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Osmotic stress is a major hurdle to the optimization of maize productivity. Limited availability of what the decrease the maize productivity due to alteration in metabolic activities. It also decreases the uptake of essential nutrients in the plants which resulted in limited photosynthetic activities. Such conditions resulted in poor plant growth and productivity. To overcome this critical issue, most scientists suggest incorporating organic amendments in the soil. These days incorporation of acidified carbon (AC) is becoming popular for the alleviation of abiotic stresses in crops. It can not only improve soil physicochemical properties but also increases the bioavailability of nutrients to plants. That's why the current study was conducted to explore the best application rate of AC for maize under osmotic stress. There were application rates of AC i.e., 0, 0.75, and 1.50% applied under 70, 50, and 30% field capacity (FC). Results showed that shoot (47.14 and 82.60%) and root length (32.19 and 69.76%), shoot fresh (102.40 and 135.22%) and dry weight (77.19 and 121.51%), root fresh (82.82 and 104.42%) and dry weight (59.17 and 80.30%) were significantly enhanced in maize by application of 0.75 and 1.50% AC under 30% FC. A significant decrease in the electrolyte leakage also validated the effectiveness of 0.75 and 1.50% AC for alleviation of osmotic stress in maize. In conclusion, 0.75 and 1.50% AC are effective in the improvement of maize growth and yield attributes in maize. More investigations are suggested at the field level to declare 1.50% AC as the best treatment for alleviation of osmotic stress.

Climate change, environmental pollution and depletion of natural resources are among the prominent potential challenges for sustainable crop production and environment management in modern agriculture. Rice production systems have threatened with insect pests and weeds that significantly contribute to yield losses. Although control of insects, pests and weeds has remained the major effective plant protection tool, yet hazards to environmental safety urge the scientific community to propose alternative pest management strategies. Apprehensions about conventional agriculture sustainability have impelled the extensive introduction of integrated pest management (IPM). Bio-based IPM is one of the important component for controlling insect-pests, and weeds in rice, as it is environmentally benign, effective, and economically viable. In the present article, we analysed several studies to highlight the: (1) description of practices related to IPM in rice, (2) progress regarding the bio-based integrated insect pests and weed management with possible implications and scope, (3) allelopathy effectiveness for weed management in rice, and (4) present dilemmas and proposed future research directions. Briefly, this article explores the opportunities for the scientists and rice farmers to maximize the utilization of diverse natural control agents as a partial or total substitute for synthetic pesticides.