Santalum genus belongs to the family of Santalaceae, widespread in India, Australia, Hawaii, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, and valued as traditional medicine, rituals and modern bioactivities. Sandalwood is reported to possess a plethora of bioactive compounds such as essential oil and its components (α-santalol and β-santalol), phenolic compounds and fatty acids. These bioactives play important role in contributing towards biological activities and health-promoting effects in humans. Pre-clinical and clinical studies have shown the role of sandalwood extract as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, neuroleptic, antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, and anticancer activities. Safety studies on sandalwood essential oil (EO) and its extracts have proven them as a safe ingredient to be utilized in health promotion. Phytoconstituents, bioactivities and traditional uses established sandalwood as one of the innovative materials for application in the pharma, food, and biomedical industry.

The aim of the study was to identify the response to cold stress of 16 soybean cultivars by evaluating their emergence, yield level, and seed chemical composition. Studies were conducted in 2018–2019. A total of sixteen soybean cultivars belonging to three earliness groups (early, medium-early and late) were included. Short-term (3-day) cold stress (12/6 °C day/night) was applied immediately after sowing (A), 3 days (B) and 6 days (C) after sowing seeds, while long (9-day) cold stress (D) was applied immediately after sowing seeds. In the control plot (K), plants were grown under optimum conditions (20/15 °C day/night). The study showed that cold stress, reduced plant emergence by 5–10%, depending on the treatment. Long stress (D) had a beneficial effect on the yield of all soybean cultivars (average yield increase of 21.5%), with statistically significant differences in 12 cultivars and a trend in four cultivars. Short stress also caused a significant increase in yield on treatments B and C (by 6.8 and 11.6%, respectively). Cold stress did not significantly affect the nutrient content of seed yield. Varietal differentiation was found with respect to yield and chemical composition of seeds.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of cold stress at flowering stage on plant structure, yield and chemical composition of seeds of 15 soybean cultivars. The study was conducted in 2019–2020, using the complete randomization method, in three replications. Fifteen soybean cultivars belonging to three maturity groups: early (EC), middle-early (MC) and late (LC) cultivars were included. Weekly cold stress (17/13 °C day/night) was applied at plant flowering stage. In the control treatment, plants were kept under natural conditions (24/17 °C day/night). Our research showed that cold stress negatively influenced the elements of plant structure: height, number of nodes, stem dry mass, number and weight of pods, number and weight of seeds per plant, as well as yield of soybean seeds, reducing it on average by 24%, as compared to the control treatment. The highest yield decrease was found in LC cultivars (31.2%), while a smaller and similar one in EC and MC cultivars (by 19.7 and 20.1%, respectively). Significant varietal differences were found for plant biometric traits and seed yield. EC cultivars had the lowest set first pod, as well as the lowest number of nodes, number of pods and seeds, pod and seed weight per plant, and seed yield. MC cultivars had the highest set first pod, and the smallest stem DM and seed yield average by 29.2% higher compared to EC cultivars. LC cultivars had the highest stem DM, number of pods and seeds, and pod and seed weight per plant compared to the other cultivar groups, and yield by 22.8% higher compared to EC cultivars. The experimental factors significantly affected crude protein, crude fat, and crude ash content, while they did not differentiate water-soluble carbohydrate and crude fiber content. Cold stress at the flowering stage caused a significant increase in protein content (by 4.1% on average) and ash content (by 3.8%) and a decrease in fat concentration (by 6.9%) in soybean seeds. Differences in nutrient content among cultivars were a genetic trait not related to cultivar maturity.

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