ABSTRACT. In Pakistan, cotton crop has been under enormous threat of cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) over the last four decades. In order to estimate genetic diversity in cotton germplasm CLCuD resistance, we assessed 100 cotton genotypes for their CLCuD resistance/tolerance and other related agronomical traits. Various statistical analytical tools, including correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and principal component analysis (PCA), were used to select the best genotypes. These genotypes can be used in future breeding programs to generate CLCuD resistant varieties. The same set of procedures could be utilized for other diseases in other crops. CLCuD incidence showed a significant negative genotypic correlation with yield-contributing traits followed by a significant negative association for phenotypic correlation. The seed cotton yield showed significant positive genotypic and phenotypic correlations with plant height, number of bolls per plant, and boll 2 M. Javed et al. Genetics and Molecular Research 16 (1): gmr16019446 weight. From the PCA we identified five principal components (PCs) that explained a significant amount of the variance among the variables, which may be used for selection of cotton genotypes with CLCuD resistance. Of the five PCs, the first four contributed more towards the total variability and had eigenvalues greater than one. The cluster analysis showed that the genotypes in one of the clusters performed particularly well with respect to CLCuD tolerance. These genotypes can be utilized for development of varieties with increased CLCuD tolerance.

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A greeably, Pakistan is an agricultural country and majorly in rural settings. On the other hand, it is multifaceted, since the agricultural share in the gross domestic product (GDP) is declining gradually. Dilemmas of present agriculture include decreasing agriculture growth and productivity, rise Abstract | Availability of adequate food and water, along with livelihood security, natural resources conservation and environmental protection are considered as basic human needs of a society. The developing world is struggling with lack of or inadequate supply of these resources while combating with climate change at the same time. It is a fact that sustainable development comes only by judicious utilization of the resources and environment protection that help in addressing socio-economic challenges. An integrated farming system (IFS) holds a special position with the central concept that nothing is supposed to be wasted here. It is an integrated approach to farming compared with existing monoculture approach. It passes on to an agricultural system that integrates crop production and livestock. IFS helps small scale farmers to increase cash income, improve quality and quantity of food produced by methodical exploitation of resources. Purpose of the study was to assess the awareness of the farmers to determine the impact of integrated farming system (IFS) on agricultural development and improving the livelihoods in the study area. To accomplish these objectives, an interview schedule was developed as a research instrument to record the opinions of the respondents by using Likert-type scale. The 200 respondents were selected through systematic random sampling technique. The response rate was 60%. Hence, the sample of 120 respondents was used for final analysis and description of the results. The instrument's validity and reliability were checked before data collection. In-person interviews were conducted by the researcher. The collected data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Based on the results, it is concluded that majority of the farmers were not willing to adopt IFS due to their traditional perceptions. Those farmers have constraints such as little or no access to information for integrated farming system. Strong association was observed between awareness for better farming choices and preferred farming practices that shows Extension intervention is required to encourage farmers choose advanced farming practices like IFS.

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YABBY is among the specific transcription factor (TF) gene family in plants and plays an important role in the development of the leaves and floral organs. Its specific roles include lateral organ development, the establishment of dorsoventral polarity, and response to abiotic stress. Potato is an important crop worldwide and YABBY genes are not still identified and characterized in potato. So, little has been known about YABBY genes in potato until now. This study was carried out to perform genome-wide analysis, which will provide an in-depth analysis about the role of YABBY genes in potato. There have been seven StYAB genes identified, which are found to be located on seven different chromosomes. Through multiple sequence analyses, it has been predicted that the YABBY domain was present in all seven genes while the C2-C2 domain was found to be absent only in StYAB2. With the help of cis-element analysis, the involvement of StYAB genes in light, stress developmental, and hormonal responsiveness has been found. Furthermore, expression analysis from RNA-seq data of different potato organs indicated that all StYAB genes have a role in the vegetative growth of the potato plant. In addition to this, RNA-seq data also identified StYAB3, StYAB5, and StYAB7 genes showing expression during cadmium, and drought stress, while StYAB6 was highly expressed during a viral attack. Moreover, during the attack of Phytophthora infestans on a potato plant StYAB3, StYAB5, StYAB6, and StYAB7 showed high expression. This study provides significant knowledge about the StYAB gene structures and functions, which can later be used for gene cloning, and functional analysis; this information may be utilized by molecular biologists and plant breeders for the development of new potato lines.

This article reports the activity of natural radionuclides uranium, thorium, and potassium, in different vegetables in Malaysia, measured with a p-type high-purity germanium detector (HPGe). Potassium radionuclides were the most prevalent element in the tested samples, whose activity ranges from 138.89 to 2660.31 Bq/kg. Meanwhile, the activity of uranium was found to be within the minimum detection limit (MDL) to 46.94 Bq/kg, and thorium from