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Heavy metal (HM) toxicity is a serious concern across the globe owing to their harmful impacts on plants, animals, and humans. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) have gained appreciable attention in mitigating the adverse effects of abiotic stresses. The exogenous application of ZnO-NPs induces tolerance against HMs by improving plant physiological, metabolic, and molecular responses. They also interact with potential osmolytes and phyto-hormones to regulate the plant performance under HM stress. Moreover, ZnO-NPs also work synergistically with microbes and gene expression which helps to withstand HM toxicity. Additionally, ZnO-NPs also restrict the uptake and accumulation of HMs in plants which improves the plant performance. This review highlights the promising role of ZnO-NPs in mitigating the adverse impacts of HMs in plants. In this review, we explained the different mechanisms mediated by ZnO-NPs to counter the toxic effects of HMs. We also discussed the interactions of ZnO-NPs with osmolytes, phytohormones, and microbes in mitigating the toxic effects of HMs in plants. This review will help to learn more about the role of ZnO-NPs to mitigate HM toxicity in plants. Therefore, it will provide new insights to ensure sustainable and safer production with ZnO-NPs in HM-polluted soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Plants respond to rapid environmental change in ways that depend on both their genetic identity and their phenotypic plasticity, impacting their survival as well as associated ecosystems. However, genetic and environmental effects on phenotype are difficult to quantify across large spatial scales and through time. Leaf hyperspectral reflectance offers a potentially robust approach to map these effects from local to landscape levels. Using a handheld field spectrometer, we analyzed leaf‐level hyperspectral reflectance of the foundation tree species Populus fremontii in wild populations and in three 6‐year‐old experimental common gardens spanning a steep climatic gradient. First, we show that genetic variation among populations and among clonal genotypes is detectable with leaf spectra, using both multivariate and univariate approaches. Spectra predicted population identity with 100% accuracy among trees in the wild, 87%–98% accuracy within a common garden, and 86% accuracy across different environments. Multiple spectral indices of plant health had significant heritability, with genotype accounting for 10%–23% of spectral variation within populations and 14%–48% of the variation across all populations. Second, we found gene by environment interactions leading to population‐specific shifts in the spectral phenotype across common garden environments. Spectral indices indicate that genetically divergent populations made unique adjustments to their chlorophyll and water content in response to the same environmental stresses, so that detecting genetic identity is critical to predicting tree response to change. Third, spectral indicators of greenness and photosynthetic efficiency decreased when populations were transferred to growing environments with higher mean annual maximum temperatures relative to home conditions. This result suggests altered physiological strategies further from the conditions to which plants are locally adapted. Transfers to cooler environments had fewer negative effects, demonstrating that plant spectra show directionality in plant performance adjustments. Thus, leaf reflectance data can detect both local adaptation and plastic shifts in plant physiology, informing strategic restoration and conservation decisions by enabling high resolution tracking of genetic and phenotypic changes in response to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warm‐season turfgrasses, including St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze], are produced and installed as monocultures of single cultivars. Recent research indicates that blending St. Augustinegrass cultivars can increase turfgrass stand resilience to insect pests, establishment of undesired plant species, and abiotic stressors without reducing plant performance. However, effects on specific key turfgrass insect pests are less documented and the mechanisms driving changes in turfgrass stand resilience are unclear. Moreover, it remains unknown if the effects of cultivar blends on biotic resistance vary across St. Augustinegrass’ range. Here, we pair a regional common garden observational field study with a controlled greenhouse experiment to isolate the effects of cultivar blends on the recruitment of predatory arthropods (top‐down pest regulation) and on southern chinch bug [Blissus insularis Barber] performance (bottom‐up pest regulation). We find that cultivar diversity has no effect on natural enemy recruitment but natural enemies do vary predictably with changes in geographic location. In contrast to our hypothesis, southern chinch bug reached higher densities in cultivar blends compared to cultivar monocultures, although this effect was driven by specific cultivar blends. Despite higher pest densities in turfgrass blends on average, blends of four St. Augustinegrass cultivars maintained a higher percent green cover than cultivar monocultures, suggesting that cultivar blends can persist longer under elevated pest densities compared to cultivar monocultures. Our findings can guide future research focused on blending warm‐season turfgrass cultivars as an integrated pest management strategy for more resilient and sustainable turfgrass lawns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current investigation, the combination of selenium (Se) and epibrassinolide (EBL) exhibited a promising alleviative response against the concurrent stress of heat and drought in wheat plants. The compromised growth and photosynthetic performance of wheat plants under the combined stress of heat and drought were substantially improved with the treatment involving Se and EBL. This improvement was facilitated through the expression of Q9FIE3 and O04939 proteins, along with enhanced antioxidant activities. The heightened levels of antioxidant enzymes and the accumulation of osmoprotectant proline helped mitigate the overaccumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including electrolyte leakage, H2O2 accumulation, and lipid peroxidation, thus conferring tolerance against the combined stress of heat and drought. Studies have demonstrated that Se and EBL can assist wheat plants in recuperating from the adverse effects of heat and drought. As such, they are essential components of sustainable farming methods that aim to increase crop productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrestrial plant communities often become invaded by alien species, which may benefit from high growth rates, strong phenotypic plasticity and reduced negative impacts from local soil communities. At the same time, terrestrial communities are increasingly more often exposed to periods of drought. However, how drought affects the competition between alien and native plants directly, and indirectly, through changing impacts of soil communities on plant performance, remains poorly understood.Here, we performed a greenhouse pot experiment in which we examined biomass responses of five native and five naturalized alien species (all occurring in mesic grasslands) to drought and benign soil moisture conditions, while growing in interspecific, intraspecific or absence of competition, in the presence or absence of native soil biota. We expected that alien plant species are less negatively affected by soil biota, but more negatively affected by drought than native species, and that drought indirectly weakens soil‐community‐driven competitive benefits of alien plant species over native ones.On average, soil‐community effects on plant biomass were positive, but native performance was less positively affected by soil communities than alien performance, suggesting reduced impacts of soil‐borne enemies on alien plants. Drought more negatively affected alien‐ than native plant performance. Drought impacts on plant biomass did not depend on soil community presence, but in the presence of soil biota, plants overall invested more in root biomass when exposed to drought. The effects of competition were subtle and species‐specific.To better understand the observed positive soil‐community effects on plant performance in our study, we examined mycorrhizal root colonization of plants grown in absence of competition. Among‐species variation in mycorrhizal colonization explained plant performance differences between soils with and without live soil communities, indicating a key role for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi as driver of plant performance. However, mycorrhizal colonization did not differ between alien and native plants and was unaffected by drought.Overall, our study suggests that drought may weaken alien plant invasions through stronger direct negative impacts on alien than on native plant performance, but that drought does not affect soil‐biota‐driven differences in plant performance between alien and native plants. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trait‐based restoration strategies are gaining significant attention in the scientific community. A recent article in Restoration Ecology by Merchant et al. outlined four reasons why traits are underused in restoration practice. In their response to the paper, Gornish et al. highlighted examples of how practitioners do, in fact, use traits in restoration and made recommendations for researchers to better engage with practitioners to leverage existing knowledge. Here, we clarify a preeminent challenge for either perspective: that we continue to lack the empirical data needed to develop and apply the effective trait‐based tools envisioned by many researchers. Long‐term, spatially replicated studies designed to address context‐dependency are needed to address critical knowledge gaps. Co‐developing projects with practitioners not only fosters more realistic and relatable study designs but also increases the likelihood of adopting new methods, enabling long‐term research that advances theory while improving local outcomes through more accurate trait‐based predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming has been shifting climatic envelopes of many tree species to higher latitudes and elevations across the globe; however, unsuitable soil biota may inhibit tree migrations into these areas of suitable climate. Specifically, the role of mycorrhizal fungi in facilitating tree seedling establishment beyond natural species range limits has not been fully explored within forest ecosystems. We used three experiments to isolate and quantify the effects of mycorrhizal colonization and common mycorrhizal networks (CMN) on tree seedling survival and growth across (within and beyond) the elevational ranges of two dominant tree species in northeastern North America, which were associated with either arbuscular mycorrhiza (AMF, Acer saccharum) or ectomycorrhiza (EMF, Fagus grandifolia). In order to quantify the influence of mycorrhiza on seedling establishment independent of soil chemistry and climate, we grew seedlings in soils from within and beyond our study species ranges in a greenhouse experiment (GE) as well as in the field using a soil translocation experiment (STE) and another field experiment manipulating seedling connections to potential CMNs (CMNE). Root length colonized, seedling survival and growth, foliar nutrients, and the presence of potential root pathogens were examined as metrics influencing plant performance across species' ranges. Mycorrhizal inoculum from within species ranges, but not from outside, increased seedling survival and growth in a greenhouse setting; however, only seedling survival, and not growth, was significantly improved in field studies. Sustained potential connectivity to AMF networks increased seedling survival across the entire elevational range of A. saccharum. Although seedlings disconnected from a potential CMN did not suffer decreased foliar nutrient levels compared with connected seedlings, disconnected AM seedlings, but not EM seedlings, had significantly higher aluminum concentrations and more potential pathogens present. Our results indicate that mycorrhizal fungi may facilitate tree seedling establishment beyond species range boundaries in this forested ecosystem and that the magnitude of this effect is modulated by the dominant mycorrhizal type present (i.e., AM vs. EM). Thus, despite changing climate conditions beyond species ranges, a lack of suitable mutualists can still limit successful seedling establishment and stall adaptive climate‐induced shifts in tree species distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant genotypes often exhibit varying resistance levels to herbivores. However, the impact of this genotypic variation on resistance against multiple herbivores remains poorly understood, especially in crops undergoing recent process of domestication. To address this gap, we studied the magnitude and mechanism of resistance in 12 cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) genotypes to three leaf-chewing herbivores – Sparganothis fruitworm (Sparganothis sulfureana), spotted fireworm (Choristoneura parallela), and spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) – along a domestication gradient (native 'wild' genotypes, 'early hybrid' genotypes, and 'modern hybrid' genotypes). Like cranberries, S. sulfureana and C. parallela are native to the United Sates, while L. dispar is an invasive pest. We measured the survival and growth of larvae on each genotype, as well as variation in plant performance (height and biomass) and leaf defensive chemical traits (C/N ratio, total phenolics, total proanthocyanidins, and flavonols levels) in these genotypes to elucidate potential resistance mechanisms. We found differences in C. parallela and L. dispar larval performance across genotypes, with larvae performing better on the modern hybrid genotypes, while S. sulfureana showed no differences. Morphological and chemical traits varied among genotypes, with total phenolics being the only trait correlated with C. parallela and L. dispar larval performance. Notably, the wild genotypes 'McFarlin' and 'Potter' had higher total phenolics and were more resistant to both herbivores than the modern hybrids 'Demoranville' and 'Mullica Queen.' This research contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the impact of crop domestication on multiple insect herbivores, offering insights for future breeding efforts to enhance host-plant resistance against agricultural pests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil acidification and low nutrient availability are two major challenges facing agriculture in most regions of East Africa, resulting in aluminum toxicity and poor crop yields. The amendment of local sediments to cropland can potentially alleviate these challenges, but responses are variable. In this study, we investigated the potential of two different local sediments influenced by volcanic deposits to increase soil pH, Si and P availability and reduce Al toxicity, thereby improve barley yield. Hence, a field experiment was established in Eldoret, Western Kenya, using 1% and 3% addition by weight of two sediments in barley cultivated plots. The Baringo 3% amendment significantly increased soil pH (from 4.7 to 7.0), the available P content (from 0.01 mg g-1 to 0.02 mg g-1) and decreased the Al availability (from 3.03 mg g-1--2.17 mg g-1). This resulted in a barley yield of 4.7 t/ha (+1061%). The Nakuru 3% and Baringo 1% amendments increased yield to 2--3 t/ha, while the Nakuru 1% did not significantly increase yield. These results highlight that, from a biophysical perspective, there are natural and local opportunities to reduce soil acidification and to partly replace mineral fertilizer, but its magnitude depends on the sediment and the amendment rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reintroducing endangered species constitutes an important conservation tool. The performance of reintroduced populations is commonly assessed through mean demographic rates (survival, growth, reproduction and fecundity), but rate correlations are less studied despite their role in extinction risk and trait evolution. In our study, we reintroduced the endangered shrub Vella pseudocytisus subsp. paui in two locations in Spain and compared its demographic performance to that of two natural populations to assess reintroduction success. In both natural and reintroduced sites, we selected sub‐locations with presumably more favourable (clay) vs. more stressful (gypsum) soil conditions. We monitored a total of 1269 individuals in natural (12 years) and reintroduced populations (6 years) and compared their mean demographic rates and the within‐individual rate correlations between years. In clay substrate, mean demographic rates of the natural and the reintroduced population were similar, suggesting a successful reintroduction. In contrast, the reintroduced population in gypsum showed higher reproduction and fecundity than the natural population, but lower survival and growth. Contrary to mean demographic performance, interannual correlations among demographic rates did not vary between natural and reintroduced populations. While reproduction in a given year was positively correlated with later growth and later reproduction, growth in a given year had some negative consequences in subsequent plant performance, especially in gypsum substrate. Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that stressful conditions may trigger individual‐level trade‐offs in resource allocation and population‐level compensation among demographic rates. Demographic shifts arising from reintroductions in different environmental conditions may be considered by managers as a potential mechanism of resilience against environmental change. Finally, the similarity in rate correlations among sites suggests that information about correlations, which can be relevant when focusing conservation efforts, may be extrapolated from natural to reintroduced populations. This might be particularly reliable for species where rate correlations are demographically influential, such as those living under generally stressful conditions, or lacking buffering mechanisms for demographic variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the limited number of studies on biotic resistance in freshwater ecosystems, experimental studies have supported that native plants play a role in resisting exotic plant invasion, but field observations have often reported positive relationships between exotic and native plant richness. To determine the reasons for the lack of evidence supporting biotic resistance in field observations, we surveyed the richness, biomass and coverage of exotic and native aquatic plants in 2801 quadrats at 287 sites in various freshwater ecosystems of China and examined the impacts of scale and environmental factors on the relationships between native and exotic plant richness and performance. At both the site and quadrat scales, we observed a positive correlation between the richness of exotic and native plants. However, at the quadrat scale, high native plant richness was associated with a reduction in the biomass of exotic emergent and floating plants as well as the biomass of exotic submerged plants in low‐nutrient water bodies. An increase in native plant performance, a metric that integrates the biomass and coverage of native plants, was associated with a decrease in both the richness and biomass of exotic plants at both scales. Furthermore, with increasing native plant performance at the quadrat scale, the richness of exotic plants declined more strongly in low‐nutrient water bodies than in high‐nutrient water bodies, and the decline in the biomass of exotic emergent and floating plants was more severe in shallow water than in deep water. Synthesis. Our results indicate that native plant performance is more important than richness for resistance to invasion in freshwater ecosystems, and the strength of biotic resistance is related to environmental factors. This study highlights the importance of environmental variables and multiple native community features and invasibility metrics in field observational studies of invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global energy demand is still primarily reliant on fossil-fueled thermal power plants. With the growing share of renewables, these plants must frequently adjust their loads. Maintaining, or ideally increasing operational efficiency under these conditions is crucial. Increasing the efficiency of such systems directly reduces associated greenhouse gas emissions, but it requires sophisticated models and monitoring systems. Data-driven models have proven their value here, as they can be used for monitoring, operational state estimation, and prediction. However, they are also sensitive to (1) the training approach, (2) the selected feature set, (3) and the algorithm used. Using operational data, we comprehensively investigate these model parameters for performance prediction in a thermal plant for process steam generation. Specifically, four regression algorithms are evaluated for the prediction of the highly fluctuating live steam flow with two training approaches and three feature subsets of the raw dataset. Furthermore, manual and automatic clustering methods are used to identify different states of operation regarding the fuel amounts used in the combustion chamber. Our results show that the live steam flow is predicted with excellent accuracy for a testing period of one month (R2=0.994 and NMAE=0.55%) when using a dynamic training approach and a comprehensive feature set comprised of 48 features representing the combustion process. It is also seen that the statically trained model predicts various load changes with strong accuracy and that the accuracy of the dynamically trained model can be approached by incorporating the cluster information into the static model. These models reflect the plant's physical intricacies under varying loads, where deviations from the predicted live steam flow indicate unwanted long-term drifts. They can be directly implemented to help operators detect inefficiencies and optimize plant performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractNowadays, hydroponics is an advanced method for plant production in agriculture. The optimal balance of nutrients in the nutrient solution is crucial to enhance plant performance in this method. To investigate the effect of potassium to calcium (K:Ca) ratio change in nutrient solution on quantitative and qualitative yield of lilies in hydroponic culture, a randomized complete block design with nine treatments and three replications was designed and carried out in 30% perlite and 70% sand. The treatments included different concentrations of calcium (Ca) at three levels of 0, 3, and 6 mM and different concentrations of potassium (K) at three levels of 0, 3, and 6 mM in the Hoagland nutrient solution, with K:Ca ratios of 0:0, 0:3, 0:6, 3:0, 3:3, 3:6, 6:0, 6:3, and 6:6. Results showed that the presence of different levels of potassium and calcium was found to enhance the quality of lilies by influencing nutrient uptake. The results indicated that nutrient solutions containing different ratios of K:Ca had a significant effect on reproductive height, the number of aborted buds, stem diameter at the 5% level and the number of flowers, the number of leaves, the fresh weight of shoots, the dry weight of shoots, and the longevity at the 1% level. The highest yield in terms of longevity (17 days), the number of flowers, the number of leaves, and absorption of potassium and calcium were observed in the nutrient solution with a 3:3 K:Ca ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have profound effects on plant growth and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrition. However, a comprehensive evaluation of how plant N and P respond to AMF inoculation is still unavailable. Here, we complied data from 187 original researches and carried out a meta-analysis to assess the effects of AMF inoculation on plant growth and N and P nutrition. We observe overall positive effects of AMF inoculation on plant performance. The mean increases of plant biomass, N concentration, P concentration, N and P uptake of whole plant are 47%, 16%, 27%, 67%, and 105%, respectively. AMF inoculation induces more increases in plant concentrations and storage of P than N. Plant responses to AMF inoculation are substantially higher with single AMF species than with mixed AMF species, in laboratory experiments than in field experiments, and in legumes than in non-legumes. The response ratios of plant N and P nutrition are positively correlated with AMF colonization rate, N addition, P addition, and water condition, while unvaried with experiment duration. The biggest and smallest effect sizes of AMF inoculation on plant performance are observed in the application of nitrate and ammonium, respectively. Accordingly, this meta-analysis study clearly suggests that AMF inoculation improves both plant N and P nutrients and systematically clarifies the variation patterns in AMF effects with various biotic and abiotic factors. These findings highlight the important role of AMF inoculation in enhancing plant N and P resource acquisitions and provide useful references for evaluating the AMF functions under the future global changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Plants produce an immense diversity of defensive specialized metabolites. However, despite extensive functional characterization, the relative importance of different defensive compounds is rarely examined in natural settings. Here, we compare the efficacy of three Nicotiana benthamiana defensive compounds, nicotine, acylsugars and a serine protease inhibitor, by growing plants with combinations of knockout mutations in a natural setting, quantifying invertebrate interactions and comparing relative plant performance. Among the three tested compounds, acylsugars had the greatest defensive capacity, affecting aphids, leafhoppers, spiders and flies. Nicotine mutants displayed increased leafhopper feeding and aphid colonization. Plants lacking both nicotine and acylsugars were more susceptible to flea beetles and thrips. By contrast, knockout of the serine protease inhibitor did not affect insect herbivory in the field. Complementary experiments under controlled laboratory conditions with caterpillars, grasshoppers and aphids confirmed results obtained in a natural setting. We conclude that the three metabolite groups collectively provide broad‐spectrum protection to N. benthamiana. However, there is a gradient in their effects on the interacting invertebrates present in the field. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, even if individual metabolites do not have a measurable defensive benefit on their own, they can have an additive effect when combined with other defensive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement Management practices, for example, in an agricultural context, are often tested in isolation or in pairwise interaction, but rarely using a higher number of jointly applied practices. In a proof‐of‐concept study, we test the effects of combining up to five management practices. Effects seen on soil and plant performance suggest that it may be worth to systematically and broadly examine the effects of higher order management combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Leaf traits are known to be strong predictors of plant performance and can be expected to (co)vary along environmental gradients. We investigated the variation, integration, environmental relationships and evolutionary history of leaf functional traits in the genus Coffea , typically a rainforest understorey shrub, across Africa. A better understanding of the adaptive processes involved in leaf trait evolution can inform the use and conservation of coffee genetic resources in a changing climate. Methods We used phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate the evolution of six leaf traits measured from herbarium specimens of 58 African Coffea species. We added environmental data and data on maximum plant height for each species to test trait–environment correlations in various (sub)clades, and we compared continuous trait evolution models to identify variables driving trait diversification. Key Results Substantial leaf trait variation was detected across the genus Coffea in Africa, which was mostly interspecific. Of these traits, stomatal size and stomatal density exhibited a clear trade-off. We observed low densities of large stomata in early-branching lineages and higher densities of smaller stomata in more recent taxa, which we hypothesize to be related to declining CO2 levels since the mid-Miocene. Brownian motion evolution was rejected in favor of white noise or Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models for all traits, implying these traits are adaptively significant rather than driven by pure drift. The evolution of leaf area was likely driven by precipitation, with smaller leaves in drier climates across the genus. Conclusions Generally, Coffea leaf traits appear to be evolutionarily labile and governed by stabilizing selection, though evolutionary patterns and correlations differ depending on the traits and clades considered. Our study highlights the importance of a phylogenetic perspective when studying trait relationships across related taxa, as well as the consideration of various taxonomic ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the issues of sparse training data, complex entity structures, and uneven entity distribution in the industrial equipment failure domain, this study constructs an industrial equipment failure named entity recognition corpus. Due to the difficulty of character level named entity recognition models in representing the professional vocabulary information in the field of industrial equipment failure, this study proposes a character enhanced industrial equipment failure named entity recognition model to address this problem. In the embedding layer, professional vocabulary information is directly fused between the Transformer layers of ROBERT WWM (Robustly Optimized BERT Pretraining Approach with Whole Word Masking) to allocate word information to each of its constituent characters for enhanced semantics. The global semantic information is obtained through a BiLSTM (Bidirectional Long Short Term Memory), and the CRF (Conditional Random Field) is used to learn the dependency relationship between adjacent labels to obtain the optimal sentence level label sequence. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model has good performance on industrial equipment fault named entity recognition tasks, with an average F1 score of 92.403%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant health is increasingly threatened by abiotic and biotic stressors linked to anthropogenic global change. These stressors are frequently studied in isolation. However, they might have non‐additive (antagonistic or synergistic) interactive effects that affect plant communities in unexpected ways. We conducted a global meta‐analysis to summarize existing evidence on the joint effects of climate change (drought and warming) and biotic attack (pathogens) on plant performance. We also investigated the effect of drought and warming on pathogen performance, as this information is crucial for a mechanistic interpretation of potential indirect effects of climate change on plant performance mediated by pathogens. The final databases included 1230 pairwise cases extracted from 117 recently published scientific articles (from 2006) on a global scale. We found that the combined negative effects of drought and pathogens on plant growth were lower than expected based on their main effects, supporting the existence of antagonistic interactions. Thus, the larger the magnitude of the drought, the lower the pathogen capacity to limit plant growth. On the other hand, the combination of warming and pathogens caused larger plant damage than expected, supporting the existence of synergistic interactions. Our results on the effects of drought and warming on pathogens revealed a limitation of their growth rates and abundance in vitro but an improvement under natural conditions, where multiple factors operate across the microbiome. Further research on the impact of climate change on traits explicitly defining the infective ability of pathogens would enhance the assessment of its indirect effects on plants. The evaluated plant and pathogen responses were conditioned by the intensity of drought or warming and by moderator categorical variables defining the pathosystems. Overall, our findings reveal the need to incorporate the joint effect of climatic and biotic components of global change into predictive models of plant performance to identify non‐additive interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field robots are an important tool when improving the efficiency and decreasing the climatic impact of food production. Although several commercial field robots are available, the advantages, limitations, and optimal utilization methods of this technology are still not well understood due to its novelty. This study aims to evaluate the performance of a commercial field robot for seeding and weeding tasks. The evaluation was carried out in a 2-hectare sugar beet field. The robot's performance was assessed by counting plants and weeds using image processing. The YOLOv8 model was trained to detect sugar beets and weeds. The plant and weed densities were compared on a robotically weeded area of the field, a chemically weeded control area, and an untreated control area. The average weed density on the robotically treated area was about two times lower than that on the untreated area and about three times higher than on the chemically treated area. The testing robot in the specific testing environment and mode showed intermediate results, weeding a majority of the weeds between the rows; however, it left the most harmful weeds close to the plants. Software for robot performance assessment can be used for monitoring robot performance and plant conditions several times during plant growth according to the weeding frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protists, as integral constituents of the plant microbiome, are posited to confer substantial benefits to plant health and performance. Despite their significance, protists have received considerably less attention compared to other constituents of the plant microbiome, such as bacteria and fungi. To investigate the diversity and community structure of protists in sorghum leaves and roots, we employed amplicon sequencing of the eukaryotic 18S rRNA gene in 563 leaf and root samples collected from 57 locations across China. We found significant differences in the diversity and community structure of protists in sorghum leaves and roots. The leaf was taxonomically dominated by Evosea, Cercozoa and Ciliophora, while the root was dominated by Endomyxa, Cercozoa and Oomycota. The functional taxa of protists exhibited notable differences between leaves and roots, with the former being predominantly occupied by consumers and the latter by parasites. The community composition of protists in the leaf was predominantly influenced by mean annual precipitation, whereas soil pH played a more significant role in the root. The present study identified the most abundant and distributed protists in sorghum leaves and roots and elucidated the underlying factors that govern their community structure. The present study offers a novel perspective on the factors that shape plant‐associated protist communities and their potential roles in enhancing the functionality of plant ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise: Reduced snow cover and increasing temperature variability can increase freezing stress for herbaceous plants in northern temperate regions. Legumes have emerged as a plant functional group that is highly sensitive to these changes relative to other herbaceous species in these regions. We explored root‐nodulating bacterial associations and cyanogenesis as potential mechanisms explaining this relatively low freezing tolerance of legumes. Methods: To examine the influence of bacterial associations, we grew four legume species with or without crushed‐nodule inoculum at three severities of freezing, and three concentrations of nitrogen to disambiguate the direct benefits of increased nitrogen from the total bacterial effect. We quantified cyanogenesis via hydrogen cyanide production in both true leaves and cotyledons for nine legume species. Results: Root nodulation generally only affected legume survival under low nitrogen, when freezing severity was moderate or low. However, for the frost‐surviving plants, the growth advantage provided by nodulation decreased (it was often no longer significant with increasing freezing severity), and greater freezing severity reduced total nodule mass. In contrast, cyanogenesis was only detected in two of the nine species. Conclusions: The diminished performance of nodulated plants in response to freezing could place legumes at a competitive disadvantage and potentially explain their high sensitivity to freezing relative to other herbaceous species in northern temperate regions. Overall, this result has important implications for changes in soil fertility, community composition, and plant productivity in these ecosystems in the context of a changing winter climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines methodologies for monitoring energy consumption and operational parameters of an industrial assembly line, with a particular emphasis on the utilization of virtual tools, augmented reality, and real-time data visualization. The research examines the integration of an interface and the implementation of a data acquisition system, employing augmented reality to facilitate interaction with the collected data. The proposed system employs the Node-RED interface to facilitate the establishment of connections between constituent elements. The data is stored in a database, which provides support for decision-making in the analysis of energy consumption and operational parameters of the industrial assembly line. The results demonstrate that the solution is effective in enhancing energy resource management, identifying inefficiencies, and optimizing the performance of industrial equipment. The findings indicate that the implementation of such a system can markedly enhance the industrial process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, alkaline soda soil has stimulated numerous biological research on plants under carbonate stress. Here, we explored the difference in physiological regulation of rice seedlings between saline (NaCl) and alkaline carbonate (NaHCO3 and Na2CO3) stress. The rice seedlings were treated with 40 mM NaCl, 40 mM NaHCO3 and 20 mM Na2CO3 for 2 h, 12 h, 24 h and 36 h, their physiological characteristics were determined, and organic acid biosynthesis and metabolism and hormone signalling were identified by transcriptome analysis. The results showed that alkaline stress caused greater damage to their photosynthetic and antioxidant systems and led to greater accumulation of organic acid, membrane damage, proline and soluble sugar but a decreased jasmonic acid content compared with NaCl stress. Jasmonate ZIM-Domain (JAZ), the probable indole-3-acetic acid-amido synthetase GH3s, and the protein phosphatase type 2Cs that related to the hormone signalling pathway especially changed under Na2CO3 stress. Further, the organic acid biosynthesis and metabolism process in rice seedlings were modified by both Na2CO3 and NaHCO3 stresses through the glycolate/glyoxylate and pyruvate metabolism pathways. Collectively, this study provides valuable evidence on carbonate-responsive genes and insights into the different molecular mechanisms of saline and alkaline stresses. Understanding how seedlings respond to stress from salt and alkalis can help inform strategies to boost plant performance in adverse environments. We examined how these stressors affect rice seedling physiology and gene expression. Genes that respond to salt and alkali stress are mainly involved in hormone signalling, and in the synthesis and metabolism of organic acids. These findings will contribute to engineering stress-tolerant crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity and soil carbon dioxide elevation in arid regions are considered the most serious factors affecting crop growth and productivity. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of elevated CO2 levels (eCO2 at rates of 700 and 1000 ppm) on agro-physiological attributes to induce drought tolerance in cucumbers by activating the expression of genes related to aquaporin and stress response, which improved the yield of cucumber under two levels of irrigation water conditions [75% and 100% crop evapotranspiration (ETc)]. Therefore, two field experiments were conducted in a greenhouse with controlled internal climate conditions, at the Mohamed Naguib sector of the national company for protected agriculture, during the winter seasons of 2021–2022 and 2022–2023. The treatments included eCO2 in soil under normal and partial root zoon drying (PRD, 100% ETc Full irrigations, and 75% ETc). All the applied treatments were organized as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and each treatment was replicated six times. Untreated plants were designed as control treatment (CO2 concentration was 400 ppm). The results of this study showed that elevating CO2 at 700 and 1000 ppm in soil significantly increased plant growth parameters, photosynthesis measurements, and phytohormones [indole acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellic acid (GA3)], under partial root-zone drying (75% ETc) and full irrigation conditions (100% ETc). Under PRD condition, eCO2 at 700 ppm significantly improved plant height (13.68%), number of shoots (19.88%), Leaf greenness index (SPAD value, 16.60%), root length (24.88%), fresh weight (64.77%) and dry weight (61.25%) of cucumber plant, when compared to untreated plants. The pervious treatment also increased photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, and intercellular CO2 concentration by 50.65%, 15.30% and 12.18%; respectively, compared to the control treatment. Similar findings were observed in nutrient concentration, carbohydrate content, Proline, total antioxidants in the leaf, and nutrients. In contrast, eCO2 at 700 ppm in the soil reduced the values of transpiration rate (6.33%) and Abscisic acid (ABA, 34.03%) content in cucumber leaves compared to untreated plants under both water levels. Furthermore, the results revealed that the gene transcript levels of the aquaporin-related genes (CsPIP1-2 and CsTIP4) significantly increased compared with a well-watered condition. The transcript levels of CsPIP improved the contribution rate of cell water transportation (intermediated by aquaporin’s genes) and root or leaf hydraulic conductivity. The quantitative real-time PCR expression results revealed the upregulation of CsAGO1 stress-response genes in plants exposed to 700 ppm CO2. In conclusion, elevating CO2 at 700 ppm in the soil might be a promising technique to enhance the growth and productivity of cucumber plants in addition to alleviating the adverse effects of drought stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR6 (ERF6) has emerged as a central player in stress‐induced plant growth inhibition. It orchestrates complex pathways that enable plants to acclimate and thrive in challenging environments. In response to various abiotic and biotic stresses, ERF6 is promptly activated through both ethylene‐dependent and ‐independent pathways, and contributes to enhanced stress tolerance mechanisms by activating a broad spectrum of genes at various developmental stages. Despite the crucial role of ERF6, there is currently a lack of published comprehensive insights into its function in plant growth and stress response. In this respect, based on the tight connection between ethylene and ERF6, we review the latest research findings on how ethylene regulates stress responses and the mechanisms involved. In addition, we summarize the trends and advances in ERF6‐mediated plant performance under optimal and stressful conditions. Finally, we also highlight key questions and suggest potential paths to unravel the ERF6 regulon in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whole-genome duplication (WGD) is a leading force of plant sympatric speciation. However, the evolutionary mechanisms promoting the establishment of neopolyploid mutants in nature remain elusive. We studied polyploid establishment in a unique natural system of Mimulus guttatus (Phrymaceae) in Shetland where a recently (< 100 years ago) locally formed autotetraploid still coexists with its diploid progenitor. We cytotyped 679 adults and 766 seedlings and scored relevant reproductive traits in the field and performed controlled crossings to infer differences in plant performance and get a first insight into the crossing barriers between ploidies. Tetraploids grew in 25% of Shetland populations, mostly in mixtures with diploids, but triploids were absent both among seedlings and adults. Seeds of both cytotypes sampled in areas of immediate sympatry exhibited similar, high germination rates (98% on average). In contrast, low (2%) germination of progeny from controlled interploidy crosses demonstrated strong postzygotic isolation. Yet, plants simultaneously pollinated by diploid and tetraploid pollen donors set viable progeny with ploidy levels identical to the seed parent. The abundant presence of fertile tetraploids in the field despite strong postzygotic isolation demonstrates the ability of novel autopolyploids to cope with both intrinsic and extrinsic challenges associated with WGD and to successfully establish in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal(loid) pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, threatening all living organisms. Metal(loid) stress adversely impacts plant growth, physiology, and overall productivity. Numerous physicochemical approaches have been developed and employed to counteract and reduce the detrimental effects of metal(loid)s. However, these methods have raised environmental concerns, leading to questions about their appropriateness and efficacy. Consequently, alternative and eco-friendly solutions, such as the application of biochar, have gained prominence. Biochar is a carbon-rich material derived from the pyrolysis and hydrothermal processes of various organic materials. Due to its exceptional physicochemical properties, biochar is believed to enhance soil quality and fertility. Several global studies have underscored the positive role of biochar in reducing the uptake of metal(loid)s by plants in polluted soils. In this article, we explore various facets of plant reactions to metal(loid)s toxicity and attempt to draw links between biochar use and improvements in plant physiology and performance. We also review the effectiveness of biochar in phytoremediation, its influence on nutrient adsorption mechanisms, and its role in assisting plant growth and defense systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the impact of night frost incidents on the biochemical, physiological, and reproductive functions of the olive varieties Manzanillo, Coratina, Koroneiki, and Picual. Certain cultivars were more suited to moderate cold night stress than others, based on the changes in the performance of the stressed plants, including vegetative growth, tree yield, fruit physical characteristics, and fruit chemical characteristics. Compared to other tested cultivars, the biochemical responses of the plants in terms of photosynthetic pigments, relative water content (RWC), total phenolic compounds, total flavonoid, and antioxidant enzyme accumulation demonstrated that some cultivars could withstand the applied stress. The conclusion that some cultivars responded differently to cold stress than others was supported by the plant phenology. This research could be a game-changer for farmers. By understanding how olive trees adapt to cold snaps, a common stressor in open fields, they can make informed decisions about breeding and choosing the best cultivars, ultimately leading to more resilient crops. The results showed that all tested olive tree cultivars differ significantly regarding cold stress conditions. Coratina and Koroneiki were the most resistant tested cultivars in terms of biochemical, physiological, and reproductive functions, followed in ascending order by Manzanello and Picual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with the government's recent government policy, this study was conducted in line with the increasing importance of the carbon neutral model through energy saving. By developing a composite sensor to realize energy and cost savings and developing a self-verification system to reduce the risk of applying the composite sensor to the plant and verify the performance, it was possible to verify the stability as well as the performance of the composite sensor. Therefore, in this study, not only a complex sensor but also a verification system could be developed to verify the sensor. Unlike conventional virtual flow sensors, the verified virtual flow meter contributed to accurate flow prediction by separately analyzing major and insignificant chickenpox losses. The virtual flow complex sensor can be used at a point where it is difficult to install an actual flow meter based on pressure loss, and is expected to have a profound impact on acquiring a rough flow value at any point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microbial community plays a vital role in root–environment interactions, which affect plant performance under biotic stress. Rust disease significantly affects plant growth, which may also affect rhizosphere microbial community. However, there is a scarcity of studies investigating the microbial community of rhizosphere under rust disease stress. Iris lactea is a widely utilized plant in gardening and landscaping due to its versatility and ornamental value, but it is often susceptible to rust disease in landscape settings. In this study, we compared the bacterial communities between bulk soil (non-cultivated control), rhizosphere soil of healthy Iris lactea plants, and rhizosphere soil of Iris lactea plants infected with rust disease (rhizosphere-R). Results revealed significant alterations in the abundance and composition of bacterial communities associated with rust disease infection. Specifically, the rhizosphere-R samples exhibited a decreased Shannon index at 1.9% compared to bulk soil and the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was increased at 31.65%. Moreover, distinct changes in β-diversity were shown between bulk soil and rhizosphere samples. Notably, potentially pathogenic bacteria increased in abundance under rust disease stress, while beneficial bacterial taxa decreased. Overall, our results show that rust disease affects the rhizosphere microbial community, which emphasizes the ecological implications of plant–microbe interactions under biotic stress and implications for developing targeted rhizobacterial-based biocontrol strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants have evolved mechanisms to anticipate and adjust their growth and development in response to environmental changes. Understanding the key regulators of plant performance is crucial to mitigate the negative influence of global climate change on crop production. EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3) is one such regulator playing a critical role in the circadian clock and thermomorphogenesis. In Arabidopsis thaliana , ELF3 contains a prion-like domain (PrLD) that acts as a thermosensor, facilitating liquid–liquid phase separation at high ambient temperatures. To assess the conservation of this function across the plant kingdom, we traced the evolutionary emergence of ELF3, with a focus on the presence of PrLDs. We found that the PrLD, primarily influenced by the length of polyglutamine (polyQ) repeats, is most prominent in Brassicales. Analyzing 319 natural A. thaliana accessions, we confirmed the previously described wide range of polyQ length variation in At ELF3, but found it to be only weakly associated with geographic origin, climate conditions, and classic temperature-responsive phenotypes. Interestingly, similar polyQ length variation was not observed in several other investigated Bassicaceae species. Based on these findings, available prediction tools and limited experimental evidence, we conclude that the emergence of PrLD, and particularly polyQ length variation, is unlikely to be a key driver of environmental adaptation. Instead, it likely adds an additional layer to ELF3's role in thermomorphogenesis in A. thaliana , with its relevance in other species yet to be confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure and diversity of tropical vegetation are shaped by biotic and abiotic factors, which function as environmental filters affecting plant performance on different spatial and temporal scales. We compared soil (Ferrasols and Cambisols) conditions, vegetation structure and leaf traits (e.g., specific leaf area, polyphenols, and chlorophyll contents a/b and in total) in the early, intermediate and late successional stages of a tropical dry forest (TDF) in southeastern Brazil. For this purpose, we measured leaf traits of the most abundant species in the same 18 plots (50 × 20 m/six per successional stage) in 2009 and 2018. Our prediction is that tree species growing in early forests have a greater investment in conservative traits related to chemical defenses and tolerance to desiccation compared to late-stage tree species. We observed contrasting results when comparing the chronosequence differences in leaf traits both in 2009 and 2018 and the temporal changes along this period. Specific leaf area was lower than expected for all successional stages, while polyphenol content increased over time, contrary to other studies in TDFs. These results suggest that contrasting environmental factors such as soil conditions and light availability are responsible of the observed pattern. Total chlorophyll content did not change significantly, while the a/b chlorophyll ratio doubled in all successional stages, contrary to our prediction. Therefore, we suggest that the conservative–acquisitive spectrum in successional gradients of TDFs should be further investigated with time-series data for a better understanding of plant community assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the relationship between root cortical parenchyma wall width (CPW) and plant functioning under drought conditions. The study found that thicker CPW in maize roots promotes growth and yield under suboptimal water and nitrogen supply. The authors used a functional-structural root anatomy model to predict the effects of increased CPW on root respiration and conducted field experiments to confirm their findings. They also identified potential genes associated with CPW changes and suggested that thicker CPW allows for deeper rooting, which enhances water uptake and plant performance under drought. The article highlights the importance of understanding root cortical cell structures and their impact on plant adaptation to stressful environments. [Extracted from the article]

Plant phenotypic plasticity plays an important role in nitrogen (N) acquisition and use under nitrogen-limited conditions. However, this role has never been quantified as a function of N availability, leaving it unclear whether plastic responses should be considered as potential targets for selection. A combined modelling and experimentation approach was adopted to quantify the role of plasticity in N uptake and plant yield. Based on a greenhouse experiment we considered plasticity in two maize (Zea mays) traits: root-to-leaf biomass allocation ratio and emergence rate of axial roots. In a simulation experiment we individually enabled or disabled both plastic responses for maize stands grown across six N levels. Both plastic responses contributed to maintaining a higher N uptake, and plant productivity as N availability declined compared with stands in which plastic responses were disabled. We conclude that plastic responses quantified in this study may be a potential target trait in breeding programs for greater N uptake across N levels while it may only be important for the internal use of N under N-limited conditions in maize. Given the complexity of breeding for plastic responses, an a priori model analysis is useful to identify which plastic traits to target for enhanced plant performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics (MP), fragments of plastic generally defined as, less than 5 mm in size, originating from various urban sources, have become a significant environmental concern due to their widespread presence and potential impacts on ecosystems. This study investigates the efficiency of an advanced wastewater treatment plant discharging into the Mediterranean Sea in removing MPs from wastewater. The plant processes wastewater through a series of treatment stages, including screening, desanding, coagulation/flocculation, biological filtration, and sludge incineration. Samples were collected and analysed during three distinct campaigns (dry, rainy, and touristic seasons) to assess the plant's performance under varying conditions. Using matrix-representative sampling methodologies and Focal Plane Array micro Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FPA-µFT-IR) for MP quantification, the study measured MP concentrations and removal rates. The treatment plant demonstrated high removal rates of microplastics across different periods. Using a mass balance approach, the removal efficiency during the dry sampling period was 99.85%. In the rainy campaign, the efficiency slightly decreased to 99.11% due to increased runoff, while during the touristic period, the efficiency peaked at 99.95%. Polyester was identified as the predominant polymer type. The primary treatment stages, particularly coagulation/flocculation and lamellar settling, are most effective in MP removal. The majority of MPs are retained in the sludge, which is subsequently incinerated, preventing environmental discharge. This research demonstrates that a WWTP employing advanced treatment processes is not a source of MP to the environment but rather a sink. Despite variations in influent MP concentrations across different seasons, the plant consistently maintained high removal rates, effectively mitigating MP pollution. In this study, sludge incineration further ensured that MPs were prevented from entering the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst transgenerational effects (TGE) of abiotic conditions are becoming generally accepted in plants, those of biotic interactions remain largely unexplored. We therefore investigated the influence of TGE due to arbuscular mycorrhiza, the most widespread mutualistic interaction of plants with microorganisms, on clonal and sexual offspring of Fragaria vesca. We hypothesized that the ecological and evolutionary significance of TGE will vary between clonal and sexual offspring based on mycorrhizal status and phosphorus (P) availability experienced by the parent. In a two‐generation greenhouse experiment, parental plants were exposed to full‐factorial combinations of mycorrhizal status and high or low P availability. TGE on mycorrhiza establishment and plant performance were evaluated in their clonal and sexual offspring, which experienced the parental or all non‐parental environments. Consistently in both generations, mycorrhiza improved plant growth at low P availability, but had no or even negative effect at high P availability, concomitantly with decreased root colonization by the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus. TGE due to mycorrhiza was generally stronger in sexually derived offspring, both on mycorrhiza formation and plant growth. In sexual offspring, parental mycorrhizal status was adaptive if the offspring's mycorrhizal status was of disadvantage: for mycorrhizal offspring growing in high P availability and for non‐mycorrhizal offspring at low P availability. Synthesis: Our results suggest that clonal and sexual reproduction are under different evolutionary pressures, leading to the development of stronger TGE mechanisms in response to mycorrhizal symbiosis in the latter. The complexity of the observed effects highlights the need for disentangling the mechanisms contributing to the TGE in clonal and sexual reproduction. Our study underlines the importance of considering reproductive strategies and the interplay between environmental factors and TGE in understanding the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of plant–symbiotic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought poses a significant ecological threat that limits the production of crops worldwide. The objective of this study to examine the impact of soil applied biochar (BC) and peatmoss (PM) on the morpho-biochemical and quality traits of tobacco plants under drought conditions. In the present experiment work, a pot trial was conducted with two levels of drought severity (~ well-watered 75 ± 5% field capacity) and severe drought stress (~ 35 ± 5% field capacity), two levels of peatmoss (PM) @ 5% [PM+ (with peatmoss) and PM- (without peatmoss)] and three levels of rice straw biochar (BC0 = no biochar; BC1 = 150 mg kg− 1; and BC2 = 300 mg kg− 1 of soil) in tobacco plants. The results indicate that drought conditions significantly impacted the performance of tobacco plants. However, the combined approach of BC and PM significantly improved the growth, biomass, and total chlorophyll content (27.94%) and carotenoids (32.00%) of tobacco. This study further revealed that the drought conditions decreased the production of lipid peroxidation and proline accumulation. But the synergistic approach of BC and PM application increased soluble sugars (17.63 and 12.20%), soluble protein (31.16 and 15.88%), decreased the proline accumulation (13.92 and 9.03%), and MDA content (16.40 and 8.62%) under control and drought stressed conditions, respectively. Furthermore, the combined approach of BC and PM also improved the leaf potassium content (19.02%) by limiting the chloride ions (33.33%) under drought stressed conditions. Altogether, the balanced application of PM and BC has significant potential as an effective approach and sustainable method to increase the tolerance of tobacco plants subjected to drought conditions. This research uniquely highlights the combined potential of PM and BC as an eco-friendly strategy to enhance plant resilience under drought conditions, offering new insights into sustainable agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Plants naturally harbor diverse microbiomes that can dramatically impact their health and productivity. However, it remains unclear how fungal microbiome diversity, especially in the phyllosphere, impacts intermicrobial interactions and consequent nonadditive effects on plant productivity.Combining manipulative experiments, field collections, culturing, microbiome sequencing, and synthetic consortia, we experimentally tested for the first time how foliar fungal community diversity impacts plant productivity. We inoculated morning glories (Ipomoea hederifolia L.) with 32 phyllosphere consortia of either low or high diversity or with single fungal taxa, and measured effects on plant productivity and allocation.We found the following: (1) nonadditive effects were pervasive with 56% of fungal consortia interacting synergistically or antagonistically to impact plant productivity, including some consortia capable of generating acute synergism (e.g. > 1000% increase in productivity above the additive expectation), (2) interactions among 'commensal' fungi were responsible for this nonadditivity in diverse consortia, (3) synergistic interactions were approximately four times stronger than antagonistic effects, (4) fungal diversity affected the magnitude but not frequency or direction of nonadditivity, and (5) diversity affected plant performance nonlinearly with the highest performance in low‐diversity treatments.These findings highlight the importance of interpreting plant–microbiome interactions under a framework that incorporates intermicrobial interactions and nonadditive outcomes to understand natural complexity. See also the Commentary on this article by Whitaker, 243: 2050–2051. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of nanoparticles into plant cryopreservation protocols holds great promise for improving the survival rates and recovery potential of explants. This study aimed to verify the effect of nanoparticles on the ex-vitro performance of cryopreservation-derived plants. Lamprocapnos spectabilis (L.) Fukuhara (bleeding heart) 'Gold Heart' and 'Valentine' cultivars were used as the plant material. The encapsulation-vitrification cryopreservation protocol of shoot tips included the preculture, encapsulation, dehydration, storage in liquid nitrogen, rewarming, and recovery steps. Gold (AuNPs), silver (AgNPs), or zinc oxide (ZnONPs) nanoparticles were added at varying concentrations, either into the preculture medium or the protective bead matrix during encapsulation. After the in vitro recovery, the plants were transferred to the glasshouse and subjected to detailed biometrical, biochemical and cytogenetic analyses. Nanoparticles had no evident effect on the acclimatization efficiency (80–100% survival) and leaf number in L. spectabilis 'Gold Heart'. Nonetheless, shoots developed from alginate beads supplemented with 5 ppm AuNPs were twice as long as the control, while the leaves of plants grown on the preculture medium with ZnONPs contained significantly more chlorophyll and had higher Leaf Soil-Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) values. Moreover, several NPs treatments stimulated the development of leaves, including their surface area, length, and perimeter. Higher ZnONPs levels enhanced also the replication process, resulting in higher nuclear DNA content. As for L. spectabilis 'Valentine', alginate augmentation with 5 ppm AgNPs or 5 ppm ZnONPs stimulated the elongation of shoots. There was also a tendency suggesting a positive influence of 5 ppm AgNPs in the alginate bead matrix on foliar growth. The effect of nanoparticles on the content of flavonoids, anthocyanins, and stress markers in the plants varied depending on the treatment and cultivar, but also on the organ studied (leaf or stem). Overall, L. spectabilis 'Gold Heart' was more stress-tolerant and genetically stable than 'Valentine' judging by the activity of Photosystem II (PSII) and flow cytometric analyses, respectively. The complex effects of nanoparticles on survival, biometric parameters, physiological responses, and cytogenetic events underscore the intricate interplay between nanoparticles and plant systems. Nonetheless, our research confirmed the positive effect of nanoparticles on the ex-vitro growth and development of L. spectabilis plants after cryostorage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming causes heat and drought stress in plants, which affects crop production. In addition to osmotic stress and protein inactivation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) overaccumulation under heat and drought stress is a secondary stress that further impairs plant performance. Chloroplasts, mitochondria, peroxisomes, and apoplasts are the main ROS generation sites in heat- and drought-stressed plants. In this review, we summarize ROS generation and scavenging in heat- and drought-stressed plants and highlight the potential applications of plant nanobiotechnology for enhancing plant tolerance to these stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar (BC) applications in soil has positive effects on plant performance, particularly for loose soil in agricultural context. However, how biochar types affect plant performance of non-crop species and soil–plant carbon relationships is not clear. We selected five different BC types and three plant species to investigate the responses of plant performance and the soil–plant carbon relationship to BC effects. The result demonstrated that peanut shell BC led to the death of both R. tomentosa and C. edithiae, due to a reduction in nutrient uptake caused by higher soil electricity conductivity (2001.7 and 976.3 µS cm−1). However, the carbon content of S. arboricola increased by 57% in peanut shell BC-amended soil, suggesting that S. arboricola has a higher tolerance for soil salinity. Wood BC-amended soil led to better stomatal conductance (gs) and leaf area index (LAI) of both R. tomentosa and C. edithiae due to the higher water retention in the soil (22.68% and 20.79%). This illustrated that a higher amount of water retention brought by wood BC with a great amount of pore volume might be the limited factor for plant growth. The relationship between gs and LAI suggested that gs would not increase when LAI reached beyond 3. Moreover, wood and peanut shell BC caused a negative relationship between soil organic carbon and plant carbon content, suggesting that plants consume more carbon from the soil to store it in the plant. Overall, wood BC is recommended for plant growth of R. tomentosa and C. edithiae, and peanut shell BC is suggested for S. arboricola carbon storage. Highlights: Peanut shell biochar enhanced soil salinity which causes the death of R. tomentosa and C. edithiae, while wood biochar is suitable for these plant species. Wood and peanut shell biochar caused a negative relationship between soil organic carbon and plant carbon content. The stomatal conductance will not increase when the leaf area reaches the limiting value 3. An empirical function is developed to correlate plant carbon content and leaf area index under different biochar applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction between genotype and environment (GEI) significantly influences plant performance, crucial for breeding programs and ultimately boosting crop productivity. Alongside GEI, breeders encounter another hurdle in their quest for yield improvement, notably adverse and negative correlations among pivotal traits. This study delved into the stability of white sugar yield (WSY), root yield (RY), sugar content (SC), extraction coefficient of sugar (ECS), and the interplay among essential traits including RY, SC, alpha amino nitrogen (N), sodium (Na+), and potassium (K+) across 15 sugar beet hybrids and three control varieties. The investigation spanned two locations over two consecutive years (2022–2023), employing a randomized complete block design with four replications to comprehensively analyze these factors. The analysis of variance highlighted the significant effects of environment, genotype, and GEI at the 1% probability level. Notably, the AMMI analysis of GEI revealed the significance of the first component for WSY, RY, and SC, with the first two components proving significant for ECS. Within the linear mixed model (LMM), WSY, RY, SC, and ECS demonstrated significant effects from both genotype and GEI. In the WAASB biplot, genotypes 10, 8, 17, 6, 13, 14, 15, 7, 12, and 16 exhibited stability in WSY, while genotypes 9, 10, 6, 14, 7, 8, 13, 12, 18, and 15 displayed stability in RY. Additionally, genotypes 10, 15, 12, 13, 16, 17, 6, and 14 were stable for SC, and genotypes 8, 10, 7, 6, 13, 12, 16, 17, 15, 14, and 18 showcased stability in ECS, boasting above-average yield values. In the genotype by yield × trait (GYT) biplot, genotypes 15, 18, and 16 emerged as top performers when combining RY with SC, Na+, N, and K+, suggesting their potential for inclusion in breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Aotearoa New Zealand (AoNZ), where pastoral agriculture is vital to the economy, reports of pasture plant species failing to persist in long-term pastures, particularly in northern regions, are increasingly common. The underlying cause of this decline in pasture persistence remains elusive. Soil-borne diseases are a potential contributing factor affecting root function and consequently, plant growth and performance. Despite their potential significance, little is known about the soil-borne diseases affecting pastoral species and cultivars. The detrimental effects of fungal soil-borne pathogens on global agroecosystems are well documented. Mitigating these impacts requires a comprehensive understanding of their distribution, abundance, and host relationships. This review summarises pasture pathology research in AoNZ, and the current and future challenges influencing fungal pathogens are discussed. This review concludes that a more comprehensive understanding of soil-borne pathogens affecting AoNZ pastures is required to mitigate impacts and future disease-risk. Furthermore, it advocates for a multidisciplinary approach, in collaboration with commercial partners and farmers, to develop effective mitigation strategies and decision-tools for farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capsaicinoids are produced uniquely in pepper fruits, and its level determines the commercial quality and health-promoting properties of pepper. So, it is particularly important to increase capsaicinoids content in pepper. Rhizosphere microbiota is critical to plant growth and performance, and affected by plant varieties. However, the impact of pepper varieties with different capsaicinoids yields on the rhizosphere microbiota is poorly understood. Using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, we investigated the rhizosphere microbial community among five pepper varieties containing different capsaicinoids. Our results demonstrated that pepper variety significantly influenced the diversity and structure of rhizosphere microbial community. Bacterial diversity in varieties with high capsaicinoids content was significantly higher than in varieties with low capsaicinoids content, while fungal diversity was opposite to bacterial diversity. The correlation analysis revealed that 19 dominant bacterial genera (e.g., Chujaibacter, Rhodanobacter, and Gemmatimonas) were significantly correlated with capsaicinoids content, and nine of them were also significantly associated with soil nutrients, whereas only one fungal genus (Podospora) was significantly correlated with capsaicinoids content. Additionally, almost all genera which significantly correlated to capsaicinoids content were biomarkers of the five pepper varieties and the correlation was well corresponding to the capsaicinoids content. Overall, our results confirmed that the variety of pepper significantly affected the rhizosphere microbial community in the fields, and bacteria and fungi responded differently to capsaicinoids, which may affect the biosynthesis of capsaicinoids and contribute to further improvement of capsaicinoids production in pepper fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American WAKE ExperimeNt (AWAKEN) is a multi-institutional field campaign focused on gathering critical observations of wind farm–atmosphere interactions. These interactions are responsible for a large portion of the uncertainty in wind plant modeling tools that are used to represent wind plant performance both prior to construction and during operation and can negatively impact wind energy profitability. The AWAKEN field campaign will provide data for validation, ultimately improving modeling and lowering these uncertainties. The field campaign is designed to address seven testable hypotheses through the analysis of the observations collected by numerous instruments at 13 ground-based locations and on five wind turbines. The location of the field campaign in Northern Oklahoma was chosen to leverage existing observational facilities operated by the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program in close proximity to five operating wind plants. The vast majority of the observations from the experiment are publicly available to researchers and industry members worldwide, which the authors hope will advance the state of the science for wind plants and lead to lower cost and increased reliability of wind energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presently, the triangular cell sunflower seed metering roller has not been evaluated in field conditions using a power tiller. This study was undertaken to evaluate its working performance in the field conditions. Randomized complete block design with three replications and three level of forward speed and a quantity of seeds in hopper was used to evaluate performance of the triangular cell sunflower seed metering roller. Performance indices namely mean spacing; miss index, multiple indexes, quality of feed index, precision index, and coefficient of variation were used to describe the performance of the triangular cell sunflower seed metering roller. Results were analysed statistically to determine the effect of forward speed, quantity of seed in the hopper and their interaction on the performance indices. Best performance was at a combination of forward speed 1.3 km h-1 and a quantity of seeds in the hopper of 2.392 kg, which gave a mean spacing of 226.16 cm, a miss index of 25%, multiple indexes of 0.43%, a quality of feed index of 97.33% and a precision index of 16.58%. Based on agronomical recommendations for sunflower planting and performance comparison with other sunflower metering device, it is concluded that triangular cell sunflower seed metering roller can perform efficiently and economically and can be adopted by the small and medium farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy and Exergy based performetric analysis integrated with deep learning assisted energy modelling for grid connected solar PV system, tested to non-trained location is proposed. The first objective is to perform an energy and exergy based performetric analysis for a realistic 380 kWp grid connected roof-top PV system whose performance parameter is used for testing the proposed energy prediction models. The second objective is to formulate a simple and an improved energy estimation method applicable for 34 locations in South India, without change in model-coefficients. So, a long-term annual performance analysis of a 380 kWp PV based distributed generator situated at 12.97°N and 77.59°E is performed which estimates the characteristic performance indicators like energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, performance ratio and capacity factor amounting to 8.49%, 1.03%, 37%, and 8.03% respectively. The performance ratio of the plant is less as evident from the least exergy efficiency. The annual average losses in the system like thermal capture loss, array capture loss, system loss and miscellaneous loss amount to 0.46 (h/d), 2.51(h/d), 0.71 (h/d) and 2.97(h/d) respectively. The annual average energy generation of 380 kWp is 732.84 kWh/year. Furthermore, for realizing the second objective, a total of four models are proposed namely linear, exponential, non-linear and deep learning based neural network model resulting in R of 0.933, 0.9071, 0.9386, and 0.9603 respectively is formulated. The proposed models are tested for non-trained locations where the R value justifying the closeness between the actual and the predicted value is as high as 0.8. The proposed models are then compared upon their performances and benchmarked against the reported models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity stress is one of the major abiotic stresses that significantly impacts plant growth and performance. Therefore, this study investigated the role of foliar-applied ascorbic acid (AsA) at a concentration of 2 mM as a mitigative approach to salt stress in barley during its vegetative stage. The research aimed to elucidate the genetic responses induced by AsA that potentially confer enhanced tolerance to salinity. A controlled environment experiment was conducted, wherein barley plants were subjected to salt stress and treated with a foliar application of AsA. Natural phenotypic variation showed an increment for all agronomical traits after the foliar application of AsA compared to saline environment (control). Highly significant markers were detected by using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) that are associated with all of the studied traits, underscoring the protective role of AsA under salt stress. Furthermore, the study identified several novel stress-responsive genes influenced by AsA treatment, pointing to complex genetic networks underlying salt stress mitigation. For instance, the gene HORVU.MOREX.r3.2HG0199440 at position (622,219,977–622,220,459 bp) on 2H, which is annotated as V-type ATP synthase beta chain, helps to maintain cellular redox balance during stress conditions. This research paves the way for future work on the practical applications of AsA in agriculture, especially in breeding programs aimed at enhancing salt stress tolerance in barley and similar cereals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a significant global source of vegetable oil, the oil palm's ability to withstand abiotic stresses, particularly drought, is crucial for sustainable agriculture. This is especially significant in tropical regions, where water scarcity is becoming more common. Nitrogen, a vital nutrient, plays an essential role in various physiological and biochemical processes in plants, directly influencing growth and stress tolerance. This study investigates the interaction between nitrogen sources (ammonium vs. nitrate) and drought stress in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) seedlings, which is critical in enhancing productivity in this economically important crop. The experiment evaluated five commercial oil palm genotypes, which were supplied with nitrogen solutions (15 mM NH4+ or NO3−) for 46 days, followed by 30 days of progressive drought. The results showed that drought conditions universally reduced the biomass, with ammonium-fed plants exhibiting greater shoot biomass sensitivity than nitrate-fed plants. Drought also significantly decreased the chlorophyll a, PhiPS2, and root-reducing sugar levels—critical indicators of photosynthetic efficiency and overall plant health. The effects on the root architecture were complex, with ammonium nutrition differentially influencing the lateral root length under well-watered versus drought conditions, highlighting nitrogen forms' nuanced role in root development. Importantly, substantial genotypic variability was observed in most traits, affecting the responses to both the nitrogen source and drought stress. This variability suggests that certain genotypes may be better suited to cultivation in specific environmental conditions, particularly drought-prone areas. In conclusion, this study underscores the intricate interplay between nitrogen nutrition, genotypic variability, and drought tolerance in oil palm seedlings. These findings highlight the need to integrate these factors into agricultural management strategies to improve resilience and productivity in oil palm plantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]