With an increasing population, world agriculture is facing many challenges, such as climate change, urbanization, the use of natural resources in a sustainable manner, runoff losses, and the accumulation of pesticides and fertilizers. The global water shortage is a crisis for agriculture, because drought is one of the natural disasters that affect the farmers as well as their country’s social, economic, and environmental status. The application of soil amendments is a strategy to mitigate the adverse impact of drought stress. The development of agronomic strategies enabling the reduction in drought stress in cultivated crops is, therefore, a crucial priority. Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) can be used as an amendment for soil health improvement, ultimately improving water holding capacity and plant available water. These are eco-friendly and non-toxic materials, which have incredible water absorption ability and water holding capacity in the soil because of their unique biochemical and structural properties. Polymers can retain water more than their weight in water and achieve approximately 95% water release. SAP improve the soil like porosity (0.26–6.91%), water holding capacity (5.68–17.90%), and reduce nitrogen leaching losses from soil by up to 45%. This review focuses on the economic assessment of the adoption of superabsorbent polymers and brings out the discrepancies associated with the influence of SAPs application in the context of different textured soil, presence of drought, and their adoption by farmers.

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi when they colonies the foodstuffs. These are potent toxins having severe health consequences in people, being mutagenic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic. In agricultural commodities, the contamination of mycotoxins is more prevalent. Several fungi can produce mycotoxins on agricultural products during harvest or in postharvest, and they have significant adverse effects on both animal and human beings. The most prevalent mycotoxins found in food commodities are aflatoxins and ochratoxins produced by Aspergillus species, ochratoxins and patulin produced by Penicillium, as well as fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, and zearalenone produced by Fusarium species. Worldwide, fumonisins, patulin, aflatoxins, and ochratoxins, among others, are responsible for numerous acute and chronic diseases in people and domestic animals. In food commodities, mycotoxins have been quantified and detected using various analytical methods. Besides, mycotoxins occurrence in food commodities were decontaminated through many potential approaches, such as physical, chemical, and biological methods. This review summarizes the findings of 30 years of research into mycotoxins in major commercial food crops including wheat, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, peanut, oat, pulses, barley, oilseeds, rice, and fruits and fruit juices. We also discuss the detection methods of major mycotoxins, available decontamination strategies along with their disadvantages and knowledge gaps. It is anticipated that data from meticulous studies on mycotoxins in food commodities will help in the development of safer food and in setting priorities for future research.

Nanotechnology emerged as a revolutionary technology in various fields of applied sciences, such as biomedical engineering and food technology. The pivotal roles of nanocompounds have been explored in various fields, such as food protection, preservation, and enhancement of shelf life. In this sequence, metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) are proven to be useful in developing products with antimicrobial activity and subsequently improve the shelf life of agrifoods. The major application of MNPs has been observed in the packaging industry due to the combining ability of biopolymers with MNPs. In recent years, various metal nanoparticles have been explored to formulate various active food packaging materials. However, the method of production and the need for risk evaluation are still a topic of discussion among researchers around the world. In general, MNPs are synthesized by various chemical and physical means, which may pose variable health risks. To overcome such issues, the green synthesis of MNPs using microbial and plant extracts has been proposed by various researchers. In this review, we aimed at exploring the green synthesis of MNPs, their properties and characterization, various ways of utilizing MNPs to extend their shelf life, and, most importantly, the risk associated with these along with their quality and safety considerations.

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IntroductionCotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is one of the most important staple fibrous crops cultivated in India and globally. However, its production and quality are greatly hampered by cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) caused by cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the biochemical mechanisms associated with CLCuD resistance in contrasting cotton genotypes.MethodsFour commercial cotton varieties with susceptible (HS 6 and RCH-134 BG-II) and resistant (HS 1236 and Bunty) responses were used to analyze the role of primary (sugar, protein, and chlorophyll) and secondary (gossypol, phenol, and tannin) biochemical compounds produced by the plants against infection by CLCuV. The resistant cultivars with increased activity of protein, phenol, and tannin exhibited biochemical barriers against CLCuV infection, imparting resistance in cotton cultivars.ResultsReducing sugar in the healthy plants of the susceptible Bt cultivar RCH 134 BG-II exhibited the highest value of 1.67 mg/g at 90 days. In contrast, the lowest value of 0.07 mg g-1 was observed at 60 DAS in the highly diseased plants of the susceptible hybrid HS 6. Higher phenol content (0.70 mg g-1) was observed at 90 DAS in resistant cultivars, whereas highly susceptible plants exhibited the least phenol (0.25 mg g-1) at 90 DAS. The lowest protein activity was observed at 120 DAS in susceptible cultivars HS 6 (9.4 mg g-1) followed by RCH 134 BG-II (10.5 mg g-1). However, other biochemical compounds, including chlorophyll, sugar, and gossypol, did not show a significant role in resistance against CLCuV. The disease progression analysis in susceptible cultivars revealed non-significant differences between the two susceptible varieties.DiscussionNevertheless, these compounds are virtually associated with the basic physiological and metabolic mechanisms of cotton plants. Among the primary biochemical compounds, only protein activity was proposed as the first line of defense in cotton against CLCuV. The secondary level of defense line in resistance showed the activity of secondary biochemical compounds phenol and tannins, which displayed a significant increase in their levels while imparting resistance against CLCuV in cotton.

The mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi Kalt can reduce yields up to 96%. In rabi 2017-18, a field study was conducted at the Crop Research Centre (CRC), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Modipuram, Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), to assess the efficacy of some insecticides and biopesticides. Thiamethoxam 25WG @ 100 g/ ha was observed to be more effective with least incidence at 3, 7, and 10 days after the first and second sprays. Imidacloprid 17.8SL @ 100 ml/ ha was the second-best treatment. Dimethoate 30EC @ 1000 ml/ ha, fipronil 5 SC @ 500 ml/ ha, Beauveria bassiana @ 2.0 kg/ ha, and Metarhizium anisopliae @ 2.0 kg/ ha were the other treatments found effective.

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L) is one of the most important staple fibrous crops cultivated in India and globally. Its production and quality are greatly hampered by cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) caused by cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV). Therefore, the aim of present study was to investigate biochemical resistance responses in different cotton varieties against CLCuV. Four commercial cotton varieties with susceptible (HS 6 and RCH-134 BG-II) and resistant (HS 1236 and Bunty) response were used to analyse the role of primary (sugar, protein and chlorophyll) and secondary (gossypol, phenol and tannin) biochemical compounds produced by the plants against infection of CLCuV. The resistant cultivars with increased activity of protein, phenol and tannin exhibited as biochemical barriers against CLCuV infection imparting the resistance in cotton cultivars. Whereas, other biochemical compounds including chlorophyll, sugar and gossypol did not show significant role in resistance against CLCuV. Nevertheless, these compounds virtually associated with basic physiological and metabolic mechanisms of cotton plants. Among the primary biochemical compounds, only protein activity proposed as first line of defence in cotton against CLCuV. The secondary level of defence line in resistance exhibited the activity of secondary biochemical compounds phenol and tannins which exhibited significant increase in their level while imparting resistance against CLCuV in cotton.