Leaves of semi-domesticated Diospyros digyna and wild D. rekoi trees, sampled seasonally in Mexico in 2014, were analyzed. Metabolic fingerprints revealed higher metabolite diversity in D. rekoi leaves. The TLC bands characteristic of glycosylated flavonoids, predominant in this species, matched the detection of quercetin and quercetin 3-O-glucuronides by liquid chromatography (UPLC-MS) of spring leaf extracts (LEs). Further gas chromatography (GC-MS) analysis revealed abundant fatty acids, organic acids, and secondary metabolites including trigonelline, p-coumaric, and ferulic and nicotinic acids. Phenolic-like compounds prevailed in D. digyna LEs, while unidentified triterpenoids and dihydroxylated coumarins were detected by UPLC-MS and GC-MS. A paucity of leaf metabolites in leaves of this species, compared to D. rekoi, was evident. Higher antioxidant capacity (AOC) was detected in D. digyna LEs. The AOC was season-independent in D. digyna but not in D. rekoi. The AOC in both species was concentrated in distinct TLC single bands, although seasonal variation in band intensity was observed among trees sampled. The AOC in D. digyna LEs could be ascribed to the coumarin esculetin. The LEs moderately inhibited phytopathogenic bacteria but not fungi. Leaf chemistry differences in these Mesoamerican Diospyros species substantiated previous variability reported in tree physiology and fruit physical chemistry, postulated to result from domestication and seasonality.

Cucurbita foetidissima and C. radicans are scarcely studied wild pumpkin species that grow in arid and semi-arid areas of Mexico and the United States. This study describes the morphological, proximal composition, metabolic finger-prints and seed protein profiles of C. foetidissima and C. radicans fruits collected in the wild during a one-year period in different locations of central-western Mexico. The results obtained complement the limited information concerning the fruit composition of C. foetidissima and greatly expand information in this respect regarding C. radicans. Morphology and proximal composition of their fruits varied significantly. Different metabolic fingerprints and seed protein profiles were detected between them and also with the chemical composition of domesticated Cucurbita fruits. The neutral lipids in seed, pulp and peels were rich in wax content and in unsaturated compounds, probably carotenoids and tocopherols, in addition to tri-, di- and mono-acylglycerols. The tri- and diacylglycerol profiles of their seed oils were different from commercial seed oils and between each other. They also showed unusual fatty acid compositions. Evidence of a possible alkaloid in the pulp and peel of both species was obtained in addition to several putative cucurbitacins. An abundance of phenolic acids was found in all fruit parts, whereas flavonoids were only detected in the peels. Unlike most cucurbits, globulins were not the main protein fraction in the seeds of C. radicans, whereas the non-structural carbohydrate and raffinose oligosaccharide content in their fruit parts was lower than in other wild cucurbit species. These results emphasize the significantly different chemical composition of these two marginally studied Cucurbita species, which was more discrepant in C. radicans, despite the notion regarding C. foetidissima as an aberrant species with no affinity to any other Cucurbita species.

Association with mycorrhizal fungi confers benefits to host plants. The successful establishment of the symbiosis improves the nutritional status of both organisms: while the fungus receives carbohydrates from its host, the plant benefits from the association by increasing the absorption of nutrients and minerals from the soil, as well as enhancing its resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. In the present work, the result of the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and organic fertilizers in tomato plants as an ecologically sustainable strategy is shown, and the impact on the establishment of said colonization is analyzed. For this, staining and molecular methods were used to analyze the impact of organic fertilizers on mycorrhizal colonization. The findings indicate that the application of organic fertilizers in low proportion does not affect the establishment of mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Corn is the most important crop in Mexico, is the center of origin and diversity, as well as being an important part of its diet and culture, representing a deep relationship with its economy.Climatic and soil erosion projections force the study of the behavior of the crop in the face of possible changes, nowadays the modification of agroecological practices is important, one of them is the use of organic biofertilizers. Recent studies that determine the regulation of stomata development in grasses could be determined to improve plant efficiency and agricultural yield. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the effect of the use of organic fertilizers at different doses of humus in the stomatic distribution in corn plants. In this work the number of stomata in both the abaxial and the adaxial of the leaves was evaluated, as well as the length of stomata of corn plants grown with doses of 10, 20 and 30 ton/ha of humus.