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Gene based molecular screening for disease resistance has become a prominent and widely adopted approach in contemporary tomato breeding programs, both in the public and private sectors. The effectiveness of disease-resistant molecular screening relies on the selection of suitable markers that span the entire genomic region for accurate identification of resistant alleles. In this study, various co-dominant and dominant Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) markers were employed to screen for resistance genes associated with Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TyLCV) Ty-1, Ty-2, Ty-3, Fusarium wilt (race-2) I-2, and Root-knot Nematode ((Meloidogyne incognita) Mi-1. The selected markers exhibited high robustness in distinguishing between resistant and susceptible lines. Co-dominant SCAR markers M2 (Ty-1 gene) and TG0302 (Ty-2 gene) efficiently identify homozygous or heterozygous alleles in Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TyLCV) screening. The P6-25 marker for Ty-3 gene discerns Ty-3, Ty-3a, and Ty-3b alleles, enhancing allele specificity. In Fusarium wilt I-2 gene screening, I-2/5 ensures accurate identification, while in Root-knot Nematode Mi-1 gene screening, co-dominant marker Mi-23 reliably identify and distinguishes homozygous or heterozygous resistant lines without false positives for I-2 and Mi-1 genes. This streamlined marker assisted approach optimizes disease resistance screening in tomato breeding, providing valuable insights for disease resistant cultivar development.

An experiment was conducted during 2021–23 at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu to create genetic variation in Jasminum auriculatum (Vahl.) by inducing mutation using physical and chemical means, through gamma rays and Ethyl Methane Sulphonate (EMS). The present study was designed to evaluate the M1V3 generation putative mutants of J. auriculatum ecotype Muthu Mullai generated through physical and chemical mutation with various dosages of gamma radiation and EMS. The study revealed that among the mutagen treated population, the plants subjected to 15 Gy gamma irradiation and 5 mM EMS recorded the maximum vegetative growth parameters including number of primary and secondary branches, internodal length, number of leaves, leaf length and leaf width and flower quality parameters namely days to flowering, number of flowering cymes/branch, flower bud length, corolla tube length, bud girth, flower diameter and 100 flower bud weight than control. Homeotic mutants were identified and isolated from the mutated population and this study further explored the reliability of the observed traits for making effective selection for crop improvement.

As rice has no physiological capacity of fixing nitrogen in the soil, its production had always been reliant on the external application of nitrogen (N) to ensure enhanced productivity. In the light of improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in rice, several advanced agronomic strategies have been proposed. However, the soared increase of the prices of N fertilizers and subsequent environmental downfalls caused by the excessive use of N fertilizers, reinforces the prerequisite adaptation of other sustainable, affordable, and globally acceptable strategies. An appropriate alternative approach would be to develop rice cultivars with better NUE. Conventional breeding techniques, however, have had only sporadic success in improving NUE, and hence, this paper proposes a new schema that employs the wholesome benefits of the recent advancements in omics technologies. The suggested approach promotes multidisciplinary research, since such cooperation enables the synthesis of many viewpoints, approaches, and data that result in a comprehensive understanding of NUE in rice. Such collaboration also encourages innovation that leads to developing rice varieties that use nitrogen more effectively, facilitate smart technology transfer, and promotes the adoption of NUE practices by farmers and stakeholders to minimize ecological impact and contribute to a sustainable agricultural future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)