Wenjuan Geng

To optimize the varietal structure of fruit crops in arid environments and screen apricot-plum varieties suitable for cultivation in the Aksu region, a systematic agronomic evaluation was conducted to comprehensively analyze the phenotypic diversity and fruit quality traits of seven apricot-plum cultivars in Aksu, Xinjiang. In 2025, seven-year-old trees cultivated under identical and standardized agronomic conditions were selected as experimental materials. Key agronomic parameters, including flowering and fruiting phenology, floral and foliar morphological traits, fruit appearance properties, and internal nutritional profiles (soluble solids, soluble sugars, titratable acids, vitamin C, flavonoids, and total phenolics) were systematically measured. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to quantitatively integrate these multi-dimensional datasets, identify key factors driving agronomic variation, and evaluate varietal adaptability to the arid climate. The results revealed a high degree of phenotypic diversity and significant variations in agronomic performance among the seven cultivars. Specifically, ‘Weihou’ recorded the highest single-fruit weight (111.27 g), indicating superior physical development, whereas ‘Konglongdan’ achieved the maximum soluble solid content (21.43%) and vitamin C level (96.41 mg/100 g), exhibiting exceptional nutritional quality. Despite these outstanding individual traits in specific cultivars, evaluating overall adaptability requires a holistic approach. PCA effectively captured 93.84% of the total variance through five extracted principal components, successfully modeling the interrelationships among vegetative vigor, reproductive morphology, and fruit chemical profiles. Based on the comprehensive agronomic scores, the varieties ranked as follows: ‘Fengweihuanghou’ > ‘Weihou’ > ‘Hongtianerong’ > ‘Konglongdan’ > ‘Weidi’ > ‘WeiWang’ > ‘Fengweimeigui’. Our findings identify ‘Fengweihuanghou’ as the most superior cultivar, with optimal agronomic adaptability and fruit quality balance under arid conditions. This study suggests that ‘Fengweihuanghou’ is a highly promising cultivar for large-scale cultivation in the Aksu region, providing a valuable reference for optimizing the local crop varietal structure, although further multi-year and multi-location validations are warranted.

The non-destructive detection of fruit quality is indispensable in the agricultural and food industries. This study aimed to explore the application of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology, combined with machine learning, for a quality assessment of pears, so as to provide an efficient technical method. Six varieties of pears were used for inspection, including ‘Sucui No.1’, ‘Zaojinxiang’, ‘Huangguan’, ‘Akizuki’, ‘Yali’, and ‘Hongli No.1’. Spectral data within the 398~1004 nm wavelength range were analyzed to compare the predictive performance of the Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) models on various quality parameters, using different preprocessing methods and the selected feature wavelengths. The results indicated that the combination of Fast Detrend-Standard Normal Variate (FD-SNV) preprocessing and Competitive Adaptive Reweighted Sampling (CARS)-selected feature wavelengths yielded the best improvement in model predictive ability for forecasting key quality parameters such as firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), pH, color, and maturity degree. They could enhance the predictive capability and reduce computational complexity. Furthermore, in order to construct a quality prediction model, integrating hyperspectral data from six pear varieties resulted in an RPD (Ratio of Performance to Deviation) exceeding 2.0 for all the quality parameters, indicating that increasing the fruit sample size and variety number further strengthened the robustness of the model. The Backpropagation Neural Network (BPNN) model could accurately distinguish six distinct pear varieties, achieving prediction accuracies of above 99% for both the calibration and test sets. In summary, the combination of HSI and machine learning models enabled an efficient, rapid, and non-destructive detection of pear quality and provided a practical value for quality control and the commercial processing of pears.

The volatile compounds in the fruits of 24 apricot cultivars were quantitatively and qualitatively determined via headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC–MS). A total of 429 volatile compounds were detected in these fruits, and the greatest number of detected terpenoids was 77. Significant differences were found among the cultivars in terms of the total volatile compound content of the fruits, with variation from 112.76 (‘ZSHYX’) to 317.36 µg/g (‘JNL’). Using relative odor activity value (rOAV) analysis, 42 key aroma compounds were identified. The rOAVs of (2S,4R)-4-methyl-2-(2-methylprop-1-enyl)oxane, (E)-non-2-enal, (3-methyl-3-sulfanylbutyl) formate, and thiophen-2-ylmethanethiol were above 1000, and most had green, fruity, and woody odors; these results indicated that these substances were important contributors to the overall aroma of the apricot fruits. Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of the volatile compounds from 24 representative apricot cultivars and can aid in the further scientific understanding of the metabolites and aroma in apricots. These findings provide a reference for controlling fruit quality and for future apricot cultivar breeding.