Wheat is one of the most essential foods in the world. To increase its productivity, nutrient management is one of the most important factors. To assess the possible role of micronutrients in improving wheat yield, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the wheat performance by foliar application of micronutrients.

Sufficient production, consistent food supply, and environmental protection in urban +settings are major global concerns for future sustainable cities. Currently, sustainable food supply is under intense pressure due to exponential population growth, expanding urban dwellings, climate change, and limited natural resources. The recent novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic crisis has impacted sustainable fresh food supply, and has disrupted the food supply chain and prices significantly. Under these circumstances, urban horticulture and crop cultivation have emerged as potential ways to expand to new locations through urban green infrastructure. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review the salient features of contemporary urban horticulture, in addition to illustrating traditional and innovative developments occurring in urban environments. Current urban cropping systems, such as home gardening, community gardens, edible landscape, and indoor planting systems, can be enhanced with new techniques, such as vertical gardening, hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics, and rooftop gardening. These modern techniques are ecofriendly, energy- saving, and promise food security through steady supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables to urban neighborhoods. There is a need, in this modern era, to integrate information technology tools in urban horticulture, which could help in maintaining consistent food supply during (and after) a pandemic, as well as make agriculture more sustainable.

In order to understand how the morphology of plant species has diversified over time, it is necessary to decipher how the underlying developmental programs have evolved. The regulatory network controlling shoot meristem activity is likely to have played an important role in morphological diversification and useful insights can be gained by comparing monocots and eudicots. These two distinct monophyletic groups of angiosperms diverged 130 Ma and are characterized by important differences in their morphology. Several studies of eudicot species have revealed a conserved role for NAM and CUC3 genes in meristem functioning and pattern formation through the definition of morphogenetic boundaries during development. In this study, we show that NAM- and CUC3-related genes are conserved in palms and grasses, their diversification having predated the radiation of monocots and eudicots. Moreover, the NAM-miR164 posttranscriptional regulatory module is also conserved in palm species. However, in contrast to the CUC3-related genes, which share a similar expression pattern between the two angiosperm groups, the expression domain of the NAM-miR164 module differs between monocot and eudicot species. In our studies of spatial expression patterns, we compared existing eudicot data with novel results from our work using two palm species (date palm and oil palm) and two members of the Poaceae (rice and millet). In addition to contrasting results obtained at the gene expression level, major differences were also observed between eudicot and monocot NAM-related genes in the occurrence of putative cis-regulatory elements in their promoter sequences. Overall, our results suggest that although NAM- and CUC3-related proteins are functionally equivalent between monocots and eudicots, evolutionary radiation has resulted in heterotopy through alterations in the expression domain of the NAM-miR164 regulatory module.

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is the emblematic palm of tropical coastal areas all around the globe. It provides vital resources to millions of farmers. In an effort to better understand its evolutionary history and to develop genomic tools for its improvement, a sequence draft was recently released. Here, we present a dense linkage map (8402 SNPs) aiming to assemble the large genome of coconut (2.42 Gbp, 2n = 32) into 16 pseudomolecules. As a result, 47% of the sequences (representing 77% of the genes) were assigned to 16 linkage groups and ordered. We observed segregation distortion in chromosome Cn15, which is a signature of strong selection among pollen grains, favouring the maternal allele. Comparing our results with the genome of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis allowed us to identify major events in the evolutionary history of palms. We find that coconut underwent a massive transposable element invasion in the last million years, which could be related to the fluctuations of sea level during the glaciations at Pleistocene that would have triggered a population bottleneck. Finally, to better understand the facultative halophyte trait of coconut, we conducted an RNA-seq experiment on leaves to identify key players of signaling pathways involved in salt stress response. Altogether, our findings represent a valuable resource for the coconut breeding community.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a representative tropical oil crop that is sensitive to low temperature. Oil palm can experience cold damage when exposed to low temperatures for a long period. During these unfavorable conditions, a series of gene induction/repression and physico-chemical changes occur in oil palm. To better understand the link between these events, we investigated the expression levels of various genes (including COR410, COR413, CBF1, CBF2, CBF3, ICE1-1, ICE1-2, ICE1-4, SIZ1-1, SIZ1-2, ZAT10, ZAT12) and the accumulation of osmolytes (proline, malondialdehyde and sucrose). Likewise, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in oil palm under cold stress (4°C, 8°C and 12°C) was examined. The results showed a clear link among the expression of CBFs (especially CBF1 and CBF3) and the all genes examined under cold stress (12°C). The expression of CBF1 and CBF2 also exhibited a positive link with the accumulation of sucrose and proline under cold stress in oil palm. At 4°C, the proline content exhibited a very significant correlation with electrolyte leakage in oil palm. The results of this study provide necessary information regarding the mechanism of the response and adaption of oil palm to cold stress. Additionally, they offer clues for the selection or development of cold-tolerant cultivars from the available germplasms of oil palm.

Growth, yield and quality of potato are greatly affected by its nutritional management. Foliar application of urea reduces nitrogen losses and increases plant nitrogen use efficiency. This study was therefore planned to evaluate the effect of soil applied phosphorus (DAP) and foliar application of nitrogenous fertilizer (urea) on growth, yield and quality of potato. Experiment was comprised of four different treatments of phosphorus (DAP, 46% P) and nitrogen (urea, 46% N) including a control. Treatments were T0 (DAP 160 + Urea 300 kg/acre), T1 (DAP 160 + Urea 5 kg/acre), T2 (DAP 100 + Urea 6 kg/acre) and T3 (DAP 120 + Urea 8 kg/acre). DAP fertilizer was given as basal dressing at the time of sowing. Foliar applications of nitrogenous fertilizer (urea) were given after 30 of sowing with one week interval in five split doses. Results indicated that T3 remained better regarding productivity and quality of potato. The overall fertilizer efficacy regarding yield and quality was: T3 ˃ T2 ˃ T1 ˃ T0. However, Vitamin C was found maximum in T0.

The present investigation on clonal multiplication of guava (Psidium guajava L.) soft wood cuttings was done with the aim to determine the most successful media and rooting hormone (IBA) concentration. Guava soft wood cuttings were treated with 0, 200, 400 and 600 mg kg -1 IBA solution when planted in three different rooting media (sand, silt and top soil) under low-plastic tunnel. The cuttings were allowed to grow under low-plastic tunnel for 90 day to evaluate the rooting capability and shooting competency. The study showed that the species has a great potential for clonal multiplication through soft wood cuttings. The highest number of roots and root length were observed in the cutting treated with 400 mg kg -1 IBA solution in sand, and the lowest in the cuttings without IBA treatment in sand media. In general 400 mg kg -1 IBA treatment with silt as rooting media performed better as compared to the other treatments. However, the highest survival percentage (50%) was observed in the cuttings rooted in silt media and treated with 200 mg kg -1 IBA solution. Experimental results showed the potential of clonal propagation of guava through soft wood cuttings treated with auxin under simpler and cheaper low-plastic tunnel.

No abstract