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Wheat is an important staple crop not only in Pakistan but all over the globe. Although the area dedicated to wheat cultivation expands annually, the quantity of wheat harvested is declining due to various biotic and abiotic factors. Global wheat production and output have suffered as a result of the drought, which is largely driven by a lack of water and environmental factors. Organic fertilizers have been shown to reduce the severity of drought. The current research was conducted in semi-arid climates to mitigate the negative effects of drought on wheat during its critical tillering (DTS), flowering (DFS), and grain filling (DGFS) stages through the application of three different abscisic acid treatments: ABA0 (0 mgL−1) control, ABA1 (100 mgL−1) and ABA2 (200 mgL−1). Wheat growth and yield characteristics were severely harmed by drought stress across all critical development stages, with the DGFS stage being particularly vulnerable and leading to a considerable loss in yield. Plant height was increased by 24.25%, the number of fertile tillers by 25.66%, spike length by 17.24%, the number of spikelets per spike by 16.68%, grain count per spike by 11.98%, thousand-grain weight by 14.34%, grain yield by 26.93% and biological yield by 14.55% when abscisic acid (ABA) was applied instead of the control treatment. Moreover, ABA2 increased the more physiological indices (water use efficiency (36.12%), stomatal conductance (44.23%), chlorophyll a (24.5%), chlorophyll b (29.8%), transpiration rate (23.03%), photosynthetic rate (24.84%), electrolyte leakage (− 38.76%) hydrogen peroxide (− 18.09%) superoxide dismutase (15.3%), catalase (20.8%), peroxidase (− 18.09%), and malondialdehyde (− 13.7%)) of drought-stressed wheat as compared to other treatments. In the case of N, P, and K contents in grain were maximally improved with the application of ABA2. Through the use of principal component analysis, we were able to correlate our results across scales and provide an explanation for the observed effects of ABA on wheat growth and production under arid conditions. Overall, ABA application at a rate of 200 mgL−1 is an effective technique to boost wheat grain output by mitigating the negative effects of drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High temperature stress during reproductive stages of wheat is a leading constraint in achieving food security. The objectives of study were to investigate heat sensitivity of terminal stages of wheat, to optimize foliar selenium dose, to boost nonenzymatic antioxidants and to determine correlation of these nonenzymatic antioxidants with yield and quality attributes of wheat crop. The field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years at agronomic research area, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. It was laid out in a randomized complete block design under split arrangement, and treatments were replicated thrice. Main plot factor comprised of heat imposition treatments; H0 = Control; H1 = Heat from spike to grain filling; H2 = Heat from flowering to grain filling while in subplots doses of foliar selenium were maintained; Se0 = Control (water spray); Se25 = 25 mg L−1; Se50 = 50 mg L−1; Se75 = 75 mg L−1 and Se100 = 100 mg L−1. Impact of H1 was more damaging compared to H2 and H0 for all response variables. Higher levels of proline, phenolics and leaf selenium were recorded with foliar spray of selenium either at 75 or at 100 mg L−1 under H0, whereas under H1 and H2, significantly higher responses were observed with 100 mg L−1 selenium for these traits. Increases in leaf chlorophyll and grain protein contents were statistically alike with 75 and 100 mg L−1 selenium; while in case of 1000-grain weight, harvest index and grain yield three levels of foliar selenium (50, 75 and 100 mg L−1) performed equally well under all the three heat stress treatments. Moreover, strong positive and significant associations of proline, phenolics, leaf selenium and chlorophyll were measured with yield of wheat. Conclusively, more harmful impacts were recorded under H1 compared to H2 and H0; while 75 mg L−1 Se proved more beneficial under H0 and 100 mg L−1 Se under H1 and H2. Strong associations of biochemical and agronomic traits were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Challenges to crop sector arising from changing temperature and rainfall cause losses to food crop productivity in particular and agriculture sector in general. The present study aims to see the farm households' perception and adaptation to climate change and to determine the effects of adaptation on food crop productivity in Pakistan using cross-sectional data collected from Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan. Probit model is used to evaluate farmer's understanding of climate change and its associated institutional, socio-economic and demographic variables. Results show that the majority of farmers have experienced the changes in rainfall (76%) and temperature (79%). Socio-economic and demographic variables such as education above primary schooling years, number of earners, medium farm size, NGOs, and access to information sources, namely radio and neighboring farmers, are significantly related with perception of climate change. Propensity score matching method (PSM) is employed for examining the factors influencing adaptation to climate change and the effects of adaptation on food crop productivity. Results of PSM indicate that male household heads, family size, matriculation education, households having access to credit, information source, land quality, perception of rainfall and rented land are significantly related with adaptation to climate change. Productivity gains for adapters are 0.04% and the productivity gains for non-adapters are 3.8% if they adapted. The study suggests the need to invest in farmer's education, improve information sources and skills of existing extension staffs on climate change and adaptation measures. The study posits to increase access to viable credit programs, enabling farmers to invest in adaptation strategies to cope with climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a major cereal crop of the world and provides 20% of the world's food calories. Pakistan's average wheat production is 24.946 million tons, contributing 1.7% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Aphids are a significant insect pest of wheat, causing crop injury by sucking cell sap, releasing honeydew, interfering with the photosynthetic activities of the crop, and transmitting pathogenic viruses. In the present study identification of wheat, aphid species and assessment of IPM modules for aphid management have been worked out. Aphids can be identified based on body color, cornicle tube (length, shape, orientation etc.) and length of antennae. Coccinella septempunctata, Hover flies, Chrysoperla carnea and spiders play a significant role in the management of wheat aphid as a biocontrol agent. So, it is concluded that natural enemies, seed dressing, botanical extracts and sticky traps were found effective and eco-friendly as compared to synthetic insecticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tillage and integrated nutrient treatment (INT) can improve wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crop productivity and farmer's income on a sustainable basis compared to any fertilizer alone. This work aims to determine the effect of tillage and fertilization (a mixture of farmyard manure (FYM) and inorganic N fertilizer (urea)) on wheat yield, quality, nitrogen indices, and net return from 2013 to 2015 at The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan. Treatments included three tillage practices (reduced tillage [RT], conventional tillage [CT], and deep tillage [DT]) and six fertilization (control (no-fertilization), and 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% N derived from FYM and remaining N from urea designated as control, M0F100, M25F75, M50F50, M75F25, and M100F0, respectively) to supply a recommended amount of 120 kg N ha−1 for wheat by local farmers. The experiment was conducted in a split-plot design, with tillage as the main plot and fertilization as the sub-plot treatment with three replicates. The RT increased wheat grain yield by 12% and N uptake by 16% compared to DT. The M75F25 treatment increased wheat yield by 28%, N uptake by 10%, N content (associated with protein content) by 11%, value–cost ratio by 70%, and net return by 190% compared to M0F100. However, no differences in nitrogen use efficiency were noted when > 25% FYM was used as an N source. It was concluded from the experiment that the wheat yield, quality, and net return could be increased by using RT and M75F25, which is advisable practice for wheat production and net return in arid climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]