Submergence tolerance is an important trait where short term flash flooding damages rice. Tolerant landraces that withstand submergence for 1–2 weeks were identified. Due to the heterogeneity in flood-prone ecosystem many different types of traditional rice cultivars are being grown by the farmers. The local landraces adapted to extremes in water availability could be the sources of genetic variation are to be used to improve the adaptability of rice to excess water stress. Greater genotypic variability was observed for plant height, elongation and survival %, absolute growth rate, non-structural carbohydrate retention capacity, chlorophyll content, different chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (FPs) characteristics, and re-generation growth at re-emergence. Twenty days submergence caused greater damage even in Submergence 1 (SUB1) introgressed cultivars compared to the 14 days of submergence. The FPs, carbohydrate content and dry weight at the end of submergence showed positive and highly significant association with re-generation growth. The presence of SUB1 associated primers, either SC3 or ART5, was noticed even in greater elongating types of rice genotypes. These genotypes possess one or more of the adaptive traits required for the flood-prone ecosystem, which range from temporary submergence of 1–2 weeks to long period of stagnant water tolerance.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12284-011-9065-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Plant viruses pose a serious threat to agricultural production systems worldwide. The world's population is expected to reach the 10-billion mark by 2057. Under the scenario of declining cultivable land and challenges posed by rapidly emerging and re-emerging plant pathogens, conventional strategies could not accomplish the target of keeping pace with increasing global food demand. Gene-editing techniques have recently come up as promising options to enable precise changes in genomes with greater efficiency to achieve the target of higher crop productivity. Of genome engineering tools, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins have gained much popularity, owing to their simplicity, reproducibility, and applicability in a wide range of species. Also, the application of different Cas proteins, such as Cas12a, Cas13a, and Cas9 nucleases, has enabled the development of more robust strategies for the engineering of antiviral mechanisms in many plant species. Recent studies have revealed the use of various CRISPR-Cas systems to either directly target a viral gene or modify a host genome to develop viral resistance in plants. This review provides a comprehensive record of the use of the CRISPR-Cas system in the development of antiviral resistance in plants and discusses its applications in the overall enhancement of productivity and nutritional landscape of cultivated plant species. Furthermore, the utility of this technique for the detection of various plant viruses could enable affordable and precise in-field or on-site detection. The futuristic potential of CRISPR-Cas technologies and possible challenges with their use and application are highlighted. Finally, the future of CRISPR-Cas in sustainable management of viral diseases, and its practical utility and regulatory guidelines in different parts of the globe are discussed systematically.

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Context Crop production in Eastern Himalaya is constrained by combined effects of soil acidity and moisture deficit during post monsoon under a changing climate. Aim This study aimed to identify potential buckwheat genotypes and stress mechanisms in hill environments of Meghalaya (India). Method Field and microcosm experiments were conducted to study field performance, genotypic variability and physio-morphological efficiency in buckwheat. Key results Substantial genetic variability for shoot length (30.3–110 cm), crop canopy distribution (3.0–7.5 number of primary branches), leaf area retention (15.7–60.2 cm2/two leaves), 1000 seed weight (16.2–34.7 g) and seed yield (0.088–1.31 metric tonne (MT)/ha) was observed. Mean grain yield of buckwheat genotypes was 0.446 MT/ha whereas IC13411, IC24298 and IC37305 produced significantly higher seed yield (1.31, 1.28 and 1.14 MT/ha, respectively) accounting to 1.93, 1.87 and 1.67 times higher than average yield (0.680 MT/ha). Genotypes like IC42416, EC323730 and EC218784 have lower crop yields (0.8, 1.02, 0.93 MT/ha respectively). Interestingly, few high yielders (IC13411 and IC24298) exhibited higher photosynthetic rate (46.1 and 32.3 μmol/m2.s), increased stomatal conductance (311.0 and 326.2 mmol/m2.s), leaf chlorophyll (2.47 and 2.55 mg/g fresh weight (FW)) and carotenoids (95 and 106.3 μg/g FW). Chlorophyll a and b ratio (3.3 and 3.0) and total chlorophyll to carotenoids (4.2 and 4.0) were higher in high yielders (IC13411 and IC24298) compared to other low yielders. Conclusions Robust root systems, stomatal structure and higher cuticle wax ideally enhanced water use efficiency (WUE) and drought tolerance in high-yielding buckwheat genotypes. Implications IC13411 and IC24298 are promising for enhanced productivity in the mountainous ecosystem of Meghalaya.

IntroductionNeglected and underutilized crop species (NUCS) or forbidden crops offer tremendous potential to combat malnutrition, poverty, and global hidden hunger. Since overdependence on a few dominant cereal crops, viz., rice, maize, and wheat, is insufficient to meet the global food energy intake, the identification, genetic improvement, and implementation of various policies for wenumerates comprehensive comparative analyses of the nutrient profile of staple crops vs. potent underutilized crops with reference to cultivation constraints and climate resilience with different agro-diversification strategies.MethodologyThe research databases Scopus, JSTOR, Web of Science, EBSCO, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Academic Search were searched using relevant research queries.ResultOut of 2,345 hits, 99 articles pertinent to the subject domain showed that underutilized crops are nutritionally superior, contain health-promoting bioactive components, and are more climate resilient than cereal crops. However, several constraints hinder the efficient utilization of these crops.DiscussionDespite underutilized crops’ many health benefits, improved cultivation techniques for the large-scale production of these crops are still in their infancy. Most of the time, however, the scientific knowledge gleaned from various study domains stays within the scientific community. The most crucial need of the hour, therefore, is an efficient network structure connecting governments, farmers, researchers, and people in business. Moreover, care must be taken to ensure that the policies of governments and INGOs/NGOs are properly implemented within a NUCS framework.