The study was aimed to breed new coffee varieties with good characteristics for improving the yield and quality of Yunnan coffee production. Arabica coffee hybrid F₁ was introduced from Nestle R&D Center in France to Pu’er to study plant growth, fruiting characteristics, yield and bean physical properties. The varieties are 107, 117, 118,120, 121, 10×25 and 12×25, and the control is T8667, a widely planted cultivar. The test sites were Simao, Ning’er, Menglian and Jiangcheng. The results indicated that the plant height, stem diameter and crown width of the 3-year-old plant for the varieties was 84.20-175.00 cm, 21.69-53.34 mm, and 74.80-165.30 cm, respectively. All test varieties were dwarf plant. GPFA117 showed thicker stems and wider crown, 118 and 121 had better crown width than the control. The number of primary branches was 34.00~62.20. The longest primary branch length and diameter range was 43.40-89.00 cm, 4.86-11.40 mm respectively. The varieties with excellent performance were those with more number of primary branches, strong and long branches. 117, 118 and 121. 10×25 showed longer primary branches than the control, and the primary branch of 107, 120 varieties was thicker and longer, which can also be used as a good trait in future breeding. The least number fruits per node were 12×25 and T8667, and other varieties had more than 15 fruits per node. The variety 107, 117, 118, 120, 121 and 10×25 had the highest fresh fruit yield per plant and dry bean yield per hectare, up to 4.50–6.58 kg and 3289.46–4968.57 kg. Varieties 117, 118 and 120 had an average dry bean yield of over 3000 kg/hm² during the two-year peak production period, indicating a relatively high level of yield. It showed the advantage of high yield of hybrid varieties respectively. The fresh-dry ratio was (4.31-6.48)∶1, the highest was 10×25. The weight of 100 parchment beans was 14.93-20.67 g, and that of 12×25 was the smallest one. Others showed completely filled fruit and medium bean granularity. Varieties 117, 118, 120, 121 and 10×25 had some excellent traits such as plants shorter, thicker stems, wider crown, more thicker and longer primary branches, high yield, plump fruits, medium grain size over T8667. The varieties would provide scientific basis for promoting high-yield and high-quality coffee varieties in production.

In order to screen cocoa breeding materials with excellent fruit traits, pulp and cocoa bean quality, 17 indicators including fruit quality, fruit shell quality, fruit length, fruit width, fresh quality of seeds, pulp content, soluble sugar, total acid, pH, sugar-acid ratio, pulp sensory evaluation (aroma, sour-sweet taste, acceptance), cocoa butter, theobromine, caffeine, and polyphenols were measured for 11 cocoa germplasm. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to comprehensively evaluate the 17 indicators of different cocoa germplasm fruits. The results indicated that the coefficients of variation (CV) for the 17 indicators ranged from 4.16% to 52.91%, with an average of 16.73%. Notably, caffeine exhibited the highest CV among all indicators. The CVs for pulp content, total acid, sugar-acid ratio, and caffeine were all above 20%, suggesting significant variations in fruit traits and quality among the 11 cocoa germplasms. This rich genetic diversity indicates a vast potential for the selection and improvement of cocoa cultivars with desirable characteristics. In the sensory evaluation of cocoa pulp, variety Xiangke 16 scored the highest, followed by TAS420 and TAS1413. Furthermore, the acceptability among testers was primarily influenced by the balance of sweetness and sourness in the pulp. Correlation analysis revealed that there were mainly positive correlations between fruit traits and pulp quality, while there were primarily negative correlations between cocoa bean quality traits and both fruit traits and pulp quality. In the principal component analysis, a total of five principal components with eigenvalues greater than 1 were extracted, accounting for a cumulative contribution rate of 89.521%. Based on the principal component scores of each indicator, a comprehensive ranking was conducted, with TAS420, Xiangke 16, and TAS414 scoring the highest. The three cocoa germplasm exhibited superior performance in fruit traits, pulp quality, and cocoa bean quality. Principal components 1 and 2 played crucial roles in the comprehensive evaluation. Among them, indicators such as pH, sugar-acid ratio, sensory evaluation, fruit quality, fruit shell quality, and fruit width contributed significantly to the evaluation of cocoa fruits. Based on the cluster analysis, the 11 cocoa germplasms were subdivided into four groups. Group I consisted of TAS1413, which exhibited superior fruit traits and pulp quality but had the poorest cocoa bean quality. Groups II and III comprised the top four germplasm in the comprehensive ranking, demonstrating excellent overall indicators and serving as important materials for breeding superior varieties. The remaining six germplasm belonged to Group IV, which had relatively average fruit traits and quality. This study would provide a foundation for the breeding of superior cocoa varieties, contributing to the diversification and development of the cocoa industry.

Date palm is hermaphroditic and highly heterogeneous in genetics, resulting in severe phenotypic variation. Propagation of seedlings depends on asexual reproduction, and tissue culture technology is the main means of commercializing date seedling production at present. However, the difficulty in inducing embryogenesis and the long induction cycle lead to difficulties in system construction and high tissue culture costs. Therefore, it is urgent to study the effects of hormone regulation on the endogenous metabolic substances of date embryos and optimize the embryogenesis system. This study is based on the selection of date explants, induction of callus and embryogenic callus in the previous studies, and uses orthogonal experimental design to screen and match the plant growth regulators and concentrations in the MS culture medium to induce embryogenesis from callus. The study statistically recorded the embryogenesis rate, induction cycle, and survival rate; date embryos with different levels of hormone were sampled; the morphological changes of date embryos in a regular manner were observed; and the changes in the content of total protein (Cpr), soluble sugar (WSS), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), amino acids (AA), auxin, cytokinin (CTK), abscisic acid (ABA), and gibberellin (GA) were measured. The results showed that the embryogenic rate of C₉ was higher than that of C₅, C₄, C₆, and the time for embryogenesis was the shortest in the C₅ treatment. In the C₉ treatment, the highest content of catalase and amino acids was found in the embryos, and the highest protein content was found in the C₅ treatment. The coefficient of variation was the largest for glutathione reductase content, and the maximum difference was found in amino acid content. The correlation analysis showed that thiocyanate and gibberellin had the strongest correlation with glutathione reductase, and soluble sugar had the strongest correlation with protein and amino acid. Principal component analysis showed that the first four principal components accounted for 88.714% of the total variance, with an eigenvalue of 3.877 for the first principal component, a contribution rate of 43.076%, and the first principal component was mainly influenced by thiocyanate content, soluble sugar content, protein content, and gibberellin content, with the highest eigenvalue of 0.921 for thiocyanate content, reflecting the impact of thiocyanate on embryogenesis. The study would provide theoretical support for optimizing the embryogenesis system and laying a technical foundation for achieving efficient and rapid propagation of date palm.

Pepper and its products are loved by people all over the world for its unique flavor, and the composition and content of metabolites have an important influence on the flavor quality of pepper. As a regional characteristic variety of chili pepper in Yunnan province, Xiaomila is favored by consumers because of its rich nutrition and spicy flavor. In order to find out the similarities and differences of metabolites and metabolic pathways in different cultivated varieties during ripening, this study took local traditional Yunnan Xiaomila fruits (Capsicum frutescens L.) and Jingcui (C. baccatum L.) at green ripening stage and red ripening stage as the research object. The non-targeted metabolome technique was used to reveal the metabolite changes and metabolic pathway differences of two kinds of Xiaomila fruits at different growth stages. The results showed that a total of 880 metabolites of 12 classes were identified in Yunnan Xiaomila, among which the proportion of lipids and organic acids was the highest, indicating that Yunnan Xiaomila was rich in nutrients and could be used as a potential functional food raw material. The types and amounts of differential metabolites were significantly different at different growth stages and varieties, but the nutrients of red fruits were richer than those of green fruits. Compared with the two cultivated species, the local Xiaomila in Yunnan was richer in flavonoids, while the amount and variety of amino acids in Jingcui were more. Specific differential metabolites were screened from different comparison groups. Flavonoids, glycerophospholipids, amino acids and other substances could be used as potential biomarkers for different growth stages of the two cultivars. KEGG enrichment analysis found that the metabolic pathways of common metabolites (lipids, amino acids, sugars, carbohydrates, secondary metabolites, terpenes and polyketones, etc.) were included. The key metabolic pathways in the two growth stages were mainly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolic pathways, biosynthesis of flavonoids and flavonols, biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites, and biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid. The unique differential metabolic pathways of different comparison groups were found. In conclusion, the results show that there are significant differences in the species and quantity of metabolites in two kinds of Xiaomila and each has its own characteristics, which would provide data support for the quality breeding and the later harvest strategy of Xiaomila fruit.

The Nujiang Dry-hot Valley region in Yunnan is an ideal area for the cultivation of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica L.). However, the continuous occurrence of coffee leaf diseases has a significant impact on the health, yield and quality of coffee trees, causing considerable losses to local agricultural production. To effectively manage the diseases, this study focused on the isolation and identification of the pathogens associated with coffee leaf diseases in the Nujiang Dry-hot Valley region. Typical diseased leaf samples were collected from various coffee plantations, and through pathogen isolation, purification, verification using Koch’s postulates, morphological observation and ITS gene sequence analysis. Seven pathogenic strains, Lu 11-2, Lu 9-1, Xin 5-2, Xin 7-5, Xin 8-2, Xin 15-2 and Lu 23-1, were identified. Lu 11-2, Lu 9-1, Xin 5-2 and Xin 7-5 were identified as Alternaria sp., Xin 15-2 and Lu 23-1 were identified as Colletotrichum sp., and Xin 8-2 was identified as Pestalotiopsis sp. The primary pathogens causing coffee leaf diseases in this region could be categorized into three types, Alternaria sp., Pestalotiopsis sp. and Colletotrichum sp.. Specifically, Alternaria sp. and Pestalotiopsis sp. were the primary pathogens responsible for coffee leaf spot disease, while Colletotrichum sp. was the causative agent of coffee anthracnose disease. The findings of this study would not only provide a scientific basis for a deeper understanding of the types of coffee leaf diseases in the Nujiang Dry-hot Valley region of Yunnan but also offer theoretical support for effective disease management in the area. This research plays a significant guiding role for local coffee cultivation and serves as a reference for disease control in coffee-growing regions elsewhere.

The scale insect pest is the main pest in agroforestry, causing varying degrees of damage to crops, fruit trees, ornamental plants, and forest trees. The fungus Cordyceps javanica IJID003 exhibits strong pathogenicity against scale insects, making it a promising candidate for the development of microbial pesticides. Research and development efforts focusing on its wettable powder formulation and the optimization of its production process are essential steps toward its industrialization and commercialization. The efforts are also crucial for promoting sustainable agricultural practices and achieving green pest management strategies. In this study, a single-factor test was employed to identify the optimal solid fermentation substrates and exogenous additives of strain IJID003. This research screened the optional carrier, wetting agent, dispersing agent and UV protective agent of the C. javanica by measuring the compatibility and its effective performance, which developed the wettable powder formula of the C. javanica preliminarily. The field efficacy of the C. javanica wettable powder was evaluated against female adults of Icerya jacobsoni on Michelia alba. The optimal spore-producing base substrate for C. javanica was barley. The best substrate formulation was a mixture of barley (7 parts) and wheat bran (1 part) by weight. The optimal exogenous additives included 1% glucose as a carbon source, 1% acid hydrolyzed casein as a nitrogen source, 2% potassium chloride as an inorganic salt, 1% glycine as an amino acid, and bee pupal body wall powder as a chitin source. The optimal formulation for the strain IJID003 wettable powder was 20% spore powder of IJID003, 1% wetting agent Morwet EFW, 5% dispersing agent Morwet D-450, 1% UV protectant CBS-X, and 73% carrier diatomaceous earth. Field trials demonstrated that a spore concentration of 6×10⁸ CFU/mL of C. javanica wettable powder effectively controlled female I. jacobsoni adults on M. alba, with an efficacy of 92.50% at 21 days post-inoculation. This efficacy was not significantly different from that of the control insecticide, a 4000-fold dilution of 25% thiamethoxam wettable powder, which achieved a control efficiency of 95.50%. In conclusion, the strain IJID003 wettable powder shows excellent potential for the green management of scale insects and holds significant promise as a sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides.

The aim of this study was to screen out insecticides that exhibit higher toxicity to Ferrisia virgata, thereby establishing a scientific foundation for controlling F. virgata. The toxicity of 14 insecticides on F. virgata was assessed indoors at 6 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h after application by a spraying method, among which the median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) values of the 7 insecticides showing greater efficacy against the 3rd nymph F. virgata were determined specifically at 24 h and 48 h post-application. Based on the recommended dosage of each insecticide, the field control efficacy of acetamiprid, sulfoxaflor, fenpropathrin, diazinon, thiamethoxam, profenofos·lufenuron, flonicamid·bifenthrin against F. virgata was evaluated by artificial spraying in the areca field of Yazhou, Sanya, Hainan in May 2024. The preliminary screening results showed that acetamiprid, sulfoxaflor, fenpropathrin, diazinon, thiamethoxam, profenofos·lufenuron, flonicamid·bifenthrin had good toxicity against the 3rd nymph F. virgata, with the mortality rate of more than 70% at 48 h after treatment. The results of laboratory toxicity determination showed that 24 h and 48 h after treatment, the relative virulence of the seven agents ranked from highest to lowest as follows: Thiamethoxam, fenpropathrin, sulfoxaflor, acetamiprid, diazinon, flonicamid·bifenthrin, profenofos·lufenuron. The results of field efficacy test showed that thiamethoxam, fenpropathrin, sulfoxaflor and acetamiprid exhibited the superior field control effect, and the corrected control effect was more than 60% during 1-7 days after treatment, while that of diazinon, flonicamid·bifenthrin, profenofos. lufenuron was less than 60% on 7 days after treatment. Thiamethoxam had the highest field control effect on mealybug bistripe, achieving a corrected control effect of 90.13% after 1 day of application, peaking at 94.53% after 3 days, and maintaining a substantial efficacy of 87.20% after 7 days, which was significantly higher than that of the other insecticides. The results of this study demonstrated that thiamethoxam, fenpropathrin, sulfoxaflor had good laboratory insecticidal activity and field control efficacy against F. virgata. The findings would provide a scientific basis for selecting suitable pesticides for controlling F. virgata, and also offer technical support for the prevention and control strategy of areca palm yellow leaf disease.

Tetranychus urticae is a dangerous agricultural pest worldwide. Abamectin is a widely used acaricide in the prevention and control of T. urticae. However, the resistance caused by inappropriate application of acaricide has become an increasing challenge. Explorating the resistant mechanisms of T. urticae against abamectin can provide the theoretical basis for prolonging lifespan and perform a comprehensive prevention and control strategy. In this study, we conducted an abamectin bioassays on field population, laboratory-derived resistant-and sensitive populations. It was found that the 24 h median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) values of the three populations was 7.19 µg/mL, 2061.43 µg/mL and 0.10 µg/mL, respectively, while the LC₅₀ values of the 48 h was 6.32 µg/mL, 1971.55 µg/mL and 0.09 µg/mL, respectively. In addition, the resistance ratio of the field population and the laboratory resistant population exceeded 70-fold and 20 000-fold respectively, which belonged to the medium resistance level and the high resistance level. Detoxification enzyme activity of surviving T. urticae following exposure to LC₅₀ treatment showed that the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GSTs) and uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferase (UGTs) in the resistant population was the highest, followed by the field populations, and both two population were significantly higher than those of sensitive population. In comparison, prior to the acaricide treatment, the enzyme activity of the highly resistant population and the medium resistant population increased over time, while the enzyme activity of the sensitive population were inhibited. Quantitative PCR was used to compare the expression differences of the coding gene of the above enzyme detoxification enzymes. It revealed that prior to the treatment, the expression level of GSTm09, GSTd10, UGT204a2 and UGT201d3 in the highly resistant population and the medium resistant population in the field was significantly higher than that in the sensitive population, and the difference in the expression of detoxification enzyme genes between the resistant population and the sensitive population increased further with the extension of treatment time. Correlation analysis showed that the detoxification enzyme activity and the expression of the coding genes were significantly positively correlated with the resistance level to abamectin. The study would provide a theoretical reference for in-depth exploration of T. urticae resistant target genes and the development of resistance management strategies.

Coffee is one of three major beverage plants in the world, which is an important economic crop serving the revitalization and construction of rural areas in hot areas and national “the Belt and Road” initiative. Hainan coffee has good quality, high prices and good earnings. Currently, there is a phenomenon of using inferior products and impersonating others in the market, which is seriously damaged the brand image of Hainan coffee. Therefore, the development of Hainan coffee origin traceability identification technology is of great significance for promoting identification of Hainan coffee. In this study, we used inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry technology to determine the content of 13 mineral elements (K, Mg, Ca, Cu, Fe, Ba, Co, Mo, Ni, Zn, Se, Cd, As) in 68 coffee bean samples from main production areas of robusta coffee both domestically and internationally. Principal component analysis, orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis and cluster analysis were used to classify the production areas of medium grain coffee beans in Hainan and abroad. A model for identifying the origin of medium grained coffee was established using linear discriminant analysis. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between different mineral element. And content of elements As, Ca, Fe, K, and Zn between Hainan and foreign production areas were significantly different; OPLS-DA analysis divided coffee samples into two groups, Hainan and foreign areas, based on composition characteristics of five elements. Fisher discriminant model established by using content of elements As, K, and Ca could distinguish robusta coffee beans from Hainan and abroad. The correct discriminant rates of cross test and back generation test were 92.3% and 96.2%, respectively. The accuracy of cluster analysis in identifying product origin was 89.7%. The above research results demonstrated that fingerprint characteristics of mineral elements could be used for origin tracing of Hainan coffee, which provided key technical support for brand protection of Hainan coffee in the future.

Cassava roots were used as the raw material. Single factor tests combined with the Box-Behnken response surface method were used to optimize the extraction process of cassava crude polysaccharide (CPCR) assisted by ultrasonic wave, and the process of enzymatic hydrolysis of cassava tuber roots by four different enzymes was analyzed. The results showed that the four enzymatic hydrolysis processes were different. The extraction yield of CPCR with enzyme was significantly higher than that without enzyme. The CPCR yield of the four enzymes was α-medium temperature>pullulanase>hemicellulase>α-low-temperature amylase, the ultrasonic treatment time of α-low-temperature amylase was the longest (360 min), but the CPCR yield was the lowest (7.02%). The α-medium temperature CPCR yield was the highest (20.25%), and the best enzymatic extraction process was as follows: ultrasonic power 300 W, ultrasonic temperature 70 ℃, enzyme content 5 KU/g, solid-liquid ratio (g/mL) 1∶2.5, and ultrasonic time 240 min. The ultrasonic treatment time of pullulanase was the shortest (60 min), and the CPCR yield was 13.98%. The yield of CPCR under hemicellulase hydrolysis was 7.99%. The optimized conditions were further verified, and the results showed that the yield of crude polysaccharide was close to the predicted value. However, the crude polysaccharide content was also detected under the condition that only enzyme was added without cassava sample, and the extraction rate of medium temperature α-amylase was still the highest (17.22%) after deducting the influence of enzyme. It can be seen that medium temperature α-amylase enzymatic hydrolysis of cassava tuber roots is an efficient way to extract CPCR. This study is expected to provide technique basis for its further research and utilization of crude polysaccharide.