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Abstract The study investigates the interplay of land use dynamics and climate change on the hydrological regime of the Ravi River using a comprehensive approach integrating Geographic Information System (GIS), remote sensing, and hydrological modeling at the catchment scale. Employing the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, simulations were conducted to evaluate the hydrological response of the Ravi River to both current conditions and projected future scenarios of land use and climate change. This study differs from previous ones by simulating future land use and climate scenarios, offering a solid framework for understanding their impact on river flow dynamics. Model calibration and validation were performed for distinct periods (1999–2002 and 2003–2005), yielding satisfactory performance indicators (NSE, R2, PBIAS = 0.85, 0.83, and 10.01 in calibration and 0.87, 0.89, and 7.2 in validation). Through supervised classification techniques on Landsat imagery and TerrSet modeling, current and future land use maps were generated, revealing a notable increase in built-up areas from 1990 to 2020 and projections indicating further expansion by 31.7% from 2020 to 2100. Climate change projections under different socioeconomic pathways (SSP2 and SSP5) were derived for precipitation and temperature, with statistical downscaling applied using the CMhyd model. Results suggest substantial increases in precipitation (10.9 − 14.9%) and temperature (12.2 − 15.9%) across the SSP scenarios by the end of the century. Two scenarios, considering future climate conditions with current and future land use patterns, were analyzed to understand their combined impact on hydrological responses. In both scenarios, inflows to the Ravi River are projected to rise significantly (19.4 − 28.4%) from 2016 to 2100, indicating a considerable alteration in seasonal flow patterns. Additionally, historical data indicate a concerning trend of annual groundwater depth decline (0.8 m/year) from 1996 to 2020, attributed to land use and climate changes. The findings underscore the urgency for planners and managers to incorporate climate and land cover considerations into their strategies, given the potential implications for water resource management and environmental sustainability.

Abstract Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an innovative approach that promotes sustainable farming while enhancing soil health. However, residue management challenges often hinder its adoption, causing farmers to burn crop leftovers in fields. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of various furrow openers under simulated soil bin conditions. Three types of furrow openers were examined: single disk (SD), Inverted T-type furrow opener with a plain rolling coulter (ITRC), and double disc (DD) furrow opener. Tests were conducted at different forward speeds (1.5, 2, and 2.5 km h−1) and with three straw densities (1, 2, and 3 t ha−1) at a consistent working depth of 5 cm. Draft measurements were obtained using load cells connected to an Arduino-based data-logging system. Results indicated that draft requirements increased with forward speed and straw density, while straw-cutting efficiency decreased with these factors. Average draft values for SD, ITRC, and DD were 290.3 N, 420 N, and 368.5 N, respectively, and straw-cutting efficiencies were 53.62%, 59.47%, and 74.89%, respectively. The DD furrow opener showed the highest straw-cutting efficiency (81.36%) at a working speed of 1.5 km h−1 and a straw density of 1 t ha−1, demonstrating optimal performance compared to other furrow openers.

Abstract Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are vital for crop growth. However, most agricultural systems have limited inherent ability to supply N and P to crops. Biochars (BCs) are strongly advocated in agrosystems and are known to improve the availability of N and P in crops through different chemical transformations. Herein, a soil-biochar incubation experiment was carried out to investigate the transformations of N and P in two different textured soils, namely clay loam and loamy sand, on mixing with rice straw biochar (RSB) and acacia wood biochar (ACB) at each level (0, 0.5, and 1.0% w/w). Ammonium N (NH4-N) decreased continuously with the increasing incubation period. The ammonium N content disappeared rapidly in both the soils incubated with biochars compared to the unamended soil. RSB increased the nitrate N (NO3–N) content significantly compared to ACB for the entire study period in both texturally divergent soils. The nitrate N content increased with the enhanced biochar addition rate in clay loam soil until 15 days after incubation; however, it was reduced for the biochar addition rate of 1% compared to 0.5% at 30 and 60 days after incubation in loamy sand soil. With ACB, the net increase in nitrate N content with the biochar addition rate of 1% remained higher than the 0.5% rate for 60 days in clay loam and 30 days in loamy sand soil. The phosphorus content remained consistently higher in both the soils amended with two types of biochars till the completion of the experiment.

Biochar is increasingly gaining popularity due to its extensive recommendation as a potential solution for addressing the concerns of food security and climate change in agroecosystems, with biochar application for increased carbon sequestration, enhanced soil fertility, improved soil health, and increased crop yield and quality. There have been multiple studies on crop yield utilizing various biochar types and application amounts; however, none have focused on the influence of diverse biochar types at various pyrolysis temperatures with different application amounts and the integration of fertilizer regimes in maize crops. Therefore, a two-year factorial field experiment was designed in a temperate Himalayan region of India (THRI) to evaluate the residual effect of different biochar on maize yield under different pyrolysis temperatures, various application rates and fertilizer regimes. The study included three factors viz., amendment type (factor 1), rate of application (factor 2) and fertilizer regime (factor 3). Amendment type included 7 treatments: No biochar- control (A1), apple biochar @ 400 °C pyrolysis temperature (A2), apple biochar @ 600 °C pyrolysis temperature (A3), apple residue biomass (A4), dal weed biochar @ 400 °C pyrolysis temperature (A5), dal weed biochar @ 600 °C pyrolysis temperatures (A6), and dal weed residue biomass (A7). The rate of application included 3 levels: Low (L- 1 t ha−1), medium (M- 2 t ha−1), and high (H- 3 t ha−1). At the same time, the fertilizer regimes included 2 treatments: No fertilizer (N) and recommended dose of fertilizer (F). The results revealed that among the various amendment type, rate of application and fertilizer regimes, the A3 amendment, H rate of application and F fertilizer regime gave the best maize growth and productivity outcome. Results revealed that among the different pyrolyzed residues used, the A3 amendment had the highest plant height (293.87 cm), most kernels cob−1 (535.75), highest soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value (58.10), greatest cob length (27.36 cm), maximum cob girth (18.18 cm), highest grain cob yield (1.40 Mg ha−1), highest grain yield (4.78 Mg ha−1), higher test weight (305.42 gm), and highest stover yield (2.50 Mg ha−1). The maximum dry weight in maize and the number of cobs plant−1 were recorded with amendments A4 (14.11 Mg ha−1) and A6 (1.77), respectively. The comparatively 2nd year of biochar application than the 1st year, the H level of the rate of application than the L rate and the application and integration of the recommended dose of fertilizer in maize results in significantly higher values of growth and productivity in maize. Overall, these findings suggest that the apple biochar @ 600 °C pyrolysis temperature (A3) at a high application rate with the addition of the recommended dose of fertilizer is the optimal biochar for enhancing the growth and productivity of maize in the THRI.

Abstract The river stage is certainly an important indicator of how the water level fluctuates overtime. Continuous control of the water stage can help build an early warning indicator of floods along rivers and streams. Hence, forecasting river stages up to several days in advance is very important and constitutes a challenging task. Over the past few decades, the use of machine learning paradigm to investigate complex hydrological systems has gained significant importance, and forecasting river stage is one of the promising areas of investigations. Traditional in situ measurements, which are sometime restricted by the existing of several handicaps especially in terms of regular access to any points alongside the streams and rivers, can be overpassed by the use of modeling approaches. For more accurate forecasting of river stages, we suggest a new modeling framework based on machine learning. A hybrid forecasting approach was developed by combining machine learning techniques, namely random forest regression (RFR), bootstrap aggregating (Bagging), adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), and artificial neural network (ANN), with empirical mode decomposition (EMD) to provide a robust forecasting model. The singles models were first applied using only the river stage data without preprocessing, and in the following step, the data were decomposed into several intrinsic mode functions (IMF), which were then used as new input variables. According to the obtained results, the proposed models showed improved results compared to the standard RFR without EMD for which, the error performances metrics were drastically reduced, and the correlation index was increased remarkably and great changes in models’ performances have taken place. The RFR_EMD, Bagging_EMD, and AdaBoost_EMD were less accurate than the ANN_EMD model, which had higher R≈0.974, NSE≈0.949, RMSE≈0.330 and MAE≈0.175 values. While the RFR_EMD and the Bagging_EMD were relatively equal and exhibited the same accuracies higher than the AdaBoost_EMD, the superiority of the ANN_EMD was obvious. The proposed model shows the potential for combining signal decomposition with machine learning, which can serve as a basis for new insights into river stage forecasting.

Abstract In the context of degradation of soil health, environmental pollution, and yield stagnation in the rice–wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, an experiment was established in split plot design to assess the long-term effect of crop residue management on productivity and phosphorus requirement of wheat in rice–wheat system. The experiment comprised of six crop residue management practices as the main treatment factor with three levels (0, 30 and 60 kg P2O5 ha–1) of phosphorus fertilizer as sub-treatments. Significant improvement in soil aggregation, bulk density, and infiltration rate was observed under residue management (retention/incorporation) treatments compared to residue removal or residue burning. Soil organic carbon (SOC), available nutrient content (N, P, and K), microbial count, and enzyme activities were also significantly higher in conservation tillage and residue-treated plots than without residue/burning treatments. The residue derived from both crops when was either retained/incorporated improved the soil organic carbon (0.80%) and resulted in a significant increase in SOC (73.9%) in the topsoil layer as compared to the conventional practice. The mean effect studies revealed that crop residue management practices and phosphorus levels significantly influenced wheat yield attributes and productivity. The higher grain yield of wheat was recorded in two treatments, i.e. the basal application of 60 kg P2O5 ha–1 without residue incorporation and the other with half the P-fertilizer (30 kg P2O5 ha–1) with rice residue only. The grain yield of wheat where the rice and wheat residue were either retained/incorporated without phosphorus application was at par with 30 and 60 kg P2O5ha–1. Phosphorus levels also significantly affected wheat productivity and available P content in the soil. Therefore, results suggested that crop residue retention following the conservation tillage approach improved the yield of wheat cultivated in the rice–wheat cropping system.

Crop residue management and water saving are the two major issues for the sustainability of the rice-wheat cropping system. Therefore, a two-year field experiment was conducted in a split-plot design to study the combined effect of three rice residues (residue incorporation (RI), residue standing (RS) and residue removal (RR) and two wheat residue incorporation (WI) and residue removal (WR) management in main plots and two irrigation regimes, i.e., flood (F) and surface drip (SD) in subplots on the growth and water productivity of direct seeded rice (DSR). During both years, RI-WI resulted in significantly higher plant height (PH), leaf area index (LAI) and dry matter accumulation (DMA) than in other residue management treatments. Drip irrigation significantly increased PH, LAI, DMA grain yield, straw, and biological yield, along with a 9.6% irrigation water savings over flood irrigation. During both years, grain yield, straw and biological yield of DSR were significantly higher in RI-WI than in RR-WR and RR-WI. RI-WI had significantly greater apparent water productivity (AWP) and actual water productivity (RWP) of DSR. Drip irrigation had significantly higher AWP and RWP during both years than flood irrigation except RWP during 2017. Transpiration efficiency (TE) in rice residue incorporation was significantly higher than in rice residue standing and removal. During both years, the TE of drip irrigation was also significantly higher than flood irrigation. So, incorporating rice and wheat residues along with drip irrigation improves crop growth and water productivity.

Abstract The design and selection of ideal emitter discharge rates can be aided by accurate information regarding the wetted soil pattern under surface drip irrigation. The current field investigation was conducted in an apple orchard in SKUAST- Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, a Union Territory of India, during 2017–2019. The objective of the experiment was to examine the movement of moisture over time and assess the extent of wetting in both horizontal and vertical directions under point source drip irrigation with discharge rates of 2, 4, and 8 L h−1. At 30, 60, and 120 min since the beginning of irrigation, a soil pit was dug across the length of the wetted area on the surface in order to measure the wetting pattern. For measuring the soil moisture movement and wetted soil width and depth, three replicas of soil samples were collected according to the treatment and the average value were considered. As a result, 54 different experiments were conducted, resulting in the digging of pits [3 emitter discharge rates × 3 application times × 3 replications × 2 (after application and 24 after application)]. This study utilized the Drip-Irriwater model to evaluate and validate the accuracy of predictions of wetting fronts and soil moisture dynamics in both orientations. Results showed that the modeled values were very close to the actual field values, with a mean absolute error of 0.018, a mean bias error of 0.0005, a mean absolute percentage error of 7.3, a root mean square error of 0.023, a Pearson coefficient of 0.951, a coefficient of correlation of 0.918, and a Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient of 0.887. The wetted width just after irrigation was measured at 14.65, 16.65, and 20.62 cm; 16.20, 20.25, and 23.90 cm; and 20.00, 24.50, and 28.81 cm in 2, 4, and 8 L h−1 , at 30, 60, and 120 min, respectively, while the wetted depth was observed 13.10, 16.20, and 20.44 cm; 15.10, 21.50, and 26.00 cm; 19.40, 25.00, and 31.00 cm, respectively. As the flow rate from the emitter increased, the amount of moisture dissemination grew (both immediately and 24 h after irrigation). The soil moisture contents were observed 0.4300, 0.3808, 0.2298, 0.1604, and 0.1600 cm3 cm−3 just after irrigation in 2 L h−1 while 0.4300, 0.3841, 0.2385, 0.1607, and 0.1600 cm3 cm−3 were in 4 L h−1 and 0.4300, 0.3852, 0.2417, 0.1608, and 0.1600 cm3 cm−3 were in 8 L h−1 at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm soil depth in 30 min of application time. Similar distinct increments were found in 60, and 120 min of irrigation. The findings suggest that this simple model, which only requires soil, irrigation, and simulation parameters, is a valuable and practical tool for irrigation design. It provides information on soil wetting patterns and soil moisture distribution under a single emitter, which is important for effectively planning and designing a drip irrigation system. Investigating soil wetting patterns and moisture redistribution in the soil profile under point source drip irrigation helps promote efficient planning and design of a drip irrigation system.

Abstract The present research work focused on predicting the electrical conductivity (EC) of surface water in the Upper Ganga basin using four machine learning algorithms: multilayer perceptron (MLP), co-adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (CANFIS), random forest (RF), and decision tree (DT). The study also utilized the gamma test for selecting appropriate input and output combinations. The results of the gamma test revealed that total hardness (TH), magnesium (Mg), and chloride (Cl) parameters were suitable input variables for EC prediction. The performance of the models was evaluated using statistical indices such as Percent Bias (PBIAS), correlation coefficient (R), Willmott’s index of agreement (WI), Index of Agreement (PI), root mean square error (RMSE) and Legate-McCabe Index (LMI). Comparing the results of the EC models using these statistical indices, it was observed that the RF model outperformed the other algorithms. During the training period, the RF algorithm has a small positive bias (PBIAS = 0.11) and achieves a high correlation with the observed values (R = 0.956). Additionally, it shows a low RMSE value (360.42), a relatively good coefficient of efficiency (CE = 0.932), PI (0.083), WI (0.908) and LMI (0.083). However, during the testing period, the algorithm’s performance shows a small negative bias (PBIAS = − 0.46) and a good correlation (R = 0.929). The RMSE value decreases significantly (26.57), indicating better accuracy, the coefficient of efficiency remains high (CE = 0.915), PI (0.033), WI (0.965) and LMI (− 0.028). Similarly, the performance of the RF algorithm during the training and testing periods in Prayagraj. During the training period, the RF algorithm shows a PBIAS of 0.50, indicating a small positive bias. It achieves an RMSE of 368.3, R of 0.909, CE of 0.872, PI of 0.015, WI of 0.921, and LMI of 0.083. During the testing period, the RF algorithm demonstrates a slight negative bias with a PBIAS of − 0.06. The RMSE reduces significantly to 24.1, indicating improved accuracy. The algorithm maintains a high correlation (R = 0.903) and a good coefficient of efficiency (CE = 0.878). The index of agreement (PI) increases to 0.035, suggesting a better fit. The WI is 0.960, indicating high accuracy compared to the mean value, while the LMI decreases slightly to − 0.038. Based on the comparative results of the machine learning algorithms, it was concluded that RF performed better than DT, CANFIS, and MLP. The study recommended using the current month’s total hardness (TH), magnesium (Mg), and chloride (Cl) parameters as input variables for multi-ahead forecasting of electrical conductivity (ECt+1, ECt+2, and ECt+3) in future studies in the Upper Ganga basin. The findings also indicated that RF and DT models had superior performance compared to MLP and CANFIS models. These models can be applied for multi-ahead forecasting of monthly electrical conductivity at both Varanasi and Prayagraj stations in the Upper Ganga basin.

The present study compares the six crop residue management techniques in main plots (since 2008) and three split nitrogen (N) levels, i.e., 75, 100 and 125 kg N/ha in subplots for rice crops for two years, i.e., 2019 and 2020, in sandy loam soil under field conditions. This experiment evaluated the long-term effect on rice productivity, soil organic carbon content and nutrient requirement in rice-wheat cropping system. The results revealed that different crop residue management practices and N levels significantly influenced rice growth, yield and yield attributes and improved nutrient uptake by grain and straw. Maximum grain yields of 20.8% and 17.8% higher over the conventional (no straw) treatment during 2019 and 2020, respectively, were recorded where the rice and wheat residue was retained or incorporated. The rice grain yield without residue responded significantly up to 125 kg N/ha. Whereas, with rice and wheat residue, rice grain yield did not respond to the application of N beyond 75 kg N/ha during both years.

Abstract Nowadays, Combine Harvesters are the most commonly used device for harvesting crops; as a result, a large amount of plant material and crop residue is concentrated into a narrow band of plant material that exits the combine, challenging the residue management task. This paper aims to develop a crop residue management machine that can chop paddy residues and mix them with the soil of the combined harvested paddy field. For this purpose, two important units are attached to the developed machine: the chopping and incorporation units. The tractor operates this machine as the main source, with a power range of about 55.95 kW. The four independent parameters selected for the study were rotary speed (R1 = 900 & R2 = 1100 rpm), forward speed (F1 = 2.1 & F2 = 3.0 Kmph), horizontal adjustment (H1 = 550 & H2 = 650 mm), and vertical adjustment (V1 = 100 & V2 = 200 mm) between the straw chopper shaft and rotavator shaft and its effect was found on incorporation efficiency, shredding efficiency, and trash size reduction of chopped paddy residues. The incorporation of residue and shredding efficiency was highest at V1H2F1R2 (95.31%) and V1H2F1R2 (61.92%) arrangements. The trash reduction of chopped paddy residue was recorded maximum at V1H2F2R2 (40.58%). Therefore, this study concludes that the developed residue management machine with some modifications in power transmission can be suggested to the farmers to overcome the paddy residue issue in combined harvested paddy fields.

The purpose of the current article is to numerically and theoretically examine the flow of two-dimensional (2D) steady Hiemenz with the transfer of heat of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hybrid base C2H6O2+H2O (Ethylene glycol + water) nanofluid across a linear shrinking/stretching surface. The equations of Navier–Stokes have been converted into equations of self-similar applying suitable transformations of similarity variables, and then numerically resolved using the three-stage Labatto-three-A formula. In addition, an endeavor is made to extend the behavior of asymptotic of the solution to massive stretching. The comparison between the found asymptotic solutions and previously reported numerical results is rather impressive. Observations indicate that equations of self-similar display double solutions within the restricted shrinking parameter range. There exists one solution for every case of stretching. In the first solution, the impacts of nanoparticle solid volume fraction and shrinking parameters on velocity and thermal fields exhibit an increasing trend. Consequently, the linear analysis of temporal stability has been performed to establish the most fundamentally viable option. The smallest eigenvalue sign determines whether a solution is unstable or stable for the purposes of stability analysis. The analysis of stability demonstrates that the first solution describing the primary flow is stable.

Sporadic burning of rice straw and the particulate air pollution caused consequently have created a pressing need for identification of practical environmentally sound in situ rice residue management methods. However, the agronomic interventions associated with the agri-inputs particularly the type of nitrogen fertilizer source must be worked out for these interventions. In a two-year field study performed at two different locations representing sandy loam and clay loam soil types, zero tillage with application of nitrophosphate (applied as basal dose through drilling) in combination with urea (applied at 1st irrigation + 3 foliar sprays of urea at weekly interval) significantly enhanced the grain and straw yield of wheat. The soil microbial viable cell counts and dehydrogenase and urease enzyme activities were also recorded to be highest in this treatment indicating the occurrence of higher living microbial population. The treatment × response variable Principle component analysis (PCA) biplot depicted relative variation among the residue management treatments/Nitrogen fertilizer sub-treatments and the enzyme activities as response variables. A variation in the soil organic content components was recognized through Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IRS) studies. Irrespective of the soil types under study, the FT-IR spectra exhibited presence of the aromatic carbon functional groups in residue incorporated treatments as compared to the no residue incorporation treatment.

This study addresses the crucial role of temperature forecasting, particularly in agricultural contexts, where daily maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperatures significantly impact crop growth and irrigation planning. While machine learning (ML) models offer a promising avenue for temperature forecasts, the challenge lies in efficiently training multiple models and optimizing their parameters. This research addresses a research gap by proposing advanced ML algorithms for multi-step-ahead Tmax and Tmin forecasting across various weather stations in Bangladesh. The study employs Bayesian optimization and the asynchronous successive halving algorithm (ASHA) to automatically select top-performing ML models by tuning hyperparameters. While both the Bayesian and ASHA optimizations yield satisfactory results, ASHA requires less computational time for convergence. Notably, different top-performing models emerge for Tmax and Tmin across various forecast horizons. The evaluation metrics on the test dataset confirm higher accuracy, efficiency coefficients, and agreement indices, along with lower error values for both Tmax and Tmin forecasts at different weather stations. Notably, the forecasting accuracy decreases with longer horizons, emphasizing the superiority of one-step-ahead predictions. The automated model selection approach using Bayesian and ASHA optimization algorithms proves promising for enhancing the precision of multi-step-ahead temperature forecasting, with potential applications in diverse geographical locations.

The Christiansen Uniformity Coefficient (CUC) describes the distribution of water in a sprinkler system. In this study, two types of models were developed to predict the Christiansen Uniformity Coefficient (CUC) of sprinkler irrigation systems: Artificial Neural Network (ANN), specifically the feed-forward neural networks, and multiple linear regression (MLR) models. The models were trained on a dataset of published research on the CUC of sprinkler irrigation systems, which included data on a variety of design, operating, and meteorological condition variables. In order to build the predictive model of CUC, 10 input parameters were used including sprinkler height (H), working pressure (P), nozzle diameter (D and da), sprinkler line spacing (SL), sprinkler spacing (SS), wind speed (WS), wind direction (WD), temperature (T), and relative humidity (RH). Fifty percent (50%) of the data was used to train ANN models and the remaining data for cross-validation (25%) and for testing (25%). Multiple linear regression models were built using the training data. Four statistical criteria were used to evaluate the model’s predictive quality: the correlation coefficient (R), the index of agreement (d), the root mean square error (RMSE), and the mean absolute error (MAE). Statistical analysis demonstrated that the best predictive ability was obtained when the models (ANN and MLR) utilized all the input variables. The results demonstrated that the accuracy of ANN models, predicting the CUC of sprinkler irrigation systems, is higher than that of the MLR ones. During the training stage, the ANN models were more accurate in predicting CUC than MLR, with higher R (0.999) and d (0.999) values and lower MAE (0.167) and RMSE (0.456) values. The R values of the MLR model fluctuated between 0.226 and 0.960, the d values oscillated from 0.174 to 0.979, the MAE values were in the range of 2.458% and 10.792%, and the RMSE values fluctuated from 2.923% to 13.393%. Furthermore, the study revealed that WS and WD are the most influential climatic parameters. The ANN model can be used to develop more accurate tools for predicting the CUC of sprinkler irrigation systems. This can help farmers to design and operate their irrigation systems more efficiently, which can save them time and money.

A comprehensive study spanning three kharif and rabi seasons (2018–2019, 2020–2021, and 2021–2022) was conducted to investigate the intricate interactions among different cropping sequences and their impacts on cumin yield, financial outcomes, and soil microbial dynamics. The experiment was designed using a randomized block design, comprising eight distinct treatment combinations, each replicated three times. The results revealed compelling insights into the potential of specific cropping sequences to enhance multiple aspects of agricultural sustainability. The results revealed that the highest cumin yield (averaging 592 kg ha−1 over the three years) was achieved when cumin was cultivated subsequent to pearl millet, showcasing significant increases of 14.28% and 23.07% over the cumin–fallow and cumin–cotton cropping systems, respectively. When it came to cumin equivalent yield, the cumin–cotton cropping sequence (985 kg ha−1) emerged as the most favorable, closely followed by cumin–groundnut (968 kg ha−1). Furthermore, analyzing net realizations and benefit–cost ratios demonstrated that the cumin–pearl millet cropping sequence stood out with the maximum values (₹88,235 ha−1 and 2.7, respectively), followed by the cumin–mung bean cropping system (₹84,164 ha−1 and 2.47, respectively). Among the various cropping sequences studied, cumin–mung bean, cumin–cluster bean, cumin–pearl millet and cumin–groundnut were recorded as statistically similar in terms of soil microbial enzymatic activities viz. fluorescein diacetate (FDA), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), dehydrogenase activity (DHA), and microbial biomass carbon and were at par over the cumin–sorghum, cumin–sesame, cumin–cotton and cumin–fallow cropping systems. These findings emphasize the significance of strategic crop sequencing for sustainable agriculture practices that simultaneously optimize productivity and maintain soil health.

Based on the ab-initio calculations, we have investigated the electronic, optical, and thermal properties of pristine SnSe and doped with oxygen (O) and sulphur (S) at the Se-site at concentration of 3.125%. The calculated negative formation energy indicates the stability of the pristine SnSe and doped system. We find that pristine SnSe possesses a direct bandgap value of 0.90 eV having good comparable to experimental value. The doping of O and S tunes the bandgap of SnSe, which can be promising for photovoltaic devices. Further, for the technological applications of O-/S-doped SnSe, we have analyzed optical properties in terms of absorption of photon energy and polarization. Strong absorption peaks confirms the direct transition of electrons from valence band to conduction band. Moreover, the thermal properties are calculated in terms of electrical/thermal conductivities, Seebeck coefficient, and figure of merit (ZT). At room temperature the ZT values are calculated round about 0.41 for O- and S-doped SnSe, respectively. We expect that our calculated thermoelectric parameters of the O- and S-doped SnSe could pave a new route for the application in the thermoelectric devices.

The tomato, one of the world’s most extensively cultivated and consumed vegetable crops is negatively impacted by various pathogens. This study aimed to observe the differentially expressed proteins in tomato samples in plant–pathogen-biocontrol interactions. The fungal pathogen associated with wilted plants were isolated and identified based on its morphological and molecular characteristics. Fourteen strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens from agricultural soils were identified and described using biochemical assays, molecular analyses, and screening for antagonistic ability against the Fusarium wilt pathogen. Results demonstrated that the potential of P. fluorescens (TPf12) positively influenced the expression of antagonism against tomato wilt disease. A total of 14 proteins expressed differently were revealed in the 2D-PAGE-MS investigation. Proteins such as nucleoside diphosphate kinase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, protein kinase family protein, Ser/Thr protein kinase-like are unchanged in FOL pathogen interaction, but up-regulated in FOL + TPf12 treated roots, and lipid transfer-like protein, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase were down-regulated in FOL infested roots and upregulated in FOL + TPf12 treated tomato roots. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase protein expression is commonly found in TPf12 bioenriched roots, and FOL + TPf12 treated roots, indicating its role in response to the application of TPf12 in tomato. A GC–MS analysis was performed to detect the bioactive metabolites synthesized by TPf12. Molecular docking investigations were conducted using the maestro’s GLIDE docking module of the Schrodinger Software program. Among the secondary metabolites, Cyclohexanepropanoic acid, 2-oxo-, methyl ester (CAS), and 3-o-(4-o-Beta-D-Galactopyranosyl-Beta-D-Galactopyraosyl)-2-Acetylamino-2-Deoxy-D-Galactose were shown to be top-ranked with a least docking score against each differently expressed proteins. The profiled molecules expressed differently due to plant-pathogen-biocontrol interactions may be directly or incidentally involved in the wilt disease resistance of tomato plants.

Imbalanced use (form, quantity, and ratio) of nitrogen fertilization can result in decreased grain yields and increased nitrogen loss, leading to adverse effects on overall environmental quality. Globally, limited empirical research has been conducted on the comprehensive effects of different levels of N that can significantly influence wheat agronomic and genotypic traits. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate wheat genotypes for two consecutive years (2020–2021 and 2021–2022) under different N fertilization treatments: N0 (native N, without external application of N), N75 (½ of the recommended dose of N), and N150 (recommended dose of N). The study findings revealed that ‘HD 3249’ and ‘HD 3117’ were the top-performing genotypes in terms of grain yield (5.3 t ha−1; 5.0 t ha−1), straw yield (6.9 t ha−1; 6.7 t ha−1), biological yield (12.2 t ha−1; 11.8 t ha−1), and harvest index (42.9%; 42.4%). In particular, the application of N75 and N150 increased grain yields by 142.6% and 61.3%, respectively; straw yields by 72.3%; and by 110.6% over N0. Furthermore, N levels (N75 and 150) significantly increased the higher concentration of N in grain (23.1% and 33%) and straw (21.1% and 29.8%); N uptake in grain (70.2 and 104.2) and straw (64.8 and 41.5); and total N uptake (68.8% and 101.4%) than N0, respectively. Additionally, correlation analysis revealed that there were positive correlations between yields, harvest index as well as N concentration and uptake. This study identified the two elite genotypes, ‘HD 3249’ and ‘HD 3117’, with N150 splits giving a better response, which can be used as selection criteria for developing wheat varieties that are more efficient in using nitrogen, leading to high yields and N uptake.

Burning of agricultural residues, cultivation of single crop varieties such as rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and traditional soil tillage practices collectively contribute to the degradation of environmental quality, water systems, and soil resources. To address these issues, conservation agriculture (CA)-based crop management practice has emerged as one of the viable options. The current study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the effect of CA and weed management (WM) practices on carbon dynamics and biochemical properties of soil. The experiment included two factors, viz., CA and WM practices. The CA levels vary from conventional agriculture to partial CA (pCA1, pCA2, and pCA3) and full CA, while WM had three levels consisting of chemical control, integrated weed management, and weedy check. The results demonstrated that soil organic carbon (SOC) under the full CA treatment, was 30.6, 23.5, and 20.6 percent higher than conventional agriculture (T1), partial CA1, and partial CA2 practices, respectively. Similarly, labile fractions of carbon, KMnO4-C MBC, WSOC, and POC, in full CA increased by 46.3, 52.3, 152.4, and 15.6 percent, respectively, over conventional agriculture. Nonetheless, the total organic carbon exhibited no significant impact. The highest SOC stock was sequestered under full CA treatment, which was higher by 26.5 to 40.6 per cent than the rest of the CA treatments. Among biological properties, full CA resulted in 104.3 and 40.6 percent higher dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase activity than conventional agriculture. The impact of weed management practices was significant for KMnO4-C, with very labile carbon and alkaline phosphatase activity only in the surface soil layer. Soil quality index (SQI) followed the decreasing order as full CA (0.94) > partial CA3 (0.88) > partial CA2 (0.78) partial CA1 (0.77) > conventional agriculture (0.67) under different CA treatments, whereas WM followed herbicide (0.82) > weedy check (0.81) > IWM (0.80). The current study offered incredible information on soil carbon and biological indicators to monitor soil quality changes in rice–wheat cropping systems in response to conservation agriculture practices.

Optimizing nitrogen (N) inputs is crucial for maximizing wheat yield and ensuring environmental sustainability. Wheat’s economic significance in India calls for a comprehensive evaluation of its ecological implications to develop a resilient production system. This study aimed to identify and evaluate ten wheat cultivars for their yield and N-use efficiency under varying nitrogen inputs (control (N0), half of the recommended nitrogen (N75), and the recommended nitrogen (N150)) using the surface application of neem-oil-coated urea. All N inputs were applied in three splits, basal, crown root initiation, and tillering stages, and an experiment was conducted in a split-plot design. The application of N150 gave the highest dry matter accumulation (DMA) at harvesting stage (AHS) (871 g m−2), seed/spike (60), grain yield (GY = 7.4 t ha−1), straw yield (SY = 8.9 t ha−1), harvest index (HI = 45.2%), protein (12.5%), and total uptake of N (TUN) (223 kg ha−1) by the cultivar ‘HD 3249’, being closely followed by the cultivar ‘HD3117’. Six cultivars (‘HD 3298’, ‘HD 3117’, ‘HD 3249’, ‘PBW 550’, ‘HD 3086’, ‘HD 2967’) out of the ten cultivars evaluated responded well to different input treatments with respect to the grain yield efficiency index (GYEI ≥ 1). Regarding N input, N75 and N150 recorded the highest increases in plant height, AHS (16.5%; 21.2%), dry matter accumulation (DMA) at 30 days after sowing (DAS) (37.5%; 64%), DMA-60 DAS (42%; 53%), DMA-90 DAS (39.5%; 52.5%), TILL-30 DAS (19.8%; 26.4%), TILL-60 DAS (33.3%; 44%), TILL-90 DAS (37.2%; 47.2%), seed/spike (8%; 10%), 1000-grain weight (7.8%; 12.2%), and protein content (23.3%; and 33%) when compared with N0. Furthermore, the application of N75 and N150 improved GY (72.1%; 142.6%), SY (61.1%; 110.6%), BY (65.5%; 123%), and HI by 4.4% and 9%, respectively, over N0. Nitrogen addition (N75 and N150) also significantly increased total nitrogen uptake (104.7%; 205.6%), respectively, compared to N0. The correlation analysis revealed a positive association among most of the crop parameters. Overall, our research results suggest that the cultivars ‘HD 3249’ and ‘HD 3117’ have the potential to be effective options for improving N utilization efficiency, grain yield, and GYEI in North-West India.

Wheat crop has to compete with several weeds including Avena fatua, a noxious weed that alone is responsible for 30–70% losses in the yield annually. Because of the environmental concerns associated with conventional methods, researchers are on a continuous hunt to find clean alternatives in order to manage weeds. Fungi have shown promising weedicide potential in lab studies. The current study aimed to isolate endophytic fungi from wheat plants which can promote wheat growth and inhibit the growth of common weed, A. fatua. Of several isolates, GW (grayish white) was selected for its promising features, and the strain was identified as Fusarium oxisporum through ITS sequencing technique. This fungus released a number of compounds including Isovitexin, Calycosin, quercetagetin, and dihydroxy-dimethoxyisoflavone that inhibited the growth of A. fatua but did not influence the growth of wheat seedlings. Biomass of this fungus in the soil also reduced growth parameters of the weed and promoted the growth of wheat. For instance, the vigor index of A. fatua seedlings was reduced to only 6% of the control by this endophyte. In contrast, endophyte-associated wheat seedlings showed a higher vigor index than the control. Behind this differential response of the two plants were their contrasting physiological and biochemical status. Lower growth phenotypes of A. fatua seedlings had reduced levels of IAA, GAs, and SA and higher the levels of JA and ABA. Besides, their ROS scavenging ability was also compromised as evident from relatively lower activities of catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbic acid oxidase, as well as higher accumulation of ROS in their leaves. Wheat seedlings response to GW was opposite to the A. fatua. It may be concluded that F. oxysporum GW has the ability to differentially modulate physiology and biochemistry of the two hosts leading to contrasting phenotypic responses.

This work describes an ab initio principle computational examination of the optical, structural, elastic, electronic and mechanical characteristics of aluminum-based compounds AlRF3 (R = N, P) halide-perovskites. For optimization purposes, we used the Birch–Murnaghan equation of state and discovered that the compounds AlNF3 and AlPF3 are both structurally stable. The IRelast software was used to compute elastic constants (ECs) of the elastic properties. The aforementioned compounds are stable mechanically. They exhibit strong resistance to plastic strain, possess ductile nature and anisotropic behavior and are scratch-resistant. The modified Becke–Johnson (Tb-mBJ) approximation was adopted to compute various physical properties, revealing that AlNF3 and AlPF3 are both metals in nature. From the density of states, the support of various electronic states in the band structures are explained. Other various optical characteristics have been calculated from the investigations of the band gap energy of the aforementioned compounds. These compounds absorb a significant amount of energy at high levels. At low energy levels, the compound AlNF3 is transparent to incoming photons, whereas the compound AlPF3 is somewhat opaque. The examination of the visual details led us to the deduction that the compounds AlNF3 and AlPF3 may be used in making ultraviolet devices based on high frequency. This computational effort is being made for the first time in order to investigate the aforementioned properties of these chemicals, which have yet to be confirmed experimentally.

Numerous investigations on plant ethnomedicinal applications have been conducted; however, knowledge about the medicinal use of wild animals is still limited. This present study is the second on the medicinal and cultural meaning of avian and mammalian species used by the population in the surrounding area of the Ayubia National Park, KPK, Pakistan. Interviews and meetings were compiled from the participants (N = 182) of the study area. The relative frequency of citation, fidelity level, relative popularity level, and rank order priority indices were applied to analyze the information. Overall, 137 species of wild avian and mammalian species were documented. Of these, 18 avian and 14 mammalian species were utilized to treat different diseases. The present research showed noteworthy ethno-ornithological and ethno-mammalogical knowledge of local people and their connection with fauna, which might be useful in the sustainable utilization of the biological diversity of the Ayubia National Park, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Furthermore, in vivo and/or in vitro examination of the pharmacological activities of species with the highest fidelity level (FL%) as well as frequency of mention (FM) might be important for investigations on faunal-based new drugs.

The distribution of large ungulates is more often negatively impacted by the changing climate, especially global warming and species with limited distributional zones. While developing conservation action plans for the threatened species such as the Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral Hardwicke 1825; a mountain goat that mostly inhabits rocky cliffs), it is imperative to comprehend how future distributions might vary based on predicted climate change. In this work, MaxEnt modeling was employed to assess the habitat suitability of the target species under varying climate scenarios. Such studies have provided highly useful information but to date no such research work has been conducted that considers this endemic animal species of the Himalayas. A total of 81 species presence points, 19 bioclimatic and 3 topographic variables were employed in the species distribution modeling (SDM), and MaxEnt calibration and optimization were performed to select the best candidate model. For predicted climate scenarios, the future data is drawn from SSPs 245 and SSPs 585 of the 2050s and 2070s. Out of total 20 variables, annual precipitation, elevation, precipitation of driest month, slope aspect, minimum temperature of coldest month, slope, precipitation of warmest quarter, and temperature annual range (in order) were detected as the most influential drivers. A high accuracy value (AUC-ROC > 0.9) was observed for all the predicted scenarios. The habitat suitability of the targeted species might expand (about 3.7 to 13%) under all the future climate change scenarios. The same is evident according to local residents as species which are locally considered extinct in most of the area, might be shifting northwards along the elevation gradient away from human settlements. This study recommends additional research is conducted to prevent potential population collapses, and to identify other possible causes of local extinction events. Our findings will aid in formulating conservation plans for the Himalayan goral in a changing climate and serve as a basis for future monitoring of the species.

In the present study, pure, Co, Gd, and Co/Gd di-doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized via the co-precipitation synthesis route. The prepared samples were characterized through different techniques such as the X-ray diffraction method (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL)spectroscopy, and an impedance analyzer and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD pattern shows ZnO’s wurtzite hexagonal crystal structure; moreover, the shifting of characteristic peaks toward the lower angle indicates the inclusion of Co and Co/Gd in the ZnO host lattice. SEM micrographs show various morphologies such as rods, the agglomeration of particles, and spherical nanoparticles. The UV-Vis spectroscopy reveals that the absorption increased in the visible region and there was a substantial redshift for the doped samples. The bandgap decreased from 3.34 to 3.18 eV for the doped samples. The PL spectra show near-edge and inter-band transitions; the origin of inter-band transitions is attributed to the defect states present within the bands. The dielectric constant is strongly frequency dependent and decreases with Co and Co/Gd doping, while the electrical conductivity increases. A VSM study indicates that pure ZnO is diamagnetic, while the Co and Co/Gd doped ZnO nanoparticles showed ferromagnetic behavior. Under UV-visible light irradiation, the Co/Gd-ZnO nanoparticles showed higher photocatalytic activity than the ZnO nanoparticles. The enhanced photocatalytic activity may be attributed to a decreased bandgap with doping.

Modern nanotechnology encompasses every field of life. Nowadays, phytochemically fabricated nanoparticles are being widely studied for their bioactivities and biosafety. The present research studied the synthesis, characterization, stability, biocompatibility, and in vitro bioactivities of calcium oxide nanoparticles (CaONPs). The CaONPs were synthesized using Citrullus colocynthis ethanolic fruit extracts. Greenly synthesized nanoparticles had an average size of 35.93 ± 2.54 nm and showed an absorbance peak at 325 nm. An absorbance peak in this range depicts the coating of phenolic acids, flavones, flavonols, and flavonoids on the surface of CaONPs. The XRD pattern showed sharp peaks that illustrated the preferred cubic crystalline nature of triturate. A great hindrance to the use of nanoparticles in the field of medicine is their extremely reactive nature. The FTIR analysis of the CaONPs showed a coating of phytochemicals on their surface, due to which they showed great stability. The vibrations present at 3639 cm−1 for alcohols or phenols, 2860 cm−1 for alkanes, 2487 cm−1 for alkynes, 1625 cm−1 for amines, and 1434 cm−1 for carboxylic acids and aldehydes show adsorption of phytochemicals on the surface of CaONPs. The CaONPs were highly stable over time; however, their stability was slightly disturbed by varying salinity and pH. The dialysis membrane in vitro release analysis revealed consistent nanoparticle release over a 10-h period. The bioactivities of CaONPs, C. colocynthis fruit extracts, and their synergistic solution were assessed. Synergistic solutions of both CaONPs and C. colocynthis fruit extracts showed great bioactivity and biosafety. The synergistic solution reduced cell viability by only 14.68% and caused only 16% hemolysis. The synergistic solution inhibited Micrococcus luteus slightly more effectively than streptomycin, with an activity index of 1.02. It also caused an 83.87% reduction in free radicals.

This study concerned the assessment of changes in the coastline of Kavvayi beach and its nine islands in a tropical coastal wetland using remote sensing (RS) data and geographic information systems (GIS), as this sedimentary environment is still poorly characterized. The satellite data used were from LANDSAT images (30 m spatial resolution) (MSS—volume 5, TM, ETM, and ETM+ volume 6) for the period of the last 25 years (1990 to 2014). Band 5 in Landsat (MSS) and band 6 (ETM 24- OLI) were used because they clearly distinguish the boundaries between land and water. The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) was used to understand shoreline changes such as erosion and accretion processes by calculating the net shift in shoreline (NSM), end point rate (EPR), and linear regression rate (LRR) for the period of 25 years. The results showed significant changes over the studied period, leading to erosion and accretion. Coastal processes had an impact in the period from 2005 to 2014, leading to the development of a new island in the northern part of the wetland due to the construction of a new breakwater. In addition, the causes of the shoreline changes on the islands, including anomalies and the formation of new structures in the wetland, were investigated and discussed. These analyses confirmed that the islands studied were subjected to marine transgression and vice versa. Among this, Kavvayi was subject to marine transgression over the period, and Achanthurti Island showed erosion to a lesser extent. This can be considered as a feature of wetlands in combating sea level rise at local levels and possible reasons for the changes along with the coastal zone management plans were also discussed.

Globally, soil erosion is a significant problem contributing to nutrient loss, water quality degradation, and sand accumulation in water bodies. Currently, various climate factors are affecting the natural resources entire worldwide. Agricultural intensification, soil degradation, and some other human impacts all contribute to soil erosion, which is a significant issue. Management and conservation efforts in a watershed can benefit from a soil erosion study. Modeling can establish a scientific and accurate method to calculate sediment output and soil erosion below a variety of circumstances. The measured soil loss tolerance was compared to the risk of soil erosion (T value).In this study, GIS and remote sensing techniques have been integrated with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model to estimate soil loss in the Mayurakshi river basin of eastern India. To determine soil erosion-prone areas, rainfall, land use, and land cover maps, as well as a digital elevation model (DEM), were used as input. The annual soil loss in the basin area is estimated to be 4,629,714.8 tons. Accordingly, the study basin was categorized into five soil loss severity classes: very low (40.92%), low (49%), moderate (6.5%), high (2.4%) and very high (1.18%) risk classes. Soil erosion rates ranged from very slight to slight throughout the majority of the region. The section of the basin’s lower plain has been discovered to be least affected by soil loss. The results of study area can be helpful to conservation of soil management practices and watershed development program in the basin area.

Potatoes are a high-value crop with a shallow root system and high fertilizer requirements. The primary emphasis in potato production is minimizing nitrogen-leaching losses from the shallow root zone through fertigation. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years, 2018–2019 2019–2020 to assess the effect of nitrogen and irrigation amount and frequency on tuber yield, water balance components and water productivity of potatoes under surface and subsurface drip irrigation. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three nitrogen levels (187.5 kg N ha−1 (N1), 150 kg N ha−1 (N2) and 112.5 kg N ha−1 (N3)) in main plots and six irrigation levels in the subsurface (drip lines were laid at 20 cm depth) and one surface drip in subplots. Irrigation scheduling was based on 100% of cumulative pan evaporation at an alternate (I1) and two-day interval (I2), 80% of cumulative pan evaporation at an alternate (I3) and two-day interval (I4), 60% of cumulative pan evaporation at an alternate (I5) and two-day interval (I6) and 80% of cumulative pan evaporation at alternate days with surface drip (I7). Our results showed that potato transpiration was higher in N1 and N2 compared to N3, while soil evaporation was higher in N3 over N1 and N2. Irrigation regimes I5 and I6 had lower transpiration than I1, I2, I3 and I7, while I7 had more soil evaporation than I1, I2 and I3. Leaf area index (LAI), dry matter accumulation (DMA), root mass density (RMD) and tuber yield in N1 and N2 were at par but significantly higher than N3. The LAI and DMA were statistically at par in I1, I2 and I3 but significantly higher than recommended irrigation (I7). Tuber yield was statistically at par in I1, I2, I3 and I7 but I3 and I7 saved 20% irrigation water compared to I1 and I2. On the other hand, real water productivity (WPET) under N1 and N2 were comparable in I3 and I4 but significantly higher than recommended practice (I7) as pooled evapotranspiration (ET) and soil evaporation (E) in I7 were 19.5 and 20.6 mm higher, respectively, than in I3. Among interactive treatment combinations, N1I1, N1I2, N1I3, N1I7, N2I1, N2I2 and N2I3 recorded the highest tuber yields without any significant differences among them. Treatment N2I3 saved 20% nitrogen and irrigation water compared to all other combinations. Water productivity in N1 and N2 was comparable in I3 and I4 but significantly higher than recommended practice (I7).

Arid and semi-arid ecosystems are categorized as having degraded soils due to the limited availability of water and nutrients. The perennial shrubs in these regions have developed different ecological and physiological adaptations to cope with harsh conditions. The plant species vary in the chemical profile of their root exudates, which can induce variability in the microbial community in the rhizosphere. The present research has been conducted (i) to investigate the variation in composition, diversity, and structure of rhizosphere’s bacterial community of desert plants; (ii) to identify plant-specific effects on the rhizosphere microbial community structure; and (iii) to determine the influence of soil moisture on the rhizosphere’s microbial community and soil biological properties under stressful conditions. Ten desert plant species from the Cholistan desert were selected as test specimens. Bacterial communities from the rhizosphere of 10 plants of each species were explored. Soil samples were collected during monsoon (June–August) and dry months (March–May). Microbial community structure analyses were carried out through 16S rRNA sequencing by targeting V3 and V4 regions. Among tested plant species, the rhizosphere of Leptadenia pyrotechnica (S6 vs. S16), Aerva javanica (Burm. f.) Juss. ex Schult (S9 vs. S19), and Vachellia jacquemontii (Benth.) (S10 vs. S20) had greater microbial diversity in both seasons. Higher levels of microbial communities were found during monsoon season. Furthermore, Gammaproteobacteria were abundant in the rhizospheres of all studied plants during the monsoon season. In contrast, the rhizosphere was abundant with unidentified_Actinobacteria during the dry season. The rhizospheric soil was further analyzed for biological properties. The maximum microbial biomass carbon (165 mg kg–1) and microbial biomass nitrogen (6.7 mg kg–1) were found in the rhizosphere of Vachellia jacquemontii (Benth.) Benth during monsoon season. However, a minimum of microbial biomass carbon (119 mg kg–1) and microbial biomass nitrogen (4.2 mg kg–1) were found in the rhizosphere of Cleome pallida Kotschy during dry seasons. The diversified microbial community structure and biological properties enable desert plants to cope with adverse climate conditions.

Crop yields, soil fertility, and soil quality decline due to the overuse of chemical fertilizers and other agrochemicals. The damaging effects of these agrochemicals on the environment can be minimized by integration with eco-friendly approaches, i.e., biofertilizers. These eco-friendly biofertilizers containing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, (PGPR) not only solubilize mineral nutrients for crop uptake but also release phytohormones for their growth improvements. The objective of this research is to use these PGPR’s capacity to promote growth in order to increase okra production. For this purpose, different organic carriers were used, i.e., Press mud, Charcoal, Biochar, Peat, and Compost for PGPR’s inoculation. Before being used as a consortium with various carrier materials, the pre-isolated and characterized PGPR strains (AN-35, ZM-27, and ZM-63) were tested for compatibility against one another. The PGPR consortium and carriers were applied in the following treatments, i.e., T0: (control), T1: PGPR, T2: Peat + PGPR, T3: Pressmud+ PGPR, T4: Compost + PGPR, T5: Charcoal + PGPR, and T6: Biochar + PGPR in the present pot and field studies. Under the pot experiment, the results depicted that all treatments showed a significant increase in okra growth, nutrient contents, and yield of okra along with increasing the microbial biomass in the soil but the treatment containing PGPR consortium with peat caused the maximum increase. Similarly, the results of the field experiment also showed a significant increase under all treatments but the maximum increase in nutrient contents, growth attributes, and yield of okra was found under the treatment containing PGPR consortium with peat (T2). Therefore, this study recommends the use of peat and studied the PGPR consortium as a suitable carrier to develop carrier-based biofertilizers for sustainable okra production.

Little is known about how Indian farming practices affect German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.). This study examines the effects of the sowing date and spacing of plants on flower productivity, essential oil concentration, and the composition of German chamomile grown in the arid zone of Rajasthan, India. In a factorial randomized block design (FRBD), the treatments consisted of four sowing dates (15 and 25 October, 5 and 15 November) and three spacings of plants (20 × 10 cm, 30 × 10 cm, and 40 × 10 cm). The dried flower yield (Kg ha−1), fresh flower yield (Kg ha−1), and number of flowers per plant of chamomile crop were significantly affected by the varying spacing of plants and the date of sowing. The highest values for dry weight, fresh weight, and number of flowers were obtained from the second date of sowing (25 October) with 40 × 10 cm geometry. Likewise, the highest values for total oil (12.44%) and essential oil (0.94%) contents were also obtained from the D2P3 combination (D2—sowing date 25 October, P3—40 × 10 cm spacing of plants). GC/MS analyses of the samples showed that p-menth-1-en-4-ol, acetate, cis-alpha-farnesene, anethole+estragol, 1,4-cyclohexadiene,1-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)- and 3,6-dihydro-4-(4-methyl-3-pentenyl)-1,2-dithiin were the main identified compounds in the essential oil of chamomile fresh flowers. The treatments altered the quality profile of the essential oils in general. The principal components of chamomile essential oil were significantly affected by the D2P3 treatment. The findings of this study add to our understanding of how to grow high-quality chamomile flowers in arid regions.

Climbing plants have an important role in forest communities and ecosystems. Despite the significance of the climbers in ecosystems, most of the previous research work in Pakistan has been concentrated on trees, shrubs, and herbs, with little attention paid to climbing plants. The current study investigated the ecology of climbers and the influence of soil characteristics on diversity, richness, and indicator species distribution in the Changa Manga Forest Plantation, Punjab, Pakistan. Field surveys were carried out between 2020 and 2021, with the data gathered using a random sample approach for ordination and cluster analysis of each plant species and edaphic data from sample plots. We reported a total of 29 climber species belonging to 23 genera and 9 families from the area. The Convolvulaceae family was the most prevalent, followed by Apocynaceae and Cucurbitaceae. Herbaceous climbers were the typical life form (70% species) and species showed peak flowering during the months of August and September. The multivariate analysis and cluster analysis grouped the climbers into four distinct communities based on the indicator species, representing filtering of the species pool in the studied area. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) results showed that soil factors had a significant influence (p ≤ 0.002) on the climbers’ diversity and distribution pattern. Our research contributes to a deeper understanding of climbing plant ecology in response to soil variables, with immediate consequences for policy and practice in this Himalayan region, as well as research insights for neighboring Himalayan regions and elsewhere in the world.

By 2050, the population of the world is anticipated to increase from 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion people, and, and wheat is expected to continue to play a vital role in ensuring food security globally. It is the main diet for 40% of the world’s population and supplies food for more than 4.5 billion people in 94 countries contains 21% of the joules and 20% of the protein. The present investigations were carried out during rabi 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 to determine how optimal nutrient management (INM) practices enhance fertilizer usage efficiency, productivity, soil health, and viability in wheat (Variety DBW 71) through innovative nutritional sources and their modes of application methods. The treatments comprised of, viz., control, basal applications of recommended NPK (80:60:40)/NPK granules (200 kg/ha) + FYM (5 t ha−1) + bio-stimulant granules (62.5 kg/ha), +NPK bio-fertilizer (seed treatment), along with a top dressing of urea (20 kg/ha)/bio-stimulant (625 mL ha−1)/NPK Powder (1%) sprays (40/55/70 DAS), which had triplicated randomized block design (RBD) at the crop research farm of SVPUA&T, Meerut (U.P.). The results revealed that wheat grown with incorporation of FYM and bio-stimulant –L attained significantly better growth and higher dry matter accumulation across the stages. The crop contained 1.63% N, 0.31% P, 0.69% K in grain, and 0.57% N, 0.11% P and 1.34% K in straw. Such crops exhibited agronomic, physiological, and apparent recovery efficiency of NPK of the order of 3.2 kg kg−1 of nutrient applied, 14.0 kg kg−1 of nutrient uptake, and 0.23% against recommended NPK. Applications of FYM, NPK bio-fertilizer+ urea, and bio-stimulant + NPK sprays worked synergistically and increased grain yields by 29.8, 35.2, 50.3 and 41.1% over their respective controls. The results also indicated that soil organic carbon (0.47%), available NPK (227.0, 27.7, 172.1 kg/ha), dehydrogenase activity, and microbial population (bacteria, fungal and actinomycetes) in soil was also highest with the treatment. Finally, the wheat crop required an investment of Rs ha−1 131,453 and fetched a net reoccurrence of Rs. 96,154, with benefits of Rs. 3.72 over cost, respectively. Therefore, the study reveals that integrated nutrient management, viz., FYM 5 t ha−1 +NPK (12–32–16) -G @ 200 kg/ha + NPK bio-fertilizer (seed treatment) + urea @ 20 kg/ha, foliar application NPK (18−18−18) -P@ 1% and bio-stimulant –L 0.62 L ha−1 improved the better growth, productivity, soil health and profitability of wheat crops. Finally, to boost production, the region must emphasize the wheat crop’s part in integrated nutrition management with foliar application of bio-stimulants. Furthermore, these investigations must be reinvestigated at different sites with different agro-climatic conditions and texturally divergent soils.

Intensive agriculture has led to generation of a vast volume of agri-residue, prompting a reliance on conservation tillage techniques for prudent management. However, to ascertain the long-term impacts of these practices, the interrelation with the carbon fractions and the biological properties of the soil must be identified. Therefore, in a long-term experiment, five different treatments involving the incorporation of paddy straw as mulch or through disc harrow and farmer practice, including the partial burning of rice straw, were evaluated. After the harvesting of the wheat crop, soil samples collected from 3 different depths (0–15, 15–30 and 30–45 cm) were analyzed for various attributes critical to assessing soil health. Crop residue retention in both seasons (T4) improved carbon fractions, soil microflora viable cell counts and enzyme activities. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a positive interaction among the organic carbon, bacterial counts and soil enzyme activities. Thus, a positive impact of conservation tillage techniques involving a minimal disturbance was recorded as improvement in the soil properties, build-up of organic carbon, and wheat productivity in rice–wheat cropping systems.

In the current study, soil samples were gathered from different places where petrol and diesel filling stations were located for isolation of photosynthetic bacteria under anaerobic conditions using the paraffin wax-overlay pour plate method with Biebl and Pfennig’s medium. The three isolated strains were named Rhodopseudomonas palustris SMR 001 (Mallapur), Rhodopseudomonas palustris NR MPPR (Nacahram) and Rhodopseudomonas faecalis N Raju MPPR (Karolbagh). The morphologies of the bacteria were examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The phylogenetic relationship between R. palustris strains was examined by means of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis using NCBI-BLAST search and a phylogenetic tree. The sequenced data for R. palustris were deposited with the National Centre for Biotechnology Research (NCBI). The total amino acids produced by the isolated bacteria were determined by HPLC. A total of 14 amino acids and their derivatives were produced by the R. palustris SMR 001 strain. Among these, carnosine was found in the highest concentration (8553.2 ng/mL), followed by isoleucine (1818.044 ng/mL) and anserine (109.5 ng/mL), while R. palustris NR MPPR was found to produce 12 amino acids. Thirteen amino acids and their derivatives were found to be produced from R. faecalis N Raju MPPR, for which the concentration of carnosine (21601.056 ng/mL) was found to be the highest, followed by isoleucine (2032.6 ng/mL) and anserine (227.4 ng/mL). These microbes can be explored for the scaling up of the process, along with biohydrogen and single cell protein production.

Animal-derived products have an important role in treating many health conditions and have widely been used across cultures. In South Asia, ethnozoological research has been conducted only by a small number of researchers. Therefore, this area of research needs further exploration in order to preserve the eroding ethnozoological knowledge of medicinal animals severely affected by ongoing social change. This study was conducted in the region of Jammu and Kashmir from February 2019 to August 2021. The study was carried out among eight different ethnic groups living in the region. A total of 374 informants were selected and data were collected through semi-structured interviews and verified through group discussions. Data was analyzed using different statistical tools, including R 4.0.0. The cross-cultural data were compared through Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Genomics software and later subjected to further analysis, applying Pearson correlation and ordination techniques (Principal Component Analysis). We recorded a total of 79 animal species being used by the eight studied ethnic groups in the region. Wild animal species were mainly used for therapeutic purposes. Chest infections, sexual problems, and paralysis were frequently treated diseases. Flesh was the most commonly part used. The cross-cultural comparison showed a remarkable heterogeneity in the use of the animals among the different groups, which could be an effect to the historical sociocultural stratifications, as well as different religious affiliation of certain groups preventing them to forage or hunt certain animals. Some groups however showed prominent overlap of uses of some recorded species. For instance, Lerwalerwa and Bubalus bubalis were commonly used by both Gujjar and Pahari, which could be referred to the fact that they have gone through significant socio-cultural contact, and they are exogamous to each other. The Pearson correlation coefficient supported the strength and direction of an association between ethnic groups and regions. The study makes an important contribution to the field of ethnozoology in the Himalayas by providing insights to understand the historical human and nature relationships and supplying a baseline for developing future conservation efforts in the region to protect the wild fauna

Land productivity and quality were negatively impacted by both unbalanced fertilization and water-stressed conditions, which has arisen as an important topic of research. In the semi-arid tropics, sugarcane is the main source of sugar and ethanol; however, no potash (K) dose is recommended for the deficient sites in the region, which are further responsible for lower recovery. As a result, in order to standardize the K dose for deficient sites, present experiments carried out during plant (2019–2020) and ratoon (2020–2021) seasons. The statistical design was a split-plot design with main plot treatments comprised of I1 (irrigated) and I2 (stressed) treatments followed by K1, K2, K3, and K4 plots fertilized with 0, 40, 80, and 120 kg K2O ha−1 in subplots. Germination was reported to be 13.7, 25.0 and 32.3% higher during plant and 6.2, 17.3 and 24.4% higher during ratoon season in K2, K3, and K4 plots, respectively. Tiller’s cane−1 was recorded to be significantly affected by potash levels at 241 days after planting (DAP) and 261 and 326 days after harvesting (DAH). Periodic chlorophyll content of the sugarcane leaves was reported not to be affected by irrigation treatments except at 355 DAP and 324 and 357 DAH, where respected values were reported to be 2.06% in the plant season and 1.55 and 2.54% higher in the ratoon season in I1 plots, respectively. During plant season purity and extraction after the 10th month, respective values were reported to be 1.5% lower and 4.03% higher under I1 plots, while only Brix (%) was reported as significant and 2.42% higher in I1 plots during plant season after the 12th month. The incidence of early shoot borer (Chilo infuscatellus) and stalk borer (Chilo auricilius) was reported to be significantly higher under stressed conditions (30.4 and 21.5% lower in I1 plots) during the plant season, while early shoot borer (Chilo infuscatellus), stalk borer (Chilo auricilius) and top (Scirpophaga excerptalis) incidences were significantly lower in I1 plots to the tune of 19.6, 22 and 9.73% as compared to the I2 plots during the ratoon season. The application of 80 kg K2O ha−1 resulted in significantly higher cane yield and decreased insect-pest occurrence. Even though 120 kg K2O ha−1 promoted different plant and ratoon sugarcane characteristics, they were all statistically equivalent. In I1 plots, benefits increased from K2 to K3 plots by 26.7% during plant and 155% during ratoon seasons but decreased from K3 to K4 plots by 21.0% during plant and 26.1% ratoon seasons. In I2 plots, however, benefits from K2 to K3 plots were reported to be 72.7% during plant and 76.5% during ratoon seasons, which was reduced to 10.5% during plant and 16.7% during ratoon seasons in K4 plots. Results of a two-year study on plant and ratoon canes revealed that 80 kg K2O ha−1 at deficient sites significantly improved the performance of both plant and ratoon canes yields, sugar yields, reduced the insect-pests’ incidence, and finally the benefits of the cane farmers under both irrigation regimes.

Pteridophytes have been used by humans for millennia, but in comparison to flowering plants, the documentation of their traditional uses is still neglected; as a result, they must be highlighted and popularized. The present study was carried out from January 2019 to November 2021 to gather ecological and traditional use information on pteridophytes from local inhabitants of the Kashmir valley via semi-structured personal interviews and group discussions. We recorded 58 pteridophyte species belonging to 13 families. The distributions of the species among the families were unequal, with four families constituting more than half of the total species (Dryopteridaceae 26%, Woodsiaceae 17%, Aspleniaceae 14%, and Pteridaceae (14%). The highest numbers of species (45%) were found growing on the forest floor, followed by those growing in rock crevices (26%). This was supported further by a cluster analysis, which identified two primary clusters based on the species presence in different habitats. Half of the species (56%) were reported from altitudes below 2000m, followed by 19% from 2001–2500m, and 8% (e.g., Deparia allantodioides, Dryopteris xanthomelas, Asplenium viride) from 3001–3500m. Among the documented species (N = 58), only 28 species had a traditional usage (as medicine, vegetables, for oral hygiene, and for veterinary use). The aerial parts were most commonly used (64%) followed by the rachis (18%). The highest use value was observed for Diplazium maximum and the lowest for Asplenium fontanum. The findings of our study contribute baseline data to fill the existing knowledge gaps on ecological and traditional knowledge of pteridophytes in the Himalayas.

This work displays the structural, electronic, elastic, optical, and magnetic properties in spin-polarized configurations for cubic fluoroperovskite ABF3 (A = Tl, B = Nb, V) compounds studied by density functional theory (DFT) by means of the Tran-Blaha-modified Becke-Johnson (TB-mBJ) approach. The ground state characteristics of these compounds, i.e., the lattice parameters a0, bulk modulus (B), and its pressure derivative B′ are investigated. The structural properties depict that the selected compounds retain a cubic crystalline structure and have stable ground state energy. Electronic-band structures and DOS (density of states) in spin-polarized cases are studied which reports the semiconducting nature of both materials. The TDOS (total density of states) and PDOS (partial density of states) studies in both spin configurations show that the maximum contributions of states to the different bands is due to the B-site (p-states) atoms as well as F (p-states) atoms. Elastic properties including anisotropy factor (A), elastic constants, i.e., C11, C12, and C44, Poisson’s ratio (υ), shear modulus and (G), Young’s modulus (E) are computed. In terms of elastic properties, the higher (bulk modulus) “B” and ratio of “B/G” yield that these materials exhibit a ductile character. Magnetic properties indicate that both the compounds are ferromagnetic. In addition, investigations of the optical spectra including the real (ε1ω) and imaginary (ε2ω) component of the dielectric function, refractive index nω, optical reflectivity Rω, optical conductivity σω, absorption coefficient αω, energy loss function Lω, and electron extinction coefficient kω are carried out which shows the transparent nature of TlVF3 and TlNbF3. Based on the reported research work on these selected materials, their applications can be predicted in many modern electronic gadgets.

The present study describes the green biofunctional synthesis of magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles using the aqueous Tarenna asiatica fruit extract. The characterization of Tarenna asiatica fruit extract MgO nanoparticles (TAFEMgO NPs) was achieved by X-ray powder diffraction, UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, TEM, SEM, and energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction. TAFEMgO NPs scavenged the DPPH free radicals with an IC50 value of 55.95 μg/μL, and it was highly significant compared to the standard. To authenticate the observed antioxidant potential of TAFEMgO NPs, oxidative stress was induced in red blood cells (RBC) using sodium nitrite (NaNO2). Interestingly, TAFEMgO NPs ameliorated the RBC damage from oxidative stress by significantly restoring the stress parameters, such as the protein carbonyl content (PCC), lipid peroxidation (LPO), total thiol (TT), super-oxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). Furthermore, oxidative stress was induced in-vivo in Sprague Dawley female rats using diclofenac (DFC). TAFEMgO NPs normalized the stress parameters in-vivo and minimized the oxidative damage in tissues. Most importantly, TAFEMgO NPs restored the function and architecture of the damaged livers, kidneys, and small intestines by regulating biochemical parameters. TAFEMgO NPs exhibited an anticoagulant effect by increasing the clotting time from 193 s in the control to 885 s in the platelet rich plasma. TAFEMgO NPs prolonged the formation of the clot process in the activated partial thromboplastin time and the prothrombin time, suggest the effective involvement in both intrinsic and extrinsic clotting pathways of the blood coagulation cascade. TAFEMgO NPs inhibited adenosine di-phosphate (ADP)-induced platelet aggregation. TAFEMgO NPs did not show hemolytic, hemorrhagic, and edema-inducing properties at the tested concentration of 100 mg/kgbody weight, suggesting its non-toxic property. In conclusion, TAFEMgO NPs mitigates the sodium nitrite (NaNO2)- and diclofenac (DFC)-induced stress due to oxidative damage in both in vitro and in vivo experimental models.

This paper explains our first-principle computational investigation regarding the structural, optical, elastic, and electrical characteristics of gallium-based GaMF3 (M = Be and Ge) perovskite-type (halide-perovskite) compounds. Our current computation is based on density functional theory (DFT) and is achieved with the help of the WIEN2k code. We used the Birch–Murnaghan equation for optimization; in both compounds, we found that both GaBeF3 and GaGeF3 compounds are structurally stable. For the computation of elastic characteristics, the IRelast package for calculating elastic constants (ECs) is utilized. These compounds are mechanically ductile, scratch-resistant, anisotropic, and mechanically stable, showing huge opposition to plastic strain. The modified Becke–Johnson (TB-mBJ) potential approximation method is used to calculate different physical characteristics and shows that GaGeF3 behaves as a metal, whereas the GaBeF3 compound is insulating in nature. The involvement of various electronic states in band structures is calculated using the theory of the density of states. The different optical properties of these compounds can be studied easily using their band gap energy. At high energy ranges, these substances demonstrate strong absorption. At low energies, the GaGeF3 compound is transparent, while the GaBeF3 compound is opaque to incoming photons. Investigation of the optical characteristics has led us to the conclusion that both GaGeF3 and GaBeF3 compounds can be used for high-frequency ultraviolet device applications. This computational work is considered to be the first time that we can study these compounds, which to our knowledge have not previously been experimentally validated.

Al-based fluoroperovskites compounds AlMF3 (M = Cr, B) are investigated computationally and calculated their elastic, structural, optical, and electrical properties in this study utilising TB-MBJ potential (also GGA+U for AlCrF3) approximations, according to the Birch Murnaghan Equation curve and tolerance factor, these material are structurally cubic and stable. The IRelast algorithm is used to forecast elastic properties, and the outputs show that these compound are mechanically stable, anisotropic and ductile. AlBF3 has a metallic nature and overlapping states, while AlCrF3 have a narrow indirect band gap at (X-M) points of symmetry, with band gaps of 0.71 eV for AlCrF3 and zero eV for AlBF3. The partial and total density of states are being used to determine the influences of different basic states to the conduction and valence bands (TDOS & PDOS). Investigation of Optical properties shows that these compounds have low refractive index and high absorption coefficient, conductivity, reflective coefficient at high energy ranges. Owing to the indirect band gap, the applications of these compounds are deemed in conducting industries. Here we are using these compounds for first time and are examined using the computational method, which delivers a complete view into the different properties.

People have traditionally relied on fish to supply their major food and healthcare needs all across the world. However, there has been little focus on the traditional dietary, cultural identity, and integrity of traditional food systems in many rural Himalayan populations. The current study looks into the use of fish in traditional food and foraging practices, as well as its role in local traditional medicine and cultural practices. Semi-structured interviews and group discussions were used to collect data in the years 2020–2021. The data were analyzed using various statistical indices such as the fidelity level (FL), rank order priority (ROP), and relative popularity level (RPL). The data were then classified through a heat map, and ordination techniques were used to refine them even further. The current study identified 20 fish species of five families, with Cyprinidae (70%) as the dominant family. Three unique traditional fish preservation techniques were documented, namely: (1) smoking, (2) sun drying, and (3) pickling. The smoked fish are locally called fari, sun-dried fish are known as hugaad, and pickled fish are gaad anchaar. As a result of rapid modernization, fish has become a symbol of social class in the valley. In total, 17 diseases were identified, with joint pain being treated by the greatest number of species (N = 10). Flesh (43%) was the most commonly used part to treat various diseases. The mode of application of various fishbody parts for treating a variety of diseases was most commonly peroral (65%), followed by topical (35%). Schizopyge niger demonstrated the highest level of fidelity (82%) for joint pain. Schizopygeniger, Schizothorax curvifrons, Catla catla, Schizothorax esocinus, Schizothorax labiatus, and Schizothorax plagiostomus were the most popular (relative popularity level = 1.0). The rank order priority of six species was above 55 (Schizothorax plagiostomus (59.18), Labeo dyocheilus (61.99) Schizothorax labiatus (64.28), Schizothorax esocinus (68.36), Schizothorax curvifrons (73.19), and Schizopyge niger (82)). Two principal groups of six ethno-zoological categories (medicine, food, black magic, poultry, agricultural, and recreational) were identified using cluster analysis. Fish are also important as a source of livelihood and are closely associated with a local ethnic group known as Hanji/Haanz, who have extensive knowledge of ecology of the local fish species. Our research will contribute to filling a knowledge gap in the Kashmir Himalayan region, with policy implications for the protection and preservation of high-quality traditional knowledge for future generations. The findings of this documentation study can be used as an ethnopharmacological foundation for selecting fish in future pharmaceutical research.

The current study was conducted to assess how optimal tillage water and nitrogen management system are adopted to reduce various field inputs, to improve water footprint (WF), nutrient use efficiency (NUE), rice productivity and profitability. The W1 (CS to a depth of 5 cm) achieved significantly higher total water footprint (TWFP) compared to all other irrigation strategies. When N1 (control) and N2 (80 kg N ha−1) was used, the highest TWFP was observed. The rice transplanted on wide raised beds (WBed-TPR) (0.71 kg m−3) yielded the greatest water productivity (WPIRRI), followed by reduced tillage transplanted rice (RT-TPR) and conventional tillage puddled transplanted rice (CT-TPR). The physiological NUE values ranged from 33.3 to 50.6 kg grain/kg N absorption, the values decreasing as the N doses rose. According to the findings, WBed-TPR and RT-TPR plots similarly drank more moisture from the deeper profile layer than CT-TPR practice. In plots of CT-TPR and WBed-TPR, the yield contributing characteristics of rice all increased, while grain yield increased by 16.8% and 10.6% over NBed-TPR technique, respectively. Finally, CT-TPR reported with maximum cultivation costs, followed by NBed-TPR and the lowest in RT-TPR plots, although WBed-TPR had the highest net profit, B: C ratio.

Wheat is the main staple food in the world, so it is the backbone of food security. Drought not only affects growth and development but also ultimately has a severe impact on the overall productivity of crop plants. Some bacteria are capable of producing exopolysaccharides (EPS) as a survival mechanism, along with other metabolites, which help them survive in stressful conditions. The present study was conducted with the aim of inducing drought stress tolerance in wheat through EPS-producing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). In this regard, a series of laboratory bioassays were conducted with the aim to isolating, characterizing, and screening the EPS-producing PGPR capable of improving wheat growth under limited water conditions. Thirty rhizobacterial strains (LEW1–LEW30) were isolated from the rhizosphere of wheat. Ten isolates with EPS-producing ability were quantitatively tested for EPS production and IAA production ability. Four of the most efficient EPS-producing strains (LEW3, LEW9, LEW16, and LEW28) were evaluated for their drought tolerance ability along with quantitative production of EPS and IAA under polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000)-induced drought stress. The jar experiment was conducted under gnotobiotic conditions to examine the drought-tolerant wheat genotypes, and two wheat varieties (Johar-16, and Gold-16) were selected for further experiments. The selected varieties were inoculated with EPS-producing rhizobacterial strains and grown under control conditions at different stress levels (0, 2, 4, and 6% PEG-6000). The strain LEW16 showed better results for improving root morphology and seedling growth in both varieties. The maximum increase in germination, growth parameters, percentage, root diameter, root surface area, and root colonization was recorded in Johar-16 by inoculating LEW16 at 6% PEG-6000. Plant growth-promoting traits were tested on the top-performing strains (LEW3, LEW9, and LEW16). Through 16S rRNA sequencing, these strains were identified as Chryseobacterium sp. (LEW3), Acinetobacter sp. (LEW9), and Klebsiella sp. (LEW16), and they showed positive results for phosphorous and zinc solubilization as well as hydrogen cyanide (HCN) production. The partial sequencing results were submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) under the accession numbers MW829776, MW829777, and MW829778. These strains are recommended for their evaluation as potential bioinoculants for inducing drought stress tolerance in wheat.

Aconitum chasmanthum Stapf ex Holmes, an essential and critically endangered medicinal plant from Kashmir Himalayas, was studied for its antioxidant and antifungal properties. The shade-dried powdered rhizome was extracted sequentially with hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. These subsequent fractions were evaluated for total phenolic content (TPC); total flavonoid content (TFC); antioxidant assays, such as 1,1-diphenyl 1-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH); ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP); superoxide radical scavenging (SOR); hydroxyl radical scavenging (OH) and antifungal activity using the poisoned food technique. Highest TPC (5.26 ± 0.01 mg/g) and TFC (2.92 ± 0.04 mg/g) were reported from methanolic extracts. The highest values of radical scavenging activities were also observed in methanolic extracts with IC50 values of 163.71 ± 2.69 μg/mL in DPPH, 173.69 ± 4.91 μg/mL in SOR and 159.64 ± 2.43 μg/mL in OH. The chemical profile of ethyl acetate extract was tested using HR-LCMS. Methanolic extracts also showed a promising inhibition against Aspergillus niger (66.18 ± 1.03), Aspergillus flavus (78.91 ± 1.19) and Penicillium notatum (83.14 ± 0.97) at a 15% culture filtrate concentration with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 230 μg/mL, 200 μg/mL and 190 μg/mL, respectively. Overall, the methanolic fractions showed significant biological potential, and its pure isolates might be used to construct a potential new medicinal source.

Climate change is viewed as the main obstacle to agricultural development in developing countries. The high dependence on agriculture and allied sectors makes many countries vulnerable to the climate change phenomenon. There is a gap in macro and micro-level understanding of climate change. Thoughtful farmers’ perceptions and impacts of climate change on farming are fundamental for developing various mitigation and adaptation strategies. Therefore, the main aim of the present study was to understand the pattern of climate variability, farmers’ perceptions about climate change, and farmers’ adaptation strategies based on their socio-cultural background in the villages of Goa, on the west coast of India. The results reveal that about 62% of the sampled farmers have experienced climate change in terms of meteorological indicators such as increased average temperature, decreased total rainfall, delayed onset of monsoon, and an increase in the length of the summer season. The temperature trend analysis (0.009 °C/year) validated farmers’ perceptions, while the perception of rainfall differed (−1.49 mm/year). Farmers are convinced that climate change has affected their farming (declining crop and livestock productivity, water depletion, and other related farm operations). They strive to adapt to climate change through crop diversification, an integrated crop-livestock system, contingency crop planning, and the adaptation of new crops and varieties. This study could be helpful for policymakers to establish a climate-resilient agriculture system by ensuring timely availability of farm inputs, accurate weather forecasting, and encouraging insurance products for crop and livestock enterprises, which will help farmers cope with the changing climate to enhance their income and economic wellbeing. Further, adaption of integrated farming, agroforestry, and indigenous technical knowledge is imperative to combat the ill effects of climate change.

The current study is a field experiment set out to comprehend significance of the iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles for use as seed priming agents and their subsequent impact in alleviating water stress and improving agronomic profile of flax plants. The experimental layout consisted of a split-plot factorial design with one main plot divided into two subplots corresponding to drought and well-irrigated environment. Each of the subplots was divided into five rows of the flax plants raised from iron oxide primed seeds. The seed priming concentrations were 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 ppm. Seed priming increased stem diameter, stem length, height, fresh weights, and dry weights of plant. The yield attributes, such as number of fruit branches, capsules, seeds per capsule, total fresh and dry stem’s fiber production, were also predominantly improved. The levels of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide were found to decline by 66% and 71%, respectively, upon seed priming, and an enhancement in activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) was also observed by 28%, 56%, and 39%, respectively, documenting the potential of iron oxide particles in mitigating the water stress.