Fertilization, either in the form of organic or inorganic, always affects plant growth, yield, and nutritional quality of fruit crops. Further, the efficacy of fertilizers depends on various factors, including the area, climatic conditions, and cultivars. Rawalakot has ideal climatic conditions for growing strawberries. However, no studies related to the impact of different soil amendments on the growth habit and fruit quality of strawberries have been conducted so far. Therefore, in this study, different combinations of organic (farmyard manure (FYM) and poultry manure (PM)) and inorganic (urea) (N 150kg/ha) fertilizers were used for comparison of growth pattern and postharvest quality of strawberry cv. Chandler. The organic and inorganic fertilizer regimes showed comparatively better results in terms of all the parameters studied. However, plants grown on soils amended with FYM equivalent to 75kg N per ha+PM equivalent to 75kg N per ha and FYM equivalent to 50kg N per ha+PM equivalent to 50kg N per ha+urea 50kg N per ha showed 41 and 28 more survival percentage compared to control. Furthermore, the number of leaves, number of flowers, number of fruits, and yield were significantly high in plants grown on amended soil. Moreover, a significantly high amount of total soluble solids (10.0°Brix), titratable acidity (1.18), ash (0.84), fiber (3.03), total phenols (7.61μg gallic acid/g fresh weight), total flavonoids (7.93mmol quercetin/100g fresh weight), and total antioxidants (0.60 activity of FeSO₄ mg/g fresh weight) was noted in comparison with control. Similarly, a combined treatment of FYM, PM, and urea also showed good results in terms of all the growth and fruit quality parameters as compared with other fertilizer regimes as well as control. However, the overall results of this study revealed that strawberries grown on soil amended with a combined dose of FYM equivalent to 75kg N per ha+PM equivalent to 75kg N per ha could be a potential dose for maximum yield and better quality fruits of strawberry.

Growth substrates (polyester wool, rice husk, and wheat straw), along with soil as control treatment, were compared for vegetative growth, yield, and quality of strawberry cv. Chandler. All growth substrates tested showed good results in terms of growth rate as compared with control. Strawberry plants grown in polyester wool showed the highest (89.50) survival rate as compared to rice husk (70.50), wheat straw (64.63), and control (67.56). Moreover, a significant increase was observed among number of flowers, fruits, and yield in plants grown in polyester wool. Besides, a significant high amount of total soluble solids (TSS) (12.38 ºBrix), titratable acidity (TA) (1.21), ash (0.72), vitamin C (37.39mg/100g), total carotenoids (3.90µg/100g), and total anthocyanins (3.47 cyanidine-3-glucoside/100g) was recorded in fruits grown in polyester wool as compared to control. From these results, it can be concluded that the use of polyester wool as a growth substrate for strawberries can give higher yield and better fruit quality.

Quince fruit is mostly used to produce functional products. Recently, the value of this crop has increased due to demand as industrial raw material. The state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and specifically Rawalakot, District Poonch, is blessed with climatic conditions which are very much suitable for quince production, and therefore, a huge plantation could be found in wild. In this regard, this study was designed to collect two different accessions of quince (apple-shaped quince (ASQ) and pear-shaped quince (PSQ)) from three different locations (Dhamni (elevation: 5431 ft), Shamsabad (elevation: 5374 ft), and Drake (elevation: 3378 ft)) of Rawalakot, District Poonch, and analyze their physicochemical and mineral nutrients of fruit and the soil. Correlation coefficients were established pairwise. Results showed that physicochemical nutrients were significantly ( ) higher in ASQ fruits as compared with PSQ fruits. Further, fruits collected from location at higher elevation (Dhamni) showed better results as compared with fruits collected from lower elevations. Moreover, increased amount of nitrogen contents in the soil resulted in increased fruit weight. Similarly, fruit quality indices and bioactive compounds showed a positive correlation with the increased soil nutrient contents. These prediction models for quality of quince could be useful in guiding plant nutrition status and for enhancing fruit production in this region.

Potassium fertilisation plays an important role in improving pineapple fruit weight and quality. Potassium chloride (KCl)‐based compound fertilizer instead of potassium sulphate (K ₂ SO ₄ ) is often used in the pineapple cultivation due to its cheaper cost. A naturally formed mineral fertiliser mined in the U.K. known as polyhalite is one of the K ₂ SO ₄ ‐based fertiliser suitable for use in pineapple cultivation, besides supplying other macronutrients, which include magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and sulphur (S). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of polyhalite application after anthesis on yield, quality and postharvest storage shelf life of MD2 pineapples. Results showed that the average fruit weight increased by 12.8% with polyhalite dosage with significant increase recorded at the dose of 660 kg/ha. N, K, Mg, Ca and B levels in D leaf increased with polyhalite application. Pineapples treated with 660 kg/ha had slightly higher total soluble solids (11.30%), crude fibre content (28.50%), titratable acidity (13.30%) and sensory profile of overall acceptability (1.90%) compared with the control (without polyhalite application) at Day 13 of storage period. Thus, it can be concluded that polyhalite has the potential to serve as fertiliser source supplying K and secondary macronutrients such as Ca, Mg and S to enhance yield, quality and shelf life of pineapples grown in Malaysia.

Autophagy is an intracellular process in all eukaryotes which is responsible for the degradation of cytoplasmic constituents, recycling of organelles, and recycling of proteins. It is an important cellular process responsible for the effective virulence of several pathogenic plant fungal strains, having critical impacts on important crop plants including potatoes. However, the detailed physiological mechanisms of autophagy involved in the infection biology of soil-borne pathogens in the potato crop needs to be investigated further. In this study, the autophagy-related gene, FoATG12, in potato dry rot fungus Fusarium oxysporum was investigated by means of target gene replacement and overexpression. The deletion mutant ∆FoATG12 showed reduction in conidial formation and exhibited impaired aerial hyphae. The FoATG12 affected the expression of genes involved in pathogenicity and vegetative growth, as well as on morphology features of the colony under stressors. It was found that the disease symptoms were delayed upon being inoculated by the deletion mutant of FoATG12 compared to the wild-type (WT) and overexpression (OE), while the deletion mutant showed the disease symptoms on tomato plants. The results confirmed the significant role of the autophagy-related ATG12 gene in the production of aerial hyphae and the effective virulence of F. oxysporum in the potato crop. The current findings provid an enhanced gene-level understanding of the autophagy-related virulence of F. oxysporum, which could be helpful in pathogen control research and could have vital impacts on the potato crop.

Codling moth ( Cydia pomonella L.) is an insect of apple which causes serious economic damage due to premature fruit drop (PFD). PFD is an important cause of fruit loss in apples and has been recognized as a serious problem in apple production for many years. It is affected by various horticultural and climatic factors. Specific areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have conducive meteorological conditions that facilitate successful apple growth. However, so far no attempts have been made to deal with this problem in AJK. Insecticides are considered effective agents for alleviating abiotic stresses and delaying PFD. A 2‐year study (2021–2022) was undertaken in Dheerkot, AJK, to assess the impact of three insecticides, cypermethrin, biphenthrin, and acetamiprid (each at 250 mL/100 L), on PFD and postharvest quality of three apple varieties. Insecticide treatments were administered as foliar sprays with a low‐pressure hand sprayer following 70%–80% petal fall. Untreated apple trees served as the control group. Five branches were tagged on different sides of each tree in order to study the influence of insecticides. All insecticide treatments not only reduced codling moth infestation but also minimized the PFD and maintained the postharvest quality of apples. However, apple trees sprayed with biphenthrin (250 mL/100 L) showed minimum codling moth infestation (5.33%) in Star Crimson apples. Apples treated with biphenthrin showed a significant ( p ≤ 0.05) decrease in PFD and improvements in fruit size, weight and overall yield. Star Crimson demonstrated superior performance relative to other varieties across the majority of indicators tested. The findings indicate that biphenthrin application effectively manages codling moth infestations, reduces PFD, and improves the postharvest quality of apples.