Soft rot caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea is a serious fungal disease in kiwifruit observed during the storage period, and it seriously restricts the healthy and stable development of the kiwifruit industry. In the present study, the bacterial strain LMY3-5 with high antifungal activity was isolated from healthy kiwifruit tissues. Based on gyrA and 16S rRNA sequences, a phylogenetic tree was constructed, and LMY3-5 was identified as Bacillus velezensis. The 16% cell-free supernatant (CFS) of LMY3-5 suppressed B. dothidea spore germination and mycelial growth by 97.32%. The 16% CFS of LMY3-5 could effectively inhibit the expansion of kiwifruit soft rot in vitro, and the inhibition rate was 73.59%. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of B. dothidea mycelia treated with the 16% CFS for 12 h showed that the mycelia were curved, wrinkled, and sunken. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations revealed blurred boundaries of mycelial cell walls as well as plasmolysis and vacuolization. Propidium iodide (PI) staining showed that the CFS treatment damaged the cell membrane of B. dothidea and affected its permeability, which led to leakage of the nucleic acids and proteins. Simultaneously, a substantial increase in the activity of key enzymes (i.e., β-1,3-glucanase and chitinase) was observed, which indicated damage to the cell wall function of B. dothidea. GC/LC–MS analysis revealed the presence of 27 antimicrobial compounds. Thus, the LMY3-5 strain showed great potential as a biocontrol agent for soft rot disease in kiwifruit.

Background: Bamboo shoots have been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, improving digestion and regulating intestinal metabolic disorders. Edible fermented foods are subject to complex reactions during the fermentation process, leading to the creation of new bioactive compounds and enzymes, which can be beneficial for the relief of symptoms of ulcerative colitis. However, research on the use of fermented bamboo shoots for alleviating ulcerative colitis symptoms is currently limited. Methods: The effects of fermented bamboo shoots on DSS-induced UC model mice were investigated and basic physicochemical indicators, such as the levels of inflammatory factors, the composition of gut microbiota and SCFA were analysed to investigate the mechanism through which fermented bamboo shoots mitigate UC. Results: The results revealed that fermented bamboo shoots significantly reduced disease severity in DSS-treated mice, as evidenced by body weight recovery, a decreased disease activity index, increased colon length, and recovery from tissue damage. Fermented bamboo shoots also reduced the secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 ( p < 0.01). In addition, fermented bamboo shoots significantly increased the abundance of Akkermansia , Anaerovorax and Bacteroides in the intestines ( p < 0.01), as well as the levels of SCFAs including acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid in the caecum contents ( p < 0.01). Conclusion: In summary, fermented bamboo shoots may play a role in restoring the composition of intestinal microbiota and the production of their metabolites, which suggests that fermented bamboo shoots may be a functional dietary supplement for alleviating UC.

Continuous cropping obstacles drastically inhibit plant growth, medicinal composition, and tuber productivity of Pinellia ternata, thereby restricting its industrial development. There are few systematic reports on the physiological and electrophysiological responses of P. ternata under continuous cropping beyond 2 years, and effective obstacle monitoring methods remain undeveloped. Based on the results, continuous cropping for 1~4 years clearly inhibited morphological development, emergence rate, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme activities, and medicinal composition of P. ternata, while increasing its sprout tumble rate and resistance-related substance contents, as well as reducing tuber yield by 23.84%~59.20%. Meanwhile, continuous cropping could dramatically inhibit its intracellular water metabolism, nutrient transport, metabolic activity, and intrinsic capacitance (IC), while increasing its intrinsic resistance (IR), impedance (IZ), inductive reactance (IXL), and capacitive reactance (IXc). Additionally, these inhibiting or promoting effects intensified with the increasing duration of continuous cropping. Reliably, the comprehensive growth index (CGI) and continuous cropping obstacle index (CCOI), based on the plant’s electrical information, exhibited good correlations with the physiological and electrophysiological parameters, which accurately and rapidly characterized the growth and continuous cropping obstacle status of P. ternata. This study systematically described the physiological and electrophysiological characteristics of P. ternata under perennial continuous cropping, developed a novel monitoring approach based on the plant’s electrical information, and provided new insights for monitoring and mitigating its continuous cropping obstacle.

Continuous cropping (CC) stress severely limits the growth and industrial development of Pinellia ternata. Epihomobrassinolide (EBR) is a natural product that widely participates in many the physiological activities of many plants. Thiamethoxam·flutolanil·azoxystrobin (TFA) has been registered as a seed coating agent in crop production. In this work, the effects of seeds soaked with EBR, seeds coated with TFA, and their co-application on the plant growth, electrophysiological information (as physiological activities related to plant electrical signals), leaf photosynthesis, plant resistance, bulb quality, and yield of CC P. ternata were evaluated. The aim of this work is to excogitate a practicable agronomic measure for ameliorating the growth of CC P. ternata. The results show that soaking the seeds with EBR or coating the seeds with TFA could effectively enhance the plant height, leaf area, and stem diameter of CC P. ternata, promote its emergence seedling ratio, and decrease its inverted seedling ratio, and their associated application was found to be more efficient. Additionally, their associated application effectively enhanced the intrinsic capacitance (IC), intracellular water metabolism, nutrient transport, and metabolic activity and decreased the intrinsic resistance (IR), impedance (IZ), capacitive reactance (IXc), and inductive reactance (IXL). Meanwhile, their associated application could reliably enhance the photosynthetic capacity and stress resistance, and effectively improve the bulb quality and yield. This study emphasizes that the associated application of seeds soaked with a 0.004% aqueous EBR solution diluted 1000 times and seeds coated with a 24% TFA flowable concentrate at 1.6 mL kg⁻¹ seed can be used as a novel and practicable technology for alleviating the CC stress of P. ternata and ameliorating its growth, electrophysiological information, resistance, quality, and yield.

Background: Pseudostellaria heterophylla is an herb with medicinal, edible and ornamental uses, and unreasonable planting density severely restricts its growth. Traditional methods for evaluating optimal planting density primarily rely on agronomic traits, yield, and quality indicators, which suffer from significant lag and provide only superficial insights. Methods: In this study, the electrophysiological information was regarded as key indicator, and the influence of plant density on the growth of P. heterophylla was evaluated through multi-dimensional data. Results: The results indicate that there were significant differences ( p < 0.05) in electrophysiological indices, electrical signals, intracellular water metabolism, nutrient transport and agronomic traits of P. heterophylla under different planting densities. Electrophysiological responses were faster and more sensitive than traditional methods, showing a non-linear pattern of “low in the middle and high at both ends”. The sensitivity of this response is reflected in the changes of growth state under density stress. When plant density was 80,000 to 100,000 plants per 667 m ² , the above-ground part and underground part grew best, and total biomass and economic benefits were also optimal. When it was 100,000 plants per 667 m ² , the saponin content reached 3.95%. Correlation analysis showed that the electrophysiological signal was positively correlated with the traditional evaluation index, and grey relational analysis indicated that each index at this density performed evenly and excellently. The change of electrophysiological signals had a high correlation with the results of grey relational analysis, which verified that electrophysiological information is an index for early, rapid, non-destructive indication of P. heterophylla growth status. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that electrophysiological information can serve as an early, rapid, non-destructive indicator of P. heterophylla growth status, and identifies 80,000–100,000 plants per 667 m ² as the optimal planting density. These findings provide a scientific basis for standardized cultivation of P. heterophylla .