High summer temperatures increasingly constrain sweet cherry production, yet field-validated assessments of rootstock resilience remain scarce. To fill this gap, this study presents a pioneering multidimensional evaluation of five widely used sweet cherry rootstocks (Gisela 6, Gisela 12, Krymsk 5, Colt, and Lanting) under prolonged natural heat stress. Morphological traits, leaf anatomical characteristics, antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT, POD), lipid peroxidation (MDA), phytohormones (ABA and JA), and osmotic regulators were assessed. Traits with high coefficients of variation, including POD activity, ABA, JA, and soluble protein content, were identified as sensitive indicators of heat stress. Lanting exhibited the strongest heat tolerance, characterized by thicker leaves, fewer heat-induced lesions, and enhanced antioxidant capacity, whereas Gisela 6 showed severe leaf abscission, elevated MDA and ABA accumulation, and the weakest defense capacity. Correlation analysis indicated that root sucker number was positively associated with SOD activity and soluble sugar content, suggesting a potential role of whole-plant carbon allocation in mitigating oxidative stress. Using the Entropy Weight–TOPSIS model, we provided a robust ranking that identifies Lanting and Colt as superior heat-resilient genotypes. The results provide a field-validated framework that bridges the gap between controlled-environment theory and practical orchard management, offering critical guidance for expanding sweet cherry cultivation into high-temperature regions.

Waterlogging stress is one of the major natural issues resulting in stunted growth and loss of agricultural productivity. Cultivated kiwifruits are popular for their rich vitamin C content and unique flavor among consumers, while commonly sensitive to waterlogging stress. The wild kiwifruit plants are usually obliged to survive in harsh environments. Here, we carried out a transcriptome analysis by high-throughput RNA sequencing using the root tissues of Actinidia deliciosa (a wild resource with stress-tolerant phenotype) after waterlogging for 0 d, 3 d, and 7 d. Based on the RNA sequencing data, a high number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in roots under waterlogging treatment, which were significantly enriched into four biological processes, including stress response, metabolic processes, molecular transport, and mitotic organization, by gene ontology (GO) simplify enrichment analysis. Among these DEGs, the hypoxia-related genes AdADH1 and AdADH2 were correlated well with the contents of acetaldehyde and ethanol, and three transcription factors Acc26216, Acc08443, and Acc16908 were highly correlated with both AdADH1/2 genes and contents of acetaldehyde and ethanol. In addition, we found that there might be an evident difference among the promoter sequences of ADH genes from A. deliciosa and A. chinensis. Taken together, our results provide additional information on the waterlogging response in wild kiwifruit plants.

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is widely planted in northern China due to its high economic value, and its cultivation has gradually spread south to warm regions. However, fruit rot, observed on the young fruits, poses a considerable threat to the development of sweet cherry. To determine the causal agent, morphological observation, molecular identification, and pathogenicity tests were performed on isolates obtained from diseased fruits. As a result, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was identified as the pathogen. Pathogenicity tests on different sweet cherry cultivars indicated that ‘Summit’ was highly sensitive to S. sclerotiorum, whereas ‘Hongmi’ showed significant resistance. Besides sweet cherry, S. sclerotiorum could also infect other vegetable crops we tested, such as cowpea, soybean, tomato, and chili. Fungicide sensitivity and efficacy assays showed that both fludioxonil and pyraclostrobin can effectively inhibit the mycelial growth of S. sclerotiorum and decrease disease incidences on the young fruits of sweet cherry. Furthermore, genome sequencing resulted in a 37.8 Mb assembly of S. sclerotiorum strain ScSs1, showing abundant SNPs, InDels, and SVs with the genome of S. sclerotiorum reference strain 1980 UF-70. The above results provide an important basis for controlling the fruit rot of sweet cherry caused by S. sclerotiorum in China.

This study investigated the physiological responses of Actinidia eriantha Benth. cv. ‘Zaoxu’ to water-soluble fertilizer (OWS) and microbial fertilizer (MF) under field conditions from 2022 to 2023. Utilizing a randomized block design, four sequential applications of OWS (T1, T2, and T3) and MF (T4 and T5) were applied at distinct dilution ratios during the shoot elongation phase. A multivariate analytical framework was employed to assess treatment effects on growth dynamics and fruit quality. Experimental data revealed that OWS applied at 1000× dilution significantly enhanced the growth of mother-bearing shoots and the bearing branch group. During the fruit development stage, both the longitudinal and transverse diameters exhibited differential expansion patterns, with the maximal dimensional increases observed under the 1000× and 1500× dilution OWS treatments. The 1000× dilution OWS treatment demonstrated a superior single-fruit weight, achieving a mean single-fruit weight of 57.07 g—a 32.23% increase relative to the control. Fruit quality analyses further indicated elevated concentrations of sugar components, ascorbic acid, and total phenols in the 1000× dilution OWS treatment group. Principal component analysis (PCA) generated a composite quality index (Z-value) yielding the following treatment ranking: T2 > T3 > T5 > T1 > T4 > control. These findings collectively indicate that the 1000× dilution OWS application demonstrated superior efficiency in enhancing both plant growth and fruit quality in ‘Zaoxu’, providing empirical support for optimized fertilization protocols in commercial cultivation systems.