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Charcoal rot disease is incited by the soil-borne fungus Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi). Goid is a challenging disease due to long-term persistence of fungus sclerotia in the soil. This study assessed the potential of zinc (Zn: 1.25, 2.44, and 5 mg/kg) and green manure (GM: 1 and 2%) in solitary and bilateral combinations to alleviate infection stress incited by M. phaseolina on disease, growth, physiology, and yield attributes in mungbean. A completely randomized design experiment was conducted in potted soil, artificially inoculated with the pathogen, and sown with surface-sterilized seeds of mungbean genotypes (susceptible: MNUYT-107 and highly susceptible: MNUYT-105). Concealment of plant resistance by M. phaseolina in both genotypes resulted in 53-55% disease incidence and 40-50% plant mortality, which contributed in causing a significant reduction of 30-90% in attributes of growth, biomass, yield, photosynthetic pigment, and total protein content with an imbalance of production of antioxidant enzymes (polyphenol oxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase). Soil application with Znbased fertilizer (ZnSO4: 33%) in combination with GM significantly managed up to 80% of the charcoal rot disease, hence improving growth (50-100%) and physiochemical (30-100%) attributes and sustainably enhancing grain average yield (300-600%), biological yield (100-200%), and harvest index (100-200%) in mungbean plants. The heat map and principal component analyses based on 19 measured attributes with 16 treatments separated Zn (2.44 or 5 mg/kg) combined with 2% GM as the best treatments for alleviating charcoal rot disease stress by improving growth, yield, and biological attributes to an extent to profitable farming in terms of harvest index (HI) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seaweeds are non-vascular, photosynthetic that inhabit the coastal regions commonly within rocky intertidal or submerged reef-like habitats and have been one of the richest and most promising sources of bioactive primary and secondary metabolites with antimicrobial properties. They selectively absorb elements like Na, K, Ca, Mg, I, and Br from the seawater and accumulate them in their thalli. Padina antillarum (Kützing) Piccone is a member of Phaeophycota and has remarkable phycochemistry as well as bioactivity. The phycochemical tests of the different extracts showed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, tannins, steroids, and phenols. The relative percentage of Oxirane, tetradecyl (C16H32O), and Cyclononasiloxane (C18H54O9Si9) are higher while Tetrasiloxane (C16H50O7Si8) is lowest in Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry analysis. FRAP, %inhibition, the total antioxidant value of P. antillarum was higher in methanolic extract. Hexane, chloroform extracts showed no zone of inhibition against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The methanolic extract of P. antillarum exhibits a maximum zone of inhibition against S. epidermidis (18.66 0.09). Antifungal activity of the P. antillarum in hexane extract exhibited no zone of inhibition against Aspergillus niger and Penicillium notatum while the chloroform extract yields maximum zone (37 0.012, 21.66 0.03). Diabetes mellitus is one of the most familiar chronic diseases associated with carbohydrate metabolism. It is also an indication of co-morbidities such as obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia which are metabolic complications of both clinical and experimental diabetes. The treatment of P. antillarum methanol extract in mice reduced the body weight loss, low level of triglycerides, and elevated HDL cholesterol level as compared to diabetic mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the twin pressures of high population growth and extreme weather events, developing countries are the worst hit in meeting the food demands of their people, with millions unable to access adequate and nutritionally balanced food. Crop production must be increased by 70% to keep up with the food demands of a rapidly growing population, which is expected to rise to 9.6 billion by 2050. Legumes are ideal food crops to increase agricultural productivity and achieve sustainable development goals. Cowpea, a warm-season grain legume, is often categorized as a neglected crop with immense scope for genetic improvement through proper breeding strategies. A multi-year field experiment of induced mutagenesis was conducted to increase seed yield and genetic variability in the agro-economic traits of two cowpea varieties treated with different doses of gamma (γ) rays and sodium azide (SA). The study was also aimed to optimize different doses of γ rays and SA employed individually and in combinations. Quantitative trait analysis revealed a maximum increase in seed yield from M2 to M3 generation. Among the 10 quantitative traits studied, seeds per pod and seed weight positively correlated with a major direct impact on yield. An extensive phenotypic selection cycle from M2-M4 generations resulted in isolating new high-yielding and nutrient-dense mutant lines. Such high-yielding biofortified mutant lines with enhanced genetic variability could serve as a donor of elite genes and represent a valuable genetic resource for improving low-yielding warm-season grain legumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to wastewater irrigation, heavy metal (HM) exposure of agricultural soils is a major limiting factor for crop productivity. Plant growth–promoting bacteria (PGPB) may lower the risk of HM toxicity and increase crop yield. In this context, we evaluated two HM-resistant PGPB strains, i.e., Citrobacter werkmanii strain WWN1 and Enterobacter cloacae strain JWM6 isolated from wastewater-irrigated agricultural soils, for their efficacy to mitigate HM (Cd, Ni, and Pb) stress in a pot experiment. Increasing concentrations (0, 50, 100, and 200 ppm) of each HM were used to challenge wheat plants. Heavy metal stress negatively affected wheat growth, biomass, and physiology. The plants under elevated HM concentration accumulated significantly higher amounts of heavy metals (HMs) in shoots and roots, resulting in increased oxidative stress, which was evident from increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content in roots and shoots. Moreover, alterations in antioxidants like superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT) were observed in plants under HM stress. The severity of damage was more pronounced with rising HM concentration. However, inoculating wheat with Citrobacter werkmanii strain WWN1 and Enterobacter cloacae strain JWM6 (107 CFU ml–1) improved plant shoot length (11–42%), root length (19–125%), fresh weight (41–143%), dry weight (65–179%), and chlorophyll a (14%-24%) and chlorophyll b content (2–24%) under HM stress. Citrobacter werkmanii strain WWN1 and Enterobacter cloacae strain JWM6 either alone or in co-inoculation enhanced the antioxidant enzyme activity, which may lower oxidative stress in plants. However, seeds treated with the bacterial consortium showed an overall better outcome in altering oxidative stress and decreasing HM accumulation in wheat shoot and root tissues. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated the changes induced by HMs in functional groups on the biomass surface that display effective removal of HMs from aqueous medium using PGPB. Thus, the studied bacterial strains may have adequate fertilization and remediation potential for wheat cultivated in wastewater-irrigated soils. However, molecular investigation of mechanisms adopted by these bacteria to alleviate HM stress in wheat is required to be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early blight (EB) is one of the major fungal diseases caused by Alternaria solani that is responsible for destructive tomato production around the globe. Biocontrol agent/s can be adequately implemented in an integrated management framework by using it in combination with vital plant nutrients, e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) and zinc (Zn). The current study was aimed to assess the integrated effect of a biocontrol agent Bacillus subtilis (BS-01) and the selective plant nutrients (NPK and Zn) on EB disease management and tomato crop performance. A field experiment was conducted for the off-season tomato production (under walk-in tunnels) in Punjab, Pakistan. The trial was set in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and comprised nine treatments of a biocontrol agent (BS-01) either alone or in combination with the plant nutrients, viz., NPK (64:46:50 kg acre–1) and Zn (10 kg acre–1) as sustainable disease managing approach against EB. In addition, the biocontrol efficacy of B. subtilis (BS-01) on a fungal load of A. solani was estimated by quantitative PCR assays, where the foliar application of BS-01 on tomato plants either alone or in combination with the plant nutrients was done as a preventive measure. Our results revealed that the interactive effect of BS-01 with plant nutrients conferred significantly a varying degree of resilience in the infected tomato plants against EB by effectively modifying the content of total chlorophyll, carotenoids, and total phenolics along with the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, POX, PPO, and PAL). In addition, the integrative effect of BS-01 and plant nutrients proved significantly effective in reducing pathogen load on inoculated tomato foliage, displaying the desired level of protection against A. solani infection. Besides, the complementary interaction of BS-01 + Zn + NPK worked synergistically to improve crop productivity by providing the highest marketable yield (21.61 tons acre–1) and net profit (361,363 Pakistani rupees acre–1). This integrated approach is put forward as a way to reduce the fungicide doses to control EB that would act as a sustainable plant protection strategy to generate profitable tomato production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]