Terminal heat stress poses a critical challenge to wheat production, necessitating the identification of heat-tolerant genotypes with stable performance under such conditions. This study evaluated 200 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), their parental lines, and three check varieties of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) across three environments during the Rabi season of 2018-19 at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, India. The environments included a control (timely sown) and two heat-stress conditions (moderately and highly delayed sowing). High heat stress caused significant reductions in phenological traits, including grain yield (33.9%), biological yield (27.1%), and grain filling duration (24.4%). An additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis attributed 51.2% of grain yield variance to environmental effects, followed by genotype & times; environment (G & times; E) interaction (24.3%) and genotypic effects (20.7%). The G & times; E interactions contributed significantly to trait variations, with principal components 1 and 2 explaining 58.7% and 41.3% of the interaction variance, respectively. Genotype and genotype & times; environment (GGE) biplot analysis identified RILs with environment-specific and broadly adaptable traits, highlighting RILs 13, 33, 34, 67, 98, 99, 102, 107, and 184 as high performing under heat-stressed conditions. Yield stability indices, including the AMMI stability value (ASV), yield stability Index (YSI), multi-traits stability index (MTSI) and multi-trait genotype-ideotype distance index (MGIDI) also confirmed these findings. These findings highlighted the potential of certain RILs (34 and 184) to mitigate yield losses under heat stress, providing valuable insights for developing climate-resilient wheat cultivars to sustain productivity under heat-stressed environments.
Abstract Improving soil health and resource-use efficiency while reducing the environmental footprint of crop production is important for sustainable intensification. High-biomass crops such as jute ( Corchorus spp.) may enhance soil carbon inputs, but integrated evidence linking soil fertility, soil health, productivity, and carbon sustainability under farmer-field conditions remains limited. This study combined a regional soil fertility survey with a comparative on-farm assessment of farmer practices (FP) and improved practices (IP) across major jute-growing areas of Assam, Bihar, and West Bengal, India. A total of 394 georeferenced soil samples were assessed for soil fertility, while 20 paired FP and IP fields were evaluated for fibre yield, Soil Health Index (SHI), carbon footprint, seasonal net carbon accumulation, and Carbon Sustainability Index (CSI). Soils showed considerable spatial variability, with low nitrogen status (nutrient index 0.72–1.17), moderate SOC status (1.87–2.28), and high phosphorus status (2.59–2.88). Compared with FP, IP increased fibre yield by 23%, improved SHI by 12.7%, increased seasonal net carbon accumulation by 11.5%, reduced carbon footprint by approximately 25%, and increased CSI from 1.41 to 2.14. Strong positive associations among soil health, fibre productivity, and carbon sustainability indicate that integrated management can improve agronomic performance while enhancing carbon-use efficiency. Economic assessment further showed that IP increased mean net profit from approximately US$828 to US$1,313/ha and the benefit–cost ratio from 1.90 to 2.58 compared with FP. These findings demonstrate that integrated nutrient and crop management can simultaneously improve soil health, productivity, and carbon sustainability in jute-based cropping systems and provide a practical approach for sustainable intensification of high-biomass crops.
Abstract Precision floriculture is a novel approach to ornamental crop production that employs modern technologies to regulate spatial and temporal variability in crop and environmental variables. This review paper emphasizes the necessity of using global positioning system, geographical information system, unmanned aerial vehicle, remote sensing, artificial intelligence and internet of things based sensors to improve floriculture efficiency. Advanced imaging techniques such as hyperspectral and multispectral analysis facilitate early disease identification, crop vigour assessment and real-time monitoring of plant health. AI-driven models and computer vision enhance accurate pest identification, phenotyping and decision-making. The incorporation of these technologies facilitates site-specific input management, lowers production costs, mitigates environmental effect and enhances flower quality. Automation and robotics enhance the efficiency of labour-intensive processes, including harvesting and grading. Precision floriculture facilitates data-driven scheduling of flowering cycles to satisfy market demands while fostering sustainable and resource-efficient production. The use of these advance technologies is crucial for ensuring economic viability and ecological sustainability in the rapidly growing global floriculture industry.
Abstract The existing demand-supply imbalance in India presents a serious challenge to oilseed yield. Low germination, seedling mortality, and storage quality loss are common problems with traditional types. Identifying the optimal genotype cultivated through proper seed priming can boost rapeseed-mustard productivity. Understanding the physiological, biochemical, and enzymatic activities during seed development is also critical to good oilseed cultivation. Therefore, a two-year field trial was conducted at District seed farm (A-B Block Farm), Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, India, during the winter seasons of 2017-18 and 2018-19 to investigate the changes in physiological, biochemical and enzymatic activities during seed development of rapeseed-mustard genotypes in the presence of seed priming. The trial used six genotypes in main plots and four seed developmental phases in sub-plots under various seed priming alternatives, including control (no priming), in a triplicated split-pot design. At 60 days after anthesis (DAA), Sanchita treated with KH 2 PO 4 recorded maximum germination percentage (83.1%). Anushka showed greatest increase of root length when seeds progressed from 40 DAA to 50 DAA. At 60 DAA, highest shoot length was observed in TBM-204 treated with KH 2 PO 4 . The highest vigour index was noticed in case of Sanchita treated with PEG-6000. Anushka when treated with KH 2 PO 4 recorded highest oil content (46.3%). Kranti treated with KH 2 PO 4 was best in registering maximum protein content at 60 DAA (23.4%). Pusa Bold and TBM-143 when treated with KH 2 PO 4 showed maximum α -amylase (24 and 48 hours) and peroxidase activities (24 and 48 hours) at 60 DAA, respectively. A critical transition phase between 40 and 50 DAA was identified, during which rapid oil accumulation and significant improvement in seed vigour and enzymatic activity were observed. Therefore, under specific agronomic and environmental constraints, harvesting around 50 DAA may provide a practical option for qualitative production.
Abstract Grasspea is an important grain legume crop due to its hardiness and high protein content. However, the presence of a neurotoxic compound β -ODAP, which is associated with lathyrism, limits its widespread cultivation and consumption. In this study, the LsBOS gene, which encodes β -ODAP synthase, was PCR-amplified from genomic DNA of grasspea cv. Mahateora and sequenced. Sequence analysis confirmed that the LsBOS gene is intronless. Multiple sequence alignment identified 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the coding region of the gene; however, none were predicted to affect protein function. No sequence variation was detected within the conserved HXXXD domain region of the gene. Three single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) targeting the conserved region were designed and evaluated using an in vitro cleavage assay. The assay confirmed that all three sgRNAs specifically recognized and cleaved their intended target sequences, supporting their suitability for CRISPR/Cas9 applications. The validated sgRNAs were subsequently cloned into the CRISPR/Cas9 vector pKSE401 to generate genome-editing constructs targeting the LsBOS gene in grasspea. The developed constructs and experimentally validated sgRNAs provide foundational resources for future genome-editing studies aimed at reducing β -ODAP content in grasspea. Genome editing in grasspea using these constructs was not evaluated in the present study.
