traits a taxonomic key was developed for the accurate and quick identification of species. Principal Component Analysis was performed that shows some morphological features are the main characters in the identification. Cluster Analysis was performed that separate the plant species in a cluster. The findings highlight the importance of Palyno-morphological features in the characterization and identification of Solanaceous taxa. It is concluded that both LM and SEM significantly play a key role in correct identification of taxa studied.

Citrus leprosis (CL) is one of the most important viral diseases in sweet orange orchards in Latin America. It is caused by members of at least five species of the so-called Brevipalpus-transmitted viruses (BTV), and the prevalent is Citrus leprosis virus C (CiLV-C). This virus has the broadest host range amongst all CL-associated viruses and is transmitted by Brevipalpus yothersi, a polyphagous mite that can colonize a large variety of host plants, including some spontaneous ground cover plants. But if, on one hand, spontaneous plants can host CL virus and vector, on the other hand, they can offer alternative food for predators, equally common in organic citrus orchards. Brevipalpus yothersi and predator mites were surveyed in 33 spontaneous plants of a Westin sweet orange orchard conducted under organic production system in Brazil, from June 2010 to April 2011. Predatory mites were identified as phytoseiids, and Iphiseiodes zuluagai was the prevalent species, representing 58% of all predators. Other phytoseiids were considered accidental species in the area. Ageratum conyzoides and Alternanthera tenella were the most represented plant host species to predators, comprising 28 and 10% of the total surveyed plants, respectively. Brevipalpus yothersi specimens were detected on various spontaneous species: A. conyzoides, A. tenella, Amaranthus deflexus, Bidens pilosa, Ipomoea quamoclit, I. cairica, Merremia cissoides, Solanum americanum, Panicum maximum, and, predominantly, Commelina benghalensis. The latter has been previously reported as host of CiLV-C as well and, therefore, it is recommended to eliminate this species from citrus orchards.

The discovery and utilisation of the wide range of medicinal plant resources is vital towards improved global health care delivery system. There is paucity of information of the antioxidant profile and nutritional properties of diverse indigenous vegetables in Nigeria. This study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant and proximate composition of six indigenous underutilized vegetables of southwest Nigeria: Solanum americanum, Jatropha gossypifolia, Bidens pilosa, Launea taraxacifolia, Celosia trigyna and Cucurbita maxima. The vegetables were harvested, dried and their water extracts investigated for total antioxidants, phenolics, flavonoids, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), scavenging activities and proximate compositions using standard procedures. Data were analysed using ANOVA at α 0.05. Assessment of total phenolic content, total flavonoids, ferric acid antioxidant power, free radical scavenging activity and proximate compositions of the vegetables showed significant variations in their antioxidant potentials. Total phenolic content of the vegetables ranged from 173.33 to 993.33 mg 100 g(-1). Bidens pilosa had the highest while Cucurbita maxima had the least, and all of these vegetables were relatively high in phenolic content. Flavonoid content ranged from 40 to 1262 mg 100 g(-1) in the vegetables, the trend was Bidens pilosa > Jatropha gosssypifolia > Solanum americanum > Launea taraxacifolia > Cucurbita maxima > Celosia trigyna. Ferric reducing power was between 57.33 (J. gossypifoli) and 946.67 mg 100 g(-1) (L. taraxacifolia). DPPH scavenging activity was between 43.33 and 52.69%. Total antioxidant activity was highest for B. pilosa (325.23 mg 100 g(-1) while the least was for C. trigyna (88.74 mg 100 g(-1). Moisture contents of dried vegetables ranged from 9.8-12.93%, ash from 9.71-10.71 g 100 g(-1) and protein contents were high at 19.70-32.60 g 100 g(-1). Fat contents were low at 0.98-3.56% while crude fibre ranged from 8.46 (J. gossipyfolia) to 13.56 (L. taraxacifolia). The vegetables are good sources of antioxidants, protein and crude fibre and their consumption may enhance overall body health.

Mulyanto D, Iskandar J, Abdoellah OS, Iskandar BS, Riawanti S, Partasasmita R. 2018. Leunca (Solanum americanum Mill.): The uses as vegetable in two villages in Upper Citarum Area, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 1941-1954. Leunca is known as botanical name as Solanum americanum Mill, Family of Solanaceae. In recent years, academic interest has been increasing. After so long studied as weeds, today leunca has also studied because of its important meaning as crop that has high nutritional and economic value in relation to food resilience of developing countries, as because of its chemical substances with its medicinal properties. Leunca was recorded in colonial period by botanists or agricultural scientists’ report as local vegetable in rural of West Java also in modern time by anthropologist or ecologists who studying rural population. In the recent time in Indonesia, leunca studies almost all have been focused on its pharmacological, agronomic, and economic aspects. The aspect that is related to Sundanese sociocultural system was almost neglected. This paper presents the finding of research on ethnobotany of leunca includes landraces, agronomical and utilization, traditional institutional aspect, and culinary culture food habits of leunca in rural Sundanese people. Method used in this study mixed-method of qualitative and quantitative was applied in this study, while some techniques including observation and semi-structured interviews were carried in the field research. The result of study showed that based on informants it has revealed that 7 kinds of plant that are named as leunca, however, only 3 kinds of leunca that are grown in their village. Among 7 kinds of leunca, leunca biasa (S. americanum) has been predominantly consumed both fruits and leaves. There is various food dishes are consumed fresh or cooked. Various dishes of leunca biasa have been culturally integrated everyday life of people and culturally as part of people identity of Sundanese people (urang Sunda). Other kinds of leunca, including leaves of leunca manuk (variety of S. americanum) have been consumed leunca as cooked vegetable, and its leaves have been used as traditional medicine of pet chicken disease.

An effective method for inducing high-frequency in vitro flowering and fruiting in two important medicinal species of Solanum (S. americanum and S. villosum) was standardized. In vitro multiplied shoots were cultured on MS media supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) alone or in combination with silver thiosulphate (STS). Synergism between STS and BAP improved flower induction. Flowering frequency enriched significantly when the duration between two sub-cultures was prolonged and strength of the MS medium increased 1.5 fold. Highest response, with total 36.7 ± 0.42 (S. americanum) and 33.2 ± 0.34 (S. villosum) flowers per plant were induced within 90 days of culture in the medium containing 0.35 mg L− 1 BAP and 40 μM STS. Maximum of 19 flowers bloomed together at a time in a single plant grown in a 250 ml conical flask. The increased concentration of sucrose (5.0%) in the medium and in vitro hand-pollination enhanced frequency of fruit setting. All flowers and fruits were normal in size and color as compared to in vivo plants. Along with maturation, the green fruits were turn to blackish-purple (S. americanum) or reddish-orange (S. villosum) containing 11 ± 0.52 or 18 ± 0.67 seeds per fruit, respectively. On an average, 94 ± 2.8 and 98 ± 3.1 days were required, respectively, for the completion of sexual lifecycle from shoot implantation up to germination of in vitro derived seeds produced via in vitro flowering and fruit ripening. The germination frequencies of in vitro produced seeds were 86.4 ± 2.1% (S. americanum) to 94.5 ± 2.5% (S. villosum). The present protocol has standardized a group of factors that regulates in vitro flowering, fruiting, and seed setting. This in vitro method offers a repeatable system for studying the physiological mechanism of flowering and fruiting in controlled environment and can assist improvement of other related Solanaceous crops through fast-track in vitro cross-breeding programs throughout the year without depending on season.

BACKGROUND: Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is a major fruit pest in temperate regions worldwide, but in subtropical Florida, winter‐grown strawberries have not been severely affected. Zaprionus indianus Gupta is another invasive drosophilid species and a pest of some tropical fruits. To improve monitoring, trapping systems for D. suzukii and Z. indianus were tested. Morphology, ovarian status and the suitability and availability of non‐crop hosts as possible D. suzukii population‐limiting factors were assessed. RESULTS: Traps with commercial attractants captured more D. suzukii but fewer Z. indianus than those with a homemade mixture. In central and northern Florida, < 10% and 30‐80% of D. suzukii, respectively, exhibited darker, winter morph coloration, and 55‐75% of females from central Florida were carrying mature and/or immature eggs. Adult D. suzukii were reared from fruits of two of 28 potential hosts: elderberry (Sambucus nigra) and nightshade (Solanum americanum). Nightshade, but not elderberry, was common on field perimeters (21 and six of 36 fields, respectively). Traps placed in wooded or partially wooded field edges yielded the most D. suzukii. CONCLUSION: Florida strawberry is at risk of D. suzukii infestation, as flies were captured throughout the growing season. However, fly captures remained relatively low, peaking at 1.5 flies per trap per day. In central Florida, the low availability and suitability of non‐crop hosts likely limit population growth. The finding of few flies in northern Florida may additionally be attributable to a greater proportion of flies displaying winter morph coloration than in central Florida. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry

Historically, Tomato spotted wilt virus and Impatiens necrotic spot virus have been significant constraints to crop production worldwide. With the emergence of Tomato chlorotic spot virus (TCSV) and a natural Groundnut ringspot virus (GRSV) reassortant in Florida and the Caribbean region, the significance of tospoviruses in production of major solanaceous vegetables including tomato and pepper has increased. In addition, TCSV has been reported in common solanaceous weeds including American black nightshade (Solanum americanum) and jimsonweed (Datura stramonium), in Florida and/or Puerto Rico. Experimental host range studies demonstrated that TCSV and/or GRSV can also infect solanaceous (Petunia and Brugmansia) and non-solanaceous (Garden Impatiens) ornamentals. During 2014, the first natural TCSV infections of non-solanaceous ornamentals porcelainflower (Hoya wayetii), false Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) and annual vinca (Catharanthus roseus) were detected in Florida. Since then, TCSV has been documented in other important crop and weed species, indicating host and geographic range expansion of this tospovirus. Several other viruses have also been detected in plants with symptoms similar to those induced by TCSV. In view of projected climate change-driven shifts in cropping systems, further knowledge of emerging plant viruses in Florida and the Caribbean region will help strengthen agricultural security.