Stages Of Plant Development Research Articles

Bioenergy crops monitoring using Sentinel-2 and UAV-derived imagery

Purpose. Establishing the regularities for the monitoring of the bioenergy crop conditions using Sentinel-2 and UAV-derived imagery. Methods. A field experiment was carried out in an experimental field of the Institute of Bioenergy Crops and Sugar Beet National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (50.023194, 30.173895), located in a zone of unstable soil moisture in the Right Bank Forest Steppe, in 2022−2023. Results. Among the studied traditional crops, sugar sorghum, sugar beet, and fodder beet are interesting crops from the standpoint of biomass for energy, as they can produce 110 t/ha, 120 t/ha, and 135 t/ha of biomass, respectively, or 20 t/ha, 26 t/ha, and 24 t/ha of dry matter, respectively. The yield of energy crops can be predicted with an acceptable level of accuracy using many known vegetation indices. However, the relationships between vegetation indices and crop yield are not consistent at every stage of plant growth and development, leading to low accuracy in yield estimation. The combination of vegetation indices related to the structural characteristics of the canopy and chlorophyll content in the aboveground biomass can improve the accuracy of yield estimation. Moreover, combining vegetation indices related to canopy structure, chlorophyll content, and stress indices as input to yield prediction models may provide even higher correlations for yield prediction. Conclusions. Usually, plantations of miscanthus and switchgrass are fertilised annually, while willow and poplar are fertilised every 3–4 years, after each harvesting. Therefore, the nutrient provision of tree species may not be sufficient. It was found that the content of total nitrogen in the soil of bioenergy plantations highly correlates with NDVI. To use NDVI for bioenergy crop prediction, an algorithm for determining the level of plant nutrients should be developed. It was found that at the end of the growing season (September or early October), the use of vegetation indices allows for the accurate estimation of the size and condition of bioenergy plantations since most crops in this period are already harvested. Sentinel-2-derived imagery is useful for monitoring bioenergy crop plantations as it provides images with a resolution of 10 m at 3–5-day revisiting time. We investigated NDVI on a total area of Miscanthus × gigantheus plantations of 2.9 ha. The satellite-derived data accumulated and aggregated by the OneSoil application as of August 20 and September 19 resulted in NDVI values of 0.80 and 0.70, respectively, while the NDVI obtained with UAV imagery was 0.82 and 0.77, respectively. Consequently, the satellite can provide quite acceptable NDVI data for use in the monitoring of bioenergy plantation yield at the national level.

Genetic diversity of barley accessions from East Asian countries in terms of resistance to powdery mildew

Background. Barley is an ancient crop currently cultivated in more than 100 countries. High adaptability makes it possible to cultivate it in environments unfavorable for many other crops. At the same time, fungal diseases can have a negative impact on its grain yield and quality. One of the most harmful is the fungus Blumeria graminis (DC.) Golovin ex Speer f. sp. hordei Marchal. The pathogen can overcome a cultivar’s resistance, resulting in significant harvest losses. There is a need for a constant search for new effective sources of resistance to powdery mildew for barley breeding.Materials and methods. A set of 950 barley accessions from the East Asian center of the crop’s morphogenesis were studied at the adult stage of plant development. They were screened and crossed in the fields of Pushkin and Pavlovsk Laboratories of VIR (St. Petersburg, Russia). Genetic control of barley resistance to B. graminis was analyzed in a climate chamber under artificial infection pressure with the northwestern population of the fungus. Scoring scales were used for screening.Results and conclusions. Weak development of B. graminis during the heading phase was observed on plants of 38 barley accessions from the East Asian center. High resistance at all stages of development was manifested by 20 genotypes that can be used in breeding programs. Resistance genes in 18 selected forms differed in their effectiveness at the seedling stage of development and during the heading phase. Accessions k-3433, k-10931, k-10934, k-11608, k-17545, k-20272, k-20279, k-20354 and k-27867 had one dominant resistance gene each. Accessions k-11608, k-12278, and k-17545 are protected by the identical gene, while the resistance of k-3433 is induced by a gene that differs from the genes present in accessions k-10931 and k-20279.

Plant development alters the nitrogen cycle in subsurface flow constructed wetlands: Implications to the strategies for intensified treatment performance

Plant development greatly influences the composition structure and functions of microbial community in constructed wetlands (CWs) via plant root activities. However, our knowledge of the effect of plant development on microbial nitrogen (N) cycle is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the N removal performance and microbial structure in subsurface flow CWs at three time points corresponding to distinct stages of plant development: seedling, mature and wilting. Overall, the water parameters were profoundly affected by plant development with the increased root activities including radial oxygen loss (ROL) and root exudates (REs). The removal efficiency of NH4+-N was significantly highest at the mature stage (p < 0.01), while the removal performance of NO3−-N at the seedling stage. The highest relative abundances of nitrification- and anammox-related microbes (Nitrospira, Nitrosomonas, and Candidatus Brocadia, etc.) and functional genes (Amo, Hdh, and Hzs) were observed in CWs at the mature stage, which can be attributed to the enhanced intensity of ROL, creating micro-habitat with high DO concentration. On the other hand, the highest relative abundances of denitrification- and DNRA-related microbes (Petrimonas, Geobacter, and Pseudomonas, etc.) and functional genes (Nxr, Nir, and Nar, etc.) were observed in CWs at the seedling and wilting stages, which can be explained by the absence of ROL and biological denitrification inhibitor derived from REs. Results give insights into microbial N cycle in CWs with different stages of plant development. More importantly, a potential solution for intensified N removal via the combination of practical operation and natural regulation is proposed.

Detecting and monitoring the development stages of wild flowers and plants using computer vision: approaches, challenges and opportunities

Wild flowers and plants play an important role in protecting biodiversity and providing various ecosystem services. However, some of them are endangered or threatened and are entitled to preservation and protection. This study represents a first step to develop a computer vision system and a supporting mobile app for detecting and monitoring the development stages of wild flowers and plants, aiming to contribute to their preservation. It first introduces the related concepts. Then, surveys related work and categorizes existing solutions presenting their key features, strengths, and limitations. The most promising solutions and techniques are identified. Insights on open issues and research directions in the topic are also provided. This paper paves the way to a wider adoption of recent results in computer vision techniques in this field and for the proposal of a mobile application that uses YOLO convolutional neural networks to detect the stages of development of wild flowers and plants.

The Effects of Rhizophagus irregularis Inoculation on Transcriptome of Medicago lupulina Leaves at Early Vegetative and Flowering Stages of Plant Development.

The study is aimed at revealing the effects of Rhizophagus irregularis inoculation on the transcriptome of Medicago lupulina leaves at the early (second leaf formation) and later (flowering) stages of plant development. A pot experiment was conducted under conditions of low phosphorus (P) level in the substrate. M. lupulina plants were characterized by high mycorrhizal growth response and mycorrhization parameters. Library sequencing was performed on the Illumina HiseqXTen platform. Significant changes in the expression of 4863 (padj < 0.01) genes from 34049 functionally annotated genes were shown by Massive Analysis of cDNA Ends (MACE-Seq). GO enrichment analysis using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was performed, and 244 functional GO groups were identified, including genes contributing to the development of effective AM symbiosis. The Mercator online tool was used to assign functional classes of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The early stage was characterized by the presence of six functional classes that included only upregulated GO groups, such as genes of carbohydrate metabolism, cellular respiration, nutrient uptake, photosynthesis, protein biosynthesis, and solute transport. At the later stage (flowering), the number of stimulated GO groups was reduced to photosynthesis and protein biosynthesis. All DEGs of the GO:0016036 group were downregulated because AM plants had higher resistance to phosphate starvation. For the first time, the upregulation of genes encoding thioredoxin in AM plant leaves was shown. It was supposed to reduce ROS level and thus, consequently, enhance the mechanisms of antioxidant protection in M. lupulina plants under conditions of low phosphorus level. Taken together, the obtained results indicate genes that are the most important for the effective symbiosis with M. lupulina and might be engaged in other plant species.

Role of Phytochromes in Red Light-Regulated Alternative Splicing in Arabidopsis thaliana: Impactful but Not Indispensable.

Light is both the main source of energy and a key environmental signal for plants. It regulates not only gene expression but also the tightly related processes of splicing and alternative splicing (AS). Two main pathways have been proposed to link light sensing with the splicing machinery. One occurs through a photosynthesis-related signal, and the other is mediated by photosensory proteins, such as red light-sensing phytochromes. Here, we evaluated the relative contribution of each of these pathways by performing a transcriptome-wide analysis of light regulation of AS in plants that do not express any functional phytochrome (phyQ). We found that an acute 2-h red-light pulse in the middle of the night induces changes in the splicing patterns of 483 genes in wild-type plants. Approximately 30% of these genes also showed strong light regulation of splicing patterns in phyQ mutant plants, revealing that phytochromes are important but not essential for the regulation of AS by R light. We then performed a meta-analysis of related transcriptomic datasets and found that different light regulatory pathways can have overlapping targets in terms of AS regulation. All the evidence suggests that AS is regulated simultaneously by various light signaling pathways, and the relative contribution of each pathway is highly dependent on the plant developmental stage.

Maize (Zea mays L.) root exudation profiles change in quality and quantity during plant development – A field study

Deciphering root exudate composition of soil-grown plants is considered a crucial step to better understand plant–soil–microbe interactions affecting plant growth performance. In this study, two genotypes of Zea mays L. (WT, rth3) differing in root hair elongation were grown in the field in two substrates (sand, loam) in custom-made, perforated columns inserted into the field plots. Root exudates were collected at different plant developmental stages (BBCH 14, 19, 59, 83) using a soil-hydroponic-hybrid exudation sampling approach. Exudates were characterized by LC-MS based non-targeted metabolomics, as well as by photometric assays targeting total dissolved organic carbon, soluble carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, and phenolics. Results showed that plant developmental stage was the main driver shaping both the composition and quantity of exuded compounds. Carbon (C) exudation per plant increased with increasing biomass production over time, while C exudation rate per cm² root surface area h−1 decreased with plant maturity. Furthermore, exudation rates were higher in the substrate with lower nutrient mobility (i.e., loam). Surprisingly, we observed higher exudation rates in the root hairless rth3 mutant compared to the root hair-forming WT sibling, though exudate metabolite composition remained similar. Our results highlight the impact of plant developmental stage on the plant–soil–microbe interplay.

Diversity of gene expression responses to light quality in barley

Light quality influence on barley development is poorly understood. We exposed three barley genotypes with either sensitive or insensitive response to two light sources producing different light spectra, fluorescent bulbs, and metal halide lamps, keeping constant light intensity, duration, and temperature. Through RNA-seq, we identified the main genes and pathways involved in the genotypic responses. A first analysis identified genotypic differences in gene expression of development-related genes, including photoreceptors and flowering time genes. Genes from the vernalization pathway of light quality-sensitive genotypes were affected by fluorescent light. In particular, vernalization-related repressors reacted differently: HvVRN2 did not experience relevant changes, whereas HvOS2 expression increased under fluorescent light. To identify the genes primarily related to light quality responses, and avoid the confounding effect of plant developmental stage, genes influenced by development were masked in a second analysis. Quantitative expression levels of PPD-H1, which influenced HvVRN1 and HvFT1, explained genotypic differences in development. Upstream mechanisms (light signaling and circadian clock) were also altered, but no specific genes linking photoreceptors and the photoperiod pathway were identified. The variety of light-quality sensitivities reveals the presence of possible mechanisms of adaptation of winter and facultative barley to latitudinal variation in light quality, which deserves further research.

PAMPred: A hierarchical evolutionary ensemble framework for identifying plant antimicrobial peptides

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a crucial role in plant immune regulation, growth and development stages, which have attracted significant attentions in recent years. As the wet-lab experiments are laborious and cost-prohibitive, it is indispensable to develop computational methods to discover novel plant AMPs accurately. In this study, we presented a hierarchical evolutionary ensemble framework, named PAMPred, which consisted of a multi-level heterogeneous architecture to identify plant AMPs. Specifically, to address the existing class imbalance problem, a cluster-based resampling method was adopted to build multiple balanced subsets. Then, several peptide features including sequence information-based and physicochemical properties-based features were fed into the different types of basic learners to increase the ensemble diversity. For boosting the predictive capability of PAMPred, the improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and dynamic ensemble pruning strategy were used to optimize the weights at different levels adaptively. Furthermore, extensive ten-fold cross-validation and independent testing experimental results demonstrated that PAMPred achieved excellent prediction performance and generalization ability, and outperformed the state-of-the-art methods. It also indicated that the proposed method could serve as an effective auxiliary tool to identify plant AMPs, which would be conducive to explore the immune regulatory mechanism of plants.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) photosynthetic and water use efficiency response to dairy‐amended biochar

AbstractBarley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was grown in a greenhouse under a combination of treatments that tested the effects of two types of biochar amended with fermentation solids and dairy lagoon effluent at high and low levels of phosphorus fertilization. We hypothesized that a modified biochar dosed with iron in combination with a dairy amendment would yield the greatest photosynthetic assimilation rates of CO2 and water use efficiency. Furthermore, we hypothesized that these rates may differ between photosynthate demand represented by plant developmental stages, specifically the tillering, stem elongation, and heading stages. We found that photosynthetic assimilation was greatest at the tillering stage. Plant water use efficiency increased with commercially available fertilizer. Plant biomass at harvest was greatest among the chemical fertilizer (high and low levels of phosphorus fertilization) and low‐level fertilization of dairy lagoon, fermentation solid, and an iron dosed biochar. The results suggest that while the dairy‐amended biochar can maintain plant growth, it is not necessarily achieved through improved photosynthesis or water use.

Functional analysis of RsWUSb with Agrobacterium-mediated in planta transformation in radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

The WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) family genes are involved in cell division and differentiation throughout various stages of plant growth and development. Till now, the function of WOX genes in radish remains unclear. In this study, a total of 23 RsWOX genes were identified from the radish genome. RT-qPCR analysis showed that the expression level of RsWUSb was significantly increased with exogenous cytokinin treatment. Overexpression of RsWUSb in Arabidopsis resulted in apical shoot clustering. Notably, the RsWUSb-overexpressed radish plants were generated by Agrobacterium-mediated in planta transformation approach. Compared with the wide-type (WT) plants, the RsWUSb-OE plants displayed clustered apical shoots, more leaves, and weak apical dominance. Moreover, yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) and dual-luciferase assay (DLA) showed that the RsRR18-1 (RESPONSE REGULATOR 18-1) bound to the promoter of RsWUSb and upregulated its transcription. Furthermore, the expression of RsRR18-1 was significantly activated by exogenous cytokinin, suggesting that cytokinin signaling might regulate the formation and development of radish shoots via RsRR18-1-RsWUSb module. Collectively, these findings indicated that in planta transformation approach is a simple and effective method for generating transgenic plants and gene function validation in radish.

Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic and expression pattern analysis of HSF family genes in the Rye (Secale cereale L.)

BackgroundHeat shock factor (HSF), a typical class of transcription factors in plants, has played an essential role in plant growth and developmental stages, signal transduction, and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. The HSF genes families has been identified and characterized in many species through leveraging whole genome sequencing (WGS). However, the identification and systematic analysis of HSF family genes in Rye is limited.ResultsIn this study, 31 HSF genes were identified in Rye, which were unevenly distributed on seven chromosomes. Based on the homology of A. thaliana, we analyzed the number of conserved domains and gene structures of ScHSF genes that were classified into seven subfamilies. To better understand the developmental mechanisms of ScHSF family during evolution, we selected one monocotyledon (Arabidopsis thaliana) and five (Triticum aestivum L., Hordeum vulgare L., Oryza sativa L., Zea mays L., and Aegilops tauschii Coss.) specific representative dicotyledons associated with Rye for comparative homology mapping. The results showed that fragment replication events modulated the expansion of the ScHSF genes family. In addition, interactions between ScHSF proteins and promoters containing hormone- and stress-responsive cis-acting elements suggest that the regulation of ScHSF expression was complex. A total of 15 representative genes were targeted from seven subfamilies to characterize their gene expression responses in different tissues, fruit developmental stages, three hormones, and six different abiotic stresses.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that ScHSF genes, especially ScHSF1 and ScHSF3, played a key role in Rye development and its response to various hormones and abiotic stresses. These results provided new insights into the evolution of HSF genes in Rye, which could help the success of molecular breeding in Rye.

Gram-scale stereoselective synthesis of carlactonic acid

Strigolactones (SLs) are a group of plant hormones exuded in the plant rhizosphere. They act as a signaling role regulating essential stages of plant development. Carlactonic acid (CLA) is a non-canonical SL and an essential intermediate for the biosynthesis of other SLs. In this paper, we reported the gram-scale synthesis of CLA and its enantiomer. To obtain enantiopure CLA, we separated the C11-enantiomeric intermediates by a chemical resolution with (R)-/(S)-phenylethylamine. Our synthesis employed inexpensive starting materials, moderate reaction conditions, and chiral resolution, thus enabling the synthesis of CLA in gram scale. Our research lays the foundation for the future chemoenzymatic synthesis of SLs.

A systematic analysis of the subtilase gene family and expression and subcellular localization investigation of anther-specific members in maize

Subtilases (SBTs), also known as Subtilisin-like serine proteases, are extracellular alkaline protease proteins. SBTs function in all stages of plant growth, development and stress responses. Maize (Zea mays L.) is a crop widely used worldwide as food, feed, and industrial materials. However, information about the members and their functions of the SBT proteins in maize is lacking. In this study, we identified 58 ZmSBT genes from the maize genome and conducted a comprehensive investigation of ZmSBTs by phylogenetic, gene duplication event, gene structure, and protein conserved motif analyses. The ZmSBT proteins were phylogenetically classified into seven groups, and collinearity analysis indicated that many ZmSBTs originate from tandem or segmental duplications. Structural and homolog protein comparison revealed ZmSBTs have conserved protein structures with reported subtilase proteins, suggesting the conserved functions. Further analysis showed that ZmSBTs are expressed in different tissues, and many are responses to specific abiotic stress. Analysis of the anther-specific ZmSBT genes showed their expression peaked at different developmental stages of maize anthers. Subcellular localization analysis of selected maize ZmSBTs showed they are located in different cellular compartments. The information provided in this study is valuable for further functional study of ZmSBTs.

Alleviation of NaCl stress in tomato varieties by promoting morpho-physiological attributes and biochemical characters

Salinity is a significant abiotic stress, affecting plant growth and productivity during all plant developmental stages. Soil salinization due to climate change is increasing crop loss every year. Salinity is considered the most important abiotic stress limiting crop production and plants are known to be able to continue to survive under this stress by involving many mechanisms. Vegetable crops face huge yield losses due to abiotic stress. Salt stress creates physiological drought in plants affecting morphology and alters physiological functions that harm plants through various processes. Tomato is an essential annual crop providing human food worldwide. It is estimated that by the year 2050 > 50% of the arable land will become saline and, in this respect, in recent years, researchers have focused their attention on studying how tomato plants behave under various saline conditions. This study was conducted to observe the effects of NaCl salinity on four tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) varieties in a pot experiment. Morphological and physio-biochemical properties of four tomato varieties (Rio Grande, Nadir, Bonita, and 19299) were exposed to NaCl-salinity (0, 100, 200, and 300 mM) through irrigation. All the varieties have differential responses to different levels of salt. Salinity stress reduced growth parameters in all varieties as compared to control plants. Plant Variety 4 (19299) showed significantly increased growth (root length, shoot length, number of roots, number of leaves, leaf area, plant fresh and dry weight) and physiological attributes (photosynthetic pigments, total soluble sugars, and total proteins) as compared to other varieties. Variety 4 (19299) has better protection against salt stress by increasing pigment content and enzymatic activity under salt stress. Antioxidants (peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase) were increased to maximum in variety 3 (Bonita) which is the most susceptible variety among all other varieties. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content, lycopene, anthocyanin, and H2O2 also increased in Variety 3 as compared to other varieties and control plants. Bonita variety showed maximum reduction in root length, shoot length, number of roots, fresh and dry matter content as well as in leaf area while comparing with other three varieties. The study revealed that the 19299 variety is salt tolerant, Rio Grande and Nadir are intermediates while the Bonita variety is susceptible to salt stress.

Regulation of plant epigenetic memory in response to cold and heat stress: towards climate resilient agriculture.

Plants have evolved to adapt and grow in hot and cold climatic conditions. Some also adapt to daily and seasonal temperature changes. Epigenetic modifications play an important role in regulating plant tolerance under such conditions. DNA methylation and post-translational modifications of histone proteins influence gene expression during plant developmental stages and under stress conditions, including cold and heat stress. While short-term modifications are common, some modifications may persist and result in stress memory that can be inherited by subsequent generations. Understanding the mechanisms of epigenomes responding to stress and the factors that trigger stress memory is crucial for developing climate-resilient agriculture, but such an integrated view is currently limited. This review focuses on the plant epigenetic stress memory during cold and heat stress. It also discusses the potential of machine learning to modify stress memory through epigenetics to develop climate-resilient crops.

The phased short-interfering RNA siRD29(-) regulates GIBBERELLIN 3-OXIDASE 3 during stolon-to-tuber transitions in potato.

Phased short-interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs) fine tune various stages of growth, development, and stress responses in plants. Potato (Solanum tuberosum) tuberization is a complex process, wherein a belowground modified stem (stolon) passes through developmental stages like swollen stolon and minituber before it matures to a potato. Previously, we identified several phasiRNA-producing loci (PHAS) from stolon-to-tuber transition stages. However, whether phasiRNAs mediate tuber development remains unknown. Here, we show that a gene encoding NB-ARC DOMAIN-CONTAINING DISEASE RESISTANCE PROTEIN (StRGA4; a PHAS locus) is targeted by Stu-microRNA482c to generate phasiRNAs. Interestingly, we observed that one of the phasiRNAs, referred as short-interfering RNA D29(-), i.e. siRD29(-), targets the gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis gene GIBBERELLIN 3-OXIDASE 3 (StGA3ox3). Since regulation of bioactive GA levels in stolons controls tuber development, we hypothesized that a gene regulatory module, Stu-miR482c-StRGA4-siRD29(-)-StGA3ox3, could govern tuber development. Through transient expression assays and small RNA sequencing, generation of siRD29(-) and its phase was confirmed in planta. Notably, the expression of StGA3ox3 was higher in swollen stolon compared to stolon, whereas siRD29(-) showed a negative association with StGA3ox3 expression. Antisense (AS) lines of StGA3ox3 produced more tubers compared to wild type. As expected, StRGA4 overexpression (OE) lines had high levels of siRD29(-) and mimicked the phenotypes of StGA3ox3-AS lines, indicating the functionality of this module in potato. In vitro tuberization assays (with or without a GA inhibitor) using StGA3ox3 antisense lines and overexpression lines of StGA3ox3 or StRGA4 revealed that StGA3ox3 controls the tuber stalk development. Taken together, our findings suggest that a phasiRNA, siRD29(-), mediates the regulation of StGA3ox3 during stolon-to-tuber transitions in potato.

Early inoculation of an endophyte alters the assembly of bacterial communities across rice plant growth stages.

The core endophytes of plants are regarded as promising resources in future agroecosystems. How they affect the assembly of rice-related bacterial communities after early inoculation remains unclear. Here, we examined bacterial communities across 148 samples, including bulk and rhizosphere soils, sterilized roots, stems, and seeds at the seedling, tillering, booting, and maturity stages. Tissue cultured rice seedlings were inoculated with Xathomonas sacchari JR3-14, a core endophytic bacterium of rice seeds, before transplanting. The results revealed that α-diversity indices were significantly enhanced in the root and stem endosphere at the seedling stage. β-diversity was altered at most plant developmental stages, except for the root and stem at the booting stage. Network complexity consequently increased in the root and stem across rice growth stages, other than the stem endosphere at the booting stage. Four abundant beneficial bacterial taxa, Bacillus, Azospira, Azospirillum, and Arthrobacter, were co-enriched during the early growth stage. Infer Community Assembly Mechanisms by Phylogenetic-bin-based null model analysis revealed a higher relative contribution of drift and other eco-evolutionary processes mainly in root compartments across all growth stages, but the opposite pattern was observed in stem compartments. IMPORTANCE Endophytic bacteria are regarded as promising environmentally friendly resources to promote plant growth and plant health. Some of microbes from the seed are able to be carried over to next generation, and contribute to the plant's ability to adapt to new environments. However, the effects of early inoculation with core microbes on the assembly of the plant microbiome are still unclear. In our study, we demonstrate that early inoculation of the rice seed core endophytic bacterium Xanthomonas sacchari could alter community diversity, enhance complexity degree of network structure at most the growth stages, and enrich beneficial bacteria at the seedling stage of rice. We further analyzed the evolutionary processes caused by the early inoculation. Our results highlight the new possibilities for research and application of sustainable agriculture by considering the contribution of seed endophytes in crop production and breeding.

The effect of vermicompost treatments on yield and yield components of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

This study was conducted to determine the effects of vermicompost treatments on yield and yield components of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) under Osmaniye ecological conditions, in Türkiye, in 2020-2021. It was designed according a complete randomized block with three replications. The NC-7 peanut variety was treated with eight different treatments of vermicompost plus a control. The treatments T1 through T4 included soil and leaves applications at different plant development stages, and treatments T5 through T8 were similar to the previous four but included only application to leaves. The number of pods per plant, pod weight per plant, 100-pod and seed weight, shelling percentage, first quality pod ratio, first quality pod weight ratio, protein content, and pod yield were determined. The number of pods per plant varied between 23.3 (control) and 33.4 (T1). The lowest pod weight per plant was 37.7 g in control treatment, and the highest in T1 (51.4 g). Pod yield was between 3579 kg∙ha-1 (control) and 4873 kg∙ha-1 in T1. The 100-pod weight was the lowest from the control treatment (208.4 g) and the highest from the T6 treatment (254.2 g); the weight of 100 seeds was minimum in the control treatment with 88.5 g and maximum in T5, with 102.3 g. The protein content varied between 24.11% (control) and 26.01% (T5). These results indicate that under the ecological conditions of Osmaniye province, there is a significant effect of vermicompost on most productive and quality variables of peanut.

Estimation of the grain, sweet and grass sorghum samples for resistance to low above zero temperatures seedlings

Relevance. Increasing the cold resistance of heat-loving crops is an urgent problem of breeding. During germination, seeds and seedlings are exposed to temperature stress, which has a negative effect on plants, and therefore the duration of the growing season increases, yields and product quality decrease. The article presents experimental data on the assessment of resistance to low positive temperatures of grain sorghum, sugar and herbaceous selection «ANC “Donskoy”». The purpose of the study is to identify sources tolerant to the cold of the breeding material of grain sorghum, sugar and herbaceous.Methods. The research was conducted in the Laboratory of Plant Physiology of the Federal State Budgetary Institution «ANC “Donskoy”» from 2019 to 2022. Diagnostics of cold resistance was carried out at the initial stage of plant development by a method in which seeds were germinated under the influence of low positive temperatures (8 °C), followed by their growth at an optimal temperature (25 °C).Results. Varieties of different types of sorghum resistant to low temperatures have been identified. Seed germination at low positive temperatures was 93.4% and 91.4% for herbaceous and sugar sorghum, and 79.1% for grain sorghum. There have been identified such cold resistant samples of different sorghum samples, characterized by high germination rates and intensity of seed growth in the initial period as the grain sorghum samples (Demetra x ZSK 404/17’, Demetra x Uch. 42/20 and Demetra x ZSK 20/10), the sweet sorghum samples (Demetra x KD-388, Demetra x South and APV-1115 x KL 12198), the grass sorghum samples (APV-1115 x Ch 4, Demetra x LIK-2011 and APV 1115 x Sv. 4).