Strawberry (Fragraria x ananassa Duch) cv. Tochiotome is nutrient rich. However, it has a short shelf life, especially at room temperature. Coating is one of the methods used to prolong fruit shelf life. Coating materials, such as nano chitosan (NC) and Aloe vera (AV) gel, are edible and safe to consume. The objective was to analyze the interaction between AV gel and NC concentrations and determine the optimal concentration to improve the quality of strawberries at room temperature. This experiment used a factorial randomized block design with treatments of NC (0, 0.5, and 1%) and AV gel (0, 25, and 50%). The results showed an interaction between AV gel and NC concentrations for all variables. The optimum concentrations to improve the fruit quality of strawberries cv. Tochiotome were 25% AV gel with 1% NC, which increased the value by more than twofold compared with the control (no AV gel and NC) until four days after storage. The fruit quality characteristics were fruit hardness (6.57 N), weight loss (1.23%), titratable acidity (0.74 mL), total phenolic (1.79 µg GAE/FW), total flavonoid (29.85 mg QE/g), vitamin C concentration (43.83 mg/100 g), and shelf life (4.66 days). More than 1% NC may enhance quality. In conclusion, AV and NC are a potential treatment for improving the postharvest quality of strawberry.

Tomato is one of the most widely consumed horticultural products. However, tomato is very sensitive to changes in temperature. Daily average temperatures above 32 °C severely reduced tomato plant growth, development, and productivity. Therefore, climate change-induced global warming is a major threat to future tomato production. Good photosynthetic capability under heat stress conditions is known to be a major sign of heat tolerance. Tomato INDOLE-ACETIC-ACID (SlIAA9) is a transcriptional repressor in auxin signaling. SlIAA9 mutation caused heightened endogenous auxin response and biosynthesis within plant tissues. In this study, we studied the photosynthetic capability of iaa9-3 and iaa9-5 mutants under heat-stress conditions. We discovered that both iaa9-3 and iaa9-5 could maintain their photosynthetic capability after 14 days of heat treatment (>40 °C), differing from Wild Type-Micro-Tom (WT-MT) tomato. Both iaa9 mutants had higher net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, leaf total chlorophyll, leaf carotenoids, Fv/Fm value, and lower leaf MDA than WT-MT. These results suggested that the SlIAA9 mutation benefits plant adaptation to heat stress.

The ornamental plant is one of the important horticultural commodities in Indonesia, but its development differs from that of other horticultural commodities, such as vegetable and fruit plants. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has been ongoing since early 2020, apart from having an impact on health, has also positively impacted the ornamental plant business in Indonesia. Home confinement caused certain physiological problems that could be solved by indoor gardening activity, leading to an increase in the demand for ornamental plants, especially for leafy ornamental plants. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the growth of the ornamental production business in Indonesia in terms of psychological needs and the power of social media. There was an increase in ornamental prices due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Consumer preferences and behaviors were also altered by the pandemic, as indicated by consumers’ new motivations, perceptions, learning, and belief systems regarding ornamental plants. The government has launched several strategies to gain domestic competitiveness and maintain its sustainability in the environment. Digital transformation has been applied by ornamental plant businesses in Indonesia. The digital marketing of ornamental plants relies on social media concepts such as entertainment, customization, interactions, electronic word of mouth (EWOM), and trendiness.

Mubarok S, Wicaksono FY, Nuraini A, Rahmat BPN, Budiarto R. 2022.S hort Communication: Agronomical characteristics of sweet corn under different plant growth regulators during the dry season. Biodiversitas 23: 3091-3098. Sweet corn (Zea mays convar. saccharata var. rugosa)is one of the important horticultural crops. Increasing sweet corn production during the dry season can be achieved by applying plant growth regulators (PGR). PGRs such as auxin, gibberellin, cytokinin, ethylene, and other phytohormones control various physiological and chemical processes in plants. The PGR is often used for the engineering process of plant cultivation technology, especially during environmental stress conditions. This study aimed to determine the effect of PGRs (auxin, gibberellic acid, salicylic acid, and paclobutrazol) on sweet corn growth and yield during the dry season. The results showed that the application of PGR significantly affected sweet corn growth, yield, and yield quality during the dry season. The auxin significantly increased plant height and leaf length, whereas paclobutrazol and salicylic acid significantly increased the number of cobs and total soluble solids of sweet corn, respectively.

Near isogenic lines (NIL) were created to maintain good allele introgression in commercial tomatoes ( Solanum lycopersicum ). NIL ‐Sletr 1‐2 mutant tomato has a long shelf life. However, its growth, productivity, and fruit quality (taste and nutrition content) are below its maternal commercial cultivar. Elicitors were known to enhance tomatoes' taste and nutrition content effectively. Elicitors induced secondary metabolite synthesis in fruits, vegetables, and herbs. This study was carried out using a nonfactorial, completely randomized design. Four levels of elicitors were used: control (E0), 160 mM NaCl (E1), 0.5 mM salicylic acid (E2), and 0.25 mM methyl jasmonate (E3). This research aimed to uncover morpho‐physiological, productivity, and phytochemical responses of NIL ‐Sletr1‐2 tomato mutants to different elicitors. The results showed that elicitors have a significant impact on every parameter above. NaCl treatment increased the number of fruits per trusses, flowers per trusses, fruit pH, β‐carotene, total sugar, and antioxidant activity. Salicylic acid enhanced the fruit diameter, fruit weight, pH, and β‐carotene. Meanwhile, methyl jasmonate increased fruit weight, fruit diameter, pH, lycopene, total phenolic compound, and flavonoids. These results suggest that elicitors effectively increased the production and phytochemical properties of NIL‐ Sletr1‐2 mutant tomato.

Heat stress during seed germination represents a critical constraint to crop establishment, yet the hormonal and genetic mechanisms governing seed resilience to heat stress remains poorly understood. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), the role of auxin signaling repressor SlIAA9 in regulating seed germination and responses to heat stress has not been defined. Here, we investigated how loss of function mutation in SlIAA9 affects seed resilience under high temperature and post stress recovery. Utilizing two SlIAA9 mutant lines (iaa9-5 and iaa9-3) and Wild-Type Micro-Tom tomatoes, we assessed germination behaviors, seed quality parameters, reactive oxygen species (ROS) contents, and transcriptional responses during heat stress and recovery. Both mutants exhibited enhanced resilience to heat stress, with iaa9-5 maintaining high germination rate, normal seed and seedling qualities, and rapid post-stress recovery. This phenotype was associated with reduced accumulation of H₂O₂ and O₂^- and elevated expression of antioxidant and heat-responsive genes. Heat stress triggered stronger induction of HSFA9 and HSP70 in the mutants, while dormancy associated abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis genes were suppressed and ethylene biosynthesis genes were upregulated during stress recovery. Together, these findings identify SlIAA9 as a negative regulator of seed resilience to heat stress and loss of SlIAA9 function enhances antioxidant capacity and heat-responsive transcriptional programs during germination and recovery. Highlighting SlIAA9 as a potential genetic target for improving seed resilience to heat stress.