Crop Plants Research Articles

Resource-efficient federated learning over IoAT for rice leaf disease classification

Rice is an important staple food in Asia. It is produced and consumed in large quantities. It contributes to 15% of protein intake and 21% of total per capita energy intake in the region, underscoring its important role as a primary global food source. Conversely, rice plants are heavily affected by bacterial, fungal and other microbial diseases, resulting in reduced plant health and crop yields and posing a major challenge for rice farmers. Manual diagnosis of these diseases is particularly problematic in regions with a shortage of agricultural experts. Farmers with insufficient experience sometimes incorrectly identify these diseases by hand. Recent advances in deep learning (DL) models offer a promising solution through automatic image recognition systems that can be very helpful in accurately identifying these diseases. This manuscript presents a resource-efficient federated learning IoAT (Internet of Agriculture Things) approach for rice leaf disease classification. This approach incorporates two key strategies, namely federated transfer learning and feature extraction, and evaluates their performance on various metrics such as accuracy, loss, precision, recall, AUC, and resource-related parameters such as GPU memory consumption, virtual memory, CPU and GPU process utilization. The dataset used in the study includes 5932 images of rice leaf diseases categorized as bacterial leaf blight, blast, brown spot and tungro. The research investigates the application of federated transfer learning and federated feature extraction techniques to classify rice leaf disease images. It performs a comparative analysis of their performance and resource utilization. EfficientNetB3, with an impressive validation accuracy of 99%, is identified as the base model for the federated learning (FL) environment. Furthermore, we implement FL using both transfer learning and feature extraction methods and compare their results on a number of performance and resource related parameters. It is shown that the federated feature extraction approach has lower GPU memory and process utilization compared to the federated transfer learning approach and is thus more resource efficient. Extracting features before model training results in a lightweight model, which is especially beneficial for FL, IoAT devices that require efficient execution on edge devices. Therefore, the proposed approach is presented as a lightweight, privacy-friendly and resource-efficient solution for rice leaf disease classification.

Genotype-specific nonphotochemical quenching responses to nitrogen deficit are linked to chlorophyll a to b ratios

Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) protects plants from photodamage caused by excess light energy. Substantial variation in NPQ has been reported among different genotypes of the same species. However, comparatively little is known about how environmental perturbations, including nutrient deficits, impact natural variation in NPQ kinetics. Here, we analyzed a natural variation in NPQ kinetics of a diversity panel of 225 maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes under nitrogen replete and nitrogen deficient field conditions. Individual maize genotypes from a diversity panel exhibited a range of changes in NPQ in response to low nitrogen. Replicated genotypes exhibited consistent responses across two field experiments conducted in different years. At the seedling and pre-flowering stages, a similar portion of the genotypes (∼33%) showed decrease, no-change or increase in NPQ under low nitrogen relative to control. Genotypes with increased NPQ under low nitrogen also showed greater reductions in dry biomass and photosynthesis than genotypes with stable NPQ when exposed to low nitrogen conditions. Maize genotypes where an increase in NPQ was observed under low nitrogen also exhibited a reduction in the ratio of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b. Our results underline that since thermal dissipation of excess excitation energy measured via NPQ helps to balance the energy absorbed with energy utilized, the NPQ changes are the reflection of broader molecular and biochemical changes which occur under the stresses such as low soil fertility. Here, we have demonstrated that variation in NPQ kinetics resulted from genetic and environmental factors, are not independent of each other. Natural genetic variation controlling plastic responses of NPQ kinetics to environmental perturbation increases the likelihood it will be possible to optimize NPQ kinetics in crop plants for different environments.

Effect of Herbal Kunapajala and Different Organic Manures on Plant Growth, Quality and Yield of Withania Somnifera L. Dunal

Abstract: Cultivation of medicinal plants, especially high value medicinal plants is creating new dimension in the field of agriculture. The need for developing countries to acquire technologies and techniques for programmed cultivation of medicinal plants is a current issue. Ashwagandha, the 3rd important prioritized medicinal plant listed by National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB) is also known as Indian Ginseng. Herbal medicines strongly involve mass appeal being safer and inexpensive. The traditional use of ‘Ashwagandha was to increase energy, youthful vigour, endurance, strength, health, nurture the time elements of the body, increase vital fluids, muscle fat, blood, lymph, semen and cell production. The total alkaloid content in the roots of the Indian types has been reported to vary between 0.13 and 0.31%, though much higher yields (upto to 4.3%) have been recorded elsewhere. In all, 13 components have been obtained chromatographically. Herbal kunapajala can be used as nutrient supplement at any growth stage of crop plant. The effectiveness of herbal kunapajala is due to the breakdown of complex compounds in to lower molecular weight compounds during the fermentation of ingredients and this make available nutrients to the plants. So, this study is planned to evaluate the effect of herbal kunapajala and organic manure on ashwagandha.

Autonomous pest management system

These days, ranchers are playing a crucial role in the rural areas by working hard and planting crops that help the different districts' social orders obtain their basic needs. Despite the fact that just 44% of pesticides are used worldwide, over 70% of them are used in India. Using these chemicals is contaminating the air. This is one of the major problems in gardening. In order to do this, a robot that sprays pesticides autonomously and with less environmental harm is developed. The project is managed by a remote sensing company. Distant sensor network applications in rural, bio- clinical, ecological, and other fields. The ranchers will really benefit from this bot. Using cell phone support; this bot will splatter chemicals across the entire harvest. It is possible to control this bot efficiently. The robot covers every plant on the property with pesticides by sprinkling them on. This will be applied to application structures for sickness counteraction and problem control. The rancher's time and workload will be reduced by using this bot.

Chasmophyte associated stress tolerant bacteria confer drought resilience to chickpea through efficient nutrient mining and modulation of stress response

In the present study, ten (10) selected bacteria isolated from chasmophytic wild Chenopodium were evaluated for alleviation of drought stress in chickpea. All the bacterial cultures were potential P, K and Zn solubilizer. About 50% of the bacteria could produce Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase. The bacteria showed wide range of tolerance towards pH, salinity, temperature and osmotic stress. Bacillus paralicheniformis L38, Pseudomonas sp. LN75, Enterobacter hormachei subsp. xiangfengensis LJ89, B. paramycoides L17 and Micrococcus luteus LA9 significantly improved growth and nutrient (N, P, K, Fe and Zn) content in chickpea under water stress during a green house experiment conducted following a completely randomized design (CRD). Application of Microbacterium imperiale LJ10, B. stercoris LN74, Pseudomonas sp. LN75, B. paralicheniformis L38 and E. hormachei subsp. xiangfengensis LJ89 reduced the antioxidant enzymes under water stress. During field experiments conducted following randomized block design (RBD), all the bacterial inoculations improved chickpea yield under water stress. Highest yield (1363 kg ha−1) was obtained in plants inoculated with Pseudomonas sp. LN75. Pseudomonas sp. LN75, B. paralicheniformis L38 and E. hormachei subsp. xiangfengensis LJ89 have potential as microbial stimulants to alleviate the water stress in chickpea. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of using chasmophyte associated bacteria for alleviation of water stress in a crop plant.

Phenotype, Biomass, Carbon and Nitrogen Assimilation, and Antioxidant Response of Rapeseed under Salt Stress

Salt stress is one of the major adverse factors affecting plant growth and crop production. Rapeseed is an important oil crop, providing high-quality edible oil for human consumption. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of salt stress on the phenotypic traits and physiological processes of rapeseed. The soil salinity was manipulated by setting three different levels: 0 g NaCl kg−1 soil (referred to as S0), 1.5 g NaCl kg−1 soil (referred to as S1), and 3.0 g NaCl kg−1 soil (referred to as S2). In general, the results indicated that the plant height, leaf area, and root neck diameter decreased with an increase in soil salinity. In addition, the biomass of various organs at all growth stages decreased as soil salinity increased from S0 to S2. The increasing soil salinity improved the distribution of biomass in the root and leaf at the seedling and flowering stages, indicating that rapeseed plants subjected to salt stress during the vegetative stage are capable of adapting their growth pattern to sustain their capacity for nutrient and water uptake, as well as leaf photosynthesis. However, as the soil salinity increased, there was a decrease in the distribution of biomass in the pod and seed at the maturity stage, while an increase was observed in the root and stem, suggesting that salt stress inhibited carbohydrate transport into reproductive organs. Moreover, the C and N accumulation at the flowering and maturity stages exhibited a reduction in direct correlation with the increase in soil salinity. High soil salinity resulted in a reduction in the C/N, indicating that salt stress exerted a greater adverse effect on C assimilation compared to N assimilation, leading to an increase in seed protein content and a decrease in oil content. Furthermore, as soil salinity increased from S0 to S2, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) and the content of soluble protein and sugar increased by 58.39%, 33.38%, 15.57%, and 13.88% at the seedling stage, and 38.69%, 22.85%, 12.04%, and 8.26% at the flowering stage, respectively. In summary, this study revealed that salt stress inhibited C and N assimilation, leading to a suppressed phenotype and biomass accumulation. The imbalanced C and N assimilation under salt stress contributed to the alterations in the seed oil and protein content. Rapeseed had a certain degree of salt tolerance by improving antioxidants and osmolytes.

Isolation of the inorganic phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria Lysinibacillus sphaericus and assessing its role in promoting rice growth.

Soluble phosphorus scarcity severely limits plant growth and crop yield. In this study, a strain of inorganic phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria, Lysinibacillus sphaericus, was isolated from rice rhizosphere soil. The available phosphorus content in liquid inorganic phosphorus identification medium and in L. sphaericus-inoculated soil increased from 204.28mg/L to 1124.68mg/L and from 4.75mg/kg to 7.04mg/kg, respectively. The pH decreased significantly from 6.87 to 6.14. Incubation with L. sphaericus significantly increased malic and succinic acid content in the liquid inorganic phosphorus identification medium and increased acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activity in the soil. Inoculation with L. sphaericus significantly increased rice growth, chlorophyll a/b content, and photosynthesis by increasing the soluble phosphorus content in the rice rhizosphere soil under phosphorus-deficient conditions. Further analysis revealed that L. sphaericus improved soil phosphorus release by decreasing soil pH and promoting acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activity. This study supports the production of microbial fertilizers to improve rice yield in phosphorus-deficient conditions.

Corn Acreage Intensification Levels in U.S. Corn Belt States

Abstract Crop rotations in the United States increasingly involve few crops dominated by corn frequently combined with soybeans. We assess factors tied to corn acreage intensification over the past two decades. Using state-level data of 11 U.S. Corn Belt states from 2000 to 2021, we applied a panel fixed effects instrumental variable modeling approach to investigate these linkages. Findings suggest Conservation Reserve Program acreage releases, crop prices, ethanol demand, farm size, productivity, and genetically modified varieties positively impact corn acreage intensity. These results imply crop planting decisions are complex and are not uniquely attributed to biofuel considerations.

Influence of Super-Absorbent Polymer on Growth and Productivity of Green Bean under Drought Conditions

The water-retaining and yield-increasing capacity of super-absorbent polymer (SAP) are essential for soil remediation in arid and semi-arid areas. Water availability is an increasing challenge to plant development and crop yield. During the growing seasons in 2021 and 2022, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the addition of different amounts of SAP on the development and yield of green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv Bronco) under varying water deficit stresses, compared with the control treatment without SAP and water deficit stress. The results demonstrated that a 50% reduction in water requirement (WR) resulted in significant decreases in leaf fresh weight, specific leaf area, leaf total chlorophyll content, pod number, leaf free water content, pod fresh weight per plant, and yield. Decreases were also found in pod total chlorophyll content, carotenoids, dry matter and total protein, leaf proline content, and crude fiber content. Additionally, leaf water saturation deficit was significantly increased under the stress compared with the full irrigation at 100% WR. However, irrigation at 75% WR increased pod contents of ascorbic acid, total sugars, and leaf bound water. The current study also indicated that addition of SAP significantly enhanced the above-mentioned growth characteristics under irrigation at 50% and 75% WR. Treatment with SAP at 3 g/plant was the most effective in mitigating the adverse effects of water deficiency, especially at the irrigation rate of 75% WR. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed significantly positive correlations between the growth parameters, as well as pod yield, under water stress and SAP. This study provides a promising strategy for green bean cultivation by adding SAP to soil to alleviate water shortage stress.

Plant Leaf Disease Detection and Suggesting Medication using Image Processing and Convolutional Neural Network Techniques

In day-to-day life many factors that affect plants. Many problems are occurring at a rapid pace and new diseases are rapidly being identified. In today’s world of pollution and soil quality, disease detection is essential and its supplement is required to protect the plants. The main motivation of doing this project is to present a disease prediction model for the prediction of occurrence of plant crop disease. Further, this research work is aimed towards identifying the best classification algorithm for identifying the possibility of disease in plants. The identification of the possibility of disease in plants is complicated task for practitioners because it requires years of experience and intense tests to be conducted. The main objective of this significant research work is to identify the best classification algorithms suitable for providing maximum accuracy when classification of normal and abnormal plants is carried out. Convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture is used to map the relationship between the indoor PM and weather data to the found values. The proposed method is compared with the state-of-the-art deep neural network (DNN) based techniques in terms of the root mean square and mean absolute error accuracy measures. The applied CNN classification helps to predict the heart disease with more accuracy in the new data set. The coding language used is Python 3.10..

Fluctuation Price Sell Palm Farmers and Impact Socioeconomic Society Farmer Palm Oil in Rokan Hilir Regency Province Riau

Oil palm is the prima donna commodity of plantation crops in this area. Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, in 2023, Riau Province was recorded as having an oil palm plantation area of 2.87 million hectares or 20.68 per cent of the total area of oil palm plantations spread across 26 provinces in Indonesia. Riau Province occupies the first position as the province in Indonesia which has the largest area of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. In the 11 year period (2011-2021), the area of oil palm plantations in Riau Province increased by 49.07%. This research discusses the impact of fluctuations in the selling price of palm fruit on the socio-economic conditions of palm oil farming communities in Rokan Hilir Regency, Riau Province. The research was conducted using primary data and secondary data, as well as descriptive analysis methods. The research results show that fluctuations in the selling price of palm fruit have a significant impact on income, employment and social conditions of the community. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the Government can provide offers and encourage the development of derivative products from palm oil to maintain the stability of farmers' selling prices for palm oil. This research provides important insights for government policy in improving the welfare of oil palm farming communities in the region.

Exploring the Role of Debaryomyces hansenii as Biofertilizer in Iron-Deficient Environments to Enhance Plant Nutrition and Crop Production Sustainability

The European “Green Deal” policies are shifting toward more sustainable and environmentally conscious agricultural practices, reducing the use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. This implies exploring alternative strategies. One promising alternative to improve plant nutrition and reinforce plant defenses is the use of beneficial microorganisms in the rhizosphere, such as “Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria and fungi”. Despite the great abundance of iron (Fe) in the Earth’s crust, its poor solubility in calcareous soil makes Fe deficiency a major agricultural issue worldwide. Among plant promoting microorganisms, the yeast Debaryomyces hansenii has been very recently incorporated, for its ability to induce morphological and physiological key responses to Fe deficiency in plants, under hydroponic culture conditions. The present work takes it a step further and explores the potential of D. hansenii to improve plant nutrition and stimulate growth in cucumber plants grown in calcareous soil, where ferric chlorosis is common. Additionally, the study examines D. hansenii’s ability to induce systemic resistance (ISR) through a comparative relative expression study by qRT-PCR of ethylene (ET) biosynthesis (ACO1), or ET signaling (EIN2 and EIN3), and salicylic acid (SA) biosynthesis (PAL)-related genes. The results mark a significant milestone since D. hansenii not only enhances nutrient uptake and stimulates plant growth and flower development but could also amplify induced systemic resistance (ISR). Although there is still much work ahead, these findings make D. hansenii a promising candidate to be used for sustainable and environmentally friendly integrated crop management.

Phages enhance both phytopathogen density control and rhizosphere microbiome suppressiveness.

Ralstonia solanacearum is a highly destructive plant-pathogenic bacterium with the ability to cause bacterial wilt in several crucial crop plants. Given the limitations of conventional chemical control methods, the use of bacterial viruses (phages) has been explored as an alternative biological control strategy. In this study, we show that increasing the phage application frequency can improve the density control of R. solanacearum, leading to a significant reduction in bacterial wilt disease. Furthermore, we found that repeated phage application increased the diversity of rhizosphere microbiota and specifically enriched Actinobacterial taxa that showed synergistic pathogen suppression when combined with phages due to resource and interference competition. Together, our study unravels an undiscovered benefit of phages, where phages trigger a second line of defense by the pathogen-suppressing bacteria present in resident microbial communities. Phage therapies could, hence, potentially be tailored according to host microbiota composition to unlock the pre-existing benefits provided by resident microbiota.

Evaluation of a low-cost staining method for improved visualization of sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) eggs on multiple crop plant species

BackgroundThe sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) is a globally important insect pest that damages crops through direct feeding and by transmitting viruses. Current B. tabaci management revolves around the use of insecticides, which are economically and environmentally costly. Host plant resistance is a sustainable option to reduce the impact of whiteflies, but progress in deploying resistance in crops has been slow. A major obstacle is the high cost and low throughput of screening plants for B. tabaci resistance. Oviposition rate is a popular metric for host plant resistance to B. tabaci because it does not require tracking insect development through the entire life cycle, but accurate quantification is still limited by difficulties in observing B. tabaci eggs, which are microscopic and translucent. The goal of our study was to improve quantification of B. tabaci eggs on several important crop species: cassava, cowpea, melon, sweet potato and tomato.ResultsWe tested a selective staining process originally developed for leafhopper eggs: submerging the leaves in McBryde’s stain (acetic acid, ethanol, 0.2% aqueous acid Fuchsin, water; 20:19:2:1) for three days, followed by clearing under heat and pressure for 15 min in clearing solution (LGW; lactic acid, glycerol, water; 17:20:23). With a less experienced individual counting the eggs, B. tabaci egg counts increased after staining across all five crops. With a more experienced counter, egg counts increased after staining on melons, tomatoes, and cowpeas. For all five crops, there was significantly greater agreement on egg counts across the two counting individuals after the staining process. The staining method worked particularly well on melon, where egg counts universally increased after staining for both counting individuals.ConclusionsSelective staining aids visualization of B. tabaci eggs across multiple crop plants, particularly species where leaf morphological features obscure eggs, such as melons and tomatoes. This method is broadly applicable to research questions requiring accurate quantification of B. tabaci eggs, including phenotyping for B. tabaci resistance.

An assessment of policies to promote perennial energy crop and woodland planting

An assessment of policies to promote perennial energy crop and woodland planting

NMR and LC–MS-based metabolomics to investigate the efficacy of a commercial bio stimulant for the treatment of wheat (Triticum aestivum)

IntroductionBio stimulants are substances and/or microorganisms that are used to improve plant growth and crop yields by modulating physiological processes and metabolism of plants. While research has primarily focused on the broad effects of bio stimulants in crops, understanding their cellular and molecular influences in plants, using metabolomic analysis, could elucidate their effectiveness and offer possibilities for fine-tuning their application. One such bio stimulant containing galacturonic acid as elicitor is used in agriculture to improve wheat vigor and strengthen resistance to lodging.ObjectiveHowever, whether a metabolic response is evolved by plants treated with this bio stimulant and the manner in which the latter might regulate plant metabolism have not been studied.MethodTherefore, the present study used 1H-NMR and LC–MS to assess changes in primary and secondary metabolites in the roots, stems, and leaves of wheat (Triticum aestivum) treated with the bio stimulant. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis effectively distinguished between treated and control samples, confirming a metabolic response to treatment in the roots, stems, and leaves of wheat.ResultsFold-change analysis indicated that treatment with the bio stimulation solution appeared to increase the levels of hydroxycinnamic acid amides, lignin, and flavonoid metabolism in different plant parts, potentially promoting root growth, implantation, and developmental cell wall maturation and lignification.ConclusionThese results demonstrate how non-targeted metabolomic approaches can be utilized to investigate and monitor the effects of new agroecological solutions based on systemic responses.

Wild Relatives and Related Species of Crop Plants in India - their Diversity and Distribution

The wild relatives of crop plants and related species arc of considerable importance in studies on crop improvement and in providing basic information on species relationships. The concentration of these taxa lies in the centres of diversity of crop plants. The Indian sub-continent forms part of such a centre of diversity (Vavilov, 1950, Zeven and Zhukovsky, 1975). Further, this diversity has also been enriched due to active gene exchange with the surrounding regions, particularly in the northern/north-eastern parts (Chatterjee, 1939). In this paper, a synthesis of the diversity and distribution of such flora has been attempted, pinpointing areas of concentration of these wild types so that this information can be profitably utilized particularly by the plant explorers. Collection, study and conservation of this genetic wealth is of great importance.

Inter-Relationship between Certain Unfamiliar Animals and Plants

Living in an environment totally devoid of green vegetation, man turns crazy as is often experienced by scientists who have to live in the white wilderness of the Arctic ice-cap. They create artificial cardboard conifers to soothen the famished eye. A few examples of special relationship between animals and plants are given below. For the baya weaverbird (Ploceus philippinus), green strands of leaf blades at the nest is a sign of industriousness, and males who can weave efficient nests get many mates during one season. For the aboriginee women of Jeya, the bark of Cinnamomum kami is a defense against their brutal husband. When harassed, they threaten to eat kami and become sexually sterile, not capable of producing a male issue who is the pride and support for the father at his old age. The male deer-pig (Babirussa babirussa) always sharpens his tusk on the butress-roots of Canarium sp. Where such buttressed trees are felled or not available, the animal migrates to another region. The malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) piles leaves and brambles over its large, 10-m wide nest. With rains, the organic materials liberate heat enough to hatch the eggs of the fowl that doesn't brood over the eggs. At the reclaimed land of the Sumatra swamps, where the natural ecosystem is disturbed by coconut plantations, rare crustacean and mammalian pests start ravanging the coconut. Small-holders grow pineapple, tapioca, banana and yams at the borders of gardens established in forest areas for these pests to get satiated with their produce and spare the coconut. Man endeavours to improve the dry and parched soil to raise a green coconut Canopy by difficult means. He even converts the marshy swamps by providing suitable drainage system into a land suitable for raising crop plants. Man is also capable of replacing an uneconomic crop in favour of an attractive one, thus going upto the extent of clearing mountains of Coconuts in favour of more paying crops bke the clove. The largest flower (Refflesia arnoldi) and the gigantic arum (Amorphophallus titanum) emit odour unbearable for human being in order to attract pollinating agents. Coconut trichomes serve as poison to insect pests like Setora nitens and Chalcoscelids sp. Particularly in South India, people are causing the rapid disappearance of the "karpaka vriksham", (Borassus flabellifer), the hope for people of dry regions. The Caconut crab (Birgus latro) is alleged to subsist mostly on coconut and hence its popular name. However, thus has recently been proved to be untrue since the crab can live without coconut. The painted stork carries green twigs to its nest having chicks. DO these twigs protect the chicks from diseases, pests or excessive heat? The common crow, Corvus splendens is an example for an animal that reduces its dependence on plants. It switches over to metal nests in place of the traditional nest made of twigs and brambles.

The Development of Agrotechnopark Model Based on Modern Villages

Agrotechnopark is an area for implementing various types of technology in agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and product processing (postharvest), which has been reviewed by multiple governments and private research institutions and functions as a training ground and center for technology transfer to the broader community. Implementing the Agricultural Technology Park (TTP) uses socio-cultural, ecological, and economic approaches. A comprehensive understanding of community needs will be obtained through a socio-cultural system, which will become input for the company. At the same time, the environmental system will identify the potential basis of local resource excellence as a reference for community development activities. Furthermore, the economic approach is developing productive business units to increase people's income while paying attention to market demand. South Konawe Regency is one of the autonomous regions in Southeast Sulawesi, which is supported by its potential resources. The position of the South Konawe Regency area is very strategic, a southern cross-section of the Southeast Sulawesi peninsula that connects several Regencies/Cities in Southeast Sulawesi with prototypes of coastal and inland villages. One is Atari Jaya Village because it has a heterogeneous population composition, and most of the Javanese Transmigration community is reasonably competent in agricultural development. Because of this, socio-culturally and economically, this village grows and develops and is dynamic by carrying out the diffusion of technology in various fields supporting Agrotechnopark, such as the development of Integrated Farming (Multiple cropping) and integrated farming (Mixed culture) of plantation crops and plantations. Atari Jaya Village is also a central area for the development of Agropolitan both food crops, as well as plantation and horticultural crops on a national scale and a People's Plantation Centre worthy of being an Agricultural Technology Park Area (Agro et al.) in South Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province. Development of the Agricultural Technology Park Area (TTP) to become a center for Agribusiness and Agro-fruit tourism as a basic framework for community and regional economic growth towards Konsel Hebat Regency. Atari Jaya Village was realized as an independent village, a pilot Agrotechnopark village in South Konawe Regency, and a service center for upstream and downstream Agribusiness trade in Agrofruit and plantations.

Mitigation of drought stress effects on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) callus through CaO nanoparticles and graphene oxide in tissue culture conditions

Drought stress poses a significant threat to fertile soils worldwide, triggering profound physiological, biochemical, and molecular changes in plants that adversely impact agricultural productivity. This study explores the potential of nanotechnology, specifically Calcium Oxide Nanoparticles (CaO NPs) and Graphene Oxide (GO), to ameliorate the negative effects of drought stress on two distinct alfalfa ecotypes. Seeds from Erzurum and Konya regions were regenerated in the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, and ensuing callus formation was induced through 1 mg L−1 2,4-D and 1 mg L−1 kinetin MS medium. The callus samples underwent a one-month treatment with varying concentrations of mannitol (50 and 100 mM), CaO NPs, and GO (0.5 and 1.5 ppm). Results revealed a decrease in dry/wet weight with increasing mannitol concentration, contrasting with an increase in weight under CaO NPs and GO treatment. Proline, DNSA, MDA, and H2O2 exhibited proportional increases under drought stress, while CaO NPs and GO treatments mitigated these effects. Physiological and biochemical analyses identified optimal conditions for Erzurum as 50 mM mannitol/2 CaO NPs/0.5 ppm GO, and for Konya as 50 mM mannitol/0.5 ppm GO. Gene expression analysis indicated up-regulation of mtr-miR159 and mtr-miR393 with heightened drought stress, with down-regulation observed in CaO NPs and GO treatments. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) confirmed Ca2+ accumulation in alfalfa tissues. In conclusion, CaO NPs and GO treatments exhibited a significant reduction in the adverse effects of drought stress on alfalfa callus under tissue culture conditions. This research sheds light on the potential of nanotechnological interventions to alleviate the impact of environmental stressors on crop plants, opening avenues for sustainable agriculture in the face of changing climatic conditions. Further investigations are warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and scalability of these findings for field applications.