Crop Plants Research Articles

Antiprotozoal Natural Products from Endophytic Fungi Associated with Cacao and Coffee

Background: Collectively, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease cause approximately 8 million cases and more than 40,000 deaths annually, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The current drugs used to treat these diseases have limitations and many undesirable side effects; hence, new drugs with better clinical profiles are needed. Fungal endophytes associated with plants are known to produce a wide array of bioactive secondary metabolites, including antiprotozoal compounds. In this study, we analyzed endophytic fungal isolates associated with Theobroma cacao and Coffea arabica crop plants, which yielded extracts with antitrypanosomatid activity. Methods: Crude extracts were subjected to bioassay-guided isolation by HPLC, followed by spectrometric and spectroscopic analyses via mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Results: Compounds 1–9 were isolated and displayed novel antitrypanosomal and antileishmanial activities ranging from 0.92 to 32 μM. Tandem liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis of the organic extracts from different strains via the feature-based Global Natural Products Social (GNPS) molecular networking platform allowed us to dereplicate a series of metabolites (10–23) in the extracts. Molecular docking simulations of the active compounds, using the 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase protein from L. donovani (Ld3MST) and the cruzipain enzyme from T. cruzi as putative molecular targets, allowed us to suggest possible mechanisms for the action of these compounds. Conclusions: The isolation of these antiprotozoal compounds confirms that crop plants like coffee and cacao harbor populations of endophytes with biomedical potential that confer added value to these crops.

Soil Physical Properties, Root Distribution, and “Ponkan” Tangerine Yield Across Different Rootstocks in a Deep Tillage Ultisol

Deep soil tillage and proper rootstock selection mitigate the root development limitations in Ultisol’s Bt horizon, enhancing the citrus yield potential. This study evaluates the root spatial distribution of three Ponkan tangerine rootstocks in Ultisol under deep tillage alongside the physical-hydric attributes and plant measurements. The experimental area underwent furrow creation, subsoiling, and hole opening for planting. The treatments included three rootstocks: “Cravo Santa Cruz” (CSC), “Sunki Tropical” (ST), and “Citrandarin Índio” (CI). Under the Ultisol preparation, these rootstocks were compared to a native forest area (FA). Three years post-initial tillage, soil samples were collected at depths of 0–0.05, 0.35–0.40, and 0.45–0.50 m from the pre-established positions. The evaluation encompassed soil dispersive clay, available water, crop water use, plant measurement, and crop yield. The root evaluation utilized the crop profile method and 2D images, with subsequent surface mapping of the root variables, number (NR), and diameter (RD) analyzed via kriging geostatistical analysis. The Ultisol showed significant changes in its physical-hydric attributes regarding structural change and more excellent clay dispersion, with a considerable contribution to the micropore volume. Deep tillage effectively improved the root spatial distribution, especially concerning the number and diameter of roots, and enhanced the water use, reflected in the vegetative growth and yield, with the rootstock CSC standing out.

Genome-wide computational analysis of the dirigent gene family in Solanum lycopersicum

BackgroundDirigent (DIR) genes play a key role in the development of organic products in plants. They confer conformational influence on processes that lack stereoselectivity and regioselectivity through processes that are mostly understood. They are required to produce lignans, which are a unique and widely distributed family of plant secondary metabolites with intriguing pharmacological characteristics and potential role in plant development. DIR genes are implicated in the process of lignification and protect plants from environmental stresses, including biotic and abiotic stresses. Nevertheless, no research has been performed on the DIR gene family in Solanum lycopersicum. This study provides detailed information on the DIR gene family in S. lycopersicum.Methods and resultsThe conserved domain analysis, phylogenetic analysis, evolutionary adaptation, cis-acting elements, proteomic analysis, signal peptide detection, transmembrane potential analysis, sequence identity and similarity analysis, gene assembly, genomic localization, duplication of gene analysis, and evolutionary linkage of 31 potential DIR genes were studied. All these analyses provide a deep understanding of DIR genes in the S. lycopersicum genome that will provide a useful reference for further functional analysis of the DIR genes in S. lycopersicum.ConclusionThis research provides an in-depth and comprehensive explanation of the detailed process and structural characterization of DIR genes in the genome of S. lycopersicum, laying the groundwork for future plant genetic engineering and crop development exploration. This work will provide valuable information for identifying DIR genes in higher plants and support future research on the DIR gene family.

SIMPLE REARER AND YOUNG REVOLUTIONER

Insects are known as one of the most successful class of animals on earth, being a major player in the ecosystem. The economic importance of insects encompasses both their negative and positive importance. Often found on leaves, flowers and stems of crop plants, insects cause both direct (eat the leaves, fruits or vegetables of crop plants and many times too, do destroy the crops prior to fruiting) and indirect damage (transmit infections; viral, bacterial and fungal) to crops. Some insects are predaceous, they feed upon and destroy a large number of injurious insects. Stagomantis, a mantis is voracious, it feeds on flies, grasshoppers and caterpillars, some of which are injurious to crops. The larvae and adults of Chilomenes, a lady-bird beetle, feed on aphids which infect cotton plants. Novius, a lady-bird bettle, destroys scale worms which are pests of orange and lemon trees. Epicauta is a blister beetle, it deposits eggs where locusts occur, the larvae on hatching enter egg capsules of locusts and eat up masses of eggs. Calasoma, a ground beetle preys upon many kinds of lepidopterous larvae which destroy cereals and cotton. KEY WORDS: Honey bees, honey products, venom, royal jelly, pollen, propolis

AgriScan: Next.js powered cross-platform solution for automated plant disease diagnosis and crop health management

Plant diseases present a formidable challenge to the agricultural sector worldwide, leading to significant losses, with the US experiencing annual losses amounting to one-third of crop production. Diagnosis of crop diseases through optical observation of leaf symptoms is particularly daunting for farmers with limited resources. Therefore, there is an urgent need for enhanced detection, monitoring, and prediction methods to mitigate agricultural losses effectively. Harnessing the power of computer vision and deep learning, this paper introduces a cross-platform system designed to automate plant leaf disease diagnosis. The system employs convolutional neural networks to classify 46 disease categories, trained on a dataset comprising 96,206 images of healthy and infected plant leaves. The user interface, accessible across multiple platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux, allows farmers to capture photos of infected leaves and receive real-time disease classification along with confidence percentages. By empowering farmers to maintain crop health and prevent the application of incorrect fertilizers, the system aims to optimize crop productivity. Performance evaluation includes metrics such as classification accuracy and processing time, with the model achieving an impressive overall accuracy of 93.45% across 46 common disease classes spanning 16 crop species.

Agriculture High-Quality Development and Nutrition

Modern Agricultural production wants to efficiently produce plant products and benefits to meet people's needs. However, because of better plant species and varieties, overuse of fertilizer and overdose of pesticide alters the plant resources relationship, resulting in soil degradation, vegetation decline, and crop failure or waste of resources, which influence the quality of fruit and benefit and are unfavorable for the sustainable utilization of nature resources and crops high-quality development. After a couple of years of study, the results showed that Agricultural development went into agricultural high-quality development in 2017, which is to use effective measures or methods to maximize yield and benefits and meet the need of people's need for better Agricultural produce and a better life. The theory foundation of the sustainable utilization of natural resources and Agriculture high-quality production is the resources use limit by plants, vegetation carrying capacity, and critical period of plant resources relationship regulation. The methods of Agriculture high-quality development are to select excellent plant species or varieties based on site conditions and market needs before planting crop young plants and sowing seeds, adopt appropriate initial planting density when planting crop young plants and sowing seeds, and regulate the relationship between plant growth and resources need in the process of crop production in a timely and appropriate amount, especially the chemical fertilizer and pesticide to obtain the maximum yield and benefits and realize the sustainable utilization of natural resources and achieve agricultural high-quality development.

The Present State and Impact of AI-Driven Computational Tools for Predicting Plant Protein Structures.

Several key functions of plants, such as photosynthesis, nutrient transport, disease resistance, and abiotic tolerance, are manifested by several classes of proteins. Prediction of 3- dimensional (3-D) structures of proteins and their working mechanisms can have a profound impact on plant proteomics research and could help improve key agricultural traits in crop plants. This review aims to present the current status of plant protein structure determination and discuss the way forward. Most experimentally proven protein structures are available only for the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Most of the key crop plants have only a few hundred or fewer experimentally proven 3-D structures. Fewer than 1% of the protein sequences in the majority of plants have had their 3D structures experimentally determined, and A. thaliana is the sole plant with the highest percentage of 1.4 % of protein sequences with experimentally determined structures. AI-based protein structure prediction tool AlphaFold has predicted models of several thousand proteins for many crop plants. In AlphaFold predicted protein models, soybean has the highest percentage (65%) of its UniProt protein sequences with predicted models, and a few other crop plants have also a considerable percentage of its UniProt sequences with AlphaFold predicted models. AlphaFold might help predict models and bridge the gap in plant structure determination studies. Protein structure information might lead to engineering key residues to improve the agronomical performance of crop plants.

First report of tomato ringspot virus infection of Krymsk 86 (Prunus cerasifera × P. persica), a hybrid rootstock, in California.

California produces 99% of prunes (Prunus domestica) in the U.S.A., valued at $148 million and accounting for 40% of world prune production. In the last decade, the rootstock Krymsk 86 (K86; P. cerasifera x P. persica) is increasingly used in prune production because of its high vigor, excellent anchorage and graft compatibility with a wide variety of Prunus crops. An estimated >50% of new prune plantings in the Sacramento Valley are on K86. In late spring of 2023, 'Improved French' prune trees in two Northern California counties, grafted on K86 and Lovell (P. persica) rootstocks, were declining with a pale colored canopy. One orchard was ~ 9-years-old and in the other, trees varied from ~ 20 years to newly planted. The percentage of affected trees in one orchard was 3.6% (n=1,824) and 4.6% (n=1,295) in trees on K86 and Lovell, respectively. Symptomatic trees were scattered throughout this orchard, with a higher density of affected trees in the northeast quadrant. Examination of the trunk revealed a necrotic brown line at the graft union, typical of prune brown line (PBL) disease (Mircetich and Hoy, 1981), caused by infection of rootstock by tomato ringspot virus (ToRSV), a member species of Nepovirus lycopersici (family Secoviridae. The virus is vectored by dagger nematodes (Teliz et al. 1967) and its presence was confirmed in one of the orchards. To confirm infection by ToRSV in declining trees, total RNA from leaf samples, feeder roots, and cambial tissue from bark samples from scion and rootstock of one tree each on K86 and Lovell, was obtained using RNeasy Plant Mini kit (www.qiagen.com) and tested by one step reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using primers previously described (Tang et al., 2014). The reaction conditions included RT at 54oC using random hexamers and Superscript III (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA), followed by a denaturation step at 95°C for 5 min, and 35 amplification cycles of 95°C for 30 s, 55°C for 30 s, and 72°C for 45 sec; and a final extension of 72°C for 5 min. The expected size amplicons (176 bp) were visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis only from RNA obtained from the cambial tissue below the graft union confirming the ToRSV infection in K86 rootstock. Extracts from bark scrapings of the rootstocks of three symptomatic trees also tested positive for ToRSV with immunostrips (www.agdia.com). In subsequent RT-PCR tests, RNA extracts from cambial tissue from 9 of 10 symptomatic trees on K86 tested positive for ToRSV. The amplicons were purified using a gel extraction kit (Qiagen Inc., Valencia, CA), and subjected to Sanger sequencing (Azenta Life Sciences (South Plainfield, NJ, USA). The sequence of the ToRSV isolates 316 (GenBank accession PQ282959) and 318 (GenBank accession PQ2829560 exhibited 99.4% (175/176 base pairs) and 98.9 % (175/177) sequence identity, respectively, with ToRSV isolate Rasp1-2014 segment RNA2 (GenBank accession KM083895). Our results indicate that ToRSV can infect K86 and cause PBL. ToRSV and its nematode vectors have a wide host range that includes several crop plants and weeds, but this virus is not currently part of registration and phytosanitory certification of Prunus species in the state of California. This is the first report of ToRSV infection of the K86 rootstock. This information is important for the selection of a rootstock in prune orchards where the virus is endemic.

Leveraging multi-omics tools to comprehend responses and tolerance mechanisms of heavy metals in crop plants.

Extreme anthropogenic activities and current farming techniques exacerbate the effects of water and soil impurity by hazardous heavy metals (HMs), severely reducing agricultural output and threatening food safety. In the upcoming years, plants that undergo exposure to HM might cause a considerable decline in the development as well as production. Hence, plants have developed sophisticated defensive systems to evade or withstand the harmful consequences of HM. These mechanisms comprise the uptake as well as storage of HMs in organelles, their immobilization via chemical formation by organic chelates, and their removal using many ion channels, transporters, signaling networks, and TFs, amid other approaches. Among various cutting-edge methodologies, omics, most notably genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, miRNAomics, phenomics, and epigenomics have become game-changing approaches, revealing information about the genes, proteins, critical metabolites as well as microRNAs that govern HM responses and resistance systems. With the help of integrated omics approaches, we will be able to fully understand the molecular processes behind plant defense, enabling the development of more effective crop protection techniques in the face of climate change. Therefore, this review comprehensively presented omics advancements that will allow resilient and sustainable crop plants to flourish in areas contaminated with HMs.

C4 grasses employ distinct strategies to acclimate rubisco activase to heat stress.

Rising temperatures due to the current climate crisis will soon have devastating impacts on crop performance and resilience. In particular, CO2 assimilation is dramatically limited at high temperatures. CO2 assimilation is accomplished by rubisco, which is inhibited by the binding of inhibitory sugar phosphates to its active site. Plants therefore utilize the essential chaperone rubisco activase (RCA) to remove these inhibitors and enable continued CO2 fixation. However, RCA does not function at moderately high temperatures (42°C), resulting in impaired rubisco activity and reduced CO2 assimilation. We set out to understand temperature-dependent RCA regulation in four different C4 plants, with a focus on the crop plants maize (two cultivars) and sorghum, as well as the model grass Setaria viridis (setaria) using gas exchange measurements, which confirm that CO2 assimilation is limited by carboxylation in these organisms at high temperatures (42°C). All three species express distinct complements of RCA isoforms and each species alters the isoform and proteoform abundances in response to heat; however, the changes are species-specific. We also examine whether the heat-mediated inactivation of RCA is due to biochemical regulation rather than simple thermal denaturation. We reveal that biochemical regulation affects RCA function differently in different C4 species, and differences are apparent even between different cultivars of the same species. Our results suggest that each grass evolved different strategies to maintain RCA function during stress and we conclude that a successful engineering approach aimed at improving carbon capture in C4 grasses will need to accommodate these individual regulatory mechanisms.

Improving Water Productivity in Irrigated Agriculture: A Review of Techniques and Water Conservation Methods in Ethiopia

Water is a scarce resource and the competition for it is increasing from time to time due to population growth and economic status change. The population growth leads to high expectations to produce more food from irrigated agriculture which could not be satisfied by rain-fed conditions. As irrigated agriculture is by far the largest water consumer in an inefficient way, improving water productivity has paramount importance both for the production of more food and for wise utilization of scarce water. Beyond these, studies suggest that improving water productivity in Ethiopia contributes to an increase in the irrigated area, reduced competition, and conflict between users, increased profitability due to reduced labor cost, water pumping and working time, and generally increased food production. Different water productivity improvement techniques and water conservation methods have been tested in different parts of the country. These include improving the performance of irrigation schemes, regulated deficit irrigation practice, partial root zone drying, application of irrigation on selected crop growth stages, supplementary irrigation, drip irrigation, surge and cutback irrigation, and water conservation methods like mulching and integrating irrigation with conservation agriculture. The level of water productivity improvement varies considerably for different methods, study areas, crop types, and seasons. Generally, more studies concentrated on deficit irrigation and irrigation application at different crop growth stages. Water conservation and integration of cultivation practices with efficient irrigation led to an improvement in water productivity. Despite few studies, scheme-level study results suggest that the level of deficit irrigation should be selected based on the available irrigation water and cultivable land area for maximizing the benefit of the scheme. According to the economic profitability, crop types and crop varieties also should be selected for production with site-specific conditions. Despite different types and levels of reduced irrigation leading to lower crop yield, the inclusion of the economic importance is essential as most crops showed higher water productivity at lower irrigation levels. On the other hand, studies on the integration of different water productivity enhancement techniques and crop planting patterns are minimal in the country, though current studies revealed better water productivity. Moreover, basin-level water productivity improvement studies could contribute to alleviating water competition and increasing irrigated areas. Therefore, studies on the optimization of these different methods could be done at the basin level for better water resource utilization. Government policies should also focus on water productivity improvement for the implementation of research findings.

Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Adaptation Strategies of Tomato Producers’ to Climate Change in North West, Nigeria

This work evaluated socio-economic factors influencing adaptability strategy of tomato producers to climate change in North West, Nigeria. Primary data utilized were based on well-designed questionnaire distributed to 100 tomato producers. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics adaptability strategy use index, multinomial Logit model, and principal component model. The outcome shows that the average age of tomato producers approximates 44 years. They are literate with an average of 12 years of school education. About 51% of tomato producers had access to credit, and they are smallholder farmers with average of 0.81 hectares of farm land. The major climate change adaptation strategies used by tomato producers and their corresponding indexes include planting of heat and drought tolerant crop (0.9704), use of improved seeds (0.9675), mulching (0.8976), soil and water conservation technique (0.8312), and use of organic manure (0.7917). The significant predictors influencing the choice of low climate change adaptation strategy users include years of school education, age, experience in tomato farming, and income earned from tomato farming. The significant predictors influencing high climate change adaptation strategy users include years of school education, and income earned from tomato farming. The major challenges faced by tomato producers and their corresponding Eigen values include a lack of improved seeds (8.6935), lack of technology (5.93660, lack of processing and storage facilities (3.9274), and lack of capacity building for producers (3.5173). Improved seeds, irrigation facilities, and farm technologies should be made available to tomato producers to combat threats of climate variability and increase productivity.

Selective list of the Catalogues of the VIR Global Collection on vegetables and cucurbits published in 1962–2023

The Catalogue of the VIR Global Collection series is addressed to plant breeders and crop experts solving practical problems in plan breeding and seed production, plant scientists conducting fundamental and applied research, teachers and learners. The publications within this series help to disclose the potential of the VIR global collection of plant genetic resources and the VIR herbarium (WIR) as an important part of Russian bioresource collections (BRC). The editors of the journal Proceedings on Applied Botany, Genetics and Breeding decided to publish the Selective list of the Catalogues of the VIR Global Collection on vegetables and cucurbits published in 1962–2023 to throw light on VIR’s publishing activities, attract more attention to the Catalogue of the VIR Global Collection series, and specify the numbers and titles of the series’ issues for authors of scientific manuscripts. For the users’ convenience, the sources are arranged chronologically, following the order of issue numbers. The editors hope that this list will prove useful to our readers and authors.

TaWRKY55-TaPLATZ2 module negatively regulate saline-alkali stress tolerance in wheat.

Saline-alkaline soils are a major environmental problem that limit plant growth and crop productivity. Plasma membrane H+-ATPases and the salt overly sensitive (SOS) signaling pathway play important roles in plant responses to saline-alkali stress. However, little is known about the functional genes and mechanisms regulating the transcription of H+-ATPases and SOS pathway genes under saline-alkali stress. In the present study, we identified that the plant AT-rich sequence and zinc-binding (TaPLATZ2) transcription factor are involved in wheat response to saline-alkali stress by directly suppressing the expression of TaHA2/TaSOS3. The knockdown of TaPLATZ2 enhances salt and alkali stress tolerance, while overexpression of TaPLATZ2 leads to salt and alkali stress sensitivity in wheat. In addition, TaWRKY55 directly upregulated the expression of TaPLATZ2 during saline-alkali stress. Through knockdown and overexpression of TaWRKY55 in wheat, TaWRKY55 was shown to negatively modulate salt and alkali stress tolerance. Genetic analyses confirmed that TaPLATZ2 functions downstream of TaWRKY55 in response to salt and alkaline stresses. These findings provide a TaWRKY55-TaPLATZ2-TaHA2/TaSOS3 regulatory module that regulates wheat responses to saline-alkali stress.

Impact of Rainfall and Soil Infiltration on Groundwater Dynamics of Yerekoppi-1 Micro-watershed, Haveri District, Karnataka, India

The amount of water infiltrating the soil surface directly affects the quantity of surface runoff and erosion, and the recharge of both soil and groundwater. Groundwater recharge is an informative indicator of the water located beneath the ground surface. It has a direct impact on renewable supplies of groundwater. In the present study on Impact of rainfall and soil infiltration rate was used for effect on the groundwater level of the Yerekoppi-1 micro watershed (Manakur sub-watershed) in Haveri district of Karnataka state. Average annual rainfall is 700.7 mm and mean potential evapotranspiration is 1541.8 mm. An area of about 888 ha (94.32 %) has clay texture at the surface and 53 ha (5.68%) area has contributing settlement. In Yerekoppi-1 micro- watershed, 38 borewells are there in the vicinity of major stream of the micro- watershed. The mean depth of groundwater levels in the micro- watershed were monitored at a monthly frequency during January-2023 to March-2024. It was found that the maximum average depth of bore wells are about 17.6 mbgl and lowest average depth of borewell about 8.8 mbgl. Soil infiltration rate was measured at upper, middle and lower reaches of the watershed area in the year 2023 and 2024. The majority of the area contributed clay soil. In all the areas of micro-watershed, infiltration rate for clay soil is less than 5 mm/hr. Infiltration rates for all the areas was 1.72- 4.78 mm/hr. Soil infiltration during a rainstorm is closely related to a number of factors such as the intensity and kinetic energy of the rainfall, soil surface conditions and soil properties such as those related to aggregate stability. The groundwater recharge may be improved by growing plantation crop for increasing infiltration rate, construction of percolation tanks and farm ponds in the lower most of the agricultural land.

Optimizing Cereal Crop Performance with Nutrient Priming

The fundamental building blocks for the success of stand establishment for any crop plant are better germination and robust seedlings. Pre-treatment of the seeds is one of the best methods that may possibly improve germination and maintain the uniformity and stability of the seedlings. Primed seeds usually exhibit synchronized and early germination and sometimes greater total germination percentage over a range of environmental conditions. This enhancement has been linked to osmotic correction, metabolic repair during imbibition, and the accumulation of chemicals that promote germination. Nutri-priming is a good alternative to meet plant nutritional requirements. Seed priming with macro or micronutrient (nutripriming) application has been recently done on various agronomic crops including rice, maize and wheat; lead to better germination and establishment. It aims to combine the positive effects of hydro priming with the nutritional aspect of fertilizers. Crop seeds can be primed with either micro or macronutrients, which improves the nutrient content and increases the germination, sprouting, and water uptake efficiency. Primed seeds performed better under diverse environments especially under sub optimal conditions at sowing and resulted in higher yield compared to unprimed seeds. Priming requires specific temperature and time, if it is not followed then the seed can be deteriorated due to embryo protrusion. Due to readily available food during germination, primed seed are better able to complete the process of germination in a short time and cope with environmental stresses including low temperatures. In fact, it may be regarded as a useful method for enhancing crop establishment in regions with unfavourable agro-climatic conditions (rainfed, dry farming, and dry land farming) with increased yield, tolerance to stressful situations, resistance to diseases, crop competitiveness against weeds, and water use efficiency.

Phytochemical Constituent and Cumulative or Antagonistic Effects of Crops Plant Organ Combination on Free Radical Scavenging Capacity and Antioxidant Compound Content

Aims: In Burkina Faso, the majority of plant-based recipes are a combination of plant organs from the same or different species. For these recipes’ producers, the aim is to improve efficiency. However, our ethnobotanical surveys have revealed that for some species, efficacy is better when the species is not combined, or when it is combined in small proportions with other species. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of plant organ combination on free radical scavenging activity, phenolic compound content and flavonoid content. Study Design: The work combined harvesting and processing of plant material from September to November 2023, and laboratories analysis from January to March 2024 at Natural Substances Departement of Institut de Recherche en Sciences Appliquées et Technologie, Ouagadougou. Methodology: We prepared two batches of recipes, first combining two species from the same genus, then two species from different genera. The powder of each plant without combination was also used to compare data. Phytochemical screening was first carried out with TLC and LC-MS analysis on each plant extract. We then assessed the phenolic compound content (PCC) using Folin-Ciocalteu method, flavonoid content (FCC) using aluminum chloride test, antioxidant content using TEAC method and free radical scavenging activity using DPPH method, for different batches. Results: Phytochemical constituent in the three species are phenolic compounds, terpenoids and nitrogen derivatives. The results of biological property evaluation suggest that for best efficacy and to obtain a high phenolic compound content, Lippia multiflora leaves should be used separately, or combined in 70% proportions with Lippia alba, then in 50% proportions if the combination is made with Ocimum basilicum. Conclusion: This research has provided relevant results to guide players in the field of traditional medicine and users of herbal remedies.

Elevated CO2 Concentration Enhances Drought Tolerance by Mitigating Oxidative Stress and Enhancing Carbon Assimilation in Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica)

ABSTRACTElevated CO2 concentration (eCO2) can modulate the response of crop plants to drought stress (DS). This study aimed to investigate the response of leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, antioxidant activities, osmotic adjustment substance, phytohormone and signal transduction regulatory enzymes, as well as related genes in foxtail millet to DS (water stress for 10 days), ambient condition (aCO2, 400 μmol mol−1) and eCO2 (600 μmol mol−1). eCO2 significantly increased the net photosynthetic rate, maximum net photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll a content, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance, but did not affect leaf instantaneous water‐use efficiency under DS. eCO2 also significantly enhanced the quantum yield of Photosystem II (PSII), photosynthetic electron transport, and proportion of open PSII reaction centers under DS. Moreover, eCO2 significantly increased abscisic acid (ABA) content, proline content, and the activities of peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and calcium‐dependent protein kinase under DS, leading to a significant reduction in malondialdehyde content. eCO2 significantly increased the expressions of gene encoding ABA‐, stress‐ and ripening‐induced proteins and ABA‐responsive element binding factor under DS. Our results clearly demonstrated the vital role of eCO2 in mitigating the drought‐induced damage over ambient CO2 grown foxtail millet.

Exploring the Potential of Bacillus subtilis IS1 and B. amyloliquificiens IS6 to Manage Salinity Stress and Fusarium Wilt Disease in Tomato Plants by Induced Physiological Responses.

The intensified concerns related to agrochemicals' ecological and health risks have encouraged the exploration of microbial agents as eco-friendly alternatives. Some members of Bacillus spp. are potential plant-growth-promoting agents and benefit numerous crop plants globally. This study aimed to explore the beneficial effects of two Bacillus strains (B. subtilis strain IS1 and B. amyloliquificiens strain IS6) capable of alleviating the growth of tomato plants against salinity stress and Fusarium wilt disease. These strains were able to significantly promote the growth of tomato plants and biomass accumulation in pot trials in the absence of any stress. Under salinity stress conditions (150 mM NaCl), B. subtilis strain IS1 demonstrated superior performance and significantly increased shoot length (45.74%), root length (101.39%), fresh biomass (62.17%), and dry biomass (49.69%) contents compared to control plants. Similarly, B. subtilis strain IS1 (63.7%) and B. amyloliquificiens strain IS6 (32.1%) effectively suppressed Fusarium wilt disease and significantly increased plant growth indices compared to the pathogen control. Furthermore, these strains increased the production of chlorophyll, carotenoid, and total phenolic contents. They significantly affected the activities of enzymes involved in antioxidant machinery and the phenylpropanoid pathway. Hence, this study effectively demonstrates that these Bacillus strains can effectively alleviate the growth of tomato plants under multiple stress conditions and can be used to develop bio-based formulations for use in the fields.

Spider plant (Cleome gynandra) breeding priorities and preferences among landraces in Zimbabwe

Background: Participatory approaches such as participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and participatory variety selection (PVS) methods empower farmers to play a greater role in the decision-making process and in shaping the future improvement of crops. However, few studies have established breeding priorities and assessed variety preferences for spider plant, a nutrient-rich and medicinal crop mainly grown as landraces by farmers.Aim: This study aims to set spider plant breeding priorities and select preferred varieties.Setting: This study was conducted at seven farmer field schools (FFSs) located in various districts of Zimbabwe during the 2021–2022 summer season.Methods: Landrace genotypes were planted in a variety of demonstration plots where farmers met, learned and discussed important breeding traits, ultimately ranking the landrace genotypes. Important traits of spider plant were identified and prioritised to establish breeding priorities. The final ranking was conducted at the end of the season, and the data were analysed for significance.Results: The top six most important breeding priorities across the FFS can be ranked as follows: size of leaves number of branches taste late maturity germination early leaf growth. Preferences for different genotypes varied among FFSs. CGGUR, CGMRGP-Marondera and CGUZG1 were preferred for higher branching habits. Landraces with larger leaf sizes, were CGNPGRC356, CGMRGP-Marondera.Conclusion: The preferred genotypes were as follows: Tsholotsho = CGGUR, Rushinga = CGKENYA, Chiredzi = CGMRG1, Mudzi = CGMRGP-Marondera, Horticulture Research Institution – Research community (HRI-R) = CGMRG1 and CGKENYA, and M-Chiota = CGZIM and CGUZG1. Across FFSs, significantly (p 0.001) higher preference ranks were in the following order: CGMRGP-Marondera CGMRG1 CGNPGRC355 CGKENYA.Contribution: These genotypes can be utilised for future genetic improvement, seed production and variety release.