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Modification of Fruit Quality and Leaf Mineral Composition of ‘Nagafu No.2’ Apple Grafted onto Four Dwarfing Interstocks

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Abstract

The application of dwarfing interstocks to establish high-density apple orchards in cold and windy areas with barren soil and high altitude has become a new apple cultivation model in many countries. The physicochemical parameters of Fuji apple cv. ‘Nagafu No.2’ grafted onto four different interstocks SH.6, SH.38, SC.1, and M.26 were investigated to clarify how different interstock–scion combinations affect fruit quality. Fruits on M.26 had higher fruit weight, skin color, total soluble solids (TSS), anthocyanin, and sugar/acid ratio than those grafted on other interstocks. Different sugars and hormones responded differently to interstocks, which may be related to the interactions between interstocks and scion. Seventy-one volatile compounds were identified in the apple headspace by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), mainly including esters, aldehydes, alcohols, hydrocarbons, and acids. Notably, there were 20 volatiles with odor activity values (OAVs) greater than 1 that contributed significantly to apple flavor. Additionally, the absorption capacities of M.26 and SC.1 interstocks to most nutrient elements were stronger than that of SH interstocks. This study demonstrated that interstocks could affect the metabolism and transportation of sugars, phytohormones, and other physicochemical indexes to determine apple quality. Taken together, this study elucidates the effects of different dwarfing interstocks on fruit quality and provides a basis for future apple interstock selection.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the ‘Double-First-Class’ key Scientific Research Project of Gansu Education Department (GSSYLXM-02), Major Science and Technology Project of Gansu province, China (22ZD6NA045), and National key research and development program (2022YFD1602100). The funding agencies provided only the experimental cost and publication fee for this work. However, the experimental design and data collection and analysis were managed by the contributing authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Yanmei Li, Zonghuan Ma, Yanbiao Li, Wenfang Li, Juan Mao & Baihong Chen

  2. Apple Experiment Station of Northwest A & F University, Qingcheng, 745100, China

    Lulong Sun

  3. Fruit Industry Development Center, Qingcheng, 745100, China

    Jutao Xu

  4. Modern Agricultural College of Jiaxing Vocational & Technical College, Jiaxing, 314036, China

    Yanbiao Li

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  1. Yanmei Li
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  2. Zonghuan Ma
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BC designed experiments. YL drafted the work. YL, ZM, YL, LS, and JX carried out experiments and analyzed the data. BC, JM, and WL critically revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Baihong Chen.

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Li, Y., Ma, Z., Li, Y. et al. Modification of Fruit Quality and Leaf Mineral Composition of ‘Nagafu No.2’ Apple Grafted onto Four Dwarfing Interstocks. J Plant Growth Regul 42, 7240–7256 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-023-11012-0

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