Search

SUMMARY Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a globally staple crop vulnerable to various fungal diseases, significantly impacting its yield. Plant cell surface receptors play a crucial role in recognizing pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and activating PAMP‐triggered immunity, boosting resistance against a wide range of plant diseases. Although the role of plant chitin receptor CERK1 in immune recognition and defense has been established in Arabidopsis and rice, its function and potential agricultural applications in enhancing resistance to crop diseases remain largely unexplored. Here, we identify and characterize TaCERK1 in Triticeae crop wheat, uncovering its involvement in chitin recognition, immune regulation, and resistance to fungal diseases. By a comparative analysis of CERK1 homologs in Arabidopsis and monocot crops, we demonstrate that AtCERK1 in Arabidopsis elicits the most robust immune response. Moreover, we show that overexpressing TaCERK1 and AtCERK1 in wheat confers resistance to multiple fungal diseases, including Fusarium head blight, stripe rust, and powdery mildew. Notably, transgenic wheat lines with moderately expressed AtCERK1 display superior disease resistance and heightened immune responses without adversely affecting growth and yield, compared to TaCERK1 overexpression transgenics. Our findings highlight the significance of plant chitin receptors across diverse plant species and suggest potential strategies for bolstering crop resistance against broad‐spectrum diseases in agricultural production through the utilization of plant immune receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Methods:Results:Conclusions:Ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus Roth) is a problematic weed in New Zealand cereals and has developed resistance to various herbicides worldwide, including ACCase, ALS, and EPSPS inhibitors. A population in New Zealand's South Island from wheat recently showed resistance to the ALS-inhibitor pyroxsulam. This study investigates the resistance level in this population.The resistant ripgut brome population was compared to a susceptible population from a nearby organic farm. The level of resistance to pyroxsulam was determined using dose–response assays. The cytochrome P450 inhibitor malathion was used to evaluate the possible role of cytochrome P450 in herbicide metabolism.The estimated LD50 for pyroxsulam in the resistant population was significantly higher (126 g ai ha−1), suggesting a 20-fold reduction in sensitivity compared to the control (6 g ai ha−1). Malathion pre-treatment increased herbicide sensitivity in susceptible and resistant populations.This study confirms significant resistance to pyroxsulam in a New Zealand ripgut brome population and suggests that a target-site resistance mechanism is the most likely explanation. This research adds to global evidence that ripgut brome can become resistant to pyroxsulam and underscores the escalating issue of herbicide-resistant weeds in New Zealand agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reach the estimated food demands for 2050 in decreasingly suiting climates, current agricultural techniques have to be complemented by sustainably intensified practices. The current study repurposed wheat crop residues into biochar, and investigated its potential in different plant cultivation systems, including a hydroponic cultivation of wheat. Biochars resulting from varying pyrolysis parameters including feedstock composition (straw and chaff) and temperature (450°C and 600°C), were tested using a fast plant screening method. Biochar WBC450, produced from a combination of chaff and straw at 450°C, was selected for further plant experiments, and used in a static leaching experiment in the Arabidopsis thaliana cultivation medium. Increased pH and EC were observed, together with an increase of most macronutrient (K, Mg, P, S) and a decrease of most micronutrient (Fe, Mn, Zn) concentrations. Considering plant growth, application of biochar resulted in concentration-dependent effects in both tested plant species (A. thaliana and wheat). It improved the vegetative yield across all tested cultivation systems. Increases in K and S, and concentration-dependent decreases in Fe and Na content in wheatgrass were observed. Biochar influenced the reproduction of hydroponically cultivated wheat by increasing the number of spikes and the number of seeds per spike. The antioxidative capacity of wheat grass, and the seed sugar and starch contents remained unaffected by biochar application. This study contributes to innovation in soilless cultivation approaches of staple crops, within the framework of closing waste loops for a circular bioeconomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safeguarding the agricultural environment from pollution is one of the most critical challenges facing the world in the context of climate change. The loss of nitrogen fertilizers through agricultural runoff or volatilization in the form of nitrate or ammonia emissions is a significant contributor to pollution. This loss also represents an economic waste that may lead to increased prices of agricultural products. Therefore, finding a solution to this problem has become imperative. An experiment was conducted on wheat plants using various rates of urea coated with slow-release materials. The study aimed to assess the impact of these fertilizers on wheat growth and yield, nutrient uptake, and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE). Results demonstrated that urea fertilizers coated with slow-release materials outperformed conventional fertilizers in terms of wheat growth and yield, uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as NUtE. The most favorable outcomes were achieved using urea-formaldehyde, urea-humic, and urea-biochar fertilizers at 100% of the recommended nitrogen application rate. This resulted in economically viable grain production with high fertilizer efficiency. Based on these findings, we recommend applying either urea-formaldehyde or urea-humic at a rate of 107 kg N ha−1 to produce wheat grain and straw with enhanced NUtE. This approach can help reduce environmental pollution caused by nitrogen losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports the earliest directly dated occurrence of archaeological wheat and cotton in the humid forests of West Africa. These are the first archaeobotanical results from the medieval urban center of Ile-Ife, southwestern Nigeria, best known for its famous artworks. Both wheat and cotton likely spread through trans-Saharan trade networks that laid the foundation for later European trade systems. Forty-eight (48) grains of free-threshing wheat (Triticum aestivum/durum) represent the largest assemblage of wheat recovered in sub-Saharan West Africa, which is surprising given that wheat cannot be cultivated locally. Larger quantities of cotton (Gossypium sp.) recovered from late 12th- to early 13th-century CE contexts suggest earlier and more widespread use than wheat. Cotton may have been cultivated and manufactured into cloth locally. The quick adoption of these exotic crops illustrates the active negotiation of prestige through culinary and adornment practices, as well as a high degree of agricultural experimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge within wheat production chain data has multiple levels and complex semantic relationships, making it difficult to extract knowledge from them. Therefore, this paper proposes a fine-grained knowledge extraction method for the wheat production chain based on ontology. For the first time, the conceptual layers of ploughing, planting, managing, and harvesting were defined around the main agricultural activities of the wheat production chain. Based on this, the entities, relationships, and attributes in the conceptual layers were defined at a fine-grained level, and a spatial–temporal association pattern layer with four conceptual layers, twenty-eight entities, and forty-two relationships was constructed. Then, based on the characteristics of the self-constructed dataset, the Word2vec-BiLSTM-CRF model was designed for extracting the knowledge within it, i.e., the entity–relationship–attribute model and the Word2vec-BiLSTM-CRF model in this paper were compared with the four SOTA models. The results show that the accuracy and F1 value improved by 8.44% and 8.89%, respectively, compared with the BiLSTM-CRF model. Furthermore, the entities of the pest and disease dataset were divided into two different granularities for the comparison experiment; the results show that for entities with "disease names" and "pest names", the recognition accuracy at the fine-grained level is improved by 32.71% and 31.58%, respectively, compared to the coarse-grained level, and the recognition performance of various fine-grained entities has been improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a globally significant cereal crop with vital roles in human civilization and the agricultural revolution. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) strategies on vegetative growth and yield parameters such as plant height, spike length, grains per spike, spike m-2, grain yield, biological yield, straw yield leaf area index, harvest index, and soil nutrient availability of wheat genotype PBW 590 (Triticum aestivum). The experiment was set up in randomised block design (RBD) with nine treatments in triplicates using different ratios of NPK, farm yard manure, vermicompost etc. The results indicated significant variations in plant height among the treatments (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8 and T9) with the maximum (95.1 cm) in T4 (70% recommended dose of fertilizer + 2.5% Azospirillum + 2.5% phosphate solubilizing bacteria + 20% Farm yard manure + 5% Vermicompost), surpassing the recommended dose of fertilizer by 6.17%. Leaf Area Index positively responded to INM treatments, with T4 displaying the highest LAI (4.55), suggesting enhanced photosynthetic efficiency. Harvest Index (HI) indicated resource allocation towards edible yield, with T4 exhibiting the highest HI (50.7%) which was 34% higher than RDF. T4 consistently showed positive effects on the parameters, such as spike length (14.1 cm) and grains per spike (33), demonstrating variations among the treatments. Nutrient availability (N, P, and K) in the soil significantly improved under INM treatments, particularly T4, showcasing the potential for nutrient management in enhancing wheat growth and improving soil health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of farmers (85%) in Asia operate on small plots (< 2 ha) under low-input conditions to support their livelihoods. Wheat production in India faces challenges due to water scarcity and suboptimal nitrogen (N) management practices. To address this problem, a multi-location (9) field experiment comprising of 9 treatments by including nano and prilled urea alone or in combination was conducted under restricted irrigation conditions (only two irrigations i.e., first at crown root initiation stage and 2nd at flag leaf stage) during 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 in randomised block design with three replications in three agro-climatic regions (NWPZ- North Western Plains Zone, NEPZ- North Eastern Plains Zone and CZ- Central Zone) of India. Results indicated that combining recommended nitrogen (RDN) i.e., 90 kg/ha with two sprays of 5% urea increased grain yield by 4.1% and 41.9% in NWPZ and NEPZ, respectively, over RDN alone. Two sprays of nano urea at tillering and jointing stages significantly outperformed the control (Zero N), increasing grain yield by 14.5%, 34.0%, and 19.2% in NWPZ, NEPZ, and CZ, respectively. Moreover, RDN with two sprays of nano urea increased the grain yield and agronomic efficiency by 12.1% and 12.0% in CZ and 25.2% and 24.6% in NEPZ over RDN alone, respectively. From a net benefit perspective, RDN with two sprays of 5% urea was 6.7 and 70.4% higher in NWPZ and NEPZ over RDN under restricted irrigation. In CZ, applying RDN with two sprays of nano urea provided 15.5% higher net benefit over RDN. The recommendation for wheat cultivation in small-scale farming systems in India under restricted irrigation conditions suggests adopting a nitrogen management approach combining RDN with two sprays of 5% urea in NWPZ and NEPZ or with two sprays of nano urea in NEPZ and CZ improved the productivity, profitability and agronomic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement: Increasing crop productivity is often proposed as a key goal for meeting the food security demands of a growing global population. However, achieving high crop yields alone without meeting end‐use quality requirements is counter to this objective and can lead to negative environmental and sustainability issues. High yielding feed wheat crops in the United Kingdom are a typical example of this. The historical context of UK agricultural industrialisation, developments in plant breeding and wheat end‐use processing are examined. We then outline how employing innovations in plant breeding methods offer the potential to redress the balance between wheat quantity and quality. Summary: Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has historically been an important crop for many human civilisations. Today, variability in wheat supply and trade has a large influence on global economies and food security. The United Kingdom is an example of an industrialised country that achieves high wheat yields through intensive cropping systems and a favourable climate. However, only a minority of the wheat grain produced is of suitable end‐use quality for modern bread baking methods and most wheat produced is fed to livestock. A large agricultural land area and input use dedicated to producing grain for animal rather than human food has wide‐ranging negative impacts for environmental sustainability and domestic food production. Here we present an historical perspective of agricultural and economic changes that have resulted in UK production primarily focussing on wheat quantity over quality. Agricultural intensification, liberalisation of free trade in agricultural commodities, innovations in the milling and baking sector, developments in scientific understanding of genetics and plant breeding, and geopolitical changes have all played a role. We propose that wheat breeding plays a crucial role in influencing these issues and although wheat breeders in the United Kingdom have historically applied the most‐up‐to‐date scientific advances, recent advances in genomics tools and quantitative genetics present a unique opportunity for breeders to redress the balance between quantity and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated crop‐livestock systems (ICLS) bring diversity to agricultural systems, enhancing soil ecosystem services, food production, and environmental sustainability. Resource utilization efficiency practices under semiarid ecoregions include dual systems that grow wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for both grain and grazing (G) and recently complementary to wheat dual systems, cover crops (CC) for feeding both the soil and cattle during the fallow period. The latter continues to generate interest and there is a paucity of information on associated biochemical cycles. The objective was to evaluate the impact of CC and grazing thereof on soil microbiota structure, diversity, proliferation, and nutrient cycling. Introducing CC to no‐till (NT [NTC]) and grazing CC (NTCG [ICLS]), increased total PLFA biomass (TPB) for ungrazed CC (NTC) by 12%, and grazed CC (NTCG [ICLS]) by 20%; total bacteria biomass (TBB) by 10% for NTC and 24% for NTCG; total fungal biomass (TFB) by 9% for NTC and 21% for NTCG. The CC significantly increased Gram (−) bacteria biomass by 17% and 34% for NTC and NTCG, respectively; the CC significantly increased Gram (+) bacteria biomass by 6% and 12% for NTC and NTCG, respectively; and the CC significantly increased arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi by 55% and 89% for NTC and NTCG respectively, compared to NT fallow practice. Significant correlations were observed for NO3−–N, NH4+–N, water‐extractable organic nitrogen, total nitrogen, and water‐extractable organic carbon with TPB, TBB, and TFB using Haney soil health methods. Based on the measured parameters, the soil health status decreased in the order NTCG > NTC > NT > CT, where NT is the no‐till, C is the cover crop, G is the grazing, and CT is the conventional‐till. Grazing CC enhanced soil bacterial biomass over CC in solitude. Core Ideas: All cover crops (CC) increased actinomycetes, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and Gram (−) and (+) and undifferentiated biomasses.Grazed CC further increased actinomycetes, Gram (−), and undifferentiated biomasses compared to ungrazed CC.High correlations for phospholipid‐linked fatty acid biomass with NO3−–N, NH4+–N, water extractable organic nitrogen, total nitrogen, and water extractable organic carbon were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micronutrient deficiencies in agricultural soils significantly affect crop productivity and the nutritional quality of produce, posing potential risks to human health. Abandoned mine tailings, which are rich in micronutrients, can serve as an effective solution to enhance the nutritional value of crops while also mitigating environmental impact. In this study, the soils were sourced from the semi-arid Doukkala region in western Morocco, while the tailings were obtained from the abandoned Kettara mine in the nearby Marrakech region. This study assessed the biomass and bioconcentration of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in three different soils amended with treated mine tailings (TMT) at doses of 0, 0.2, 1, 2, and 4 g·kg-1. The experiment, conducted under greenhouse conditions and in pots, employed a split-plot design with three replicates, monitoring morphological parameters and plant biomass. Concentrations of Cu, Fe, Zn, and Mn in wheat grains were measured by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP AES) after harvest. The results indicate an increase in root length, shoot height, number of tillers, shoot biomass and grain biomass with TMT amendment doses of less than 1 g.kg-1 soil, by 13.6, 42.1, 42.6, 49.6, and 32.9% respectively. However, these parameters decreased with doses > 2 g·kg-1. Significant linear correlations were observed between the concentrations of micronutrients in wheat grains and those present in the soil. The bioconcentration factor increased but remained below 1. This research reveals that TMT are perfectly suitable to fertilize wheat using doses < 1 g·kg-1, ensuring safe application for the environment and human health. Through this research, it was demonstrated that within certain thresholds, TMT can enhance the mineral nutrition of plants as well as positively impact agricultural productivity and product quality. These results can be replicated in other regions worldwide by adhering to the described procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Actinomycetes represent an enormous reservoir of bioactive compounds and enzymes. Most of the produced novel compounds are useful in medicine, industry and agriculture. This study was carried out to isolate thermophilic actinomycetes strains that have potential to produce commercially important metabolites from unexplored regions and yet to be investigated for unknown, rare actinomycetes (the Uhud mountain, Madinah, Saudi Arabia). Two thermophilic isolates MA-1 and MA-2 were selected and tested for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results showed that they were effective against B. cereus and S. aureus. No antibacterial activity was recorded against P. aeruginosa. Antifungal activity of the isolates was also tested against Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp, Alternaria alternate and Fusarium solai. MA-2 had antifungal activity against A. niger, Penicillium sp and A. alternata. The isolates were able to produce protease, amylase, catalase and lipase. They also exhibited capability to degrade keratin and lignocelluloses. Additionally, plant growth promoting abilities of the isolates were assessed under laboratory conditions. The effect of the isolates on wheat (Triticum aestivum) growth was studied. According to the results, the isolates increased the number of seminal roots and the dry biomass of wheat seedlings significantly. Using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, they were identified as Streptomyces macrospores strain OR916389 (MA-1) and Streptomyces rameus strain OR916416 (MA-2). These findings demonstrated that the Uhud mountain has been emerging as a potentially abundant reservoir of novel species/genera of actinomycetes that might be a potential source of bioactive substances of medical, pharmaceutical, industrial and agricultural interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat is a crop of great food importance for food production in Brazil. However, the improvement of this crop is still concentrated in isolated areas, which hinders advances in new cultivation regions due to the extensive demand for existing information. In this investigation, four wheat genotypes analysed to study associations and interrelationships between wheat traits across nine environments during the agricultural years of 2016, 2017 and 2018. The experiment was conducted using a randomised block design with four repetitions, and the analysis was divided into two groups: morphological and productive traits of wheat, comprising three and eleven characteristics, respectively. Canonical correlations between the morphological and productive groups were found to be dependent in most environments. Taller plants with longer main spikes and longer tiller spikes can be indirectly selected to increase grain yield under different sowing conditions. The information generated in this study indicate that some care must be taken when using the interrelations between trait groups to select or recommend genotypes for broader regions, as these relationships are influenced by the specific conditions of each region and sub-region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the carbon emissions cycle in the atmosphere resulting from agricultural activities is crucial for assessing its influence on environmental quality. This study used panel datasets covering the period from 1990-2022 to investigate the influence of wheat and rice production on environmental quality in the six mega agricultural provinces of China namely Anhui, Hebei, Hubei, Henan, Jiangsu, and Sichuan. Study employed several econometric approaches such as Cross-Sectional Dependency tests, unit root and cointegration tests, Panel Mean Group Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PMG-ARDL), Panel Quantile (PQ) and Panel Least Square (PLS) regression analysis for the robustness of the findings. The empirical findings of PMG-ARDL model reveal that rice production positively increases CO2 emissions in the long run. The variables fertilizers usage, agricultural water consumption and agricultural credit also have positive impact on CO2 emission in the long run. Further, short-term results reveal that all the concerned variables positively contribute to increase the CO2 emissions. The PQR results illustrate that rice and wheat production, fertilizer consumption, agricultural water usage, agricultural credit and agricultural GDP have positive and significant impact on CO2 emission across the quantiles. Additionally, PLS outcomes show positive and significant association between wheat productivity, agricultural credit, fertilizer and agricultural GDP on CO2 emissions. The Dumitrescu and Hurlin (D-H) panel causality show unidirectional association among: carbon emission → pesticides use, carbon emission → temperature, and carbon emission → agricultural GDP. A significant bidirectional causal association was found between: carbon emission ↔ rice production, carbon emission ↔ wheat production, carbon emission ↔ fertilizers use, carbon emission ↔ agricultural water use, and carbon emission ↔ agricultural credit. These findings contribute to the understanding of the drivers of CO2 emissions in agriculture and provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to mitigate environmental impacts while promoting sustainable agriculture, resilience, financial support to encourage green technology and implement robust monitoring mechanisms to protect quality of environment and agricultural sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought and heat stresses represent the primary agricultural challenges in arid and semiarid regions globally. In wheat, among the most vulnerable stages to these stresses is the grain-filling process. This critical phase relies heavily on photosynthesis during the late growth stage and the mobilization of stem reserves. This study evaluated 60 spring wheat lines from the CIMMYT-Mexico Core Germplasm (CIMCOG) panel alongside four Iranian wheat cultivars under normal, drought, heat, and combined drought and heat stress conditions in two growing seasons. Several agronomic traits, including those associated with stem reserve mobilization, were assessed during the study. The combined analysis of variance revealed significant impacts of both independent and combined drought and heat stresses on the measured traits. Moreover, these stresses influenced the inter-relationships among the traits. High-yielding genotypes were identified through a combination of ranking and genotype and genotype by environment (GGE) biplot analysis. Among the top 40 genotypes, 21 were identified as environment-specific, while 19 remained common across at least two environments. Environmental dependence of grain yield responses to the sinks including stem reserve mobilization and spike reserve mobilization was found. Utilizing a machine learning algorithm, a regression tree analysis unveiled specific traits—including grain filling and canopy temperature—that contributed significantly to the high-yielding features of the identified genotypes under the various environmental conditions. These traits can serve as indirect selection criteria for enhancing yield under stressful conditions and can also be targeted for manipulation to improve wheat stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food and feed production worldwide heavily relies on wheat (Triticum aestivum). However, current agricultural practices face numerous challenges including a shortage of land for cultivation, a desire to reduce the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and the development of resistance towards employed pesticides and virulence towards host resistance in the most widely grown varieties. In this paper, we demonstrate based on the literature that cultivating wheat variety mixtures generally leads to increased yield and yield stability across years and environments, reduced severity of multiple diseases, and a decreased risk of lodging before harvest compared to the cultivation of pure stands. Moreover, mixtures may delay fungicide resistance development and increase genetic diversity, ultimately prolonging the durability of resistance genes. Furthermore, growing mixtures may lower the risk of crop failure due to more extreme weather events and lead to better utilization of water and nutrients. We discuss a Danish case study advocating the cropping of wheat varieties in mixtures as an example of how variety mixtures can be utilized in integrated pest management strategies. The study shows that if all involved stakeholder groups promote the adoption of variety mixtures, a major uptake by farmers can be reached, potentially reducing the dependency on pesticides in current cropping schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon cycle of saline–alkali ecosystems will be affected to some extent in the context of future global warming. Therefore, we investigated the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of three typical crops (wheat, maize and soybean) in the saline–alkaline land of the Yellow River Delta. To further investigate CO2 fluxes, NEE was decomposed into gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Re). In terms of seasonal variation, wheat and soybean were carbon sources in the early and late growth periods, and carbon sinks in the rest of the period, whereas maize was a carbon sink in the majority of the period, and maize had good carbon sink potential. The cumulative NEE during the growth periods for wheat, maize, and soybean were 414.86, 258.24 and 228.92 g cm−2, respectively, and the daily variation showed that the peak NEE values for the three crops preceded the peak values of both GPP and ecosystem respiration, occurring approximately at 12:00 a.m. In the correlation analysis, NEE and GPP of the three crops were well correlated with photosynthetic photon flux density and net radiation, whereas Re was significantly correlated with air temperature. Through a comparative analysis of CO2 fluxes within various agricultural ecosystems, our findings indicated that wheat demonstrated moderate carbon sequestration capabilities, whereas maize and soybean exhibited strong carbon sink characteristics. Notably, saline–alkali crops exhibited lower Re, whereas GPP levels remained at a moderate range. Therefore, under the global warming trend, the respiration of saline crops and soils will be affected and may change the original carbon sink into a carbon source. Hence, implementing suitable measures targeting saline–alkali areas, such as the establishment of an effective crop rotation system and the enhance saline–alkali land conditions, can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, thus reducing the pressure of global warming and maintaining a stable carbon cycle in saline–alkali land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of evolving agricultural practices and climate change, tools towards an integrated biovigilance platform to combat crop diseases, spore sampling, DNA diagnostics and predictive trajectory modelling were optimized. These tools revealed microbial dynamics and were validated by monitoring cereal rust fungal pathogens affecting wheat, oats, barley and rye across four growing seasons (2015–2018) in British Columbia and during the 2018 season in southern Alberta. ITS2 metabarcoding revealed disparity in aeromycobiota diversity and compositional structure across the Canadian Rocky Mountains, suggesting a barrier effect on air flow and pathogen dispersal. A novel bioinformatics classifier and curated cereal rust fungal ITS2 database, corroborated by real‐time PCR, enhanced the precision of cereal rust fungal species identification. Random Forest modelling identified crop and land‐use diversification as well as atmospheric pressure and moisture as key factors in rust distribution. As a valuable addition to explain observed differences and patterns in rust fungus distribution, trajectory HYSPLIT modelling tracked rust fungal urediniospores' northeastward dispersal from the Pacific Northwest towards southern British Columbia and Alberta, indicating multiple potential origins. Our Canadian case study exemplifies the power of an advanced biovigilance toolbox towards developing an early‐warning system for farmers to detect and mitigate impending disease outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In agroforestry systems (AFS), where environmental conditions are highly variable at small spatial scales, the use of uniform genetic material of a single cultivar commonly grown in monoculture cropping might not be optimal. However, the use of composite cross populations (CCPs) that contain an inherent genetic variability might be a promising approach under the environmental variability created by trees in AFS. In this experimental trial, the performance of a CCP ('CC-2 k') of winter wheat was compared to a commercial variety ('Wiwa') in a split-plot design at two AFS (Feusisberg and Wollerau) in Central Switzerland. Yield of CC-2k (1.9 ± 0.7 Mg ha−1) was higher than yield of Wiwa (0.7 ± 0.4 Mg ha−1) in Wollerau, but yields did not differ between CCP and variety in Feusisberg (1.9 ± 0.7 Mg ha−1 and 2.0 ± 0.8 Mg ha−1, respectively). The interaction of site and variety was significant (p < 0.05). Wiwa had a higher protein, Fe and Ca content than CC-2k. Therefore, while the CC-2k outperformed Wiwa in terms of yield in one of the two AFS, Wiwa outperformed CC-2k in terms of quality. In this one-year field experiment, the composite cross population might have been better adapted to the heterogenous environment of agroforestry systems (found in one out of two sites) but failed to reach the high-quality product of modern cultivars. These initial results must be seen as first insights which need to be complemented by larger field experiments for generalisation. The findings of this study may be interpreted as an indication that further improvements in terms of quality might make CCPs a viable option for diversified agricultural systems with larger environmental heterogeneity than common monoculture cropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of commodities into stock exchanges marked a pivotal moment in the analysis of price dynamics. Commodities are essential for both daily sustenance and industrial processes and are separated into hard commodities, like metals, and soft commodities, such as agricultural produce. This paper provides a review of the relevant literature concerning the implications of commodity price volatility on commercial and financial landscapes, recognizing its profound impact on global economies. Drawing from Google Scholar and Science Direct, we analyze trends in academic publications until 2022, particularly focusing on the interplay between volatility spillover and ten different commodities, providing insights into the evolution of research paradigms over time. In a nutshell, the literature suggests that relationships between hard commodities are stronger since, in addition to being raw materials, they also serve as investment products. For the same reason, relationships between agricultural products appear to be relatively weaker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A timely and comprehensive understanding of winter wheat maturity is crucial for deploying large-scale harvesters within a region, ensuring timely winter wheat harvesting, and maintaining grain quality. Winter wheat maturity prediction is limited by two key issues: accurate extraction of wheat planting areas and effective maturity prediction methods. The primary aim of this study is to propose a method for predicting winter wheat maturity. The method comprises three parts: (i) winter wheat planting area extraction via phenological characteristics across multiple growth stages; (ii) extraction of winter wheat maturity features via vegetation indices (VIs, such as NDVI, NDRE, NDII1, and NDII2) and box plot analysis; and (iii) winter wheat maturity data prediction via the selected VIs. The key findings of this work are as follows: (i) Combining multispectral remote sensing data from the winter wheat jointing-filling and maturity-harvest stages can provide high-precision extraction of winter wheat planting areas (OA = 95.67%, PA = 91.67%, UA = 99.64%, and Kappa = 0.9133). (ii) The proposed method can offer the highest accuracy in predicting maturity at the winter wheat flowering stage (R2 = 0.802, RMSE = 1.56 days), aiding in a timely and comprehensive understanding of winter wheat maturity and in deploying large-scale harvesters within the region. (iii) The study's validation was only conducted for winter wheat maturity prediction in the North China Plain wheat production area, and the accuracy of harvesting progress information extraction for other regions' wheat still requires further testing. The method proposed in this study can provide accurate predictions of winter wheat maturity, helping agricultural management departments adopt information-based measures to improve the efficiency of monitoring winter wheat maturation and harvesting, thus promoting the efficiency of precision agricultural operations and informatization efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tan spot (Pyrenophora tritici-repentis) is presenting a persistent challenge to the plant health and yield of all wheat-growing regions. This research is focused on tan spot disease management in spring wheat when planted at three distinct times and with three different seeding rates without the use of fungicides. Across all years, higher seed rates (500 and 600 seeds per m2) generally resulted in lower tan spot intensity compared to the lower seed rate (400 seeds per m2). Significant differences in tan spot intensity were observed across seed rates at all sowing times. In 2021, the percentage of the AUDPC was significantly higher in the late sowing time (324.58%), with about a 2-fold difference compared with the early (167.48%) and optimal sowing time (191.80%). This suggests that delayed sowing significantly exacerbates disease occurrence. The combined effect of sowing time and year on the AUDPC was notably significant. The AUDPC of the tan spot in all seed rates was the highest in the late sowing time plots in comparison to the ideal and initial planting dates plots. Our results demonstrate how important seed rate and sowing timing are in determining the degree of tan spot in spring wheat. Growing crop methods may be improved by taking these elements into account to better control tan spots. More agricultural methods and environmental aspects should be investigated in future studies to create all-encompassing tan spot control plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a specific area, fertilizer application for a crop depends on the soil type and profitability. Optimizing chemical fertilizer utilization in crop production is crucial from an environmental and economic point of view. However, there is limited information available on the optimum NPSB fertilizer rate for the production of wheat and barley in the study area. Thus, the study aimed to establish area-specific NPSB (18.9% N, 16.44% P, 6.95% S, and 0.1% B) blended fertilizer rate recommendations for the optimal grain yield and profitability of wheat and barley. The field experiment was conducted in two locations in the 2021 and 2022 cropping seasons using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The nine treatments included 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, and 200 kg ha−1 NPSB fertilizer rates. Growth, yield, and yield component data in wheat and barley were collected from randomly selected individual plants and the net plot area. An economic analysis was conducted for grain yield using the procedure established by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. The analysis of variance results showed that blended fertilizer significantly (p < 0.01) affected plant height, number of productive tillers, spike length, number of kernels, thousand seed weight, biomass yield, grain yield, and harvest index traits. The application of a 150 kg ha−1 NPSB rate produced the highest grain yield (5419.0 kg ha−1) in wheat, whereas the application of a 125 kg ha−1 NPSB rate gave the maximum grain yield (4708.0 kg ha−1) in food barley. The economic analysis revealed that the application of a 150 kg ha−1 NPSB fertilizer rate for wheat gave the highest net benefits (309711.50 ETB ha−1) and marginal rate of return (MRR) (4096.96%), while the application of a 125 kg ha−1 NPSB fertilizer rate for barley obtained the highest net benefits (184424.00 ETB ha−1) and MRR (2195.39%). Therefore, to optimize the productivity and profitability of wheat and barley in the study area and similar agroecologies, farmers are recommended to use 150 kg ha⁻¹ NPSB for wheat and 125 kg ha⁻¹ NPSB for barley.

The development of high-yielding modern wheat varieties to feed the growing population has had a negative impact on the production of ancestral and landrace crops. The use of modern varieties, which are very deficient in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and flavonoids, has caused people to turn to old varieties due to health problems that arise over time. In this study, which aimed to determine the glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme activity of registered varieties and landraces, the differences between the protein values and GST enzyme activity values of wheat were found to be statistically significant. When protein values were analysed among wheat varieties, einkorn wheat had the highest value with 15.53 mg/ml, and KUNDURU-1149 had the second highest value with 13.52 mg/ml. The lowest protein values were found in wheat landraces. Lr-4 had the highest GST enzyme activity with 299.7 mmol/min/mg protein and Lr-10 with 265.3 mmol/min/mg protein. A negative and high correlation was found between wheat protein values and GST enzyme activity, and it was determined that landraces were prominent in terms of GST enzyme activity.

Abstract Background Phytosulfokine (PSK) functions as a plant peptide growth factor that plays important and diverse roles in plant development and stress responses. Nevertheless, PSKs have not been systematically analyzed in wheat. Results A genome-wide comparative analysis of PSK genes in wheat was conducted and 15 TaPSKs were identified and divided into four subgroups in the wheat genome based on sequence similarity. The examination of motif compositions of TaPSK genes revealed the presence of the YIYTQ signature motif in the C-terminus of all TaPSK polypeptide precursors, with a highly conserved feature across different species. Exogenous application of TaPSK peptide promoted root growth in wheat. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the TaPSKs exhibited preferential or tissue-specific expression patterns in wheat. In particular, three homologs of the TaPSK1 genes were specifically expressed in grains, with the strongest expression observed in the developing grains at 15 days after anthesis. Compared with wild type, transgenic rice lines overexpressing TaPSK1-A exhibited larger grain size and higher thousand-grain weight. The promoter region and genomic sequence of the wheat TaPSK1-A gene were cloned. Sequence polymorphism showed that five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the promoter region of TaPSK1-A. A Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) marker was developed for TaPSK1-A based on –806 bp SNP (C/T transition), and two haplotypes, TaPSK1-A-HapI and TaPSK1-A-HapII were detected in 260 wheat accessions collected from different regions. The expression of TaPSK1-A, promoter activity, and thousand-grain weight (TGW) in the TaPSK1-A-HapII haplotype were higher than those in the TaPSK1-A-HapI haplotype. Furthermore, yeast one-hybrid assays revealed the binding of TaNF-YB1 and TaERF39 to the promoter regions of the TaPSK1-A gene, and TaMADS29 could bind to the promoters of TaPSK1-B and TaPSK1-D genes. Conclusions Comparative genome-wide analysis of TaPSK peptide family revealed that the TaPSK1 gene is involved in wheat grain development, and the developed TaPSK1-A-KASP marker could be utilized for marker-assisted selection breeding of wheat. Graphical Abstract

Salinity is a significant environmental factor that prevents plant germination and growth, thus affecting agricultural productivity globally. Plant growth regulators, such as 6-benzylaminopurine, gibberellin, and melatonin, have been studied for their ability to mitigate the adverse effects of salt stress on wheat, a salt-tolerant staple crop cultivated worldwide. A field experiment was conducted before planting, involving three wheat varieties (Al-Ezz, Dijlah, and Al-Rasheed) subjected to different seed treatment combinations (salt tempering as control, salt tempering + benzyl stimulation, salt tempering + gibberellin stimulation, and salt tempering + melatonin stimulation), all irrigated with saline well water (6 ds m-2) except for the control group irrigated with river water. The findings highlighted the superior performance of the Al-Rasheed variety, exhibiting the highest levels of chlorophyll, relative water content, peroxidase enzyme, and catalase activity (1.993 mg g-1, 83.51%, 40.09 units ml-1, 34.54 units ml-1, respectively). The combination of salt-adaptation treatment and benzyl stimulation resulted in the highest chlorophyll content (2.117 mg g-1), while salt-adaptation treatment and melatonin stimulation showed the highest peroxidase and catalase activity (47.46 units ml-1, 42.71 units ml-1), along with increased grain yield (58.34 g) and harvest index (48.43%). Melatonin and benzylaminopurine have demonstrated potential in alleviating salt stress in plants by influencing various physiological traits.

A field experiment on loamy soil was conducted in the Haditha district, Anbar province, Iraq, during the winter season of 2021-2022. The study aimed to determine the effect of different zinc levels and methods on wheat growth, yield, and tolerance to salinity. The experiment used a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a split-plot arrangement and three replications. The seeds were soaked before planting with three zinc levels: 0 (control treatment, soaked in water only), 75 mg Zn Kg-1 (seeds soaked in zinc at a concentration of 75 mg Zn Kg-1), and 150 mg Zn Kg-1 (seeds soaked in zinc at a concentration of 150 mg Zn Kg-1) for eight hours. This was followed by two spray applications of the same concentrations, the first at the tillering stage and the second at the booting stage. Statistical analysis showed that adding zinc to soak the seeds and spraying it on the plants increased plant height, number of tillers, flag leaf area, grain yield, and 1000-grain weight. Additionally, it was observed that seed soaking and plant spraying with zinc increased the plant's tolerance to salinity by reducing the chloride and sodium concentration in the wheat straw and roots and increasing the potassium concentration and the potassium/sodium ratio in the wheat straw and roots. The best results were obtained using the 150 mg Zn Kg-1 level (seed soaking and plant spraying) for most of the studied characteristics.

A laboratory experiment was carried out under the Seed Technology Laboratory conditions, Field Crops Department, College of Agriculture, Anbar University, Iraq, during the 2021 season to study the effect of coating with yeast extract at different concentrations (0, 15, 20, and 25 g L-1) on germination, seedling characteristics, and enzymatic activity under heat stress (5, 10, 15, and 20 °C) of wheat seeds of the Ibaa-99 cultivar. The experiment was conducted using a factorial design in a completely randomized design (CRD) with four repetitions. The obtained results showed a significant response of wheat seeds to the yeast extract treatments, with the 25 g L-1 yeast extract coating treatment showing superiority in germination speed (59.75%), final germination percentage (69.25%), radicle and plumule lengths (9.453 cm, 8.429 cm), seedling vigor index (1662.5), and enzyme activity (10.394 for catalase and 53.46 for peroxidase). Regarding cultivation under heat stress conditions, the temperature of 20 °C was significantly better for germination speed (67.25%), final germination percentage (87.62%), radicle and plumule lengths (10.703 cm and 9.551 cm), seedling vigor index (1812.3), and enzyme activity (catalase and peroxidase: 13.474 and 56.2). The interaction between coating seeds with 25 g yeast extract L-1 and growing at 20 °C achieved the highest values for germination speed, final germination percentage, radicle and plumule lengths, and seedling vigor index, while the same coating treatment at 10 °C recorded the highest activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes.

A field experiment was carried out during the winter season of 2021-2022 in the Nuaimiya area of Fallujah City, Anbar Governorate, to study the effect of three potassium levels on the growth and yield of the wheat crop. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) according to the arrangement of the split-plot with three replicates. The main plots included three varieties of wheat (Ibaa 99, Al-Rasheed, and Abu Ghraib-3), while the sub-plots included three levels of potassium: 0, 100, and 200 kg K ha-1. The results showed the superiority of the Al-Rasheed variety in each of the following: flag leaf area (46.13 cm²), spike length (14.8 cm), number of spikes per square meter (416.1 spikes m-2), number of grains per spike (52.33 grains spike-1), and total grain yield (4.963 tons ha-1). In contrast, the Ibaa 99 variety gave the highest average plant height of 121.11 cm. The Abu Ghraib-3 variety recorded the highest average weight of 1000 grains at 47.8 g. Potassium fertilizer levels significantly affected most growth and yield traits. The 200 kg K ha-1 level gave the highest means for plant height (119.63 cm), flag leaf area (41.51 cm²), spike length (13.65 cm), number of spikes per square meter (417.0 spikes m-2), number of grains per spike (55.22 grains spike-1), and total grain yield (5.004 tons ha-1). There was a significant interaction between the Ibaa 99 variety and the 200 kg K ha-1 level of potassium fertilizer in plant height, and between the Al-Rasheed variety and the same level in flag leaf area, spike length, number of spikes per square meter, and number of grains per spike.

Mature wheat kernels contain three main parts: endosperm, bran, and germ. Flour milling results in multiple streams that are chemically different; however, the distribution of antioxidants and phenolic compounds has not been well documented in terms of conventional milling by-product streams. In this study, multiple analytical methods were used to investigate antioxidant activity and phenolic compound compositions of hard red winter wheat (whole ground wheat), the parts of a wheat kernel (bran, flour, germ), and wheat by-product streams (mill feed, red dog, shorts) for the first time. For each mill stream, phenolic compounds (total, flavonoid, and anthocyanin contents) were determined and antioxidant activities were evaluated with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity, ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP), and total antioxidant capacity assays. Significant differences (P

Genome-wide association mapping studies (GWAS) based on Big Data are a potential approach to improve marker-assisted selection in plant breeding. The number of available phenotypic and genomic data sets in which medium-sized populations of several hundred individuals have been studied is rapidly increasing. Combining these data and using them in GWAS could increase both the power of QTL discovery and the accuracy of estimation of underlying genetic effects, but is hindered by data heterogeneity and lack of interoperability. In this study, we used genomic and phenotypic data sets, focusing on Central European winter wheat populations evaluated for heading date. We explored strategies for integrating these data and subsequently the resulting potential for GWAS. Establishing interoperability between data sets was greatly aided by some overlapping genotypes and a linear relationship between the different phenotyping protocols, resulting in high quality integrated phenotypic data. In this context, genomic prediction proved to be a suitable tool to study relevance of interactions between genotypes and experimental series, which was low in our case. Contrary to expectations, fewer associations between markers and traits were found in the larger combined data than in the individual experimental series. However, the predictive power based on the marker-trait associations of the integrated data set was higher across data sets. Therefore, the results show that the integration of medium-sized to Big Data is an approach to increase the power to detect QTL in GWAS. The results encourage further efforts to standardize and share data in the plant breeding community.

Lesion mimic often exhibits leaf disease-like symptoms even in the absence of pathogen infection, and is characterized by a hypersensitive-response (HR) that closely linked to plant disease resistance. Despite this, only a few lesion mimic genes have been identified in wheat. In this investigation, a lesion mimic wheat mutant named je0297 was discovered, showing no alteration in yield components when compared to the wild type (WT). Segregation ratio analysis of the F2 individuals resulting from the cross between the WT and the mutant revealed that the lesion mimic was governed by a single recessive gene in je0297. Using Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and exome capture sequencing, we mapped the lesion mimic gene designated as lm6 to chromosome 6BL. Further gene fine mapping using 3315 F2 individuals delimited the lm6 within a 1.18 Mb region. Within this region, we identified 16 high-confidence genes, with only two displaying mutations in je0297. Notably, one of the two genes, responsible for encoding flavonol synthase, exhibited altered expression levels. Subsequent phenotype analysis of TILLING mutants confirmed that the gene encoding flavonol synthase was indeed the causal gene for lm6. Transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed that the DEGs between the WT and mutant were significantly enriched in KEGG pathways related to flavonoid biosynthesis, including flavone and flavonol biosynthesis, isoflavonoid biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. Furthermore, more than 30 pathogen infection-related (PR) genes exhibited upregulation in the mutant. Corresponding to this expression pattern, the flavonoid content in je0297 showed a significant decrease in the 4th leaf, accompanied by a notable accumulation of reactive oxygen, which likely contributed to the development of lesion mimic in the mutant. This investigation enhances our comprehension of cell death signaling pathways and provides a valuable gene resource for the breeding of disease-resistant wheat.

In a study comparing grain filling and yield in a large- and a small-grain-size wheat cultivar under two planting patterns and two irrigation regimes, plastic-covered ridge and furrow planting with sprinkler irrigation increased grain filling and yield in both cultivars. The largest contributors to grain yield were an extended active grain-filling period in Shuangda 1 and an increased mean grain-filling rate in XN538.

A factorial experiment was carried out by foliar application of zinc in two forms zinc sulphate (ZnSO4) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) prepared from aqueous zinc acetate using a wet chemistry method, which were characterized using an atomic force microscope (AFM) as having dimensions of 40-80 nanometres. The foliar of two zinc forms were applied in three concentrations (25, 50 and 100 ppm) in addition to distilled water with the aim of studying their effect on the growth and productivity of durum wheat plants ( Triticum durum, L var. Sham 7) grown under the conditions of Deir Ez-Zor Governorate-Syria. The results showed that adding zinc had a significant effect on all tested morphological indicators (plant heights - chlorophyll - number of branches/plant - number of spikes /plant) and productivity (1000 kernel weight, grain and straw productivity), as well as the grain content of some elements (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and zinc). The treatments for adding zinc oxide nanoparticles were significantly superior to those of zinc sulphate in all tested indicators. as the lowest values for the tested indicators were recorded in the regular zinc sulphate treatment at a concentration of 25 ppm compared to the rest of the treatments except for the control treatment, while the Nano zinc oxide treatments at a concentration of 50 and 100 ppm showed superiority significantly in all studied indicators especially in increasing wheat productivity by 24- 26%, compared to the control treatment.

Laboratory experiment was conducted in the College of Agricultural Engineering at Al-Furat University in Deir Ez-Zor. The seeds of durum wheat (Triticum durum L., var. Sham 7) were soaked before planting in Petri dishes with two solutions: silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and regular silver nitrate (AgNO3) at four concentrations (10-20-40-80 ppm) in addition to soaking in distilled water (control treatment) for a duration soaking of 1,2 and 3 hours. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by green methods from extract of dried Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaves and the resulting silver nanoparticles exhibit a spherical shape with dimensions of 12 nanometers as described by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface plasmon resonance peak at a wavelength of 450 nm is based on UV-Vis spectroscopy. The results of seed soaking experiment indicated that the seed soaking of durum wheat before planting in silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) or regular silver nitrate (AgNO3) for two hours had a significant effect on the studied germination indicators (germination rate, germination percentage, shoot length, root length, dry weight of shoots and roots). The values were higher when seeds were soaked in a 20 and 40 ppm of silver nanoparticles. The study recommends to soaking wheat seeds in a solution of silver nanoparticles at a concentration of 20-40 ppm for two hours before planting, also recommends to conducting several seed priming experiments with different nanomaterials for other varieties and crops.

Wheat and maize are two of the most dominant crops of considerable importance in human nutrition. At the same time, agriculture is responsible for about 1/3 of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of this study is to estimate the carbon footprint of the two aforementioned important crops in the region of Larissa, Greece. Under this context, the emitted CO2eq- per kg of product, the corresponding emissions per hectare and per g of harvested plant protein were estimated. The carbon footprint was measured using the CoolFarm Tool (Cool Farm Alliance). Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews with local farmers. According to the results, the carbon footprint per hectare in maize (2,979 kg CO2eq- ha-1) is significantly higher compared to wheat (1,090 kg CO2eq- ha-1). In contrast, the differences in the footprints per kilogram of product and per g of harvested protein were insignificant. Tillage was found to be the main factor increasing CO2eq- emissions in both crops. In this research work we demonstrated that tillage regimes are crucial for mitigating agricultural related GHG emissions.

Major concerns about the food security involving wheat production emerged when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine worsened because both countries were the main suppliers of wheat to 38 countries. This study aims to explore the competitiveness level of wheat production countries and the future exporters that may lead to global wheat production during the Russia-Ukraine crisis. This study analyzed the comparative advantages of the five largest wheat exporters from 2001 to 2021 using the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) and revealed symmetrical comparative advantage (RSCA) indices to examine the current level of wheat export competitiveness of the five major exporters. This study also predicts the three major wheat-producing countries (excluding Russia and Ukraine) using 83-month observations to forecast the autoregressive integrated moving average in the next six months. The findings disclosed that all major wheat countries were strongly competitive, and the forecast unveiled that Australia is capable to lead the wheat producing countries in the next six months. This evaluation was derived from the ARIMA approach’s forecast, demonstrating Australia to be statistically greater than the USA and Canada.

Originality/Value: Farmers must use sprinkler irrigation and avoid surface irrigation because it harms the soil and increases its salinity, also represents a waste of water resources.Research limitations: Limited availability of sufficient numbers of sprinkler irrigation devices in Iraq, their high prices, and the lack of experience of farmers to use them.The Purpose of the research is to evaluate the effect of the appropriate irrigation method and the amount of fertilizer specified for urea fertilizer that achieves the best growth for the plant and increase its productivity while avoiding a negative impact on soil properties.Research Method: Two types of irrigation: spraying and flooding, and four mineral fertilization treatments (0. 50.100. 150) kg.ha-1 were used in the work to study the apparent characteristics of wheat and the amount of productivity, using statistical analysis (Gen Stat) and simple correlation coefficient to find strength of association between variables. The experiment was carried out in 2023 at Al-Khatib Farm, located in Al-Numaniyah District, it is bordered to the south by Wasit Governorate, 50 km away, and to the north by Baghdad Governorate,160 km away (Iraq).Results and Discussion. Sprinkler irrigation showed significant differences with the surface irrigation in the length of the spike, number of seed per spike,1000 seed weight, number of spikes per square meter, grain yield kg .ha-1 and the harvest index, while the plant height was not significant. The study also showed that the correlation coefficient between the apparent characteristics of the plants was stronger in the case of using sprinkler irrigation compared to the surface irrigation.

Water stress is a major obstacle to agricultural production, significantly impacting both yield and quality. During the 2017–18 crop year in Shahriar region near Tehran, Iran, known for its dry and cold climate, a study was conducted to examine the influence of different irrigation levels on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of various wheat cultivars. The experiment involved three irrigation levels: normal irrigation (control), withholding irrigation at the flowering stage, and withholding irrigation at the seed-filling stage as primary factors, with 21 different cultivars as secondary factors. The analysis showed that irrigation, cultivar type, and their interactions had a significant effect on grain yield, proline, total chlorophyll, carbohydrate content in the first and second internodes during flowering and ripening, as well as on SOD, CAT, GPX, MDA, DT, and D-OH-dG levels at a one percent significance level. Withholding irrigation at the flowering stage had a more severe impact compared to the seed-filling stage. The Rakhshan and Sivand cultivars yielded the highest and lowest grain yields under normal irrigation conditions, while the drought-tolerant Ofogh cultivar showed lower yields when irrigation was withheld at the flowering stage. Water stress led to increased proline levels and higher levels of SOD, CAT, MDA, DT, and D-OH-dG in wheat cultivars. The Rakhshan and Sivand cultivars were identified as drought-tolerant in this region.

Plant-beneficial Pseudomonas bacteria hold the potential to be used as inoculants in agriculture to promote plant growth and health through various mechanisms. The discovery of new strains tailored to specific agricultural needs remains an open area of research. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of four novel Pseudomonas species associated with the wheat rhizosphere. Comparative genomic analysis with all available Pseudomonas type strains revealed species-level differences, substantiated by both digital DNADNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity, underscoring their status as novel species. This was further validated by the phenotypic differences observed when compared to their closest relatives. Three of the novel species belong to the P. fluorescens species complex, with two representing a novel lineage in the Pseudomonas phylogeny. Functional genome annotation revealed the presence of specific features contributing to rhizosphere colonization, including flagella and components for biofilm formation. The novel species have the genetic potential to solubilize nutrients by acidifying the environment, releasing alkaline phosphatases and their metabolism of nitrogen species, indicating potential as biofertilizers. Additionally, the novel species possess traits that may facilitate direct promotion of plant growth through the modulation of the plant hormone balance, including the ACC deaminase enzyme and auxin metabolism. The presence of biosynthetic clusters for toxins such as hydrogen cyanide and nonribosomal peptides suggests their ability to compete with other microorganisms, including plant pathogens. Direct inoculation of wheat roots significantly enhanced plant growth, with two strains doubling shoot biomass. Three of the strains effectively antagonized fungal phytopathogens (Thielaviopsis basicola, Fusarium oxysporum, and Botrytis cinerea), demonstrating their potential as biocontrol agents. Based on the observed genetic and phenotypic differences from closely related species, we propose the following names for the four novel species: Pseudomonas grandcourensis sp. nov., type strain DGS24T (= DSM 117501T = CECT 31011T), Pseudomonas purpurea sp. nov., type strain DGS26T (= DSM 117502T = CECT 31012T), Pseudomonas helvetica sp. nov., type strain DGS28T (= DSM 117503T = CECT 31013T) and Pseudomonas aestiva sp. nov., type strain DGS32T (= DSM 117504T = CECT 31014T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To effectively reveal the disaster-causing mechanism between water stress and yield loss under different drought combinations during multiple growth periods of winter wheat, based on biennial wheat drought experiments, a crop growth analysis method was used to quantitatively identify and assess wheat yield loss sensitivity. The results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between the total dry matter relative growth rate (RGR) of wheat and the daily average degree of drought stress. The average determination coefficients of logarithmic fitting for 2017 and 2018 were 0.7935 and 0.7683, respectively. Wheat dry matter accumulation differed under the different drought combination scenarios. The yield loss sensitivity response relationship between the decrease in the RGR of wheat dry matter (relative to no drought stress) and the daily average degree of drought stress could be quantitatively identified by an S-shaped curve, and the 2017 and 2018 average coefficients of determination R2 were 0.859 and 0.849, respectively. Mild drought stress at the tillering stage stimulates adaptability and has little effect on yield. The soil water content (SWC) can be controlled to 65–75% of the field water holding capacity; the SWC at the jointing and booting stage can be controlled to be higher than the field water holding capacity of 55%. The SWC was maintained at a level higher than 75% of the field water holding capacity during the heading and flowering stages and the grain-filling and milky stages to achieve a harmonization of yields and water savings. In addition, during the production process, continuous severe drought during the jointing and booting stage and the heading and flowering stage should be avoided. This study elucidates the response relationship between drought intensity and drought-induced losses from the perspective of physical genesis, provides effective irrigation guidance for regional wheat planting, lays the foundation for the construction of quantitative agricultural drought loss risk curves, and provides technical support for predicting the trend of yield losses in wheat under different drought stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form mutualistic relationships with the majority of land plants and are an important part of the soil microbial community in natural and agricultural ecosystems. These fungi promote water and nutrient acquisition by their host plant and regulate the allocation of photosynthetic carbon to soil. Both crop variety and environment affect naturally occurring mycorrhizal abundance in roots, but the relative importance of those factors for mycorrhization is largely unknown. In a field study covering a large pedoclimatic gradient across four European sites, we (i) compared the abundance of AM fungi in the roots of 10 modern winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties, (ii) evaluated the relative importance of variety and site for the variability in root colonization by AM fungi and (iii) tested the relationship between mycorrhizal abundance and grain yield. Root colonization by arbuscules and hyphae ranged from 10% to 59% and 20% to 91%, respectively, across all samples and varied by 8% and 18%, respectively, among varieties when averaged across sites. Variance decomposition analysis revealed a 10 times higher importance of site than variety for AM fungal root colonization. Specifically, we found the highest mycorrhizal abundance on the site with the most arid conditions and the lowest on the sites with low soil pH and high nutrient availability. Despite the low variability in mycorrhizal abundance among varieties, there were significant differences in both arbuscular and hyphal root colonization. However, this did not translate into an increase in yield as no significant relationships between mycorrhizal abundance at flowering and grain yield were detected. The consistent differences between wheat varieties in root colonization by AM fungi across European field sites underline that genetic drivers of mycorrhization are to some extent independent of the site. This highlights the relevance of breeding practices to shape a wheat variety's capacity for mycorrhizal symbiosis across a range of environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) relay strip intercropping involves cultivating wheat sown in autumn and cotton sown in spring, allowing the two crops to grow together for ∼2 months. Despite its prevalence in cotton‐growing regions globally, this agricultural practice remains untapped in Turkey, where the emphasis on resource use efficiency and the competition between staple and cash crops are paramount. To address this, we conducted a study comparing three cropping systems under both well‐watered and limited water conditions: sole wheat with a row spacing of 13.5 cm, sole cotton with a row spacing of 70 cm, and an intercropping system consisting of four rows of wheat and two rows of cotton, with row spacings of 13.5 cm and 40.5 cm, respectively. In intercropped wheat and cotton, the relative wheat yield was 0.68, while the relative cotton yield was 0.73, resulting in a combined relative yield of 1.41 when compared to monoculture. The land equivalent ratio (1.44) and area time equivalent ratio (1.08) consistently exceeded 1.0, particularly under limited watering conditions and concurrent heat stress observed in the second year of the experiment. Our findings indicate that wheat–cotton relay intercropping holds significant potential as a highly effective approach to enhance the production of both cotton and wheat in Turkey, particularly in stressful conditions such as limited water availability. Core Ideas: The productivity of wheat/cotton intercropping under both well‐watered and drought conditions in Turkey was studied.On average, intercropped wheat and cotton exhibited relative yields of 64% and 75%, respectively.The land equivalent ratio and water equivalent ratio were well above 1, with averages of 1.5 and 1.4, respectively.The advantage of intercropping was slightly increased under conditions of water shortage.Intercropped cotton demonstrated greater resilience to heat stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeding the growing world population is a primary concern faced by plant breeders and producers. The world population of 8 billion is expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, which will demand a 60% increase in food production. These demands need to be met under changing climatic conditions and already stretched resources by extending the boundaries of agriculture to urban areas, deserts, and fresh and saltwater bodies. Additionally, crops are needed to support deep space explorations. Therefore, plants with desirable stature, organization, better resource use efficiency, and higher yield are required to meet these targets. The food security challenge is not new; from prehistoric times, humans shaped plant architecture to make plants fit their needs. For example, intentional/unintentional selection in different plants led to the development of un-branched maize from branched teosinte, spikes with more to fewer inflorescence branches in barley and wheat, tall vine-like plants into compact bushes in tomato and soybean, and from tall to semidwarf varieties in wheat, barley, rice, and sorghum. However, control of plant architecture is complex, as several phytohormone-signal transduction pathways, besides other genetic and epigenetic factors, determine it. Among the plant hormones, strigolactones are vital in shoot branching and root growth, influencing the plant's architecture. Given the importance of shoot architecture in determining yield, we reviewed different traits defining plant architecture and genetic and physiological factors contributing to these traits with attention to wheat, barley, rice, and Arabidopsis. We hope the information will help develop crops with desired architecture for terrestrial and extraterrestrial farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the role of the transcription factor TaMYB72 in promoting heading and enhancing grain yield traits in wheat. The researchers used CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing to create knockout mutants of TaMYB72 and found that these mutants displayed later heading dates and increased grain yield traits compared to the wild-type plants. The study also revealed that TaMYB72 directly activates the expression of TaFT, a gene involved in flowering and spikelet development, to regulate the height and yield traits of wheat. These findings provide valuable insights into the genetic basis of grain yield traits and heading date in wheat, and suggest TaMYB72 as a potential target gene for increasing grain yield in breeding programs. [Extracted from the article]

Wheat sharp eyespot is a soil-borne fungal disease commonly found in wheat areas in China, which can occur throughout the entire reproductive period of wheat and has a great impact on the yield and quality of wheat in China. By constructing a domain ontology for wheat sharp eyespot control and modeling the domain knowledge, we aim to integrate and share the knowledge in the field of wheat sharp eyespot control, which can provide important support and guidance for agricultural decision-making and disease control. In this study, the literature in the field of wheat sharp eyespot control was used as a data source, the KeyBERT keyword extraction algorithm was used to mine the core concepts of the ontology, and the hierarchical relationships among the ontology concepts were extracted through clustering. Based on the constructed ontology of wheat sharp eyespot control, the schema of knowledge extraction was formed, and the knowledge extraction model was trained using the ERNIE 3.0 knowledge enhancement pretraining model. This study proposes a model and algorithm to realize knowledge extraction based on domain ontology, describes the construction method and process framework of wheat sharp eyespot control domain ontology, and details the training and reasoning effect of the knowledge extraction model. The knowledge extraction model constructed in this study for wheat sharp eyespot control contains a more complete conceptual system of wheat sharp eyespot. The F1 value of the model reaches 91.26%, which is a 17.86% improvement compared with the baseline model, and it can satisfy the knowledge extraction needs in the field of wheat sharp eyespot control. This study can provide a reference for domain knowledge extraction and provide strong support for knowledge discovery and downstream applications such as intelligent Q&A and intelligent recommendation in the field of wheat sharp eyespot control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing agricultural nitrogen datasets in China are mostly developed using coarse national or provincial statistics. A crop‐specific nitrogen rate dataset based on the finest‐scale agricultural nitrogen statistics at the county level remains lacking. Here, we constructed a new dataset (CN‐N), which provides annual nitrogen rates for rice, wheat and maize in China at a 1‐km spatial resolution from 2004 to 2016. This dataset was developed by harmonizing county‐level and provincial agricultural nitrogen statistics with gridded crop distribution maps, resulting in 13 years of nitrogen rate maps for each crop covering 2004–2016. Validation against farmers' surveys by crop indicates CN‐N reliably quantifies average nitrogen rates and trends for each crop over 2004–2016, demonstrating improved spatial heterogeneity compared to previous datasets rasterized using only provincial statistics. Our study provides a crop‐specific, temporally consistent, gridded nitrogen rate dataset based on the finest‐scale county‐level agricultural nitrogen statistics. This can support future process‐based modelling for sustainable agricultural nitrogen management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of wheat spikes has an important influence on wheat yield, and the rapid and accurate detection of wheat spike numbers is of great significance for wheat yield estimation and food security. Computer vision and machine learning have been widely studied as potential alternatives to human detection. However, models with high accuracy are computationally intensive and time consuming, and lightweight models tend to have lower precision. To address these concerns, YOLO-FastestV2 was selected as the base model for the comprehensive study and analysis of wheat sheaf detection. In this study, we constructed a wheat target detection dataset comprising 11,451 images and 496,974 bounding boxes. The dataset for this study was constructed based on the Global Wheat Detection Dataset and the Wheat Sheaf Detection Dataset, which was published by PP Flying Paddle. We selected three attention mechanisms, Large Separable Kernel Attention (LSKA), Efficient Channel Attention (ECA), and Efficient Multi-Scale Attention (EMA), to enhance the feature extraction capability of the backbone network and improve the accuracy of the underlying model. First, the attention mechanism was added after the base and output phases of the backbone network. Second, the attention mechanism that further improved the model accuracy after the base and output phases was selected to construct the model with a two-phase added attention mechanism. On the other hand, we constructed SimLightFPN to improve the model accuracy by introducing SimConv to improve the LightFPN module. The results of the study showed that the YOLO-FastestV2-SimLightFPN-ECA-EMA hybrid model, which incorporates the ECA attention mechanism in the base stage and introduces the EMA attention mechanism and the combination of SimLightFPN modules in the output stage, has the best overall performance. The accuracy of the model was P=83.91%, R=78.35%, AP= 81.52%, and F1 = 81.03%, and it ranked first in the GPI (0.84) in the overall evaluation. The research examines the deployment of wheat ear detection and counting models on devices with constrained resources, delivering novel solutions for the evolution of agricultural automation and precision agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prebiotics, a subset of biostimulants, have garnered attention for their potential to enhance soil conditions and promote plant growth, offering a promising alternative to conventional agricultural inputs. This study explores how two commercial prebiotics, K1® and NUTRIGEO L® (SPK and SPN), impact soil functions compared to a control (SP). The experiment involved agricultural soil amended with organic wheat straws and cultivated with Zea mays L. Previous research demonstrated substantial effects of these prebiotics on plant biomass, soil parameters, and microbial community ten weeks after application. The present study delves deeper, focusing on soil microbial abundance, enzyme activities, and metabolic diversity. Analysis revealed that SPN notably increased the fungi-to-bacteria ratio, and both prebiotics elevated the activity of several key enzymes. SPN enhanced α-glucosidase and β-galactosidase activities, while SPK increased arylsulfatase, phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and urease activities. Enzymatic indexes confirmed the positive impact on soil functional diversity and fertility. Additionally, prebiotic treatments showed distinct metabolic profiles, with SPK degrading eleven carbon sources more rapidly across five groups and SPN accelerating the decomposition rate of four carbon sources from three groups. These findings highlight the ability of prebiotics to shape microbial communities and enhance soil fertility by modulating their functional activity and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]