Biochar enhances the growth and physiological characteristics of Medicago sativa, Amaranthus caudatus and Zea mays in saline soils.

Biochar is a promising solution to alleviate the negative impacts of salinity stress on agricultural production. Biochar derived from food waste effect was investigated on three plant species, Medicago sativa, Amaranthus caudatus, and Zea mays, under saline environments. The results showed that biochar improved significantly the height by 30%, fresh weight of shoot by 35% and root by 45% of all three species compared to control (saline soil without biochar adding), as well as enhanced their photosynthetic pigments and enzyme activities in soil. This positive effect varied significantly between the 3 plants highlighting the importance of the plant-biochar interactions. Thus, the application of biochar is a promising solution to enhance the growth, root morphology, and physiological characteristics of plants under salt-induced stress.

Impact of climate change on potential distribution of Dickeya zeae causal agent of stalk rot of maize in Sialkot district Pakistan.

Maize (Zea mays) is an influential crop in its production across the world. However, the invasion of many phytopathogens greatly affects the maize crop yield at various hotspot areas. Of many diseases, bacterial stalk rot of maize caused by Dickeya zeae results in severe yield reduction, thus the need for efficient management is important. Further, to produce epidemiological information for control of disease outbreaks in the hot spot regions of Sialkot District, Punjab Pakistan, extensive field surveys during 2021 showed that out of 266 visited areas, the highest disease incidence ranging from 66.5 to 78.5% while the lowest incidence was ranging from 9 to 20%. The Maxent modeling revealed that among 19 environmental variables, four variables including temperature seasonality (bio-4), mean temperature of the wettest quarter (bio-8), annual precipitation (bio-12), and precipitation of driest month (bio-14) were significantly contributing to disease distribution in current and coming years. The study outcomes revealed that disease spread will likely increase across four tehsils of Sialkot over the years 2050 and 2070. Our findings will be helpful to policymakers and researchers in devising effective disease management strategies against bacterial stalk rot of maize outbreaks in Sialkot, Pakistan.

Wintertime investigation of PM10 concentrations, sources, and relationship with different meteorological parameters.

Meteorological factors play a crucial role in affecting air quality in the urban environment. Peshawar is the capital city of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan and is a pollution hotspot. Sources of PM10 and the influence of meteorological factors on PM10 in this megacity have yet to be studied. The current study aims to investigate PM10 mass concentration levels and composition, identify PM10 sources, and quantify links between PM10 and various meteorological parameters like temperature, relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), and rainfall (RF) during the winter months from December 2017 to February 2018. PM10 mass concentrations vary from 180 - 1071 µg m-3, with a mean value of 586 ± 217 µg m-3. The highest concentration is observed in December, followed by January and February. The average values of the mass concentration of carbonaceous species (i.e., total carbon, organic carbon, and elemental carbon) are 102.41, 91.56, and 6.72 µgm-3, respectively. Water-soluble ions adhere to the following concentration order: Ca2+ > Na+ > K+ > NH4+ > Mg2+. Twenty-four elements (Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Co, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Se, Kr, Ag, Pb, Cu, and Cd) are detected in the current study by PIXE analysis. Five sources based on Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) modeling include industrial emissions, soil and re-suspended dust, household combustion, metallurgic industries, and vehicular emission. A positive relationship of PM10 with temperature and relative humidity is observed (r = 0.46 and r = 0.56, respectively). A negative correlation of PM10 is recorded with WS (r = - 0.27) and RF (r = - 0.46). This study's results motivate routine air quality monitoring owing to the high levels of pollution in this region. For this purpose, the establishment of air monitoring stations is highly suggested for both PM and meteorology. Air quality standards and legislation need to be revised and implemented. Moreover, the development of effective control strategies for air pollution is highly suggested.

Improving the genetic potential of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) germplasm to tolerate salinity stress.

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) is the most consumed vegetable worldwide with the potential for diverse ecological adaptation. However, increasing salinization and changing climatic conditions are posing serious threats to the growth, yield, and quality of okra. Therefore, to mitigate increasing soil salinization and ensure sustainable okra production under rapidly changing climatic conditions, evaluation of new okra germplasm to develop salt tolerant cultivars is direly needed. The present study was designed to evaluate the genetic resources of okra genotypes for salt tolerance at growth and reproductive phases. Based on mophological and physio-biochemical responses of plants under stress condition, genotypes were divided into salt tolerant and succeptible groups. The experiment was comprised of 100 okra genotypes and each genotype was grown under control conditions and 6.5 dS m-1 NaCl concentration in a pot having 10 kg capacity. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design and each treatment was replicated three times. The results showed vast genetic variability among the evaluated okra germplasm traits like days to emergence, pod length, pod diameter, plant height, stem girth, and other yield-related parameters. Correlation analysis showed a highly significant positive association among the number of leaves at first flower and plant height at first flower.Likewise, pod weight also revealed a highly significant positive relationship for pod weight plant-1, pod length, and K+: Na+. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that out of 16 principal components (PCs), five components showed more than one eigenvalue and the first six PCs contributed 67.2% of the variation. Bi-plot analysis illustrated that genotypes 95, 111, 133, 99, and 128, under salt stress conditions, exhibited both high yield per plant and salt-tolerant behavior in other yield-related traits. On the basis of all studied traits, a salt susceptible group and a salt-tolerant group were formed. The salt tolerant group comprised of 97, 68, 95, 114, 64, 99, 111, 133, 128, and 109 genotypes, whereas, the salt susceptible group contained 137, 139, 130, 94, and 125 genotypes. Salt-tolerant okra genotypes were suggested to be used in further breeding programs aimed to develop salt tolerance in okra. These insights will empower precision breeding, underscore the importance of genetic diversity, and bear the potential to address the challenges of salt-affected soils while promoting broader agricultural resilience, economic prosperity, and food security.