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In general, seed germination is improved by low-pressure plasma (LPP) treatment using precursors such as air, nitrogen, argon, or water (H2O). Here, H2O-based LPP treatment using the optimized parameters of 10 W and 10 s improves the germination of Bambara groundnut seeds by 22%. LPP increases the wettability and roughness of the seed hilum while oxidizing the surface with carboxyl and amine groups. In this H2O-based treatment of Bambara groundnut seeds, combinatory etching and chemical modification facilitated the imbibition process and increased the germination percentage. The success of this method has the potential to be scaled up to solve food security with seeds otherwise facing germination-related issues.

Cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) causes devastating losses to fiber production in Central Asia. Viral spread across Asia in the last decade is causing concern that the virus will spread further before resistant varieties can be bred. Current development depends on screening each generation under disease pressure in a country where the disease is endemic. We utilized quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping in four crosses with different sources of resistance to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with the resistance trait to allow development of varieties without the need for field screening every generation. To assist in the analysis of multiple populations, a new publicly available R/Shiny App was developed to streamline genetic mapping using SNP arrays and to also provide an easy method to convert and deposit genetic data into the CottonGen database. Results identified several QTL from each cross, indicating possible multiple modes of resistance. Multiple sources of resistance would provide several genetic routes to combat the virus as it evolves over time. Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) markers were developed and validated for a subset of QTL, which can be used in further development of CLCuV-resistant cotton lines.