Production and consumption of pomegranate have been increasing in the world in recent years due to its health benefits to humans. Sunburn is an important physiological disorder caused by high temperature, light, and radiation. With the changes in climatic conditions that have occurred in recent years, the effect of sunburn is increasing and limiting the production and quality of pomegranate. Therefore, development of pomegranate cultivars resistance to sunburn is one of the main objectives of pomegranate breeding program. However, the development of a new variety takes a very long time. In order to shorten this time, molecular markers have been used in plant breeding in recent years. In this study, molecular markers associated with sunburn resistance in pomegranate fruit were developed using bulked segregant analysis technique (BSA) in a pomegranate progeny population whose morphological, pomological, and phenological evaluations were completed. Two RAPD fragments (OPAI-08-650 and OPPP-14-900) associated with sunburn resistance or sensitivity were determined and used as markers. One of these RAPD fragments was purified, cloned and sequenced to produce a more specific sequence characterized amplified regions (SCAR) marker, designated as PgSCARGYH1. The markers developed in this study will shorten the breeding process of sunburn-resistant pomegranate cultivars. In addition, it will also contribute to the increase in pomegranate production in terms of quality and quantity.

The pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is one of the fruit species with the oldest cultural history. There are many traits to determine the quality of pomegranate fruits. Among them, soft-seeded feature of pomegranate fruit is important trait for the market value of the fruit. For this reason, the demand for pomegranate varieties with soft seeds has been increasing, especially in recent years. In this study, molecular markers associated with seed hardness were developed to distinguish pomegranate cultivars with soft-seeded feature based on genomic DNA at the early stages of the pomegranate breeding process. For this purpose, pomegranate genotypes and/or cultivars from the population involved in reciprocal crosses of hard-seeded Ernar, medium-hard-seeded Hicaznar, and soft-seeded Fellahyemez cultivars were grouped as soft-seeded or hard-seeded. Further, leaf samples were collected from individuals belonging to each group. Then, the genomic DNA was isolated from each plant separately, and equal amount of genomic DNA from individuals with the similar seed hardness were mixed for bulked segregant analysis (BSA). The bulked genomic DNAs of opposite characters were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using random decamer primers to develop random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers associated with soft-seeded or hard-seeded pomegranates. A total of three RAPD markers were determined to distinguish the individuals having soft- or hard-seeded pomegranate genotypes and/or cultivars. As a result of the comparison of the DNA sequences of these RAPD markers, insertion-deletions (inDels) primers were designed to developed and validate a PCR assay to distinguish the soft- and hard-seeded pomegranate genotypes/cultivars from each other. The molecular markers developed in this study will enable us to distinguish soft-seeded pomegranate types easily in a short time at the early stages of the pomegranate breeding programs.

Genotype and cultivar identification is essential for conserving tea genetic diversity within plantation ecosystems and ensuring the sustainability of high-quality tea production. This study represents the first large-scale genetic characterization of 200 elite varietal candidate tea (Camellia sinensis) clones, which were pre-selected from 2,034 genotypes originating from the Eastern and Western Black Sea regions of Türkiye. Eight polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers located near loci associated with catechin content, including epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), were employed. SSR profiles were generated for all 200 tea clones cultivated in control plots at the National Tea Gene Bank, and the resulting data were additionally used for DNA barcoding of 12 varietal candidate tea clones currently under registration. Among the evaluated markers, TM412 (EGC) exhibited the highest polymorphism information content (PIC = 0.8816), whereas TM376 (EC) showed the lowest (0.4321). Notably, TM412 (EGC) and TM399 (ECG) displayed high PIC values, indicating their strong discriminatory potential for Turkish tea genotypes. The findings indicate that Turkish tea germplasm possesses substantial genetic diversity, and some markers may be effectively utilized in variety registration and breeding efforts. This study presents the first comprehensive molecular characterization of tea genetic resources in Türkiye. It contributes to the long-term conservation of selected clones and supports the variety registration process through DNA barcoding and a QR code-based traceability system. The genetic dataset generated in this work contributed directly to the establishment of Türkiye’s first and the world’s fifth-largest tea gene pool in Rize Province, providing a valuable reference for strengthening tea genetic resource conservation and breeding programs at both national and global scales.

Ülkemiz Çay tarım alanlarında bilinçsizce yapılan gübrelemeler toprak yapısının bozulmasına ve ürün kalitesinin azalmasına neden olmaktadır. Bu çalışma, toprak ve yaprak analizleri yapılarak, elde edilen sonuçlar doğrultusunda çay üreticilerine örnek olabilecek bir gübreleme programının oluşturulması amacıyla yapılmıştır. Çay üreticilerinin yaygın olarak kullandığı 100 kg da-1 25-5-10 kompoze gübre yanında, 70 kg da-1 25-5-10 kompoze gübre, 70 kg da-1 25-5-10 kompoze gübre + (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn), 70 kg da-1 25-5-10 kompoze gübre + (Kalsiyum karbonat), 70 kg da-1 25-5-10 kompoze gübre + (Magnezyum karbonat + Kalsiyum karbonat) ve 70kg da-1 25-5-10 kompoze gübre + (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Kalsiyum karbonat) uygulamaları yapılmıştır. Kompoze gübreye ek olarak verilen mikro elementler yapılan toprak analizleri dikkate alınarak hesaplanmıştır. Doğal kil minerali olan kaolinin % 3 ve % 6’lık dozlarının da denendiği çalışmada, yapılan tüm uygulamaların yaş ve kuru çay verimi üzerine etkileri incelenmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, üreticinin çayda kullanmış olduğu gübre miktarı %30 oranında azaltıldığı halde yaprak ve toprak analizleri doğrultusunda uygulanan mikro besin elementlerinin ilavesi ve kaolin uygulamaları ile verim ve kalite kayıplarının yaşanmadığı görülmüştür. Yapılan gübre uygulamaları içerisinde özellikle 70 kg da-1 25-5-10 kompoze gübre + (Kalsiyum Karbonat), ile 70 kg da-1 25-5-10 kompoze gübre + (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn) ön plana çıkmıştır.

Satsuma (Rize) Mandarin is Türkiye's most widely produced and exported mandarin variety. Due to its early ripeness and seedlessness, Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) is a popular citrus fruit in domestic and foreign markets. The present study was conducted at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture in 2020-2021 to determine the shelf-life of Satsuma mandarin genotypes obtained as a result of clonal selection carried out in Rize province and its districts. The harvested mandarin variety candidates were pomologically analyzed and stored in an environment containing at 15°C ± 1 temperature and 55-60% humidity. The changes in fruit weight (g), fruit juice content (%), rind thickness (mm), total soluble solid (%, TSS), and titratable acid (%, TA) content were examined at one-week intervals during the storage period. It was determined that weight loss (%) and TSS (%) increased steadily, while fruit juice content (%), rind thickness (mm), and titratable acid (%) decreased steadily during storage in all genotypes and control. Also, the differences detected in terms of the properties examined were lower on 7 and 14 days than the initial value, whereas they were higher on 21 days. As a result of the findings, it was determined that the quality losses of mandarin genotypes showed differences during the shelf-life, but they could be stored for 14 days without much loss in quality.