Applying biochar to tomato cultivation presents a beneficial strategy that can enhance both yield and fruit quality, crucial for sustainable agricultural practices. However, a review of the existing literature on the effects of biochar indicates a significant variability in outcomes, suggesting the need for a more nuanced understanding of biochar application in relation to soil and biochar conditions. This study conducts a meta-analysis on the literature published before March 2024 to investigate the impacts of biochar properties, agricultural practices, and soil properties on the yield and fruit quality of tomato. The results indicated that biochar application significantly increased tomato yield by 29.55%, total soluble solids (TSS) by 4.28%, and vitamin C (VC) by 6.77% compared to control treatments without biochar, especially at higher application rates. However, the benefits may wane over time due to biochar aging in the soil, requiring periodic replenishment. The type of biochar and pyrolysis temperature, particularly wood and straw biochar pyrolyzed at 401–500 °C, were found to be most effective for boosting yield and quality. Additionally, initial soil properties, including soil organic matter, pH, and nutrient levels, interact with biochar to influence outcomes, with biochar being particularly beneficial for soils with a high bulk density and low soil organic matter (SOM) or nutrient deficiencies. This study underscores the potential of biochar as a multifaceted strategy in tomato cultivation, enhancing not only yield but also the nutritional value of the fruit, while simultaneously improving soil health.

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) lays a foundation for the utilization of heterosis in soybean. The soybean CMS line SXCMS5A is an excellent CMS line exhibiting 100% male sterility. Cytological analysis revealed that in SXCMS5A compared to its maintainer SXCMS5B, its tapetum was vacuolated and abnormally developed. To identify the genes and metabolic pathways involving in pollen abortion of SXCMS5A, a comparative transcriptome analysis was conducted between SXCMS5A and SXCMS5B using flower buds. A total of 372,973,796 high quality clean reads were obtained from 6 samples (3 replicates for each material), and 840 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 658 downregulated and 182 upregulated ones in SXCMS5A compared to SXCMS5B. Among them, 13 DEGs, i.e., 12 open reading frames (ORFs) and 1 COX2, were mitochondrial genome genes in which ORF178 and ORF103c were upregulated in CMS lines and had transmembrane domain(s), therefore, identified as CMS candidate mitochondrial genes of SXCMS5A. Furthermore, numerous DEGs were associated with pollen wall development, carbohydrate metabolism, sugar transport, reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism and transcription factor. Some of them were further confirmed by quantitative real time PCR analysis between CMS lines with the same cytoplasmic source as SXCMS5A and their respective maintainer lines. The amount of soluble sugar and adenosine triphosphate and the activity of catalase and ascorbic acid oxidase showed that energy supply and ROS scavenging decreased in SXCMS5A compared to SXCMS5B. These findings provide valuable information for further understanding the molecular mechanism regulating the pollen abortion of soybean CMS.

Branch number is an important factor that affects crop plant architecture and yield in soybean. With the aim of elucidating the genetic basis of branch number, we identified 10 consensus quantitative trait loci (QTLs) through preliminary mapping, which were on chromosome A1, B2, C1, C2, D1a, D1b, F, L and N, explained 0.3-33.3% of the phenotypic variance. Of these, three QTLs were identical to previously identified ones, whereas the other seven were novel. In addition, one major QTL- qBN.C2 (R 2 =33.3%) was detected in all three environments and another new major QTL- qBN.N (R 2 =19.6%) was detected in two environments (Taiyuan 2017 and Taiyuan 2018), but only in Taiyuan. Thus, the QTL × environment interaction analysis confirmed that QTL- qBN.N was strongly affected by the environment. We compared the physical positions of the QTL intervals of the candidate genes potentially involved in branching development, and five orthologous genes were ultimately selected and related to the establishment of axillae meristem organization and lateral organs, qBN.A1 (SoyZH13_05G177000.m1), qBN.C2 (SoyZH13_06G176500.m1, SoyZH13_06G185600.m1), and qBN.D1b-1 (SoyZH13_02G035400.m1, SoyZH13_02G070000.m3). The results of our study reveal a complex and relatively complete genetic architecture and can serve as a basis for the positional gene cloning of branch number in soybean.