Enhancing optical and electrical performances is effective in improving power conversion efficiency of photovoltaic devices. Here, gold and silver dual nanoparticles were imported and embedded in the hole transport layer of perovskite solar cells. Due to the cooperative localized surface plasmon resonance of these two kinds of metal nanostructures, light harvest of perovskite material layer and the electrical performance of device were improved, which finally upgraded short circuit current density by 10.0%, and helped to increase power conversion efficiency from 10.4% to 11.6% under AM 1.5G illumination with intensity of 100 mW/cm. In addition, we explored the influence of silver and gold nanoparticles on charge carrier generation, dissociation, recombination, and transportation inside perovskite solar cells.

A plant factory is a highly developed product system that can produce higher yields and better quality plants under controlled conditions. However, knowledge of blueberry cultivation in plant factories is limited. This study established an advanced plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL) and investigated the effects of nutrition supply and light qualities on the growth performance of blueberries. Different nutrition treatments affected the vegetative growth of blueberries in PFAL, especially the new shoot length and number. Exogenous fertilization significantly promoted the uptake of N, P, and K elements, and a nutrition solution with N:P:K = 2:1:1 was suggested to be superior for blueberries in PFAL. Red light facilitated vegetative growth to some degree, and the blue light was conducive to increased chlorophyll and anthocyanin content. The Pn value was significantly enhanced under 60% red plus 40% blue light. Combining red and blue light is more beneficial to blueberry growth and might be a preferential strategy in PFAL. This study is the first to investigate the growth performance of blueberries cultivated in PFAL, which can provide an important theoretical database for blueberry cultivation in a plant factory with artificial lighting.

In blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), a perennial shrub, flower bud initiation is mediated by a short-day (SD) photoperiod and buds bloom once the chilling requirement is satisfied. A plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL) is a planting system that can provide a stable and highly efficient growing environment for blueberry production. However, the characteristics of bud differentiation of blueberry plants inside PFAL systems are poorly understood. To better understand flower bud initiation and the flowering mechanism of blueberry in PFAL systems, the anatomical structure of apical buds under SD conditions in a PFAL system was observed using the southern highbush cultivar ‘Misty’ and a transcriptomic analysis was performed to identify the candidate flowering genes. The results indicated that the apical bud of ‘Misty’ differentiated gradually along with SD time course and swelled obviously when chilling was introduced. A total of 39.28 Gb clean data were generated, and about 20.31–24.11 Mb high-quality clean reads were assembled, yielding a total of 17370 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 9637 were up-regulated and 7733 were down-regulated. Based on the functional annotation, 26 DEGs were identified including 20 flowering-related and 6 low-temperature DEGs, out of which the expressive level of four flowering-related DEGs (VcFT2, VcFPA, VcFMADS1, and VcCOP1) and two low-temperature-induced DEGs (VcTIL-1 and VcLTI 65-like) were confirmed by qRT-PCR with a good consistency with the pattern of transcriptome. Functional analysis indicated that VcFT2 was highly conserved with nuclear and cytoplasmic subcellular localization and was expressed mainly in blueberry leaf tissue. In Arabidopsis, ectopic overexpression of VcFT2 results in an early flowering phenotype, indicating that VcFT2 is a vital regulator of the SD-mediated flowering pathway in blueberry. These results contribute to the investigation of photoperiod-mediated flowering mechanisms of blueberry in PFAL systems.

Sweet and sour flavors are the most important indicators of loquat fruit quality; they are determined not only by variety but also by the flesh type and the concentration and change patterns of sugars, organic acids, related enzyme activities, and endogenous phytohormones. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the physiological and biochemical characteristics associated with loquat fruit flavor formation by analyzing the changes and correlation in sugars, organic acids, enzyme activities, and endogenous hormones during fruit development in the white-fleshed, high-sugar cultivar ‘Qixing’ and the red-fleshed, sour–sweet cultivar ‘Huoju’. The results indicated a significant increase in total soluble sugars and individual sugars (mainly fructose, glucose, and sucrose), and a sharp decrease in organic acids (mainly malic acid). Correlation analysis revealed that the activities of sucrose synthase (SS), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and phosphofructokinase (PFK) were positively associated with sugar accumulation. In contrast, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME), and NAD-malate dehydrogenase (NAD-MDH) were crucial for organic acid metabolism. Phytohormone analysis indicated that indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellic acid (GA₃) play vital roles in fruit enlargement, while abscisic acid (ABA) is important for fruit ripening in loquats. These findings provide insights into the physiological mechanisms underlying loquat fruit quality formation, reveal the enzymatic or hormonal regulatory effects on sugar accumulation and acid degradation, and provide a theoretical basis for improving the fruit flavor quality.