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Lentil is a rich source of dietary proteins used worldwide and especially in Asian countries. The objective of the study was to develop and identify high-yielding, disease resistant and drought tolerant genotypes from available germplasm and international nurseries of lentil. The hybridization of (01503 × NL-2002) charted by the bulked pedigree method of selection. The newly developed line LPP 12161 was tested in a series of trials on multi-locations carried out in central Punjab at the farm area of Pulses Research Institute, Faisalabad, and NIAB. During Screening Nurseries Trials, this line produced 41.13% and 63.41% higher yields than the standard checks. Similarly, in yield trials, this line achieved 2925 kg ha-1 yield. This line was characterized by maximum yield potential along with better morphological characteristics that led to the adoption of this genotype with the other commercial cultivars. It is moderately resistant to rust, botrytis grey mold and resistant to collar rot and fusarium wilt diseases. It possesses excellent agronomic characteristics; better adoption and disease resistance attributes make it suitable for production throughout Pakistan. It stood the second position in National Uniform Yield Trials (NUYT) at a country level and secured the first position at Punjab in yield-related trials. Therefore, this line was approved as a variety and named Punjab Masoor-2020 used for commercial cultivation all over Punjab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Head Teachers (HTs) of primary schools about the mentors' practices and reflections of TPSs (TPSs) regarding mentoring practices of mentors under the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) framework. The study was conducted in the district of Faisalabad, the most populated city and industrial hub of the country. Researchers used the mixed-methods approach to meet the purpose of the study. A sample of 565 HTs (281 male and 284 female) was drawn out of the total 2128 HTs using the random sampling technique in layers. A structured questionnaire was administered personally to get quantitative data. To explore the reflections of the TPSs about mentoring practices, qualitative data were generated through semi-structured interviews with 32 TPSs (16 male and 16 female) selected purposively. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data and content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The findings of the study revealed that most of the mentoring practices of the mentors were not up to the mark and needs improvement. The mentors' authoritative behavior, weak content knowledge, and training without need assessment were explored as the key negative aspects of mentoring. Furthermore, improvement in teachers' regularity, students' enrollment, and use of AV aids were the positive aspects of mentoring. It is recommended that the teachers' mentoring program should be reviewed in-depth and immediate corrective measures should be taken to address the issues explored in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and the consequent alteration in agricultural circumstances enhance the susceptibility of fresh water use particularly in water-scarce regions. Marginal quality water reuse is a common alternative practice but possible perils of metal accretion in plant parts are mostly ignored. The present research aimed to probe the impact of treated wastewater (TWW) and untreated wastewater (UTWW) on metal accumulation in flower petals and their influence on essential oil contents of fragrant Rosa species (R. Gruss-an-teplitz, R. bourboniana, R. centifolia , R. damascena) in a peri-urban area of Faisalabad, Pakistan during January, 2017 to December, 2018. The mineral and chemical contents in canal water (CW) and TWW were less than recommended levels of national environmental quality standards (NEQS) for wastewater of Pakistan. The experimentally UTWW possessed higher electrical conductivity (EC), biological and chemical oxygen demand (BOD and COD), and some metals (Pb, Co, Cr) that were above the permissible levels. The experimental data revealed that except Cr other metals contents in the flower petals were less than the WHO recommended limits (for medicinal plants) under experimental irrigation regimes. Rosa centifolia and R. damascena possessed higher metal i.e. Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Co contents while Fe and Ni contents were higher in R. Gruss-an-Teplitz and R. bourboniana respectively. There were twelve constituents which were detected in essential oil by gas chromatography. Major constituents were phenyl ethyl alcohol, citronellol, geranyl acetate, γ- undelactone, methyl eugenol, and limonene whose share was 48.17%, 41.11%, 8.46%, 4.82%, 4.44%, and 4.15% respectively whereas concentrations of other 06 constituents were less than 3.7%. Phenyl ethyl alcohol, lion shared constituent of essential oil was found highest (48.17%) in R. Gruss-an-Teplitz whereas minimum level was recorded in R. damascena (28.84%) under CW. In contrast, citronellol (chief component of fragrance) was highest in R. damascena (41.11%) in UTWW while the lowest level was found in R. Gruss-an-Teplitz (17.41%) in CW. This study confirmed the variations in metal concentrations of Rosa species due to different absorbability of each metal in flower petals. It also indicates that wastewater did not affect the composition but there were quantitative differences in aroma constituents and chemical composition of essential oil. • To save fresh water resources, wastewater is viable option to irrigate oil bearing plants. • Scented Rosa species contained metals in acceptable range in flower petals. • Phenyl ethyl alcohol has lion share among 12 constituents detected in rose oil. • Wastewater did not affect oil composition and recommended to irrigate for rose species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quinoa is gaining importance globally owing to its nutritional quality and its adaptability under variety of conditions. However, limited information is available on the impact of planting techniques on growth, morphology, and yield and biomass accumulation under irrigation conditions. To the date, no ideal planting technique (sowing method) has been reported for the flat irrigated land for better adjustment of quinoa in a crop rotation. To test the hypothesis, a two-year field study (2013–14 and 2014–15) was carried out at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. The experiment comprised of four planting technique bed sowing (BS), ridge sowing (RS), flat line sowing (FLS), and sowing in standing water (SSW) in main plots, and two quinoa accession (A7 and A9) in subplots. The results showed that BS method improved the morphological attributes viz. stem thickness, main panicle, main panicle, thousand grain weight, grain yield, and harvest index as compared to SSW. Regarding the quinoa accessions, A9 performed better than A7 for morphology, biomass, and yield. Panicle number per plant was positively correlated with harvest index and main panicle weight in 2013–14, while 1000-grain weight and harvest index had a stronger correlation during 2014–15. The average and maximum biomass production rate of A7 in BS plants were relatively higher than other sowing techniques either for A9 or A7. Our data suggest that the BS method is a relatively better planting technique and A9 quinoa accession is a suitable genotype to obtain a high targeted grain yield under irrigated conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]