The invasion of non-native plant species presents a significant ecological challenge worldwide, impacting native ecosystems and biodiversity. These invasive plant species significantly affect the native ecosystem. The threat of invasive plant species having harmful effects on the natural ecosystem is a serious concern. Invasive plant species produce secondary metabolites, which not only help in growth and development but are also essential for the spread of these plant species. This review highlights the important functions of secondary metabolites in plant invasion, particularly their effect on allelopathy, defense system, interaction with micro soil biota, and competitive advantages. Secondary metabolites produced by invasive plant species play an important role by affecting allelopathic interactions and herbivory. They sometimes change the soil chemistry to make a viable condition for their proliferation. The secondary metabolites of invasive plant species inhibit the growth of native plant species by changing the resources available to them. Therefore, it is necessary to understand this complicated interaction between secondary metabolites and plant invasion. This review mainly summarizes all the known secondary metabolites of non-native plant species, emphasizing their significance for integrated weed management and research.

Anthocyanins are a class of water-soluble flavonoids widely present in fruits and vegetables responsible for the red flesh formation of peach fruit. Previously, several genes of the MYB family have been reported as transcriptional regulators of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway of structural genes in plants. In this study, through comparative transcriptome analysis of the white and red flesh peach cultivars of Harrow Blood and Asama Hakuto, a predicted transcription factor of the R2R3MYB family, PpMYB39, was identified to be associated with anthocyanin biosynthesis in peach fruit. In red-fleshed peach cultivars, the maximum amount of anthocyanin accumulated 95 days after full bloom (DAFB), at full maturity near ripening. Our results showed that, at this stage, PpMYB39 had the highest expression level among the 13 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) found in both red- and white-fleshed fruits, as well as a high correlation with total anthocyanin content throughout fruit development. Moreover, the expression analysis of the structural genes of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in peach fruit revealed that Prunus persica Dihydroflavonol-4-reductase (PpDFR) was co-expressed and up-regulated with PpMYB39 at 95 DAFB, suggesting its possible role as a transcriptional activator of MYB39. This was further confirmed by a yeast one-hybrid assay and a dual luciferase reporter assay. Our results will be helpful in the breeding of peach cultivars and the identification and significance of color in peaches and related fruit species, in addition to providing an understanding of color formation in peach fruit for future research.

Protection of agricultural crops from pests and diseases is very important to fulfill the needs of growing population. For this purpose, different types of chemicals are used which leads to the accumulation of toxic organic and inorganic compounds in agricultural cycle particularly in economically important fruits and vegetables. Pesticide residue analysis is fundamentally important to ensure the safety of foods, plant and animal origin, and to preserve the environment. It is therefore crucial to monitor fruits and vegetables for pesticide residues using available advanced analytical techniques. The current study was assigned to investigate pesticide residues in peach fruit. We selected six peach cultivars (Early Grand, Florida King, NJC (05), Elberta (06), Maria Delezia, and Indian blood) from four different locations of district Swat. The sampled fruit varieties were then analysed for pesticide residues using gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Results showed that Early Grand variety had pesticide residues with highest concentration of Cypermethrin (16.7±1.38 μg kg-1) followed by Pyridaben (7.425±0.11μg kg-1). In Florida King, the highest c oncentration of Endosulfan (32.78±0.9 μg kg-1) is detected followed by Metachlore (17.36±0.44 μg kg-1). In variety NJC and Elberta, Pyredaben, Propachlor, Carbofuran, Cypermethrine, Endosulfan, and Cyhalothrine compound were found. In both varieties, Endosulfan was in the highest concentration (21.27±1.20 μg kg-1and 67.94±4.61 μg kg-1respectively). As these two varieties had close harvesting time, both varieties showed a similar pattern of pesticide residues. In variety Maria, Difenaconazole was found in the highest concentration (187.51μg kg-1) while the Indian blood variety difenaconazole was noted with the highest concentration (88.60±8.9 μg kg-1). The Chloropyrifos was not detected in any variety and the possible reason may be, it is applied at flowering stage before fruit initiation. Although all cultivars at different locations had pesticide residues, however it cannot be considered a serious public health problem because compounds and their residual levels were below critical concentration as defined by European Union regulations. Furthermore, judicious use of pesticides in fruit and vegetable would certainly ensure their minimal exposure in products.