Calotropis procera has the potential as a traditional medicinal plant that offers a diverse array of healing treatments. It was used in conventional medicine to remedy several ailments, including diarrhea and snakebites. This study examines the antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles derived from the floral and latex components of C. procera. The nanoparticles were tested for their effectiveness against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains. For characterization, the synthesized nanoparticles underwent thorough analysis using UV spectroscopy, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After the reduction process, the FTIR analysis revealed that some functional biomolecules found in plants form a coating on the nanoparticles, serving as organic agents that stabilize the nanoparticles. The size of nanoparticles analyzed with SEM falls in the 30 to 130 nm range. Furthermore, the synthesized silver nanoparticles were tested as antimicrobial agents against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, well-known microorganisms that can produce ulceration phases and severe health consequences. After a comprehensive examination, it was found that the silver nanoparticles have significant antibacterial effectiveness, particularly against S. aureus, a primary bacterium responsible for causing different ailments. The remarkable antibacterial efficacy of the silver nanoparticles synthesized in an environment-friendly manner underscores its potential applications in combating the evolution of antibiotic-resistant strains.

The most emerging resistance mechanism against β-lactam antibiotics present in bacteria is the production of β-lactamases. The aim of this study was to explore the phytocompounds of Camellia sinensis (green tea) that can inhibit the activity of β-lactamases. Moreover, the antibacterial effect of its extract with a combination of antibiotics against resistant bacterial strains was also appraised. In silico docking was carried out against the resistance causing enzymes such as AmpC and SHV-1. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing against bacterial strains, i.e., Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, was performed. Then, for exploring the synergistic effects, both antibiotics and green tea extract were applied in combination. The docking studies revealed that the inhibitors like epigallocatechin gallate with AmpC, and myricetin with SHV-1 enzyme displayed high binding affinities of -8.2 kJ/mol, and -7.5 kJ/mol, respectively. The in vitro combination of C. sinensis extract with ampicillin and penicillin also potentiated the antibacterial activity of these antibiotics. Thus, the study elucidated that the phytochemicals of C. sinensis could inhibit β-lactamases produced by the pathogens. Also, it has enhanced antimicrobial effects when combined with antibiotics.

Sustainable wheat farming requires an ongoing process of variety development, release, and quality seed production of new high yielding and disease resistant varieties. Farmers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are currently cultivating several wheat cultivars, including NIFA AMAN-17, NIFA AWAZ-19, PIRSABAK-21, ZARGHUN-21, PIRSABAK-19, GULZAR-19, KHAISTA-17, PIRSABAK-15, INSAF-15, KP-15 and LALMA-13 under both irrigated and rainfed circumstances. The frequent changes in disease virulence, particularly yellow rust and leaf rust observed frequently over the last three years in KP, have forced breeders to develop new resistant varieties in order to increase productivity. The new hexaploid spring wheat variety NIFA NIJAT-23 (CTHN-162056) developed at NIFA has demonstrated resistance to yellow rust during testing in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wheat Yield Trials (KPWYT) at 13 distinct locations in 2019-20, and this variety with a grain yield of 3337 kg ha-1 has been placed at the third position among 24 test entries. Under normal planting conditions in 2020-21, the NUWYT (National Uniform Wheat Yield Trial) pooled analysis revealed that CTHN-162056 secured the 1st position and provided the greatest mean grain yield of 4701 kg ha-1 across all the candidate lines throughout Pakistan at 31 locations. According to the data reported by the Crop Diseases Research Institute (CDRI), Department of Plant and Environmental Protection, National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, it has demonstrated highly desirable relative resistance index (RRI) for two consecutive years (2020-21 & 2021-22). The Provincial Seed Council (PSC), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa approved CTHN-162056 and registered as a potential variety “NIFA NIJAT-23”.

Heavy metal contaminated food crops are one of the major public health concerns these days. The present study evaluates the Cd uptake in some promising wheat varieties subjected to soils amended with different types of organic fertilizers/matter. For this purpose, both pot and field experiments were conducted at the same time in Sargodha, Pakistan. Cadmium uptake in soil and different wheat plant parts were higher in the pot experiment than that in the field experiment. In both experiments, Cd ranged from 0.075 to 0.030 mg/kg in soil, 0.64 to 1.01 mg/kg in root, 0.63 to1.00 mg/kg in shoot and 0.65 to 1.01 mg/kg in grains. Among all soil amendments, farm-yard manure was found to be very effective in mitigating the uptake of Cd in wheat plants. Of all wheat varieties, Gold-16 and Ihsan-16 showed maximum Cd uptake, whereas the minimum Cd uptake was displayed by cv. DHharabi-11. In both experiments, all different indices showed values lower than 1 except the bio-concentration factor. Overall, Cd absorption observed in the present soil-wheat system was lower than the standard Cd absorption values. This study recommends that farmers may use organic soil amendments in this area to increase the fertility of soil. But regular examination practices must be carried out in this area, to limit the exposure to Cd hazards of public being provided Cd contaminated grains.

Twenty chickpea genotypes were screened for canopy temperature depression (CTD) and membrane relative injury (RI) at flowering, poding and grain-filling stages under natural field conditions at the Nuclear Institute for Food & Agriculture (NIFA), Peshawar, Pakistan in 2020-21 and 2021-22 crop growth seasons. Eight genotypes showed highest averaged CTD values of 4.2-5.5 °C, 3.9-4.8 °C and 4.3-4.8 °C across two seasons at flowering, poding and grain-filling stages, respectively. The same eight genotypes showed lowest average RI values ranging from 24.9-45.5%, 41.2-45.5% and 40.9-48.5% across two seasons at flowering, poding and grain-filling stages, respectively. These genotypes also produced average higher biological yield plant-1 (BYPP) ranging from 59.5 g to 70.4 g and highest seed yield plant-1 (SYPP) of 16.3 g to 20.2 g across 2020-21 and 2021-22. The CTD was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) and positively correlated with BYPP and SYPP with a strong correlation with SYPP (r = 0.9888). The RI had a negative correlation with BYPP and SYPP, being strongly negatively correlated (r = -0.9743) with SYPP. Regression analysis showed positive and negative linear relationship of CTD and RI, respectively, with BYPP and SYPP. A positive association of CTD was found with BYPP and SYPP with a strong association between CTD and SYPP (R2 = 0.977), whereas a strong negative association was found between RI and SYPP (R2 = -0.9489). Based on these results, CTD and RI may be utilized as positive indirect indicators to breed chickpea genotypes for better yield performance under natural environments with variable temperatures.

Optimization of the flowering time in wheat is an important breeding target for its adaptability in target environments. Flowering time is controlled by vernalization, photoperiod, and the relatively poorly characterized earliness per se (Eps) genes. When vernalization and photoperiod criteria are met, Eps genes account for the variance in flowering time. The objective of the study was to decipher the allelic variations for Eps genes in the wheat cultivars of Pakistan and draw their association with agronomic traits. The wheat cultivars released prior to 1965 had an average flowering duration of 82 days, whereas the cultivars released between 1965 and 2000 had an average flowering time of 79 days and 81 days, respectively. Kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers were used to genotype all these cultivars for TaElf3-B1, TaElf3-D1, and TaMOT1-D1 genes. For the gene TaElf3-B1, allele Cadenza-type had a frequency of 61.71%. For the gene TaElf3-D1, the proportion of its respective major alleles was recorded, i.e., deletion had a frequency of 72.94%, and Savannah-type was 86.04%. For the gene TaMOT1-D1, the allele Wild-type was found in 55.88% accessions. The gene Elf3-B1 had a significant allelic effect for grain yield (GY), TaElf3-D1 for grain length, and TaMOT1-D1 for GY. Among the wheat cultivars, high percentage (56.89%) of the Savanah-type allele was associated with early flowering. However, the Wild-type alleles (43.1%) were observed to have low allelic frequency, and they were associated with late flowering. This study may allow wheat breeders to make genetic selection of wheat cultivars that are most suited to target environment, ensuring better yield and adaptability.

Industrial wastewater contains a variety of substances such as organic carbon, salts and heavy metals, which along with arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and nickel (Ni) are known to be highly toxic even in very low concentrations. This study was carried out to test the impact of industrial effluent from the Industrial Estate Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, on four local grass species of the Pothohar region, i.e., Panicum maximum (Mombasa grass), Cenchrus ciliaris (Dhaman grass), Cynodon dactylon (Khabbal grass) and Chloris gayana (Rhodes grass). These grasses were grown in tap water (T0), industrial effluent (T1), and in industrial effluent-tap water ratio (50:50; T2). The concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, and Ni accumulated by these grasses were appraised with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). All four grasses differed significantly in terms of their accumulation of different types of metal elements in the shoot and root organs. The analysis of industrial effluent, and root and shoot biomass samples of all four grasses did not have high amounts of heavy metals with reference to the levels of the metals documented by WHO. It is generally recommended that the effluents from the Industrial Estate Islamabad can be used with some caution for growing forage grasses including the four species tested in this study.

Nanomaterials exhibit distinctive advantages due to their characteristic size range falling within 1-100 nanometers, which can easily penetrate through plant cell membranes. The application of plant-derived smoke (PDS) solutions is also recognized for its beneficial impact on seed germination and growth of diverse plant species. In this context, in the present study, we investigated the effects of silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs), PDS, and their combined application on pea seeds, and thereafter evaluated a spectrum of morphological and biochemical growth parameters. The results demonstrated that SiO2 NPs significantly enhanced pea seed germination, seedling length/weight, secondary root formation, as well as key biochemical indicators including photosynthetic pigments, total soluble sugars, and protein content. Notably, the PDS solution also exerted a significant positive influence on all growth parameters in comparison to that of SiO2 NPs. However, the combined application of SiO2 NPs and PDS exhibited superior effects on the morphological and biochemical growth characteristics as compared to their individual applications. From these findings, it can be concluded that both SiO2 NPs and PDS solutions, whether used independently or in combination, impart beneficial effects on the morphological and biochemical growth parameters of pea plants. This research highlights the potential of SiO2 NPs and PDS solutions as promising tools for enhancing plant growth and seedling development. Future studies could further explore the underlying mechanisms and optimize application methods for maximizing the beneficial effects of these materials, thus contributing to sustainable agricultural practices and improved crop yields.