The Yield, Fruit Quality and Some of Nutraceutical Characteristics of Saskatoon Berries (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.) in the Conditions of Eastern Poland

The Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.) is a prospective and increasingly popular species in Poland. Its main attributes are extremely valuable fruits, rich in anthocyanins with high antioxidant activity, which are very valuable in processing. Studies aimed at comparing the suitability for cultivation under the climatic and soil conditions of east Poland of the three Canadian cultivars of Saskatoon berry (‘Honeywood’, ‘Martin’ and ‘Pembina’), were conducted at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in 2017–2018. The study evaluated parameters such as yield and fruit quality, as well as the health-promoting value of the fruit. These studies revealed significant differences between the studied cultivars, both in yield and in fruit physicochemical properties, i.e., fruit mass and diameter, firmness, and soluble solids content, as well as in terms of the content of anthocyanins, flavonoids, and polyphenols. These differences were also found between years, which may indicate that the content of the abovementioned compounds is also influenced by annual climatic conditions.

Protocols for Adventitious Regeneration of Amelanchier alnifolia var. cusickii and Lonicera kamtschatica ‘Jugana’

The aim of this work was to assess the regeneration capacity of Amelanchier alnifolia var. cusickii and Lonicera kamtschatica cv. ‘Jugana’ from different types of explants under various hormonal treatments. The whole leaves, petioles, and internodal segments of in vitro plants were examined as explants. Several plant growth regulators (cytokinins and auxins) were evaluated for their ability to induce adventitious regeneration. Direct and indirect organogenesis was achieved under certain culture conditions in both species. The frequency of shoot regeneration was strongly dependent on concentrations of plant growth regulators in the induction media (L.kamtschatica ‘Jugana’) or concentrations of plant growth regulators in the induction media and type of explant (A. alnifolia var. cusickii). Results showed that leaves were not suitable explants for A. alnifolia var. cusickii. Both species were able to regenerate shoots from internodal segments and petioles. The highest induction of shoots was obtained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium enriched with 2 mg/L thidiazuron (TDZ) and 0.5 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for Amelanchier alnifolia and with 1 mg/L TDZ and 0.2 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) for L. kamtschatica ‘Jugana’. Obtained adventitious shoots were further proliferated in order to investigate their multiplication capacity. The multiplication of shoots was successful in all cultivars, with the best results reported in A. alnifolia var. cusickii (7.07 shoots/explant on average).

Biological diversity of insects on woody plants of the Rosacea family in the northern forest-steppe of the Ob region

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of plant species and year conditions on the biological diversity and number of insects – inhabitants of the crown layer of woody plants of the Rosaceae family in the conditions of the northern forest-steppe of the Ob region. The research was carried out in 2017–2018. During the flowering period of woody entomophilous plants, insects were collected by mowing with an entomological net in the crowns and undercrown space (25 strokes in four repetitions). In the crown of woody introduced plants Pyrus ussuriensis (Ussuri pear), Prunus maackii (Maak plum), Amelanchier alnifolia (alder irga), Spiraea betulifolia (spiraea birch leaf), Physocarpus opulifolius growing on the territory of arboretum of RAS in the northern forest-steppe of the Ob region, a total of 2597 insect specimens from 7 orders and more than 30 families were found. The largest number of insects belonged to the order Diptera (49.4 %). Representatives of the orders Thysanoptera (23.7%) and Hymenoptera (11.4%) made a significant contribution to the formation of the entomofauna. The entomofauna of different species of woody plants from the Rosaceae family differed in the taxonomic groups of insects and their numbers. A high degree of enomofauna similarity (Jaccard coefficient is 0.75) was found between Amelanchier alnifolia and Pyrus ussuriensis with similar flowering periods. A low degree of similarity was found between Amelanchier alnifolia and Spiraea betulifolia (0.32) and between Pyrus ussuriensis and Physocarpus opulifolius (0.33). The species of the plant (38.1 and 26.1%, respectively) had the greatest influence on the biological diversity and the number of entomocomplexes, which indicates the adaptation of insects to a woody plant of the Rosaceae family. The conditions of the year significantly (by 9.8%) influenced the biological diversity of insects during the flowering period.

DIFFERENT EFFECT OF INDOLEBUTRIC ACID ( IBA) ON IN VITRO RHIZOGENESIS OF PROMISING GENOTYPES IN AMELANCHIER ALNIFOLIA

The paper presents the results of investigation on IBA efficiency,its doses and exposition to soaking on in vitro rhizogenesis of ..alnifolia microshoots. Shorteffect of auxin on microshoots sometimes occured to be preferable in connection with acceleration of rhizogenesis and increase in the percentage of rooting of microshoots.

Peculiarities of regeneration of representatives of the genus Amelanchier medik. in vitro

The article presents the results of a study of the organogenesis of representatives of the genus Amelanchier Medik. at the stage of micropropagation. Serviceberry is a promising culture for Russia, characterized by resistance to various abiotic factors and possessing valuable fruit qualities. The purpose of this work was to identify the peculiarirties of regeneration and optimization the stage of micropropagation of varieties of serviceberry. Varieties belonging to different species of the genus Amelanchier Medik were used as objects of study: Krasnoyarskaya, Mandan (Amelanchier alnifolia (Nutt.) Nutt. Ex M. Roem.); Prince William (Amelanchier canadensis (L.) Medik.); Ballerina (Amelanchier×grandiflora Rehder); ×Amelasorbus Rehder. The influence of the genotype, the source of cytokinin and its concentration on the height of microshoots, count of microshoots and the multiplication rate of varieties of serviceberry has been established. 6-benzylaminopurn induced the formation of adventive explants microshoots, and 2-isopentyl-adenine had a weak stimulating effect on the growth of lateral buds. The use of 6-benzylaminopurine at a concentration of 1.0 mg/l leads to a significant increase in count of microshoots in all studied genotypes. In varieties of Prince William (A. canadensis) and Ballerina (A.×grandiflora), the maximum height of microshoots was achieved in a nutrient medium with 1.0 mg/l of 6-BAP and 18.8 and 19.1 mm. The highest microshoots height in varieties A. alnifolia (Krasnoyarskaya, Mandan) and × Amelasorbus was obtained on a medium with 0.2 mg/l 6-BAP (19.0 and 16.4 mm). The maximum count of microshoots was characterized by the Krasnoyarskaya variety (4.8), the minimum by Prince William variety (1.9).

Saskatoon Berry Amelanchier alnifolia Regulates Glucose Metabolism and Improves Cardiovascular and Liver Signs of Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Rats

Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is a potential functional food containing anthocyanins and flavonols, as well as ellagitannins and phenolic acids. We have determined the potential therapeutic effects of Saskatoon berry in diet-induced metabolic syndrome. Nine- to ten-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups. Two groups were fed on control diets, either corn starch (C) or high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet (H) respectively, for 16 weeks. Two further groups were fed on C or H diet for 16 weeks with Saskatoon berry powder added to the diet for the final 8 weeks (CSSK, HSSK). After 16 weeks, H rats showed symptoms of metabolic syndrome, including increased body weight, visceral adiposity, systolic blood pressure, cardiac fibrosis, plasma concentrations of triglycerides and non-esterified fatty acids, and plasma activities of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase. Saskatoon berry intervention normalised body weight and adiposity, improved glucose tolerance, decreased systolic blood pressure, improved heart and liver structure and function with decreased infiltration of inflammatory cells, and decreased plasma total cholesterol. Further, Saskatoon berry normalised liver expression of hexokinase 1 and glycogen phosphorylase and increased glucose 6-phosphatase relative to H rats. These results suggest that Saskatoon berry regulates glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and glycogenesis to improve metabolic syndrome.

CROWN ENTOMOFAUNA OF THE AMELANCHIER ALNIFOLIA (NUTT.) IN THE NORTHERN FOREST-STEPPE OF THE OB REGION

The results of the entomological fauna biological diversity study at the Saskatoon berries Amelanchier alnifolia (Nutt.) crown in the Ob region Northern forest-steppe are presented. The entomological fauna composition of the Saskatoon berries crown was represented by more than 22 families from 7 orders. The insect number and biological diversity depended on the timing and duration of Amelanchier alnifolia bloom, which was determined by the weather conditions in the May.