Neopestalotiopsis spp. are emerging fungal pathogens associated with leaf spot, fruit rot, crown rot, and root rot in strawberries. Despite their endophytic lifestyle, global outbreaks of these pathogens have been reported over the past few years, causing severe economic losses in commercial strawberry production. Resistance has been reported against the chemical fungicides used to manage Neopestalotiopsis spp. This review comprehensively examines the epidemiology, biology, and infection mechanisms of Neopestalotiopsis spp. on strawberries. Recent advances in management strategies, including biological control agents and resistant strawberry cultivars, have also been highlighted. By integrating these approaches, this work aims to provide a foundation for sustainable management practices to mitigate the impact of Neopestalotiopsis spp. on strawberry production.

Papaya is a globally important crop, with production primarily based on hermaphrodite plants. Papaya has three sex types—male, female, and hermaphrodite—determined by flower morphology, but this is only distinguishable at the flowering stage. In this study, a recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assay was developed and optimized to identify the three sexes of papaya. Recombinant uvsX, uvsY, gp32, and Bsu DNA polymerase were used to study the effects of temperature, reaction time, and sensitivity conditions for RPA reaction efficiency. The optimal conditions were found to be 41 °C and a 30 min reaction time, allowing the detection of the target sex from specific DNA markers, even when using crude extract. This study shows that RPA could be used for sex determination in papaya, and the findings could contribute to developing a point-of-need strategy due to their sensitivity and specificity.

Papaya is a globally important crop, with production primarily based on hermaphrodite plants. Papaya has three sex types: male, female, and hermaphrodite, determined by flower morphology until the flowering stage. In this study, a recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assay was developed and optimized to identify the three sexes of papaya. Recombinant uvsX, uvsY, gp32, and Bsu DNA polymerase were used to study the effects of temperature, reaction time, and sensitivity conditions for RPA reaction efficiency. The optimal conditions were found to be 41°C and a 30-minute reaction time, allowing the detection of the target sex from specific DNA markers, even when using crude extract. The study shows that RPA could be used for sex determination in papaya, and the findings could contribute to developing a point-of-need strategy due to their sensitivity and specificity.

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil is mainly composed of the acyclic monoterpene aldehydes geranial (α-citral) and neral (β-citral), collectively known as citral, which exhibit documented cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines, as well as geraniol and limonene, among other monoterpenoids. In a previous study we reported that the constituents of the essential oil (EO) composition of lemongrass in vitro plants were modulated by different types of cytokinins (CKs) exogenously added to the culture medium. However, in that work, EO components were detected as volatile headspace compounds by SPME-GC/MS rather than as bulk oil extracts directly injected to GC/MS. Therefore, in this study, EOs were extracted by hydrodistillation from plants micropropagated with different CKs (BAP or 2iP) under different osmotic conditions (MS 3/3 and MS 5/5) and subsequently established in a greenhouse. Analysis of EO in C. citratus plants showed that plants grown on MS-3/3 BAP had more α-citral, and plants grown on MS-5/5 2iP had more limonene. This study demonstrates the impact of various CKs on EO production in lemongrass. The findings showed that 5/5 2iP produced the highest limonene yield, indicating a potential yield of 100 mL from 8719 plants. Similarly, 101 plants under the 5/5 Ctrl treatment are required for 100 mL of citral, and 34 plants under the 5/5 Ctrl treatment are required for 100 mL of geranyl acetate. The 5/5 2iP requires 816 plants to produce 100 mL of geraniol, and it takes 11,340 plants to produce 100 mL of β-caryophyllene from the 3/3 2iP treatment.