Plants are subjected to a wide range of environmental stresses which reduces and limits the productivity of agricultural crops. Two types of environmental stresses are encountered to plants which can be categorized as (1) Abiotic stress and (2) Biotic stress. The abiotic stress causes the loss of major crop plants worldwide and includes radiation, salinity, floods, drought, extremes in temperature, heavy metals, etc. On the other hand, attacks by various pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, oomycetes, nematodes and herbivores are included in biotic stresses. As plants are sessile in nature, they have no choice to escape from these environmental cues. Plants have developed various mechanisms in order to overcome these threats of biotic and abiotic stresses. They sense the external stress environment, get stimulated and then generate appropriate cellular responses. They do this by stimuli received from the sensors located on the cell surface or cytoplasm and transferred to the transcriptional machinery situated in the nucleus, with the help of various signal transduction pathways. This leads to differential transcriptional changes making the plant tolerant against the stress. The signaling pathways act as a connecting link and play an important role between sensing the stress environment and generating an appropriate biochemical and physiological response.
Maize occupies an important position in the world economy, and serves as an important source of food and feed. Together with rice and wheat, it provides at least 30 percent of the food calories to more than 4.5 billion people in 94 developing countries. Maize production is constrained by a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses that keep afflicting maize production and productivity causing serious yield losses which bring yield levels below the potential levels. New innovations and trends in the areas of genomics, bioinformatics, and phenomics are enabling breeders with innovative tools, resources and technologies to breed superior resilient cultivars having the ability to resist the vagaries of climate and insect pest attacks. Maize has high nutritional value but is deficient in two amino acids viz. Lysine and Tryptophan. The various micronutrients present in maize are not sufficient to meet the nutritive demands of consumers, however the development of maize hybrids and composites with modifying nutritive value have proven to be good to meet the demands of consumers. Quality protein maize (QPM) developed by breeders have higher concentrations of lysine and tryptophan as compared to normal maize. Genetic level improvement has resulted in significant genetic gain, leading to increase in maize yield mainly on farmer’s fields. Molecular tools when collaborated with conventional and traditional methodologies help in accelerating these improvement programs and are expected to enhance genetic gains and impact on marginal farmer’s field. Genomic tools enable genetic dissections of complex QTL traits and promote an understanding of the physiological basis of key agronomic and stress adaptive and resistance traits. Marker-aided selection and genome-wide selection schemes are being implemented to accelerate genetic gain relating to yield, resilience, and nutritional quality. Efforts are being done worldwide by plant breeders to develop hybrids and composites of maize with high nutritive value to feed the people in future.
To determine the effect of the age of seedlings under different sources of nutrients on soil properties, nutrient uptake, and quality of the sweet corn, an experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with factorial arrangement during the Kharif season of 2020. The experiment consisted of two factors: seedling ages (12, 22, and 32 days old) and nutrient sources (control, RDF, ½ RDF + FYM, ½ RDF + VC, and ½ RDF + PM). Organic sources of nutrients viz. FYM, vermicompost, and poultry manure were given on N equivalent basis. Results showed that transplanting 22 days old seedlings performed better and recorded higher NPK uptake in grain as well as stover with a significant difference, which was directly associated with its high dry matter accumulation. However, no significant difference was observed in the nutrient content of N, P, and K. Significantly higher grain and stover yield was realized by transplanting 22 days old seedlings. Application of ½ RDF + PM led to a significant increase in nutrient content and uptake in both grain and stover as compared to the sole application of RDF. The higher nutrient uptake was ultimately responsible for a higher yield of sweet corn. Application of ½ RDF + FYM was statistically at par with ½ RDF + VC to nutrient uptake and yield. The quality of kernels in terms of TSS, protein, Fe, and Zn content was notably influenced by sources of nutrients with the highest results under the application of ½ RDF + PM. Higher values for Fe and Zn content of grain were reported in the case of 22 days old seedlings with no significant difference to the rest of the seedling ages. Furthermore, the age of seedlings didn’t have a significant effect on postharvest soil Physico-chemical properties however a significant improvement was noted in plots fertilized with ½ RDF + PM.
Biostimulants are organic products made up of peptides and amino acids which are readily available to plants. Changes in farming are being caused by agro-ecological practices that take into account biodiversity and the way soil works. In agriculture, biostimulants can be used to keep plant growth and productivity without use of chemicals. Biostimulants can be used to identify and enhance specific soil microorganisms and they can help them grow and thrive. Soil microbial activity and the activity of important plant growth hormones or enzymes are also considered to help crops grow and yield more. The words “soil health” and “soil tilth” aren’t new in the world of farming. Many factors, many of which are biological, affect the health of soil. With the application of biostimulants soil health gets improved by influencing soil health indicators. Chemical fertilizers affect soil environment, which ultimately affects the human and animal lives. Microbes in the soil called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an important role in maintaining long-term soil fertility by forming mutualistic relationships with the roots of food crops, which help them, grow and thrive. Plants thrive under biotic and abiotic stress, due to the activation of defense mechanisms through these substances. Biostimulants from seaweed extracts are very popular because they help plants to grow and be more resistant to stress. Repeated applications of biochar could make the soil more carbon-rich and productive, which could lead to more crop biomass and biological carbon sequestration over time. This review summarizes the description of biostimulants and their role in soil health.
This study is on the bean aphid Aphis fabae Scopoli, whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Genn.), bean weevil Conapium sp. indet., flea beetle Altica himensis Shukla which are found associated as pests at different phenological stages of the common bean Phaseolus vulgaris L. Of these A. fabae, B. tabaci and Conapium sp. indet. were categorized as major pests as they caused significant damage. The incidence of these pests showed a peak on the 35th standard meteorological week (SMW) in all the three locations studied. The peak incidence at Bandipora was 11.80 ± 0.66, 3.10 ± 0.58 and 1.20 ± 0.08, respectively; at Baramulla, the peak was 10.40 ± 0.62, 3.40 ± 0.13 and 1.30 ± 0.07, respectively; and at Kupwara, it was varying as 12.60 ± 0.69, 3.40 ± 0.13 and 1.30 ± 0.07 for the three pests, respectively.
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