Legumes, members of the Fabaceae family-the third-largest plant family-constitute the second most significant crop group globally, contributing approximately one-third of human dietary protein. In India, where malnutrition remains a major public health challenge, underutilized legume species offer a sustainable avenue to strengthen food and nutritional security. According to the United Nations Population Fund mid-year 2025 estimate, India’s population stood at approximately 1.463 billion. The 2025 Global Hunger Index 2025 for India reports a prevalence of under-nourishment of 12.0
Photosynthesis is traditionally studied in leaves, but it extends beyond foliar tissues to non-foliar organs (e.g. stems, fruits, sepals, and seeds) offering an underexplored avenue for enhancing plant productivity. This review investigates physiological, biochemical, and developmental roles related to non-foliar photosynthesis, emphasizing its contributions to carbon assimilation and crop production under varying environmental conditions by presenting an extensive compilation of published data with relevant studies. While leaves dominate carbon fixation, non-foliar organs provide supplementary source for photo assimilates, particularly during stress or leaf senescence, yet their mechanisms and impacts remain insufficiently understood. We integrate evidence showing that stems in desert species, fruits in crops like cucumber, and reproductive structures like wheat ears contribute significantly to carbon budgets e.g., cucumber fruit photosynthesis accounts for 9.4
Identification of suitable parental inbreds is essential for developing heterotic cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) hybrids. Ten genetically diverse inbreds were intercrossed in a half-diallel design to generate 45 F₁s, which were evaluated for 12 agronomic traits under rainy-season conditions. Significant genetic variability was observed among parents and hybrids. Pusa Barkha and Pusa Uday were good general combiners for earliness, while DC-48 was superior for fruit yield traits. Pusa Uday × Mirpur Selection showed the highest heterosis over the mid-parent (97.5
Organic amendments are widely used to improve soil fertility, yet quantitative frameworks for evaluating nutrient recovery from mixed organic waste streams remain limited, particularly under Mediterranean conditions. A Nutrient Recovery Efficiency (NRE) framework was developed to quantify the proportion of amendment-derived nutrients recovered in soils amended with manure-food waste mixtures. An agricultural soil sample was amended with composted dairy manure and food waste (50:50 w/w) at three organic fertilizer-to-soil ratios (30:70, 50:50, and 70:30). Total nitrogen (N), acid-extractable phosphorus (P), electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and qualitative microbiological characteristics were evaluated. NRE and a Soil Amendment Optimization Index (SAOI) were calculated to assess amendment performance. N and P concentrations increased with amendment rate; however, NRE declined at higher applications, with nitrogen decreasing from 78.3
Understanding spatio-temporal variability and delineating zones of soil nutrient management in cultivated areas is important for adoption of precise and efficient nutrient management strategies. We carried out this investigation by employing geostatistics, principal component analysis (PCA), and clustering techniques to assess spatio-temporal variability of soil parameters and delineate management zones (MZs) of soil nutrients of an intensively cultivated region of western India. Overall, 2,312 (1,038 (in the year 2015) and 1,274 (in the year 2023)) georeferenced top soil samples were collected from a cultivated region of Gujarat, India, and processed. Soil samples were analyzed for soil parameters namely available potassium (AK), phosphorus (AP), sulfur (AS), micronutrients (zinc (AZn), (AFe), (ACu), manganese (AMn), and boron (AB)), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and soil organic carbon (SOC). Soil parameters had coefficients of variation varying from 6.58 to 114
