High-yield technology leveraging yield prediction has been studied for strawberries, a crop with significant export potential. Yield prediction requires time-series data for the leaf area index (LAI). While distance-based measurements using images offer a simpler and more accurate method for estimating LAI, few studies have examined camera selection and accuracy. Furthermore, strawberries can exhibit significant seasonal fluctuations in yield, necessitating a yield prediction model that accounts for dry matter distribution to fruits based on the daily number of fruits attached to the strawberry plant. This study therefore evaluated camera selection criteria for leaf area measurement using distance information and validated a new yield prediction model for strawberries. The results showed that key factors affecting camera selection include camera performance, compactness, ease of set up, affordability, and distance between the camera and the strawberries. In addition, the proposed yield prediction model successfully accounted for seasonal variations in strawberry yield, demonstrating its application to the development of efficient strategies for strawberry production.

　To establish efficient regenerative conditions for sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), we evaluated the differences in shoot formation from first true leaf explants for nine cultivars. The shoot formation rates of six of nine cultivars from the calli cultured in media with 3.7 mg L^-1 of thidiazuron (TDZ) as a plant growth regulator, ranged from 6.7% to 15.0%, indicating insufficient rates for efficient regeneration. Further analyses were conducted using ‘Eleonora’, ‘Minimum’, and ‘Rubin’, which represented relatively high shoot formation rates in the first experiment. When the hypocotyls and cotyledons were cultured as explants on media supplemented with various concentrations of benzylamino purine (BA), TDZ and N-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)-N'-phenylurea (CPPU), the highest shoot formation rates of 50.0% to 66.7% were observed in media supplemented with 3.0 mg L^-1 of TDZ for ‘Elenora’, 1.0 mg L^-1 of BA for ‘Minimum’, and 1.0 and 3.0 mg L^-1 of TDZ for ‘Rubin’, respectively. These shoots were efficiently rooted in the media supplemented with 1.0 mg L^-1 naphthalene acetic acid for ‘Minimum’, and 1.0 mg L^-1 indole butyric acid for ‘Eleonora’ and ‘Rubin’. These results are expected to be valuable for mass propagation and genetic transformation of sweet basil.

　In this study, the responses of the drought stress on Job’s tears were evaluated, focused on the water use efficiency (WUE), using four cultivars grown under 100% (Control) and 50% (drought stress) irrigation measured based on evapotranspiration. Our result showed that all cultivars had a lower WUE under drought stress than in normal conditions. The Total transpiration of the whole plant (Total T) and the amount of increased above-ground dry weight (ΔAGDW) were lower in stress conditions than in control. However, the reduction of ΔAGDW due to the drought stress was greater than that of Total T, which was thought to result in lower WUE of Job’s tears. Gas exchange analysis demonstrated the reduction of transpiration rate, net photosynthesis rate and instantaneous water use efficiency by drought stress in all cultivars. Comparing among the cultivars, the variation in ΔAGDW was larger than that in Total T, and WUE was significantly correlated with ΔAGDW but not for Total T. These results indicated that the varietal difference in WUE was attributed to dry matter production rather than transpiration. Among the four cultivars, Obanazawa had the highest WUE and might be a promising cultivar for Job’s tears production under the proceeding with climate changes.