Yaya Jin^1,2

1 Taizhou Manman Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China
2 Zhejiang Agronomist College, Hangzhou, 310021, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Plant Gene and Trait, 2026, Vol. 17, No. 3   
Received: 16 May, 2026    Accepted: 20 Jun., 2026    Published: 30 Jun., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This study explored the current research status and progress of fruit quality traits and cultivation measures in Chinese bayberry (Myrica rubra Sieb. et Zucc), systematically analyzing advances in external quality, internal quality, and quality evaluation systems, and reviewing the major factors affecting fruit quality formation and their regulation technologies based on recent domestic and international studies. As an important subtropical fruit tree species in China, Chinese bayberry possesses high nutritional value, economic value, and potential for functional product development. Its fruits are rich in sugars, organic acids, vitamin C, anthocyanins, polyphenols, and volatile aroma compounds. Studies have shown that genetic background, ecological environment, and fruit growth and development are the major factors influencing fruit quality formation, among which light, temperature, water conditions, and maturity stage significantly affect sugar-acid metabolism, anthocyanin accumulation, and flavor formation. Appropriate water and fertilizer management, tree and flower-fruit regulation, protected cultivation, and green ecological cultivation techniques can effectively improve fruit size, coloration, sugar-acid ratio, and functional nutrient contents, thereby enhancing fruit commercial quality and stability. In recent years, the application of electronic nose, electronic tongue, Vis/NIR spectroscopy, hyperspectral imaging, and intelligent detection technologies based on machine learning and deep learning in Chinese bayberry quality evaluation has continuously expanded, providing new approaches for rapid, non-destructive, and accurate quality assessment. Although significant progress has been achieved in Chinese bayberry quality research, there are still limitations in understanding the mechanisms of quality formation, establishing standardized cultivation regulation systems, and developing unified quality evaluation standards. Overall, strengthening research on high-quality cultivar breeding, precision and intelligent cultivation, and green high-quality production systems will contribute to the high-quality and sustainable development of the Chinese bayberry industry.

Chinese bayberry; Fruit quality; Cultivation regulation; Quality evaluation; Intelligent detection