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The Indian sugar industry is a key driver of rural development, supporting over 50 million farmers and their families, along with workers and entrepreneurs of almost 550 sugar mills. Overall, the CSR activities by this mill have enhanced the economic, environmental and social security of the sugarcane growers in the area. [Extracted from the article]

A total of 151 genotypes of durum and bread wheat exhibiting symptoms of stunting and bushy growth, leaf yellowing, and drying of clumps were recorded at ICAR-IARI Regional Station, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India from 2016 to 2018. The disease incidence was recorded more in durum wheat genotypes as compared to bread wheat genotypes. The presence of any virus, bacterial, and fungal pathogens was ruled out by applying cultural growth and electron microscopy. However, association of phytoplasmas presence was confirmed in 142 (out of 151) durum and bread wheat genotypes by employing PCR primer pairs of 16S rRNA, leu S and sec A genes. The sequence analysis of all the genes and in silico RFLP analysis of 16S rDNA sequences of wheat phytoplasma strains identified them as rice yellow dwarf group (16SrXI-B) and Bermuda grass white leaf group (16SrXIV-A). Two symptomatic weed species ( Parthenium hysterophorus and Cleome gynandra ) tested positive for 16SrXI-B phytoplasma subgroup and four weed species ( Cynodon dactylon , Digitaria sanguinalis , Euphorbia hirta and Rhynchosia minima ) for 16SrXIV-A phytoplasma subgroup growing in and around wheat fields. Six hopper species identified from symptomatic wheat fields were also analyzed for phytoplasma presence. Three hopper species viz., Sogatella furcifera , Balclutha rubrostriata , and Exitianus indicus were tested positive to phytoplasmas in 16SrXIV group, while Sogatella kolophon , Cofana unimaculata , and Maiestas sp. tested positive to 16SrXI group of phytoplasmas in nested PCR assays. Transmission assays revealed that S. furcifera and B. rubrostriata successfully transmitted the 16SrXIV-A strain from infected wheat to healthy wheat plants; however, C. unimaculata was able to transmit 16SrXI-B subgroup from infected wheat to healthy wheat plants under glasshouse conditions. A variation in phytoplasma associated disease incidence was recorded on wheat genotypes in different years and was also found positively correlated with temperature, humidity, and hopper population. The identification of similar phytoplasma strains (16SrXI and 16SrXIV group) from wheat, weeds, and hoppers indicated potential risk of transmission of these strains to wheat genotypes and other agricultural crops, which needs further investigations on epidemiological aspects., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-024-04114-3., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Emerging resistance to current antimalarials is reducing their effectiveness and therefore there is a need to develop new antimalarial therapies. Toward this goal, high throughput screens against the P. falciparum asexual parasite identified the pyrazolopyridine 4-carboxamide scaffold. Structure-activity relationship analysis of this chemotype defined that the N1-tert-butyl group and aliphatic foliage in the 3- and 6-positions were necessary for activity, while the inclusion of a 7'-aza-benzomorpholine on the 4-carboxamide motif resulted in potent anti-parasitic activity and increased aqueous solubility. A previous report that resistance to the pyrazolopyridine class is associated with the ABCI3 transporter was confirmed, with pyrazolopyridine 4-carboxamides showing an increase in potency against parasites when the ABCI3 transporter was knocked down. The low metabolic stability intrinsic to the pyrazolopyridine scaffold and the slow rate by which the compounds kill asexual parasites resulted in poor performance in a P. berghei asexual blood stage mouse model. Lowering the risk of resistance and mitigating the metabolic stability and cytochrome P450 inhibition will be challenges in the future development of the pyrazolopyrimidine antimalarial class., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

The growing prevalence of phytoplasma associated symptoms on linseed or flax ( Linum usitatissimum L.) germplasm at Indian Council of Agricultural Research- National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR) fields was noticed during the 2019-22 growing seasons. The characteristic phytoplasma symptoms of phyllody, stem fasciation, stunting, along with floral and capsule malformations were observed in 41 linseed accessions grown at experimental fields of ICAR-NBPGR, Delhi. During 3 years, the presence of phytoplasma in symptomatic linseed accessions was confirmed by nested-PCR assays utilizing 16S rRNA and secA gene-specific primers. The 16S rRNA and secA gene sequences of linseed phytoplasma strains from the representative symptomatic 41 linseed accessions exhibited 100% sequence identity among themselves and 99.93% and 99.82% sequence homology with reference strain, ' Candidatus Phytoplasma australasiaticum' (GenBank Accession: Y10097). Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA and secA gene sequences clustered the linseed isolates with the peanut witches' broom group belonging to ' Ca . P. australasiaticum' strains. The virtual RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA F2nR2 fragment (~1.2 kb) of linseed phytoplasma strains further classified it into 16Sr group II, subgroup D. Our results suggested confirmation of the association of ' Ca . P. australasiaticum' strain (16SrII-D) in the linseed germplasm accessions from North India, which is the first report from India. The phytoplasma infection also reduced the growth and yield parameters of two linseed accessions (IC0498748 and EC0718851)., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe author(s) declare no conflict of interest., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Introduction  Chronic subdural hematoma (SDH) is one of the most common conditions encountered in the neurosurgical practice. Surgical modalities like twist drill craniostomy, burr hole evacuation, mini-craniotomy, and craniotomy are practiced in the management of chronic SDH. Mini-craniotomy without excision of membranes may help to achieve best results with decreased complication rate. Materials and Methods  Patients with chronic SDH operated from September 2013 to September 2022 were included in the study. Mini-craniotomy (40-60 mm) was done and cruciate incision was given over the dura. Dura was left wide open by reflecting and suturing the cut edges of the dural leaflets to the craniotomy edge allowing to evacuate subdural space under vision during surgery and to allow any residual collection to drain out freely in the postoperative period. A drain was placed between the inner membrane and the bone flap. Preoperative and postoperative clinical and radiological parameters were recorded. Complications, recurrence, and residual collections were noted. Results  Seventy-seven patients were included in the study. Mean age was 57.32 years. Median Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) at presentation was 13 while median GCS at discharge was 15. Two patients with preexisting comorbidities expired after surgery due to medical causes. No recurrences were noted. Fourteen patients had residual collections which resolved by 6 weeks. Two patients had wound infection. One of these patients later needed a bone flap removal due to osteomyelitis. Conclusion  Mini-craniotomy without membranectomy is a good option for complete evacuation of chronic SDH under vision mainly avoiding the complication of membranectomy. It is not associated with increased complications rate. It needs fewer follow-ups as brain expansion can be established radiologically in a short period., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.), is an important export-oriented seed spice crop for India. Cumin is popularly used for flavouring food, including soups, pickles and vegetables, and for herbal medicine. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of cumin seed with an annual production of 0.795 million tones over an area of 1.09 million hectares. During 2020-21, India exported about 0.299 million tons of cumin worth of Rs 33280 million (Anonymous, 2021). Recently, phytoplasma suspected symptoms were observed in cumin at Agricultural Research Station, Mandor, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India from 2019. The symptoms related to phytoplasma infection were first recorded after 70-75 days of sowing in the month of January of the years 2019 to 2022. The major symptoms recorded were yellowing, phyllody, witches-broom, yellowing and deformed elongated seeds. Disease incidence was recorded as 0.25-1.0%, 0.5-1.5%, 0.5-2.5 % and 0.5-10.6% during the years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively using quadrate method. In 2022, among different genotypes assessed GC 4, MCU 73, MCU 105, and MCU 32 exhibited lower disease incidences ranging from 0.5% to 1.5%, while MCU 78 recorded the highest disease incidence at 10.6%. To detect the association of phytoplasma with symptomatic cumin samples, genomic DNA was extracted from four representative cumin genotypes (CuPP-MND-01 to CuPP-MND-04) and one asymptomatic cumin plant using the Qiagen DNeasy plant mini kit (Germany). The extracted DNA was amplified using nested PCR assays with universal phytoplasma detection primers for 16S rRNA gene (P1/P7 and R16F2n/R16R2) (Schneider et al., 1995; Gundersen and Lee, 1996) and secA gene specific primers (SecAfor1/SecArev3 followed by nested PCR primers SecAfor5/ SecArev2) (Hodgetts et al. 2008; Bekele et al. 2011). The amplicons of ∼1.25 kb with 16S rRNA gene and ∼600 bp with secA gene specific primers were amplified in all symptomatic cumin plant samples and positive control of brinjal little leaf. PCR amplified products from the four selected positive samples (CuPP-MND-01 to CuPP-MND-04) of 16S rRNA gene and secA gene, were sequenced from both ends. The 1,245 bp sequences were deposited in GenBank (OQ299007-10), which showed 100% sequence identity with each other and 99.4% identity with 'Candidatus Phytoplasma citri' reference strain (GenBank accession: U15442) (Rodrigues Jardim et al. 2023). The phylogenetic analysis and virtual RFLP analysis using 17 restriction enzymes of 16S rRNA gene sequences through iPhyclassifier allowed affiliating the cumin phytoplasma strains with 16SrII-C subgroup strain with a similarity coefficient of 1 to the reference pattern of 16Sr group II, subgroup C (GenBank accession: AJ293216) (Zhao et al. 2009). In addition, the phylogenetic analysis of the secA gene-based sequences (OQ305073-76) further confirmed the close association of 16SrII-C group phytoplasmas with phyllody and witches' broom disease of cumin. Earlier 16SrII-C subgroup phytoplasma has been reported from various crops and weeds in India (Rao et al. 2021). However, no phytoplasma association has been reported earlier with cumin in India and abroad. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the association of 16SrII-C group phytoplasma causing phyllody, witches' broom in cumin genotypes. This report has economic and epidemiological implications and needs immediate attention to reduce export losses due to phytoplasma disease in cumin and to prevent the potential spread to other crops.

Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is a leafy vegetable and spice crop, native to Indian subcontinent and Eastern Mediterranean region. Phytoplasma infection symptoms were observed in fenugreek at ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources Regional Station, Jodhpur and Agricultural Research Station Mandore Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The first appearance of phytoplasma suspected symptoms of little leaf was recorded after 50 days of sowing in the months of January 2022. The major symptoms recorded were virescence, phyllody, shoot proliferation, witches-broom, little leaf, yellowing and overall stunted growth in 146 germplasm accessions at NBPGR research farm, Jodhpur and one major commercially cultivated variety RMT 305 at Mandore Jodhpur. Ten samples from symptomatic and five samples from asymptomatic fenugreek plants were collected and processed for total DNA extraction using the Qiagen DNeasy plant mini kit (Germany). The extracted DNA was amplified using nested PCR assays with universal phytoplasma detection primers for 16S rRNA gene (P1/P7 and R16F2n/R16R2) and secA gene specific primers (SecAfor1/SecArev3 and SecAfor2/SecArev3) (Schneider et al. 1995; Gundersen and Lee 1996; Hodgetts et al. 2008). The amplicons of ∼1.25 kb with 16S rRNA and ∼480 bp with secA gene specific primers were amplified in all symptomatic fenugreek samples. In negative control (asymptomatic plants) no amplification was observed with either of gene specific primers in gel electrophoresis. PCR amplified products from the six selected positive samples (FPP-NBPGR-J-01 to FPP-NBPGR-J-04 and FPP-MND-01 to FPP-MND-02) of 16S rRNA and secA gene, were sequenced from both ends. Sequences were deposited in the NCBI GenBank with accession numbers ON756108-ON756113 for 16S rRNA gene sequences and ON745809 to ON745814 for secA gene sequences. BLAST analysis of 16S rRNA and secA sequences revealed 100% sequence identity among themselves and 99.95 to 100% sequence identity with the earlier reported phytoplasma strains of aster yellows group related phytoplasma strains (GenBank Acc. No. MN239504, MN080270) belonging to Ca. P. asteris (16SrI group). Further analyses of the 16S rRNA and secA gene-based phylogenetic tree and the iPhyClassifier-based virtual RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA gene study demonstrated that the phytoplasma associated with fenugreek phyllody belonged to 16Sr group I ('Ca. P. asteris') and subgroup B (GenBank accession AP006628), with similarity coefficient of 1.0. Earlier association of 16Sr-II-D subgroup (Ca. P. australasiae) with fenugreek as host was reported from Pakistan (Malik et al., 2020). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a 'Ca. P. asteris', 16SrI-B subgroup related phytoplasma strain associated with fenugreek phyllody in the world. The 16SrI-B phytoplasma strain is a widely distributed strain associated with several agricultural and horticultural crops of India (Rao 2021). This is not only the first instance of fenugreek phyllody disease found in India, but also the first instance of fenugreek phyllody caused by 16SrI-B subgroup phytoplasma worldwide. This report has epidemiological significance and needs immediate attention, as fenugreek is one of the most common seed spice crop being grown all over India.

Objective  The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the incidence, prognostic value, and impact of swirl sign on the outcome of patients who underwent surgical treatment for epidural hematoma. Materials and Methods  A retrospective analytical study on 307 acute epidural hematoma (AEDH) patients with and without swirl sign was conducted at our hospital between 2015 and 2019. All the patients in this study were treated initially as per the protocols of advanced trauma life support and surgically treated by craniotomy and evacuation of epidural hematoma. Patients with other concomitant intracerebral injuries such as subdural hematoma and contusion and those who were managed conservatively were excluded from the study. Various factors such as age, sex, mechanism of injury, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score at admission, time from injury to surgery, preoperative mydriasis, location of bleed, midline shift, location of fracture, volume of hematoma, duration of stay in the hospital, and GCS score at discharge were taken into consideration and compared in between patients with and without swirl sign. Outcomes were assessed at the end of 6 months using the Glasgow Outcome Scale. Results  Of the 307 patients who were operated for epidural hemorrhage, 92 had swirl sign (29.96%) and the rest had no swirl sign. Univariate analysis revealed a significant correlation between the presence of swirl sign and age, preoperative mydriasis, and time from injury to surgery. The patients with the swirl sign had an unfavorable outcome at the end of 6 months which was statistically significant. Conclusion  It can be concluded that those patients with swirl sign in AEDH had an unfavorable outcome compared to those without swirl sign. Therefore, aggressive treatment and early surgery play an important role in the outcomes of the patients., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest None declared., (Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

Moringa oleifera (family Moringaceae) also known as the 'drumstick tree' is a significant nutritious and medicinal plant that is commonly grown in India and contains a variety of vital phytochemicals. M. oleifera is used in several Indian herbal medicine formulations to treat a variety of illnesses (Kumar and Rao 2021). Typical phytoplasma symptoms of leaf yellowing and stunting were observed in M. oleifera trees up to 10% incidence at Acharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture & Technology, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India in November 2021 and stunting with less fruit bearings symptoms with 8% incidence in October 2021 at Jonnalakothapalle village of Mudigubba mandal of Ananthapuramu district in Andhra Pradesh, India (Fig.1a, b). To investigate the possibility of a phytoplasma association with the symptoms, total DNA was isolated from the leaf samples collected from two diseased and two healthy plants from both the locations using CTAB method. The DNAs isolated were analysed by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with universal phytoplasma primer pairs P1/P7 and R16F2n/R16R2 for the 16S rRNA gene (Deng and Hiruki 1991; Gundersen and Lee 1996) and secAfor1/sArev3 and SecAfor2/ SecArev3 for secA gene (Hodgetts et al. 2008). Amplicons of the expected size (~1.25kb from 16S rRNA gene and ~480bp from secA gene) were obtained from symptomatic plants only. The nested PCR products were cloned (pGEM-T Easy Vector, Promega), sequenced (ABA Biotech, India) and the sequences were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers OP358449, OP358450, OP358451, OP358452 for the 16SrRNA gene (~1.25 kb) and OP358443, OP358444, OP358445, OP358446 for the secA gene (~480 bp). BLASTn analysis revealed that the partial 16S rRNA gene sequences of M. oleifera phytoplasma isolate shared up to 99.9% sequence identity with the strain ' Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' (Accession numbers MN909051, MN909047) and secA gene sequences shared up to 100% sequence identity with ' Ca. Phytoplasma asteris' (Accession numbers KJ434315, KJ462009) belonging to 16SrI group. The 16S rRNA and secA genes sequence-based phylogenetic analysis (Figure 1d,e) showed that the phytoplasma strain associated with M. oleifera leaf yellowing and stunting clustered within the 16SrI phytoplasma group closest to 16SrI-B (' Ca . P. asteris') subgroup strains. Furthermore, the virtual RFLP pattern derived from the query 16S rDNA F2nR2 fragment is identical (similarity coefficient 1.00) to the reference pattern of 16Sr group I, subgroup B (GenBank accession: AP006628). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the 16SrI-B subgroup of the phytoplasma strains with M. oleifera in the world. 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' (16SrI-B subgroup) strains have been reported from several other commercial crops and weed hosts in India and efficient leafhopper vectors have been identified (Rao 2021; Reddy 2021). This indicates that the ' Ca . P. asteris'-related strains (16SrI-B) are widespread and infecting several plant species in India. The increasing incidence of the 16SrI-B strain and its wide host range in India strongly suggests further research into the epidemiology involved in the dynamic spread of the disease in order to recommend a suitable management approach.

Symptoms of leaf roll, swollen nodes, flat branch and witches' broom were observed in five cultivars of sweet cherry from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir province, India, during 2019-2021. Phytoplasmas association were confirmed by amplifying 16S rRNA , sec A , rp, tuf and sec Y genes with phytoplasma-specific primers in all symptomatic sweet cherry cultivars in nested PCR assays. Pairwise sequence comparison, phylogeny and virtual RFLP (16S rRNA gene) analyses confirmed the presence of ' Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' and ' Ca. P. trifolii' strains in the sweet cherry samples. The incidence of flat branch and witches' broom symptoms associated with ' Ca . P. trifolii' varied from 5.8 to 25% in cultivars Bigarreau Nepoleon (Double), Bigarreau Noir Grossa and CITH-Cherry-9. However, incidence of leaf rolling, swollen nodes and bud proliferation associated with ' Ca . P. asteris' was recorded 7.5% in cultivar Stella and 10% in Sunburst, respectively, in the surveyed area. The multigene characterization of sweet cherry phytoplasma strains confirmed the validity of these molecular markers for identification of phytoplasmas enclosed in 16SrI and 16SrVI groups. The presence of phytoplasmas in sweet cherry is the first report from India., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Climate change is shifting agricultural production, which could impact the economic and cultural contexts of the oilseed industry, including sesame. Environmental threats (biotic and abiotic stresses) affect sesame production and thus yield (especially oil content). However, few studies have investigated the genetic enhancement, quality improvement, or the underlying mechanisms of stress tolerance in sesame. This study reveals the challenges faced by farmers/researchers growing sesame crops and the potential genetic and genomic resources for addressing the threats, including: (1) developing sesame varieties that tolerate phyllody, root rot disease, and waterlogging; (2) investigating beneficial agro-morphological traits, such as determinate growth, prostrate habit, and delayed response to seed shattering; (3) using wild relatives of sesame for wide hybridization; and (4) advancing existing strategies to maintain sesame production under changing climatic conditions. Future research programs need to add technologies and develop the best research strategies for economic and sustainable development., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yadav, Kalia, Rangan, Pradheep, Rao, Kaur, Pandey, Rai, Vasimalla, Langyan, Sharma, Thangavel, Rana, Vishwakarma, Shah, Saxena, Kumar, Singh and Siddique.)

The major viruses infecting apple cultivars throughout the world including India are apple mosaic virus (ApMV), apple stem pitting virus (ASPV), apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), and recently, a new virus, apple necrotic mosaic virus (ApNMV), was reported from mosaic-infected apple cultivars in India. The aim of this study was to detect the ApNMV virus along with the other three viruses (ApMV, ASPV and ASGV) simultaneously by multiplex RT-PCR. Four primer-pair-produced amplicons of 670, 550, 350 and 210 bp corresponding to ApNMV, ApMV, ASPV and ASGV, respectively, were found to be specific for these viruses when tested individually. The annealing temperature (55°C), primer concentration (0·8 µl) and other components of the master mix were standardized for the development of one-step m-RT-PCR assay. The m-RT-PCR protocol developed was further validated with 30 samples from seven symptomatic or asymptomatic apple cultivars, which revealed the presence of more than one virus in these cultivars. Most of the viruses were found to be present either alone or in mixed infection; however, ASPV was more common in tested cultivars. An easy, cost-effective and rapid multiplex RT-RCR protocol was developed to detect the four viruses, which infect apple plants either in individually or together in the field. This assay will help in the surveying and indexing of apple germplasm and the distribution of all four viruses in the apple growing regions of India., (© 2021 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Many viruses have been found associated with apple mosaic disease in different parts of the world. In order to reveal and characterize the viruses and viroids in symptomatic apple plants, next-generation sequencing (RNA seq.) of rRNA-depleted total RNA using Illumina Hiseq2500 was applied to two cultivars, Oregon Spur and Golden Delicious, with symptoms of mosaic and necrosis and one cultivar, Red Fuji, which was asymptomatic. The RNA sequencing detected five viruses, viz., apple necrotic mosaic virus (ApNMV), apple mosaic virus (ApMV), apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) and apple stem pitting virus (ASPV), apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), and one viroid i.e., apple hammerhead viroid (AHVd). RT-PCR amplification and sequencing also confirmed the presence of all these five viruses and viroids detected in HTS of total RNA. The complete genomes of five viruses and AHVd were reconstructed. The phylogenetic analysis of these viruses and AHVd revealed genetic diversity by forming subclusters with isolates from other countries. Recombination events were observed in all five viruses while single-nucleotide variants were detected only in ApMV and ApNMV. The absence of ApMV and ApNMV in asymptomatic samples from the same cultivars in an RT-PCR assay indicated that these two viruses are associated with mosaic disease of apples in India. This is the first viral genome analysis of symptomatic and asymptomatic apple plants and the first report of genome characterization of viruses associated with apple mosaic disease from India. High-throughput RNA sequencing is a powerful tool to characterize the genome of viruses and viroids in plants previously undetected by conventional methods. This would also help in the indexing and certification of large-scale germplasm.

Kicking off on 1 October with the United Nations' International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP) and concluding on 10 October in conjunction with World Mental Health Day, the OLDER ADULT MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK was a brand-new ten-day initiative launched by the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA). It was focused on raising awareness of the importance of Better Mental Health for Older People with virtual programs from all around the world on each of these ten days. As part of this Awareness Week, the IPA hosted a discussion entitled "Mental healthcare services and advocacy for the older people amidst COVID crisis: Voices from South Asia", organized on October 6 th , 2021 in conjunction with the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), Indian Association of Geriatric Mental Health (IAGMH), SAARC Psychiatric Federation (SPF), and the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations (AFPA). This is the event report of the same panel discussion which highlights the unique challenges to old age mental healthcare among the SAARC nations, calls for urgent collaborative action, and focuses on human rights and dignity-based mental healthcare for older adults in these rapidly ageing countries., Competing Interests: Conflict of interests: No conflicts of interest to disclose., (© Authors, 2022.)

Nutraceutical, functional or fortified food not only supplements the diet but also assists in developing immunity and preventing diseases. Therefore, it also provides medical benefits apart from nutrition. Individual health and diet are receiving a lot of attention these days. Food products that are healthy, safe, and easy to use are in high demand. A lot of emphases has been directed toward food products with added health benefits. Jaggery (non-centrifugal sugar), made from sugarcane juice, is one of them. It is known to mankind for the last 3000 years and is an essential part of the diet in the rural part of many countries. Jaggery is recognized as a nutraceutical due to the presence of a variety of essential amino acids, antioxidants, phenolics, minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamins. Jaggery has a better natural source and nutrients for health benefits and could be used as a healthier dietary substitute to white sugar. The nutraceutical value of jaggery can be enhanced with value addition and fortification of medicinally important herbs and spices. This would not only enhance the quality of nutritive jaggery but will also offer value-added products with exciting flavors for daily use sweeteners with several nutritional health benefits., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe mention of trade names or commercial goods in this article is purely for the purpose of providing specific details and does not mean that the authors recommend or endorse them., (© Society for Sugar Research & Promotion 2021.)

Symptoms of suspected phytoplasma infection were observed in cauliflower ( Brassica oleracea var. botrytis ) (cultivar NS60N) at Integrated Farming System Research Station, Trivandrum, Kerala, India (08o28'28"N, 76o57'47"E) in April-2021. The disease incidence was recorded up to 10% in different fields. The disease manifested as stunting, phyllody, floral malformation and flattening of stem (Fig.1A,B). Ten symptomatic and five asymptomatic plants were assayed for the presence of phytoplasma using nested PCR assays performed with P1/P7 and R16F2n/R16R2 primer pairs for 16S rRNA gene and SecAfor1/ SecArev3 and SecAfor2/ SecArev3 for secA gene (Deng and Hiruki 1991; Gundersen and Lee 1996; Hodgetts et al. 2008). The expected amplicons of ~1.25 kb and ~480 bp were consistently amplified in all the symptomatic cauliflower samples with the phytoplasma specific universal 16S rRNA and secA gene specific primers. Nested PCR products (~1.2 kb and 480 bp) amplified from cauliflower was cloned in EcoRI restriction sites of pGEM-T Easy vector (Promega, USA). The cloned nested PCR products were directly sequenced (16S rRNA gene: Acc. Nos. MZ196223, MZ196224; secA gene: MZ215721, MZ215722) in both forward and reverse directions which showed 99.77% sequence identity with Candidatus Phytoplasma cynodontis reference strain (Acc. No. AJ550984). Further analyses of the 16S rRNA and secA genes based phylogenetic tree (Fig. 2A and B) and the iPhyClassifier-based virtual RFLP analysis of 16Sr RNA gene study demonstrated that the phytoplasma-associated with cauliflower phyllody & flat stem disease (CaPP) belonged to 16SrXIV-A subgroup with a similarity coefficient of 1.0. No amplicon was observed from any of the asymptomatic cauliflower plants with the specific tested primers of both the genes. Earlier association of 16SrXV-A subgroup ( Candidatus Phytoplasma brasiliense) and 16Sr III-J subgroup in Brazil (Canale and Badendo, 2013; Rappussi et al. 2012), 16SrII-A ( Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia) subgroup in China (Cai et al. 2016) and 16SrVI-A ( Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii) subgroup in Iran (Salehi 2007) were reported in cauliflower. Another species of cabbage, Brassica oleracea var. capitata L. was reported as host of Ca . P. trifloii (16Sr VI-D subgroup) from north India (Gopala et al. 2018). To our knowledge, this is the first report of a ' Candidatus Phytoplasma cynodontis', 16SrXIV-A subgroup related phytoplasma strain associated with cauliflower phyllody and flat stem in the world. The results described in this report confirm that the 16SrXIV-A phytoplasma, a widely distributed strain associated with sugarcane, wheat, grasses, sapota and many ornamentals in India (Rao 2021), has also infected cauliflower. This is not only the first instance of cauliflower phyllody disease found in India, but also the first instance of CaPP disease caused by 16SrXIV-A subgroup phytoplasma worldwide. This report has epidemiological significance and needs immediate attention, as cauliflower is the one of the most common vegetable crop grown all over India.

Hypermagnesemia is often an under reported finding in critically ill patients with cancer. Hypomagnesemia is a commonly encountered electrolyte abnormality in patients with cancer that is primarily caused by a reduced intake, secondary to chemotherapeutic drugs and malnutrition. Hypermagnesemia is rarely observed in patients with normal renal function, as excess intake can be compensated by renal excretion. However, in critically ill patients with reduced renal function, hypermagnesemia can add further to complications and increase mortality. Drugs such as lactulose, antacids, fentanyl and peptide hormones, including vasopressin, can further increase chances of hypermagnesemia, particularly when patients demonstrate decreased renal function and multiple organ failure. Prudence and caution must therefore be exercised while using these agents in critically ill patients with cancer to avoid increased complications and mortality. Herein, the current study reports three cases of critically ill patients with cancer admitted into intensive care who had refractory hypermagnesemia., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Krupesh et al.)

Background: Little information is available from India about the psychological impact of COVID-19 on helath-care workers., Aim: The current study aimed to evaluate the psychological issues among the health-care workers (HCW) during the COVID-19 pandemic., Materials and Methods: An online survey using Survey Monkey ® platform was carried out to evaluate depression (using Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (using Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7), and other psychological issues (using a self-designed questionnaire)., Results: The study sample comprised 303 participants with a mean age of 41.2 (standard deviation: 11.1) years. A majority of them were male (69%) and married (79.9%). Nearly half (46.2%) of the participants had either anxiety disorder or depression or both and 12.9% of HCW had suicidal behavior. Higher level of anxiety and depression scores were associated with being female, having undergone quarantine, directly involved in the care of COVID-19 patients, and younger age (<30 years). Higher prevalence of depression and anxiety disorder was seen in younger (<30 years) age group, being a doctor (compared to paramedics). In addition, higher prevalence of depression was seen in those who were directly involved in the care of patients with COVID-19 infection., Conclusion: About half of the HCWs are suffering from psychiatric morbidity, specifically anxiety, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need to assess all the HCWs for psychiatric morbidity and provide them with psychological support., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2021 Indian Journal of Psychiatry.)

Rose balsam ( Impatiens balsamina ) is an important ornamental species grown worldwide for its attractive flowers and also having medicinal properties. Flat stem, little leaf, and phyllody symptoms were observed in I. balsamina nurseries in Uttar Pradesh and Tripura states of India during surveys from 2018 to 2020, with an incidence from 6 to 27%. Amplicons of ~ 1.2 kb were amplified in all the tested symptomatic samples of I. balsamina using universal phytoplasma primer pairs from different surveyed locations, but not from the asymptomatic plants. Pairwise sequence comparison, phylogeny, and virtual RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences identified the phytoplasmas as 16SrI-B subgroup strain from Tripura (Lembucherra) and 16SrII-D subgroup strain from Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur and Faizabad). Phytoplasma presence and identity was further confirmed by amplifying secA , rp , secY, and tuf genes. This is the first report of 16SrI-B and 16SrII-D phytoplasmas detection in I. balsamina in the world., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-02666-2., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestNo conflict of interest., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

An investigation was carried out to identify and characterize the phytoplasma and viruses associated with the chickpea varieties showing severe stunting, leaf reddening, yellowing and phyllody symptoms during the summer season of 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 in eight states of India. The average disease incidence was recorded from 3 to 32% in different states. The presence of chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus (CpCDV) was confirmed in thirty-seven chickpea samples by amplification of CpCDV coat protein gene and sequence comparison analysis. No record of association of luteovirus, polerovirus and cucumovirus could be detected in any of the symptomatic chickpea samples by RT-PCR assay. Brassica nigra , B. juncea, Lens culinaris , two weeds ( Heteropogan contartus, Aeschynomene virginica ) and one leafhopper ( Amarasca biguttula ) were identified as new putative hosts for CpCDV. Association of peanut witches' broom phytoplasma was confirmed in twenty-eight chickpea samples, Sesamum indicum , five weeds hosts and two leafhopper species ( Exitianus indicus, Empoasca motti ) using nested PCR assays with primer pairs P1/P7 and R16F2n/R16Rn. The results of phytoplasma association in plants and leafhopper samples were further validated by using five multilocus genes ( sec A, rp, imp, tuf and sec Y) specific primers. Sequence comparison, phylogenetic and virtual RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA gene and five multilocus genes confirmed the identity of association of 16SrII-C and 16SrII-D subgroups of phytoplasmas strain with chickpea samples collected from Andhra Pradesh (AP), Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi. Mixed infection of phytoplasma (16SrII-D) and CpCDV was also detected in symptomatic chickpea samples from AP and Telangana. The reports of association of 16SrII-C subgroup phytoplasma in chickpea and 16SrII-D subgroup phytoplasma in C. sparsiflora and C. roseus are the new host records in world and from India, respectively., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAll authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

Matthiola incana R. Br. (Fam: Brassicaceae) is an ornamental, commonly known as hoary stock has an extremely fragrant flowers, which blooms in dense clusters in a large variety of colors. During a survey of flower nurseries in March 2019 at Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research campus, Lucknow, floral virescence (MiV) symptoms (Fig. 1 A, B) were observed in M. incana pots with an incidence of over 40%. Leaf yellows symptoms were also observed on a weed Acalypha indica (AiLY) in Matthiola nursery (Fig. 1 C). Nested PCR assays were carried out to detect and identify the possible association of phytoplasmas with MiV and AiLY symptoms. Three each of symptomatic MiV and AiLY samples and two non-symptomatic samples were collected and processed for DNA extraction from the leaf midrib by CTAB method. Hishimonus phycitis (HP) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) leafhopper feeding on MiV symptomatic plants was also collected and DNA was extracted. The DNA of 8 symptomatic and 4 non-symptomatic plants and from the 10 leafhopper was used as a template for PCR assays. Phytoplasma specific 16Sr RNA gene specific primers (P1/P7 and 3Far/3Rev; Schneider et al. 1995; Manimekalai et al. 2010) and multilocus genes' specific primer pairs for secA (SecAfor1/SecArev3;SecAfo5r/SecARev2; Bekele et al. 2011), secY (SecYF1(VI)/SecYR1(VI);SecYF2(VI)/SecYR1(VI); Lee et al. 2010) and rp genes (rpFIC/rp(I)R1A; rp(VI)F2/ rp(VI)R2; Martini et al. 2007) were employed as previously described. Amplified products of ~1.3kb, ~600bp, ~1.7kb and ~1.0kb of 16S rRNA, secA, secY and rp genes of phytoplasma were consistently amplified in all the MiV and AiLY samples and in the HP leafhopper. No amplifications were achieved in any of the asymptomatic plant samples. Amplified products of all the four genes of MiV, AiLY and HP isolates were purified, sequenced and submitted in GenBank. Sequence comparison and phylogeny analysis of the sequences of the four genes of MiV, AiLY and HP isolates revealed 99% - 100% sequence identity and clustering with clover proliferation phytoplasma related strains (16SrVI group)(Fig.2 A,B,C and D). The virtual RFLP analysis of 17 restriction endonucleases corresponding to the 16S rDNA sequence of MiV, AiLY and HP phytoplasma strains by pDraw program, assigned them into a novel phytoplasma subgroup strain under 16SrVI group, since its HpaII restriction profile was different to earlier classified 16SrVI subgroups but was very close to16SrVI-E subgroup (GenBank acc. no. AY270156) (Fig 3). Earlier, peanut witches' broom (16SrII-A) phytoplasma was identified associated with M. incana from Italy (Davino et al. 2007). However, the association of clover proliferation phytoplasma (16SrVI) related strain associated with virescence symptom of M. incana is the first report in world. The weed (A. indica) and HP leafhopper were also reported as additional hosts of 16SrVI subgroup related new strain in India, which needs further investigation. The report of a new host and new subgroup of clover proliferation phytoplasma related strain in India is having an epidemiological significance and warrants attention.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) endangers a large number of livestock populations across the globe being a highly contagious viral infection in wild and domestic cloven-hoofed animals. It adversely affects the socioeconomic status of millions of households. Vaccination has been used to protect animals against FMD virus (FMDV) to some extent but the effectiveness of available vaccines has been decreased due to high genetic variability in the FMDV genome. Another key aspect that the current vaccines are not favored is they do not provide the ability to differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals. Thus, RNA interference (RNAi) being a potential strategy to control virus replication, has opened up a new avenue for controlling the viral transmission. Hence, an attempt has been made here to establish the role of RNAi in therapeutic developments for FMD by computationally identifying (i) microRNA (miRNA) targets in FMDV using target prediction algorithms, (ii) targetable genomic regions in FMDV based on their dissimilarity with the host genome and, (iii) plausible anti-FMDV miRNA-like simulated nucleotide sequences (SNSs). The results revealed 12 mature host miRNAs that have 284 targets in 98 distinct FMDV genomic sequences. Wet-lab validation for anti-FMDV properties of 8 host miRNAs was carried out and all were observed to confer variable magnitude of antiviral effect. In addition, 14 miRBase miRNAs were found with better target accessibility in FMDV than that of Bos taurus. Further, 8 putative targetable regions having sense strand properties of siRNAs were identified on FMDV genes that are highly dissimilar with the host genome. A total of 16 SNSs having > 90% identity with mature miRNAs were also identified that have targets in FMDV genes. The information generated from this study is populated at http://bioinformatics.iasri.res.in/fmdisc/ to cater the needs of biologists, veterinarians and animal scientists working on FMD.

Symptoms typical of phytoplasma infection such as phyllody, virescence, witches' broom and yellowing were observed in 12 varieties of Chrysanthemum morifolium in floral nurseries and experimental fields at New Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, India, during surveys made from 2015 to 2017. Disease incidence ranged from 15 to 30%. Phytoplasma presence was confirmed in all symptomatic chrysanthemum varieties by molecular identification assays. Sequence comparison, phylogenetic and in silico RFLP analyses of 16S rDNA sequences allowed the identification of the chrysanthemum infecting phytoplasma strains into different ribosomal groups and subgroups, namely 16SrI, 16SrII-D, 16SrVI-D and 16SrXIV. Detection of phytoplasma strains of 16SrII-D subgroup were also confirmed in symptomatic Chenopodium album and Parthenium hysterophorus plants grown in and around the surveyed chrysanthemum fields at New Delhi, whereas 16SrVI-D phytoplasma strains were detected in symptomatic Cannabis sativa weed and leafhopper Hishimonus phycitis individuals collected from the symptomatic chrysanthemum fields at New Delhi. This is the first report on the presence of 16SrVI and 16SrXIV groups of phytoplasmas in chrysanthemum plants. Studies on genetic diversity of phytoplasmas infecting the major chrysanthemum varieties in India and their epidemiological aspects had previously not been reported. The detection and identification of phytoplasmas in different chrysanthemum varieties could contribute to increase the awareness among farmers in the management of these diseases., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAll authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s) 2020.)

Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

During a survey performed in sapota orchards of India, from 2015 to 2018, symptoms of phyllody, little leaf, flat stem and witches' broom were observed in three states: Karnataka, Kerala and Tripura. The association of phytoplasmas was confirmed in all the symptomatic sapota samples by using nested PCR specific primers (P1/P7, R16F2n/R16R2 and 3Far/3Rev) with amplification of fragments of ~ 1.25 kb and ~ 1.3 kb. Association of three phytoplasma groups, aster yellows with flat stem from Tripura (Lembucherra), clover proliferation with phyllody symptoms at Karnataka (Bengaluru) and bermuda grass white leaf with flat stem and little leaf from Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram) and Tripura (Cocotilla) were confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison analysis. Virtual RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences using pDRAW32 further classified the sapota phytoplasma isolates into 16SrI-B, 16SrVI-D and 16SrXIV-A subgroups. This is the first report on identification of three phytoplasma groups in sapota in world., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© Prof. H.S. Srivastava Foundation for Science and Society 2020.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a complete shut-down of the entire world and almost all the countries are presently in a "lockdown" mode. While the lockdown strategy is an essential step to curb the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases, the impact of the same on mental health is not well known., Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the psychological impact of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic on the general public with an objective to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, well-being, and other psychological issues., Materials and Methods: It was an online survey conducted under the aegis of the Indian Psychiatry Society. Using the Survey Monkey platform, a survey link was circulated using the Whatsapp. The survey questionnaire included perceived stress scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale to assess perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and mental well-being, respectively. The survey link was circulated starting from April 6, 2020 and was closed on April 24, 2020., Results: During the survey, a total of 1871 responses were collected, of which 1685 (90.05%) responses were analyzed. About two-fifth (38.2%) had anxiety and 10.5% of the participants had depression. Overall, 40.5% of the participants had either anxiety or depression. Moderate level of stress was reported by about three-fourth (74.1%) of the participants and 71.7% reported poor well-being., Conclusions: The present survey suggests that more than two-fifths of the people are experiencing common mental disorders, due to lockdown and the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. This finding suggests that there is a need for expanding mental health services to everyone in the society during this pandemic situation., Competing Interests: We would like to thank the following colleagues for helping out in the Translation of scales in different languages: Dr. Abdul Maajid, Dr. Ajay Kumar, Dr. Amal Jolly, Joseph, Aniruddha Deb, Dr. Dalton N, Debashish Chatterjee, Prof. Jasmin Patel, Dr. Nandita Hazari, Dr. Natrajan V, Dr. Naveen Anand, Dr. Rajshekhar Bipeta, Dr. Ritu Nehra, Dr. Roshan Bhad, Dr. S Sai Spoorthy, Dr. Shaheena Parveen, Dr. Shahul Ameen., (Copyright: © 2020 Indian Journal of Psychiatry.)

The vitellogenin receptor (VgR) plays a critical role in egg development by mediating endocytosis of the major yolk protein precursor vitellogenin (Vg). Therefore, identifying the VgR of beneficial insects and its characterization could lead to the development of novel egg production strategies to enhance their commercial values. Here, we present the cloning, expression, and functional characterization of the VgR from an economically important eri silkworm, Samia ricini. The complete mRNA sequence was 6002 bp with an ORF of 5484 bp, encoding a protein of 1827 amino acids. Sequence analyses revealed that the SrVgR contained all of the conservative structural motifs characteristics of LDLR family members. The SrVgR was specifically expressed in the ovary, and the mRNA level increased steadily in pupal stages, reached its peak on day 9, and then declined to a bare minimum in adults. RNA interference (RNAi) clearly reduced the VgR transcript levels, disrupted the ovarian development resulting in malformed ovarioles and abnormal development of eggs. Taken together, these data provide conclusive evidence for the essential roles of VgR in insect reproduction., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

During the course of survey, an incidence of 7.14-90% of apple mosaic disease (AMD) was recorded in apple orchards in Jammu and Kashmir among various commercially grown cultivars. The maximum incidence of mosaic disease was observed in cultivar Golden Delicious. In addition to mosaic, symptoms of chlorosis, necrosis and ring spots were also observed. In the present study association of Apple necrotic mosaic virus (ApNMV) was confirmed by RT-PCR and sequencing of whole coat protein gene in samples tested negative for Apple mosaic virus (ApMV) in DAS-ELISA. Out of 18 samples tested in RT-PCR, ten were found positive for ApNMV. Out of ten ApNMV positive samples, amplicon of 680 bp of samples representing five cultivars were sequenced and sequence analysis showed 89-91% sequence identity with ApNMV. The phylogenetic analysis grouped Indian isolates into two sub-clusters under one major cluster (ApNMV group). The sub-cluster-I, included ApNMV isolates from cultivars, Oregon Spur, Red Delicious and Fuji Aztec along with Chinese and Korean isolates. Sub-cluster-II included ApNMV isolates associated with Golden Delicious and Royal Delicious. The comparison of coat protein gene-based sequence identity matrix showed maximum and minimum similarity of 89-99% with ApNMV isolates from China. It also showed maximum identity with PNRSV (61.6%) and ApMV (52.8%) under subgroup 3 of genus Illarvirus . Our study indicates that the ApNMV is commonly associated with AMD in India and may be a major cause of the mosaic disease in apple cultivars. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the association of ApNMV with apple mosaic disease from India., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAuthors declare no conflict of interest., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2020.)

During the growing season of 2015 and 2016, leaf yellowing, stunting, and declining symptoms were observed on elephant foot yam in three states of India.The 1.3 kb 16S rDNA fragments were amplified from genomic DNA extracted from all the symptomatic elephant foot yam samples in nested PCR assays using primer pairs, P1/P7 followed by 3F/3R. Pair wise sequence comparison, virtual RFLP and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences confirmed association of ' Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii' (16SrVI-D) and ' Candidatus Phytoplasma oryzae' (16SrXI-B) related strains in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tripura states, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of association of ' Ca . P. trifolii ' and ' Ca . P. oryzae ' related strains in elephant foot yam in world. In the present study, we also reported Datura stramonium showing witches' broom as a natural weed host for ' Ca . P. trifolii ' phytoplasma in Gorakhpur and Kushinagar districts of Uttar Pradesh state, India., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAll authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2020.)

Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

The Indian sugar industry, a significant player in the national economy, has faced many challenges in the course of its journey. The threat posed by the growing pandemic novel corona virus (COVID-19), has been the most recent one and it is impacting sugar industry stakeholders and its integrated industries, not only in India, but all over the world. The entire value chain of the Indian sugar industry, viz., sugarcane, sugar, molasses, ethanol and their subsequent marketing and export, has been adversely affected from the spillover impacts. The major impacts of COVID-19 on Indian sugar industry are discussed., (© Society for Sugar Research & Promotion 2020.)