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Coastal sand dune plants are of great importance to researchers in the field of pharmacology, medicinal, industrial, nutritional, and ecosystem restoration. Nowadays most of the pharmaceutical industries depend on the medicinal plant for their raw materials for drug discovery. Spinifex littoreus is a coastal plant under the family Poeaceae growing on the sandy seashore and is well known for its medicinal properties. The present study was carried out to the phytochemical screening and estimated the bioactive components present in the methanolic extract of Spinifex littoreus leaves. The phytochemical studies revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, and phenols. The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of twenty bioactive compounds which include n-Hexadecanoic acid, 9,10-Secochola-5,7,10(19)-trien-24-al, 3-hydroxy-(3.beta.,5Z,7E), and 1,3-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, etc., The phytochemical and GC-MS profiling of the methanol extract of Spinifex littoreus leaves revealed the presence of bioactive compounds with important medicinal properties. Hence, the presence of these phytochemicals could be responsible for the therapeutic effects of the plant.

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) complaint is a new strain of coronavirus (2019-nCoV) found in 2019 at Wuhan city, China. Till date, there is no specific treatment against Covid-19 infection. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) is one of the new approaches for identifying the lead compound in drug development. In the present study, we performed an in-silico study of the Triterpenoid compounds from Mangrove plant as potential COVID-19 main protease (Mpro) inhibitors, which are used as a potential medicine target. Mangroves are salt-tolerant plant, rich in secondary metabolites. Generally, more than 16% of triterpenes are present in the Mangrove plant and possess many Pharmacological activities. In this study we used Molecular Docking using Auto Dock software. The binding energies obtained from the docking of 6LU7 with Beta-amyrin, Betulin, germanicol, taraxerol, lupeol, lupane, simiarenol, Tirucallol, Ursolic acid, Oleanolic acid, and Alpha-amyrin were − 8.37, -8.73, -8.06, -7.71, -8.32, -8.49, -8.16, -8.99, -9.24, -8.87 and − 8.89 kcal/mol, respectively. Further, these results were also confirmed by drug-likeness properties by using Swiss ADME software. This study showed Triterpenoid compounds seemed to have the best potential to act as COVID-19 Mpro inhibitors and they have a potential lead compound for the development of drugs, which can be used against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, further research like in-vivo and in-vitro examines is necessary to investigate their potential medicinal use.

Chickpea, the second most important legume crop, suffers major yield losses by terminal drought stress (DS). Stronger root system is known to enhance drought yields but this understanding remains controversial. To understand precisely the root traits contribution towards yield, 12 chickpea genotypes with well-known drought response were field evaluated under drought and optimal irrigation. Root traits, such as root length density (RLD), total root dry weight (RDW), deep root dry weight (deep RDW) and root:shoot ratio (RSR), were measured periodically by soil coring up to 1.2m soil depth across drought treatments. Large variations were observed for RLD, RDW, deep RDW and RSR in both the drought treatments. DS increased RLD below 30cm soil depth, deep RDW, RSR but decreased the root diameter. DS increased the genetic variation in RDW more at the penultimate soil depths. Genetic variation under drought was the widest for RLD ∼50 DAS, for deep RDW ∼50–75 DAS and for RSR at 35 DAS. Genotypes ICC 4958, ICC 8261, Annigeri, ICC 14799, ICC 283 and ICC 867 at vegetative stage and genotypes ICC 14778, ICCV 10, ICC 3325, ICC 14799 and ICC 1882 at the reproductive phase produced greater RLD. Path- and correlation coefficients revealed strong positive contributions of RLD after 45 DAS, deep RDW at vicinity of maturity and RSR at early podfill stages to yield under drought. Breeding for the best combination of profuse RLD at surface soil depths, and RDW at deeper soil layers, was proposed to be the best selection strategy, for an efficient water use and an enhanced terminal drought tolerance in chickpea.

Chickpea is the second most important legume crop largely grown under semi-arid tropics where terminal drought is one of the major constraints for its productivity. A trait-based selection had been considered more beneficial in drought tolerance breeding to overcome the environmental influence on drought yields. Large number of traits had been suggested in literature, with less indication on their importance and priority, for use in such breeding programs resulting in poor utilization of critical traits in drought tolerance breeding. To identify the most critical traits that contribute to grain yield under drought, 12 chickpea genotypes, with well-defined drought response, were field evaluated by sampling at regular intervals during the cropping period. Large range of variation was observed for shoot biomass productivity, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area index (LAI) at different days after sowings (DAS), canopy temperature depression (CTD) at mid-reproductive stages, growth duration and both morphological and analytical yield components. Grain yield under drought was closely associated with the rate of partitioning (p), crop growth rate (C), CTD, phenology, LAI at mid-pod fill stage, pod number m−2 at maturity, shoot biomass at reproductive growth stages and SLA at physiological maturity. The shoot trait(s) were prioritized based on their significance and contribution to drought tolerance. The trait(s) that conferred tolerance varied across genotypes. The order of traits/plant functions identified as important and critical for the drought tolerance were p, C, CTD, growth duration and other related traits. Relatively less important traits were LAI, SLA at the mid reproductive stage and pod number per unit area at maturity. The traits Dr, seeds pod−1 and 100-seed weight were found to be least important. Breeding for the best combination of p and C with the right phenology was proposed to be the best selection strategy to enhance terminal drought tolerance in chickpea.

Chickpeas are often grown under receding soil moisture and suffer ~50% yield losses due to drought stress. The timing of soil water use is considered critical for the efficient use of water under drought and to reduce yield losses. Therefore the root growth and the soil water uptake of 12 chickpea genotypes known for contrasts in drought and rooting response were monitored throughout the growth period both under drought and optimal irrigation. Root distribution reduced in the surface and increased in the deep soil layers below 30cm in response to drought. Soil water uptake was the maximum at 45-60cm soil depth under drought whereas it was the maximum at shallower (15-30 and 30-45cm) soil depths when irrigated. The total water uptake under drought was 1-fold less than optimal irrigation. The amount of water left unused remained the same across watering regimes. All the drought sensitive chickpea genotypes were inferior in root distribution and soil water uptake but the timing of water uptake varied among drought tolerant genotypes. Superiority in water uptake in most stages and the total water use determined the best adaptation. The water use at 15-30cm soil depth ensured greater uptake from lower depths and the soil water use from 90-120cm soil was critical for best drought adaptation. Root length density and the soil water uptake across soil depths were closely associated except at the surface or the ultimate soil depths of root presence.