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Rice is one of the main cereal grains consumed on a regular basis in underdeveloped and developing nations across the globe. As a water-intensive crop, rice is particularly susceptible to drought stress, which adversely affects global food security. Global climate change has significantly increased the intensity and frequency of droughts. Drought stress strongly influences several physiological, morphological, biochemical, and agronomic parameters, directly affecting crop output. Plants use a variety of defence mechanisms, such as ROS-scavenging mechanisms, synthesis of various osmolytes, secondary metabolites, and phytohormones, to adapt to stressful environments. The candidate genes and metabolic pathways crucial to drought resistance in rice are getting revealed by recent advancements in molecular biology tools combined with enhanced breeding methodologies. In order to develop rice cultivars with increased drought tolerance, it will be extremely helpful to understand the ‘omics’ responses in rice during drought stress, particularly of tolerant genotypes. Moreover, molecular breeding techniques, enhanced agronomic management, genome editing, and genetic engineering may make substantial contributions in this regard. The integration of multi-omics methods, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and ionomics, offers a comprehensive understanding of cellular dynamics in plants under water deprivation. Therefore, it is imperative to utilize omics data from many molecular pathways to develop drought-resistant rice varieties for changing climatic circumstances. This article provides a comprehensive review of research on morpho-physiological, biochemical, molecular, and omics approaches, along with their applications in developing drought-tolerant rice varieties to address global food security concerns.
Rapid urbanization and industrialization have exacerbated freshwater scarcity while simultaneously increasing wastewater generation, making the safe and judicious reuse of wastewater a viable strategy to address both challenges. The present study aimed to evaluate the seasonal irrigation suitability of the Kala Sanghian drain using integrated (graphical, indexical, statistical and machine learning) approaches. Drain water samples from two seasons (pre- and post-monsoon) were collected and analysed for physico-chemical parameters and heavy metals, and irrigation suitability was evaluated using different indices and machine learning models. The results revealed a notable improvement in the physico-chemical quality of drain water during the post-monsoon season, enhancing its suitability for irrigation. Among the heavy metals analysed, 84.4
Sustainability is required in the concrete manufacturing due to the environmental impact from the production of cement and the increasing buildup of industrial waste materials. Although waste marble powder (WMP) has been investigated as an additional material in combination of predictive modelling, environmental impact and mechanical performance in a single study. This study explores the feasibility of using WMP as a partial replacement for cement and sand in concrete mixes to enhance compressive strength and promote sustainability. Experimental results show that replacing cement and sand with 5
Considering today’s challenges regarding climate change and rapid depletion of conventional fossil fuels, algae-based fuels seem to be promising and sustainable alternatives via various conversion methods. Despite growing interest in algal-based applications, the full potential of algal biomass as a versatile and sustainable feedstock remains underutilized as it is abundantly available when compared to terrestrial plants. The biomass from algae can be used for producing biofuels and chemicals as they are high in proteins, carbs, and lipids. Producing fuel from algae remains commercially challenging because cultivation and harvesting demand significant energy and incur high costs. At the pilot scale, these challenges often create major bottlenecks in converting algae into biofuels or biochemicals. Adopting an integrated algae biorefinery approach can help lower both energy use and expenses. Such systems enable the simultaneous recovery of biopolymers, biochemicals, biofuels, and biofertilizers with better cost-effectiveness than traditional processes. Ultimately, making algae-based production more economically feasible strengthens its potential role in advancing a green economy. This review articulates recent advances in chemical, thermochemical, and biochemical conversion processes of algae-based biomass. Chemical transesterification, thermochemical processes such as gasification, pyrolysis, and hydrothermal treatments, and biochemical conversion methods like fermentation, anaerobic digestion, and photobiological techniques are discussed in this review. For biochemical conversion methods such as fermentation, anaerobic digestion and photobiological techniques are mentioned towards the end of this review.
Cold plasma (CP) technology has emerged as a promising non-thermal processing approach for improving the safety, quality, and shelf life of plant-based foods. Unlike conventional thermal treatments, CP operates at near-ambient temperatures, enabling effective microbial decontamination while preserving sensory and nutritional attributes. The technology generates reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), ultraviolet photons, ions, and charged particles that collectively contribute to microbial inactivation through oxidative damage to cell membranes, proteins, and nucleic acids. Various CP systems, including dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ), corona discharge, and plasma-activated water (PAW), have demonstrated effectiveness against bacteria, fungi, spores, biofilms, and viruses in fruits, vegetables, cereals, spices, and plant-derived products. The efficacy of CP is strongly influenced by process parameters such as voltage, treatment duration, gas composition, humidity, and reactor design, as well as by plant surface characteristics and food matrix composition. Beyond microbial control, CP can modify carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, and bioactive compounds, potentially enhancing functional properties and extraction efficiency while maintaining product quality. However, excessive exposure may lead to oxidative degradation, pigment loss, nutrient deterioration, and the formation of undesirable compounds such as lipid oxidation products and nitrosamines. Plasma-activated water has also gained attention as an indirect sanitization strategy for washing and minimally processed foods. Despite its considerable potential, challenges related to process standardization, industrial scalability, regulatory approval, and long-term safety assessment remain unresolved. Overall, CP represents a sustainable and innovative technology for next-generation food processing and preservation of plant-based foods.
