Differences in productivity, dry matter production, and phenotypes among eight cultivars of Japanese sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) were examined to clarify factors that contribute to productivity under non-pinching cultivation with two main stems. Based on the fruit fresh weight, ‘Tosa P red’ and ‘Tosahime’ were classified as high-yield cultivars, and ‘Sarara’ and ‘Green 800 gou’ were classified as low-yield cultivars. The high-yield cultivars showed no difference or an increase in the number of fruits, and a mean fruit weight intermediate between the two low-yield cultivars. There was no significant difference in the ratio of dry matter partitioning to fruits among the cultivars, and the partitioning ratio was not significantly correlated with the fruit yield in terms of fresh or dry weights. On the other hand, the total dry matter production (fruits, stems, leaves and pruned shoot) of the high-yield cultivars was significantly (p < 0.05) larger than that of the low-yield cultivars, and there was a significant correlation between the total dry matter production and fruit yield in terms of fresh (p < 0.01) and dry (p < 0.01) weights. The phenotypic analysis indicated that the main axis diameter and main stem node number at 81, 123 and 158 days after sowing (the end of cultivation) were not significantly correlated with the total fruit fresh weight, but showed a high positive correlation with the total dry matter production at the end of cultivation. These results indicate that the fruit yield can be raised by increasing the total dry matter production more effectively than the ratio of dry matter partitioning to fruits.

Elucidation of the suitable cultivation time, cultivars, and cultivation methods is needed to grow everbearing strawberry cultivars from winter to spring in warm regions of Japan. We compared the flowering and runnering characteristics of 17 everbearing cultivars under natural and 24-h day-length conditions in cold and warm regions from summer to spring. In the warm region, flowering was suppressed mainly from October to December and the number of inflorescences was fewer than that in the cold region because of the high temperature. The flowering was suppressed even in the strong everbearing cultivars, such as ‘Summer Amigo’ and ‘Miyoshi,’ during the high-temperature period. Furthermore, flowering was also suppressed under the 24-h day-length condition. This suggests that production is difficult during the period from summer to autumn in the warm region. In contrast, during the period from winter to spring, most of the test cultivars, including weak everbearing cultivars, such as ‘Natsuakari,’ continuously flowered and the flowering rate reached almost 100% in both the cold and warm regions. Flowering was also promoted under 24-h day-length conditions. This suggests that various everbearing cultivars are suitable for cultivation during the period from winter to spring in the warm region. Moreover, the number of runners in the cold and warm regions was correlated. Finally, ‘Summer Drop’ might be suitable for warm regions of Japan because flowering and runnering in this cultivar were marked under 24-h day-length conditions during the period from winter to spring in the warm region.

Aloe tomentosa Deflers takes approximately 10 years to progress from germination to seed production. In the micropropagation of A. tomentosa, hyperhydricity and somaclonal variation have not yet been successfully controlled. To solve these problems, we used aseptic germination and the axillary branching method in MS medium without plant growth regulators. Using the aseptic germination technique, 47% of the seedlings were normal. Using the axillary branching method, the average number of axillary buds that elongated from explants was 6.4, and addition of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) to the medium induced hyperhydrity. These shoots were easily rooted and grown in an unheated greenhouse after acclimation. These results suggest that aseptic seeding germination and the axillary branching method without plant growth regulators were effective propagation methods.

In a plug seedling nursery, seedlings are raised densely in a plug seedlings tray. Thus, seedlings may show spindly growth since the cells are dense under high temperature and high humidity conditions. Kale tends to show hypocotyl elongation, it is important to control this elongation for good-quality seedlings, and the result is directly related to the yield. Therefore, in order to clarify the influence of the nursery temperature on the production of good-quality seedlings of Kale, the hypocotyl length and root viability of seedlings were investigated. It was revealed that the hypocotyl length of kale is influenced by temperature, and a high temperature from 4 days after sowing makes it easier to elongate the hypocotyls. Therefore, when treated for 4 days from 4 to 7 days after sowing, the elongation of hypocotyls was suppressed at a low temperature of about 15°C, but rooting 9 days after planting was improved. This temperature condition had a noticeable effect in the photoperiod, and the high temperature in the photoperiod made it easier to extend the hypocotyls. Moreover, since the root weight did not increase even when treated at a low temperature, it was considered that the improved rooting was due to the increase of root activity. Thus, temperature control in the daytime during the 4 days from the 4th day after sowing may promote good-quality seedling production in kale nurseries.

In this study, we found that local heating of the crown (rhizome) of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Bol. ex Adlam.), which includes the apical meristem, promotes flower stem emergence and elongation. We conducted local heating experiments over two winters on nursery plants that were set during the previous summer, using different varieties of gerbera in each season: ‘Banana’ and ‘Kimsey’ in winter 2013–2014, and ‘Kimsey’ in winter 2014–2015. We heated one or both sides of the crown of each plant by placing it in contact with a hot water flow tube (water temperature = 33°C) or stainless-steel heater tape. This local heating advanced the harvest time of cut flowers, and increased the total number of cut flowers harvested and the number of cut flowers of 40 cm or more, particularly in ‘Kimsey’. These local heating effects were particularly notable when the average temperature of the crown was kept high and the room temperature was low. Local heating increased or had no effect on the total cut flower weight per plant. However, the individual cut flower weight and capitulum diameter were smaller with local heating of the crown. The application of this local heating technology to gerbera is expected to reduce heating costs and help control the harvest time.

In order to develop a non-destructive method to measure the chlorophyll concentration of fruit skin in Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia), reflectance of diffused light through the skin of fruit over a cork layer was measured using a portable spectrometer. Reflectance was acquired in the 650–740 nm wavelength range to establish a model to predict chlorophyll a and b concentrations using partial least squares regression. The chlorophyll concentration was precisely predicted by each model (r ² = 0.962–0.974) in ‘Kosui’, ‘Hosui’, and ‘Akizuki’ in 2016. Chlorophyll concentrations of these three cultivars in 2016 were also estimated with small errors using the prediction model of ‘Kosui’ in 2017. The chlorophyll concentration showed a high correlation with the ground color index (r ² = 0.937–0.953) in all cultivars. The prediction model was affected by the temperature of fruit. However, the error decreased with the prediction model established based on mixed fruit with various temperatures. The chlorophyll concentration measured in the field exposed to sunshine showed almost the same value as that measured under room conditions. From these results, the chlorophyll concentration could be non-destructively, precisely, and rapidly estimated over a cork layer either in a room or field using the portable spectrometer, and this can be used to confirm the maturity of Japanese pear.

We investigated the effect of hormonal treatment with 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (4-CPA) and shading on the occurrence of lusterless fruit in order to suppress its production during the summer-autumn cultivation of cherry tomato. The occurrence of lusterless fruit on 4-CPA spraying was 5–12%, which was significantly lower than that on no spraying with 4-CPA (22–39%). Therefore, 4-CPA is an effective plant hormone for suppressing the occurrence of lusterless fruit produced by cherry tomato plants. In addition, the incidence rates of lusterless fruit in the continuously shaded area and the area only shaded during strong light where the temperature rise in the greenhouse was suppressed by shading treatment were 7 and 9%, respectively, being significantly lower than 15% in the unshaded area. As a result, the fruit yield in September with the highest incidence of lusterless fruit was 0.8 and 1.0 kg per plant in the continuously shaded area and the area only shaded during strong light, respectively, and 0.4 kg in the unshaded area. Furthermore, the suppression of temperature rise due to light shielding was considered to be effective as a technique for suppressing lusterless fruit. In addition to the effect of suppressing the production of such fruit, the method of shading only during the incidence of strong solar radiation temporarily increased the fruit yield as compared with the method of continuous shading, while suppressing the production of lusterless fruit. It is considered that this is an effective shading method to avoid a decrease in yield.

The present study focused on an open-field cultivation method for cherry tomatoes, based on summer to autumn harvest that uses nets to induce the plants and involves no lateral shoot pruning (referred to as the sauvage cultivation method). The yields and qualities of cherry tomato cultivated in fields in Kanagawa, Japan, located in a warm climate zone, and Iwate/Hiroshima, where summer to autumn harvest cherry tomatoes are widely cultivated, were assessed for 2 or 3 years. The economic efficiencies of the sauvage cultivation method were also assessed based on agricultural management indices. The yields per unit area and per plant with the sauvage cultivation method of cherry tomatoes were equal to or higher than the yields using the conventional method, in which all lateral shoots are removed. Regarding the fruit quality, the sugar content of cherry tomatoes cultivated using the sauvage cultivation method in the field in Iwate was similar or lower compared with the conventional method. Regarding the economic efficiency of the sauvage cultivation method, the profit per 10 a of cherry tomatoes grown using the sauvage cultivation method was 860,000–1,100,000 yen. The duration of working hours was 333–568 hours; therefore, the profit per hour was 1,933–2,661 yen.

We investigated the effects of end-of-day FR light irradiation (EOD-FR) on flowering in chrysanthemum. EOD-FR treatment in the low-temperature period promoted flowering in the autumn-flowering chrysanthemum cultivar ‘Jimba’. EOD-FR treatment with season flowering cultivation in autumn-flowering chrysanthemum promoted flowering in 14 out of 20 cultivars. EOD-FR treatment promoted flowering in short-day cultivation from the time of planting in 11 out of 20 cultivars of autumn-flowering chrysanthemum. EOD-FR treatment of summer-autumn-flowering chrysanthemum in the June-flowering cropping type promoted flowering in 19 out of 30 cultivars. EOD-FR treatment weakly promoted flowering near the critical night length in the autumn-flowering chrysanthemum cultivar ‘Jimba’; however, EOD-FR showed no effect on the duration of Dusk-NBmax of the chrysanthemum cultivar ‘Jimba’. The results of this study show that EOD-FR promotes flowering as well as internode elongation in chrysanthemum depending on the growing conditions.

Boil peeling has potential as a simple technique for rinding kiwifruit. In order to evaluate its performance for processing, we investigated suitable maturity for boil peeling, labor-saving characteristics, and fruit quality attributes in comparison with knife peeling. Boil peeling was acceptable only for ripened fruit of three cultivars (‘Hayward’, ‘Rainbow red’, and ‘Shizuoka gold’) and had the advantages of promoting a shorter processing time and reduced loss in comparison with knife peeling. While the surface area of the fruit processed with boil peeling was larger than that of knife-peeled fruit, flesh firmness and contents of sugar, organic acid, and ascorbic acid were not different between the two processing methods. No flesh browning or dull color development was observed with boil peeling, despite a slight color difference between the two processing methods. These results suggest that boil peeling is a promising technique for processing kiwifruit.

A large number of studies have been conducted on freshness retention in many different vegetables. If vegetables have a peduncle or calyx, they serve as a channel for transpiration. The results of studies involving lemons, eggplants, and husk tomato fruit suggest their influence on freshness retention of fruit. However, no study on cherry tomatoes has been conducted to examine the effects of a calyx on the storage quality of fruit. The present study, involving four varieties of cherry tomatoes that bear different shapes of fruit, aimed to examine the influence of a calyx on the fruit storage quality. When harvested cherry tomatoes were stored at 25°C, the weight loss and respiration rate of four varieties without a calyx were equal to or lower than those of cherry tomatoes with a calyx; the moisture and ascorbic acid contents of the four varieties without a calyx were equal to or higher than those of cherry tomatoes with a calyx. Whereas no mold grew on the four varieties without a calyx, it was identified on cherry tomatoes with a calyx. The mold incidence rates of round/oblate-shaped ‘Chika’ and ‘Mini Carol’ were significantly lower than the rates of pear-shaped ‘Aiko’ and ‘Rosso Neapolitan’, which suggests that the calyx shape influences the incidence of mold. The results of the study suggest that when cherry tomatoes are stored at 25°C, the storage quality of tomatoes without a calyx is better than that of cherry tomatoes with a calyx.

Enzymatic peeling is an effective method of producing processed foods that preserves the original flavor and taste of fruit. However, there is limited information available about the effects of enzymatic peeling on the hardness of flesh and functional components of processed citrus food. Accordingly, we evaluated the flesh hardness and content of reduced ascorbic acid and β-cryptoxanthin under low-temperature conditions in some citrus species. We also estimated the effects of persisting enzymatic activity in flesh syrup after enzymatic peeling on flesh crumbling in satsuma mandarin. Our results show that hand peeling versus enzymatic peeling led to no differences in flesh hardness. There were also no differences in the reduction of ascorbic acid and β-cryptoxanthin in fresh fruit between enzymatic peeling, acid and alkali peeling, and the control (without enzymatic/acid and alkali peeling). Thus, the flesh hardness and content of functional components with enzymatic peeling under low-temperature conditions are comparable to those of acid and alkali peeling and the control. Furthermore, temperatures for boiling sterilization and concentrations of sugar syrup were significantly correlated with the avoidance of flesh crumbling during the bottling process. Consequently, to suppress flesh crumbling, more intense boiling for sterilization and a higher sugar syrup concentration may be required.

A new freesia cultivar, ‘Ishikawa f6 go’, was developed. This cultivar was selected from 11 seedlings obtained by crossing ‘Versailles’ and ‘Mosella’, and registered for the Seed and Seedling Law of Japan on December 2, 2013.‘Ishikawa f6 go’ has semi-double and pink flower colors as valuable points. Also, this cultivar received the fragrance special prize of the Japan Flower of the Year 2013.