ASHS 2024 Conference

Leveraging the inherent genetic diversity conserved in plant resource collections is key to new crops, new cultivars, and adapted germplasm with improved traits that provide food security for a growing population, remain productive amidst rapid climate change, meet shifting consumer demands, and enhance sustainability and efficiency. The USDA National Plant Germplasm System manages large and genetically diverse plant collections representing crop plant species and many of crop wild relatives (CWR) that have significant impacts on crop production. In this Special Topic Session hosted by the Federal Partners Interest Group, scientists of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will discuss the current efforts and future perspectives on the restoration and utilization of germplasms and CWR at the USDA with a special focus on fruit, nut, and beverage crops.

Coordinator(s)

• Lisa Tang, USDA-ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, WV, United States

Moderator(s)

• Lisa Tang, USDA-ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, WV, United States
• Matthew Mattia, USDA-ARS U. S. Horticultural Research Laboratory, Fort Pierce, FL, United States

Speaker/Participant(s)

• Lisa Tang, USDA-ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, WV, United States
  Introduction of the Federal Partners special session (5 mins)
• Gayle Volk, USDA, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
  The USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System Strategic Plan: A roadmap to conserve and utilize U. S. plant genetic resources (15 mins)
  Summary: The USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) conserves more than 620, 000 accessions of plant genetic resources of crops and crop wild relatives which annually distribute 200, 000+ samples globally. As directed by the 2018 Farm Bill, an NPGS Strategic Plan was developed to address the backlogs in maintenance, characterization, and to enhance utilization. This presentation will provide information about the impacts of the NPGS and details about the NPGS Strategic Plan, which, when funded, will result in: 1) More plant germplasm maintained disease-free, securely backed up, and readily available; 2) Expanded knowledge of the intrinsic genetic variation and high-value traits in NPGS collections; and 3) New plant germplasm with valuable traits acquired, safeguarded and developed. This presentation is authored by Gayle M. Volk (USDA), Marilyn L. Warburton (USDA), Moira Sheehan (Cornell University), Christina Walters (USDA), Stacey Estrada (USDA), Glenn Hanes (USDA), Jim McFerson (USDA), and Peter K. Bretting (USDA-retired).
• Chris Gottschalk, USDA-ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, WV, United States
  Into the wild: utilization of wild crop relatives the USDA ARS apple pre-breeding program (15 mins)
  Summary:
• Nahla Bassil, USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, OR, United States
  Crop wild relatives of temperate fruits at the Corvallis Genebank: Uses and prospects (10 mins)
  Summary:
• Michael Hardigan, USDA-ARS, Corvallis, OR, United States
  Crop wild relatives of temperate fruits at the Corvallis Genebank: Uses and prospects (10 mins)
  Summary:
• Tracie Matsumoto, USDA-ARS Daniel K. Inouye Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Tropical Plant Genetic Resources and Disease Research Unit, Hilo, HI, United States
  Sub-Tropical/tropical Fruit, Nut, and Beverage Clonal Repository in Hilo, Hawaii (15 mins)
  Summary: The National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Tropical Fruit, Nut and Beverage Crops is located in Hilo, Hawaii and is a part of the National Germplasm Repository System and USDA ARS DKI PBARC Tropical Plant and Genetic Resources Unit. The repository is responsible for collecting, maintaining, evaluating, and distributing germplasm of tropical/subtropical fruit and nut crops. Crops include Pineapple (Ananas), Breadfruit (Artocarpus), Starfruit (Averrhoa), Peach palm (Bactris), Pili nut (Canarium), Papaya (Carica and Vasconcellea), Coffee (Coffea) Longan (Dimocarpus), Litchi (Litchi), Macadamia (Macadamia), Acerola (Malpighia), Rambutan and Pulasan (Nephelium), and Guava (Psidium). In addition to the field and greenhouse collections, we are actively investigating new methods to propagate and effectively manage the collections. We work to characterize the collection for resistance to pest and diseases and genetically characterize the germplasm to determine potential gaps for future collections.
• Qingyi Yu, USDA-ARS Daniel K. Inouye Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Tropical Plant Genetic Resources and Disease Research Unit, Hilo, HI, United States
  Exploring germplasm diversity to understand the domestication process of papaya (15 mins)
  Summary: Papaya (Carica papaya L.), originating and domesticated in southern Mexico and Central America, is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions due to its nutritional benefits and the commercially significant proteolytic enzyme, papain. While wild papaya yields small, seedy fruits with minimal edible flesh, domesticated papaya varieties can weigh over five pounds. Wild papaya populations are exclusively dioecious, whereas cultivated papaya is predominantly gynodioecious, although certain dioecious cultivars exist. In this study, we conducted whole-genome resequencing of 86 diverse papaya accessions, comprising 63 cultivars and 23 wild accessions. To identify regions undergoing selection during domestication and improvement, we scanned for areas exhibiting a drastic reduction in nucleotide diversity in cultivars compared to wild accessions. Our results suggest that papaya domestication involved selecting fruit quality traits such as taste and flesh color. Moreover, we re-sequenced the male-specific region of the Y (MSY) in 24 wild males and the hermaphrodite-specific region of the Yh chromosome (HSY) in 12 cultivated hermaphrodites. The Yh sequence is highly similar to one Y haplotype (MSY3), exclusive to wild dioecious populations in the north Pacific region of Costa Rica. The low MSY3-Yh divergence suggests that hermaphrodite papaya resulted from human domestication.

Can Hedge-Pruning Reduce Water Needs In Southeastern United States Pecan Orchards? - Bailey Rayfield
Leaf Anatomical Traits and Water Use Efficiency in Four Pecan Cultivars - Sarahi Bracamontes
Performance of Five Early-harvest Pecan Cultivars in South Georgia - Patrick Conner
Enhancing Pecan Tree Resilience Against Spring Freeze Events: Insights from Secondary Bud Dynamics and Carbohydrate Analysis - Lu Zhang
Biochar in Pecan Orchards: Unraveling Water Stress Dynamics for Sustainable Irrigation Management - Jamin Miller
Evaluating Soil Management Impacts on the Pecan Orchard Mycobiome in the Semi-Arid Southwestern United States - McKenzie Stock

Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) trees have experienced higher density plantings which enhances the need for better water use efficiency to increase the sustainability of the orchard. The implementation of hedge-pruning allows for better light penetration as well as more efficient water use in the humid climate of the southeastern United States. The objectives of this study were to determine if irrigation rates can be reduced on hedge-pruned pecan trees with no loss in pecan yield or nut quality. The study is a split-plot design with pruning serving as the main plot effect and irrigation serving as the split plot effect. On hedge-pruned trees, all growth beyond 8’ from the trunk on the East side of the tree was pruned in year 1 and on the West side of the tree in year 2. Trees were topped on each side in their respective years at an angle with a peak at 40’. No pruning will be done in year 3. Hedging treatments are arranged in three tree blocks with each irrigation treatment occurring once per block as follows: 1) 100% irrigation; 2) 50 % irrigation; 3) non-irrigated control. Hedged blocks were replicated four times, and the non-hedged blocks were replicated three times. Among the irrigation regimes, there was no statistical difference between treatments indicating that, under the environmental conditions observed, less water is sufficient for pecan production, regardless of pruning treatment. Although, there has been no improvement in yield from the hedge-pruned trees, percent kernel has increased in the hedged trees compared to the non-hedged trees, suggesting an enhancement of pecan nut quality with hedge pruning.

The leaf surface and interior structure can affect photosynthesis and transpiration rates associated with water use efficiency. Several studies have assessed pecan (𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘢 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴) leaf anatomical traits and established differences between cultivars; however, the effect of these traits on water use efficiency across cultivars has not been established. Understanding the relationship between leaf anatomical structures and water use efficiency across pecan cultivars allows for the identification of those that are well suited for water limited environments. In this study, we examined the leaf mesophyll layer thickness (µm), trichome density (trichome mm⁻²), stomatal density (stomata mm⁻²), and stomatal pore area (µm²) of four pecan cultivars (‘Wichita’, ‘Western’, ‘Pawnee’, and ‘Lakota’; all grafted to clonally propagated rootstocks). Leaves were collected at the NMSU Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center, and their cross-section and abaxial surface were imaged using light and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. ‘Lakota’ leaves had the thinnest palisade mesophyll layer and thickest spongy mesophyll layer relative to total leaf thickness. The stomatal density of ‘Pawnee’ was significantly less than the other cultivars, but no significant differences in stomatal pore area were observed. Intrinsic water use efficiency, calculated as ratio of the carbon assimilation rate to stomatal conductance to water vapor, was obtained using a leaf gas exchange meter on three separate days. A stable carbon isotope composition analysis was also conducted to provide insight into the leaf’s longer-term water use efficiency. The results showed that the intrinsic water use efficiency of ‘Lakota’ was different from ‘Western’ on one of the days; however, differences between cultivars were not significant when averaged across the measurement dates. Furthermore, the relative ¹³C abundance and ¹³C discrimination did not have significant differences across the four pecan cultivars evaluated, suggesting that differences in leaf anatomical traits did not influence the water use efficiency of these samples.

Five pecan (Carya illinoinensis) cultivars were evaluated over 15 years in a trial at Tifton, GA, USA. Trialed cultivars included the standard early cultivar Pawnee, and the more recent releases Byrd, Morrill, Lakota, and Treadwell. Actual yield were measured for each tree each year and a 50-nut sample was taken to determine nut quality. Trees were evaluated for leaf and nut scab infection (Venturia effusa) and black aphid (Melanocallis caryaefoliae) damage. ‘Pawnee’ yielded significantly less than all the newer cultivars which had similar cumulative yields. However, ‘Byrd’, ‘Lakota’, and ‘Treadwell’ had significantly more yield alternation than ‘Pawnee’ and ‘Morrill’, with reduction of nut quality in the “ON” years. ‘Pawnee’ was the earliest cultivar and produced excellent quality nuts, but yields were mediocre. ‘Lakota’ had excellent scab resistance, but overcropped resulting in inferior quality, and should only be grown in orchards were crop loads are controlled by hedging or tree shaking. ‘Byrd’ and ‘Treadwell’ are very scab susceptible and also need crop load control, making them poorly suited for south Georgia. ‘Morrill’ had consistent cropping and excellent nut quality but is also very scab susceptible and should only be grown with excellent disease management practices.

Pecan growers face significant challenges in protecting their crops from the spring freezes that devastate yields. Conventional freeze protection methods are impractical for the large, tall trees. This study investigated the dynamics of the secondary bud break in pecan trees, a mechanism that ensures yield when primary buds are damaged. In three pecan cultivars ('Pawnee,' 'Kanza,' and 'Maramec') we characterized the sprouting potential of secondary buds after the primary buds were cold damaged. Primary bud shoots were collected at three different bud growth stages: outer bud scale shed stage, inner bud scale shed stage, and early bloom stage. The shoot samples held at 6°C to terminate primary buds’ growth. The cold treated shoots were then held in growth chambers set to mimic spring humidity, temperature, and light conditions. The percentage of branches with secondary bud break was recorded. The carbohydrate levels (sugar and starch) were measured in the apical shoots treated at the outer bud scale shed stage. The results showed variation among cultivars in the number of shoots with secondary buds and the stage at which primary buds were terminated. The ‘Kanza’ and ‘Pawnee’ cultivars produced more secondary buds when the primary buds were cold damaged in the outer bud scale shed stage. The ‘Maramec’ cultivar produced more secondary buds when the primary buds were cold damaged in the inner bud scale shed stage. The A carbohydrate analysis of the three cultivars demonstrated a correlation between successful secondary bud break and elevated carbohydrate levels in the one-year-old shoots. Cultivars with higher secondary bud break rates, 'Kanza' and 'Pawnee', had higher carbohydrate levels than 'Maramec.' These findings suggest that higher carbohydrate levels in one-year-old shoots facilitate successful secondary bud break following spring freeze damage to primary buds. This research suggests developing production practices to improve tree carbohydrate levels in the late summer and fall could potentially protect pecan production from spring freeze damage.

Pecan orchards in the southwestern United States face significant challenges due to persistent drought conditions that adversely affect yield and nut quality. Pecans are recognized as the most water-intensive crop in the region, and therefore require innovative strategies to optimize the available irrigation water. This study explores the use of pecan wood-derived biochar as a soil amendment to enhance the soil water-holding capacity and alleviate water stress in pecan orchards. We conducted field experiments during the summer of 2023 in a flood-irrigated pecan orchard located in the Mesilla Valley, New Mexico, USA. We accounted for the irrigation gradient in a flood-irrigated orchard by using a randomized complete block design with four blocks, each containing three equidistant trees from the irrigation valves. The trees within each block were randomly assigned to one of three biochar application rates: 0 kg/ha (treated area), 6300 kg/ha, and 12600 kg/ha. The treated area was situated within the herbicide strip, spanning 9.14 m in length – centered on the tree – with 1.22 m on either side of the tree. To assess tree water status, two leaf samples from the lower shaded canopy were covered in aluminum foil bags for a minimum of 15 minutes before mid-day stem water potential was measured. Mid-day stem water potential was measured throughout the growing season near the end of each irrigation dry-down cycle. For each tree, we calculated the average mid-day stem water potential and then performed an ANOVA to compare the averages across the treatment groups. In the five months after biochar application, there were no significant differences in tree water status across the treatment groups. This highlights the need for more research to study the interactions among soil moisture content, biochar amendment applications, and pecan tree mid-day stem water potential. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse that calls for enhancing crop water use efficiency in arid regions by providing a foundation for future studies that seek to use biochar as a sustainable agricultural practice in pecan orchards.

Pecans hold significant agricultural importance in the water-limited Southwestern United States, underscoring the need for sustainable soil management practices in pecan cultivation. Recognizing the intricate relationship between soil treatments and the soil microbiome is essential to develop effective orchard soil management strategies. Soil fungi, particularly root-associated mycorrhizal fungi, are vital in facilitating water and nutrient uptake, protecting against pathogens, and enhancing overall orchard health and productivity. Soil management may impact the fungal community composition of Southwestern pecan orchard soils. Various soil management strategies are implemented in pecan orchards, including varying soil cover or applying mycorrhizal and bacterial inoculants. These techniques alter the soil environment, which may change the soil fungal biodiversity. This study investigates the impact of diverse soil management techniques on the soil mycobiome within a twelve-year-old ‘Pawnee’ pecan orchard in New Mexico. In a randomized complete block design, eight treatments of various soil cover – bare soil, cover crops, compost, or a combination of cover crops and compost – each either with or without mycorrhizal and bacterial inoculants, were applied to evaluate their effects on soil fungal diversity. Laboratory analyses, including DNA extraction, PCR amplification, and Illumina sequencing, were performed, alongside physiochemical testing for soil pH, electrical conductivity, and mineral nutrient content. The resulting sequence data were analyzed to provide insights into the complex interactions between soil management practices and microbial communities. Sampling conducted during the 2022 Spring and harvest seasons revealed significant differences in alpha and beta diversity between roots and bulk/rhizosphere soil (P < 0.10). Significant differences in alpha and beta diversity of fungi based on treatment were also observed, highlighting the potential influence of soil management practices, including soil cover and inoculant use, on fungal community composition. Our study offers valuable insights into the temporal changes in the community structure of pecan orchard fungi when treated with different soil amendments. Understanding how soil management practices influence the soil mycobiome can inform more sustainable pecan cultivation practices. By optimizing soil management strategies to support beneficial fungal communities, growers may enhance soil health, water and nutrient availability, and plant resilience to environmental stress.

A Look at Heat Stress on Micro-propagated Pecan Trees - Doris Alexa Arnedo
Unraveling the role of LEA(Late embryogenesis abundant) genes in pecan stress resilience - Sahithi Pulicherla
Discovery of Early Biomarkers for the Scab Resistance of Pecan Seedlings Using Metabolomic Analysis Combined with Machine Learning Algorithms - Min Jeong Kang
Developmental Transcriptomics of Pecan Fruit in ‘Mahan’ and ‘Tiny Tim’ - June Labbancz
Pistachio Orchard Productivity Enhancement Through Molecular Marker Preselection - Ewelina Jacygrad
Fatal Flaws of Experimental Almond Varieties and Selections - Luke Milliron
Advancing Cocoa Yield Forecasting in Ecuador Using Machine Learning and Field Data Integration - Daniel Mancero
Maturity stage at harvest modulates fruit softening and quality of jackfruit - Zora Singh
Growing papaya in Mississippi - Guihong Bi

Carya illinoinensis (pecan) belongs to the Juglandaceae family, and the native region extends from Illinois, USA to Oaxaca, Mexico. Pecan is a valuable economic crop due to its nutritious and tasty nuts, and the United States produced 275 million pounds of pecans in 2022. As temperatures are increasing it is important to understand the impact on pecan trees. By 2100, the average U.S. temperature is projected to increase by about 3°F to 12°F. Plants deal with heat stress in several different ways including the production of heat shock proteins (HSPs) and their transcription factors known as heat shock factors (HSFs). HSFs initiate the transcription of genes that encode heat shock proteins (HSPs), that deal with heat stress by initiating protein folding and aid in the repair or removal of damaged proteins. In this study, we aim to look at the genetic networks that are impacted when multiple genotypes are subjected to high-heat environments. For this study, seedstocks from multiple genotypes that span the geographic region of North America were introduced into micropropagation. These include seedstocks from ‘Elliott’, ‘Apache’, ‘Cape Fear’, ‘Mahan’, ‘Giles’, ‘Sioux’, ‘Wichita’, ‘Western’, and native seedstocks of unknown genetics from Ohio. A preliminary heat stress assay was performed on a micropropagated ‘Elliott’ line by subjecting three small trees to 43°C for two hours prior to flash freezing in liquid nitrogen and comparing these to the same clonal line (three trees) that remained at 23°C. Real time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (QRT-PCR) was performed on the heat stress and control trees. Normalized gene expression indicated that CiHSP1 expression was 2X higher in the heat-treated pecan trees than CiHSP1 expression of the control trees. The additional micropropagated seedstocks listed above are being subjected to heat stress at different temperature ranges and time intervals. The replicated assays will be analyzed using RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR to determine differential gene expression of control and heat-treated trees especially between the HSPs and HSFs. These assays will help determine the gene networks that pecan trees use as they experience heat stress and will help determine how different pecan genetics that originate in different geographic regions react to heat stress.

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, encoded by a family of LEA genes, are vital in conferring stress tolerance in plants through their unique intrinsically disordered structure that can stabilise cellular components under desiccated conditions. While the protective capabilities of LEA proteins are well-documented across various crops, their specific roles in pecan (Carya illinoinensis), a highly nutritious and economically significant nut crop, remain largely unexplored. This gap of knowledge needs to be addressed as pecan yields face threats from escalating drought and salinity issues, intensified by ongoing climate change. This study represents the first comprehensive analysis of LEA genes within the pecan genome. We have successfully identified 332 LEA genes distributed across 15 of the 16 chromosomes in four genomes of pecan, categorized into 8 distinct subgroups based on their conserved motif regions. Synteny analysis provided a deeper understanding of their evolutionary trajectories. Utilizing extensive transcriptomic datasets, we explored the tissue-specific expression patterns of LEA genes in pecan, discovering diverse expression profiles across various tissues. Ongoing studies include promoter analysis and assessments of gene expression under abiotic stress conditions. To specifically address the impact of drought, heat and salinity, clonal pecan plants are being subjected to these stressors under controlled conditions in tissue culture and greenhouse settings. This approach aims to directly observe the physiological and molecular responses of LEA genes under realistic stress simulations. The presence of LEA genes across a vast majority of pecan chromosomes and their diverse subgroup classifications suggests a genome-wide defense mechanism potentially key to enhancing the stress tolerance of pecan trees. By understanding and harnessing these genes, our research seeks to elucidate plant stress responses at the molecular level allowing the development of genetic strategies to ensure the sustainability of pecan by mitigating adverse environmental impacts on its production. This knowledge could also be applied in a diverse array of other economically significant crops.

Pecans (Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch) are globally consumed nuts and an important agricultural commodity in the United States. Scab is a devastating pecan disease, which necessitates the application of numerous fungicide sprays in the growing season of pecans. Even with the control measures, in wet years, scab infection results in great yield loss (over 50% loss in susceptible varieties) and deterioration of nut quality. Although there have been various efforts to alleviate the scab, the development of scab-resistant pecan cultivars is the most effective method to control the disease. However, current methods to assess pecan scab resistance require multiple years of field screening and complicated laboratory (microscopic) techniques. Thus, a simple and reliable method that can rapidly evaluate pecan scab resistance at an early stage of infection is necessary. In this study, metabolomic analysis with machine learning algorithms was utilized to identify early biomarkers for the scab resistance of pecan seedlings. Two pecan seedlings with contrasting scab resistance ('Pawnee' and 'Desirable') were inoculated with water (control), Pa-OK-11 (isolated from 'Pawnee'), and De-Tif-11 (isolated from 'Desirable') for 7 days. 'Desirable' seedlings exhibited resistance to Pa-OK-11, while 'Pawnee' seedlings showed moderate resistance to De-Tif-11. Both cultivars were susceptible to their respective isolates. Leave samples from each seedling were collected at different time points (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 days). For the metabolomics work, liquid chromatography‒mass spectrometry (LC‒MS) was employed to analyze metabolites in samples, which can cover a wide range of primary and secondary metabolisms, including carbon fixation, glycolysis, citric acid cycle, amino acid metabolism, phenylpropanoid, monolignol, and flavonoid biosynthesis. Different machine learning algorithms were compared to find differentially regulated metabolites (biomarkers) between scab-resistant and -susceptible seedling groups. With a combination of machine learning models, we obtained reliable potential biomarkers, e.g., phenolic acids, flavonoids, plant hormones, and their intermediates and precursors, involved in the early stage of scab infection. The selected markers are expected to be used to classify scab resistance levels in pecan seedlings within a week after infection, which may replace the conventional method (phenotype-based mass selection) for pecan breeding selection. In short, this research breaks the bottleneck of resistance screening in pecans and will help facilitate the early selection of scab-resistant pecan cultivars to achieve breeding goals.

Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) is a nut crop native to the United States and Mexico which is becoming an increasingly important crop globally. Juglandaceous nuts are uniquely high in antioxidants among nuts and a conversion equivalent derived from studies in mice indicates that consumption of 22-38 pecans per day may reverse metabolic disorder in an individual weighing 132 pounds, implying a role in a healthy diet. Despite this importance, relatively little is known about the molecular basis of pecan nut ontogeny compared to other nut crops, leading to difficulties in understanding the physiological issues which plague growers. Susceptibility to various biotic and abiotic disorders including pecan scab, vivipary, water split, and shuck decline are dependent upon the stage of development the pecan nut is in. To better understand the molecular basis and timing of pecan nut development, developmental time-course RNA-Seq was carried out on nuts collected from cultivars ‘Mahan’ (a large nut bearing pecan from Mississippi) and ‘Tiny Tim’ (a small nut bearing native pecan from Missouri) approximately biweekly through the growing season of 2022. Using this data, genes were grouped together into distinct developmental phases, connecting transcriptional changes to the already well-characterized ontogenic stages of pecan nut development.

There is significant variation in tree size, which determines productivity, in commercial pistachio orchards planted with UCB-1 seedling rootstocks. It has been unclear to extent to which this is due to genetic differences or environmental variation. Nurseries have tried to tackle this problem by rogueing young seedlings before they are planted in orchards. However, our data previously demonstrated that performance in the first year is a poor predictor of later tree size. Genotyping by sequencing data from experimental and commercial orchards and genome wide association studies (GWAS), combined with our chromosome-scale, high quality, genome assemblies for the parental Pistacia atlantica and P. integerrima trees resulted in two highly informative molecular markers for vigor. Based on the genomic sequence information, we developed an inexpensive, quick, and easy qPCR protocol for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker analysis. We were able to predict the improved size distribution that extant orchards would have had if this marker had been used to rogue seedlings prior to planting in the orchards. We want this marker to make it available for nurseries to rogue out trees which would exhibit low vigor and productivity later in an orchard.

The California almond industry has funded multiple, multi-site almond variety evaluation trials over the last several decades. These field trials have previously evaluated many of the varieties that are now the most widely planted in California. Although, field evaluation trials are helpful for revealing which varieties are promising, they are, perhaps, most valuable to the industry for revealing which varieties/selection have serious flaws and should not be planted by growers. Thirty named cultivars and numbered breeder selections were planted in three replicated commercial orchards across California’s Central Valley in 2014. Of these 30, as of April 2024, one numbered selection Y116-161-99 from the USDA has been commercially released as ‘Yorizane’. However, nine of the 30 varieties/selections were dropped from further evaluation in the trial in 2022 for a variety of reasons: low yield (five), lack of interest by the breeder (two), extremely early bloom timing (one), and poor harvestability (one). Of the 21 still being evaluated in 2024, many have one of these major flaws, or additional flaws, that will likely prevent commercial adoption, including a high percentage of double kernels, susceptibility to bacterial blast (Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae), Botryosphaeria canker disease susceptibility, hull rot susceptibility, and a high percentage of kernel creases or twins, just to name some of the additional flaws. Even if a variety/selection has high yield, good kernel quality, and none of these major flaws documented after ten years of evaluation (e.g. Y117-91-03 from USDA), further observation in the UC trial sites or in the orchards of early adopters may reveal important flaws that prevent sustained and widespread variety adoption. This long-term challenge is why some believe it takes decades to prove a new scion variety. The wide diversity of potentially fatal flaws underscores the need for cultivar evaluation to take place by a third-party like UC Cooperative Extension in long-term replicated trials to reduce substantial financial risk to the grower to the greatest extent possible. Keywords: Prunus dulcis, almond, variety evaluation, breeding, nut crop

This workshop will explore topics related to climate change impacts on temperate tree nut crops, including drought, salinity, freeze issues, and other environmental stressors. Additionally, participants will be given the opportunity to discuss relevance of topics to their specific commodity and share insights and suggestions with fellow researchers.

In this workshop we will be bringing in experts in pistachio and pecan cultivation to share their cutting-edge research and insights into mitigating the challenges posed by climate change. These esteemed speakers, who have dedicated their careers to understanding and addressing these issues, will provide valuable insight to workshop attendees and jumpstart discussion on this topic within groups. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss relevant issues of climate change on their crop within small groups before bringing ideas to the entire group.

The impact of climate change on tree nut crops is likely to be significant, given expected decreases in chilling, increased droughts, and fluctuations in winter temperatures leading to decreases in production if mitigation measures are not implemented.

In this workshop, we seek to foster fruitful discussion among researchers working with tree nuts and other orchard crops likely to be impacted by climate change in order to brainstorm solutions and targets for future research in this topic area.

Coordinator(s)

• Lu Zhang, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States
• David Hlubik, Rutgers University, United States
• Phoebe Gordon, University of California Cooperative Extension, Madera, CA 93638, Madera County, United States

Speaker/Participant(s)

• Louise Ferguson, University of California Davis, Extension Specialist, Davis, California, United States
  Climate Impact on Tree Nut Crops - Pistachio Salinity (30 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Louise Ferguson is an Extension Specialist at University of California Davis with several decades of experience in pistachio and other orchard crops and will be speaking on pistachio salinity.
• Richard Heerema, New Mexico State University, Extension Specialist, Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
  Climate Impact on Tree Nut Crops - Drought in Pecan (30 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Richard Heerema is an Extension Specialist at New Mexico State University with a focus on pecans and will be speaking on drought in pecan.
• Xinwang Wang, USDA ARS, College Station, TX, United States
  Climate Impact on Tree Nut Crops - Pecan Breeding Associated with Climate Change (30 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Xinwang Wang is a Research Geneticist for USDA ARS in College Station, TX and will be discussing challenges in pecan breeding associated with climate change.

Composted Pecan Shells: A Potential Growing Media Amendment For Container Grown Pecan Seedlings In Georgia - Srijana Thapa Magar
Oil and Dormex® improve bloom and yield in pistachios by driving metabolite changes - GURREET BRAR
Identifying the association between self-fertility and floral reproductive morphology in macadamia - Palakdeep Kaur
Pecan sap flow properties in a micro-irrigated Southeastern orchard - M. Y. Leclerc

Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) production in Georgia holds significant economic importance nationally. It is an energy-intensive practice with a very low output-to-input ratio. Pecan byproducts, notably pecan shells and husks, account for up to 49% of the nut but are underutilized. A greenhouse experiment was conducted at the USDA facility in Byron, Georgia in 2023 to study the feasibility of composted pecan shells as a growing media amendment for container-grown pecan seedlings. The composted pecan shell was collected from a local pecan grower’s three-year-old composted pile, while fresh goat manure was sourced from the Fort Valley State University’s farm. Various ratios (25, 50, 75, and 100%) of composted pecan shells, along with biochar, goat manure, and chicken manure, were compared to a commercial soil mix (control). All the growing amendments underwent steam sterilization at 98°F for a couple of hours to eliminate any potential contaminants such as weeds, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Each treatment combination was placed in individual floats to sow the one-year-old stratified ‘Elliott’ seeds. Once the seedlings developed two juvenile leaves, they were transferred to 3-gallon pots to evaluate further soil and plant physiological parameters. The treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four blocks, each containing one treatment combination. Various soil and plant parameters were evaluated monthly, including soil electrical conductivity and temperature, plant size, photosynthesis, stem water potential, and chlorophyll content, to assess the impact of soil amendments on soil and pecan seedling growth. Results determined that composted pecan shell outperformed others in terms of germination (~80%), while none of the seeds germinated in any chicken manure treatment combination. Remarkably, the growth performance of pecan seedlings under different pecan shell ratios was comparable to those grown in commercial soil mix, biochar, and goat manure, indicating good plant health. The stem water potential values overall ranged above -6 Bar, suggesting no signs of plant water stress throughout the study. However, the 100% goat manure treatment consistently showed seedlings with significantly lower chlorophyll content and photosynthetic activity, leading to the smallest plant size compared to the control and biochar treatments. These findings highlight the potential of composted pecan shells as a sustainable soil amendment for container-grown pecan seedlings, offering a novel approach to repurpose pecan byproducts to enhance soil quality, promote sustainable agriculture practices, and serve as an additional income source to pecan growers, thus contributing to the economic viability of pecan production in Georgia.

Lack of dormant chilling is a major problem in producing pistachio trees in locations with warm periods during the winter time. In the past years, some locations in California have received insufficient winter chilling which has led to late bloom and crop reduction. Horticultural oil has been used as a rest-breaking agent to promote bud break and improve production. However, there is limited information regarding the merit of chill portion spray timing and the physiological mechanism behind bloom advancement by oil application. In the present study, three locations in California, North (Colusa County), Central (Madera County) and South-Western Fresno County (Cantua Creek) were selected for oil spray applications while Hydrogen cyanamide (Dormex®) was sprayed at Cantua Creek site. Tree of cv. Kerman (female) and Peters (male) on UCB-1 rootstock were sprayed with horticultural oil (IAP 440) @ 6% v/v or Dormex @4% at various chill portion (CP) accumulation milestones. Bloom period from bud swell to full bloom, tree yield, yield components, non-structural carbohydrates and macro and micro nutrients in buds and bark of pistachio shoots were analyzed. NMR-based metabolomics analysis was conducted to investigate the changes in metabolic profiles induced by exogenous oil or Dormex® application. Results showed that oil spraying in two southern locations advanced bud break but not in the northern site showing each location respond to oil spray differently. In Cantua site, Dormex® and oil spray at CP55 could significantly increase the yield while in Madera, oil spray at CP59 showed the highest yield. Results also showed that oil spray at different CPs and Dormex® could change the trend of soluble sugars and starch in bark and bud of pistachio trees. In Cantua, Dormex® significantly increased nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), sulfur (S), boron (B), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) mobilization towards bud swell. Moreover, oil spray increased N, P, S in all CPs at all locations. A multivariate analysis conducted to compare the metabolite changes in control samples of bark and bud with these two rest-breaking agents led to the identification of nine metabolites that show a significant change in at least one of the comparisons (Creatine, Aspartate, Sucrose, Asparagine, Succinate, Fumarate, Leucine, Adenosine, and Uridine). It seems that oil and Dormex® applications can significantly increase the yield of pistachio trees by advancing bud break, improving bloom synchrony and also, by changes in carbohydrate, nutrients and metabolite changes in bark and bud of pistachio tree.

Self-fertility, the ability of a plant to set fruits with self-pollen, is an important commercial trait in many crops. Self-fertility has the potential to set fruits in the absence of pollinators and pollenisers. Most macadamia cultivars are self-infertile but a few exhibit degrees of self-fertility. The potential morphological factors underpinning variability in this trait have not been previously investigated in macadamia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether floral reproductive morphology differs among self-fertile and self-infertile cultivars. Pistil length (PL), stamen length (SmL) and stigma-anther distance (SAD) were measured from cultivars within a self-fertile and a self-infertile group for two flowering seasons. The analysed self-fertile cultivars were ‘HAES 741’, ‘HAES 791’, ‘A38’, ‘Q’, ‘K’ and ‘UQM40’, while the self-infertile cultivars were ‘HAES 344’, ‘A16’, ‘Daddow’, ‘D4’ and ‘A268’. There was no significant difference between years for any of the traits (P>0.05). However, significant differences were found between the self-fertile/self-infertile groups and among cultivars within groups for the three examined traits (P

Amazingly, in contrast with other crops and in stark contrast to their tree crop counterparts in the Southwest, little is known regarding the response of pecan trees to their environment in the Southeast. Surprisingly, few studies have been carried out regarding the response of pecan trees to factors influencing their response to variable such as vapor pressure deficit, water availability and other environmental variables. This paper reports on tree sap flow properties in a micro-irrigated pecan orchard near Hawkinsville, GA in 2022 and 2023. Results presented describe the diurnal trend in the sap flow behavior. The paper also reports how the timing of the peak in sap flow density in relation to solar radiation, vapor pressure deficit and temperature. It also reports on the intraseasonal variability and changes in sap flow density throughout the growing season. The daily patterns of sap flow through the day along with their accompanying hysteresis loops and implications for water management are discussed. The hysteretic strength for the sub-diurnal sap flow density against the vapor pressure deficit for the Southeastern pecan is quantified using a hysteresis index. Tree transpiration for these southern pecan trees is also discussed. This new data regarding sap flow properties in pecan trees shed useful insight on how trees respond to environmental conditions in a micro-irrigated orchard in the Southeast.