Contribution of potassium solubilizing bacteria in improved potassium assimilation and cytosolic K/Na ratio in rice ( L.) under saline-sodic conditions.

Sodium-induced potassium (K) deficiency is more prevalent in salt-affected soils. Plants experience K starvation thus cytosolic K/Na ratio is lowered, which is a prerequisite for their survival. K enrichment in crops can be acquired K-solubilizing bacteria as a sustainable green agriculture approach.

Effect of nanobiochar (nBC) on morpho-physio-biochemical responses of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) in Cr-spiked soil.

Chromium is a highly toxic heavy metal. High concentrations of Cr (III) can affect metabolic processes in plants, resulting in different morphological, physiological, and biochemical defects. Agricultural practices such as sewage irrigation, over-fertilization, and sewage sludge application contribute significantly to Cr contamination.

Draft Genome Sequence of the Halophilic Strain Citrobacter braakii AN-PRR1, Isolated from Rhizospheric Soil of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) from Pakistan.

Citrobacter braakii AN-PRR1 is a potential salt-tolerant, plant growth-promoting rice rhizobacterium isolated from Pakistani soil. The 4.9-Mb draft genome sequence contributes to its taxonomic classification and will reveal the genes putatively responsible for its osmoprotectant and plant growth-promoting activity.

A Comparative Study for Assessing the Drought-Tolerance of Chickpea Under Varying Natural Growth Environments.

This study was planned with the purpose of evaluating the drought tolerance of advanced breeding lines of chickpea in natural field conditions. Two methods were employed to impose field conditions; the first: simulating drought stress by growing chickpea genotypes at five rainfed areas, with Faisalabad as the non-stressed control environment; and the second: planting chickpea genotypes in spring to simulate a drought stress environment, with winter-sowing serving as the non-stressed environment. Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) and generalized linear models (GLM) models were both found to be equally effective in extracting main effects in the rainfed experiment.

Seed inoculation of desert-plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria induce biochemical alterations and develop resistance against water stress in wheat.

Water shortage limits agricultural productivity, so strategies to get higher yields in dry agricultural systems is vital to circumvent the effect of climate change and land-shortage. The plant rhizosphere harbors beneficial bacteria able to confer biotic/abiotic tolerance along with a positive impact on plant growth. Herein, three bacterial strains, Proteus mirabilis R2, Pseudomonas balearica RF-2 and Cronobacter sakazakii RF-4 (accessions: LS975374, LS975373, LS975370, respectively) isolated from native desert-weeds were investigated for their response to improve wheat growth under drought stress.

Biochar application for the remediation of salt-affected soils: Challenges and opportunities.

Soil salinization and sodification are two commonly occurring major threats to soil productivity in arable croplands. Salt-affected soils are found in >100 countries, and their distribution is extensive and widespread in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In order to meet the challenges of global food security, it is imperative to bring barren salt-affected soils under cultivation.

Opportunities and challenges in the use of mineral nutrition for minimizing arsenic toxicity and accumulation in rice: A critical review.

Growing rice on arsenic (As)-contaminated soil or irrigating with As-contaminated water leads to significant accumulation of As in grains. Moreover, rice accumulates more As into grains than other cereal crops. Thus, rice consumption has been identified as a major route of human exposure to As in many countries.

Biocontrol of Bacterial Leaf Blight of Rice and Profiling of Secondary Metabolites Produced by Rhizospheric BRp3.

pv. (Xoo) is widely prevalent and causes Bacterial Leaf Blight (BLB) in Basmati rice grown in different areas of Pakistan. There is a need to use environmentally safe approaches to overcome the loss of grain yield in rice due to this disease.

The inheritance of wheat grain longevity: a comparison between induced and natural ageing.

Seed longevity is an important trait for both ex situ genebanks and the seed industry. It is partially determined by genetic factors, but is also dependent on the environmental conditions experienced by the mother plant during seed maturation, as well as those imposed during the post-harvest and storage periods. For practical reasons, the variation in longevity has repeatedly been analysed by treating fresh seed to various induced ageing protocols, but the extent to which these procedures mimic the natural ageing process remains debatable.

Elemental sulfur improves growth and phytoremediative ability of wheat grown in lead-contaminated calcareous soil.

Little is known about the effect of elemental sulfur on lead uptake and its toxicity in wheat. A pot experiment was conducted with the purpose to examine the impact of sulfur on improving Pb solubility in soil, and uptake and accumulation in wheat plants. The effect of three levels of lead (0, 50, and 100 mg/kg soil) and sulfur (0, 150, and 300 mmol/kg soil) was tested in all possible combinations.

Multiple Resistances Against Formulated Organophosphates, Pyrethroids, and Newer-Chemistry Insecticides in Populations of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from Pakistan.

Field populations of Helicoverpa armigera Hübner from 15 localities across the Punjab, Pakistan, were assessed by the leaf dip method for resistance against formulated organophosphates, pyrethroids, and newer insecticide groups. Resistance levels in H. armigera have been incrementally increasing for organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides after decades of use in Pakistan.