Rust diseases pose a severe threat to global wheat production, making the development of resistant cultivars a critical priority to ensure food security. This review highlights the importance of integrating resistance genes, leveraging advanced transgenic techniques, and conducting comprehensive field performance evaluations to enhance wheat defense against evolving rust pathogens. It provides critical insights into how modern genetic tools can be deployed to incorporate resistance traits into wheat genomes, emphasizing that while transgenic approaches hold significant promise, their combination with traditional strategies such as adult plant resistance (APR) and slow rusting genes is essential for achieving durable, sustainable protection. Hightlighting the explicitly linking recently cloned rust resistance genes (including Lr47, Yr87/Lr85, AcRLK2P-1, Lr30, YrTD121, and the Sr62TK–Sr62NLR immune module) with CRISPR based susceptibility gene editing (e.g., TaPsIPK1) and multi-environment field validation of resistance gene pyramids, an integration rarely systematically synthesized in existing reviews. Outcomes from extensive field trials further validate the practical effectiveness of resistant wheat lines. By synthesizing molecular discovery, genome editing, breeding deployment, and multi-season field assessment, this review provides a translational framework for developing durable wheat rust resistance under the pressure of evolving pathogens.

Maize is a vital cereal crop enhancing food security. Optimizing plant density is a common practice to increase crop yield. This study investigates the impacts of high plant density on the biochemical composition, dry matter accumulation (DMA), photosynthesis-active radiation (PAR), radiation use efficiency (RUE), grain production, and stalk lodging in maize cultivation. Five plant densities (4.5, 6, 7.5, 9, and 15 plants m-2) referred to as PD4.5, PD6, PD7.5, PD9, and PD15, respectively, were tested on three maize hybrids, Zhengdan 958 (ZD958), Longping 206 (LP206), and Jinqiu 119 (JQ119), at the Mengcheng Research Station during 2016 and 2017. High plant densities increased PAR, RUE, DMA, and grain yield and led to a higher incidence of stalk lodging. The highest grain yields were achieved at PD6 (9.44%) and PD7.5 (2.98%), while yields decreased at PD15 (12.5%) due to a 60% increase in lodging. Under high plant density, internodes experienced rapid accumulation of carbohydrates but ceased elongating, expanding, and developing structural carbohydrates. Stem bending resistance positively correlated with cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin content (0.9293**, 0.8572**, 0.8976**), as did stem crushing resistance with the same components (0.9096**, 0.8372**, 0.8738**). The present study’s outcome will help determine the optimum plant density to improve food security and enhance maize yield under different climatic conditions.

Cadmium (Cd) contamination in agricultural soils poses a serious threat to crop productivity and human health. This study evaluated the potential of Vermiculite and the plant growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense to alleviate Cd toxicity in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). A pot experiment with three replications and nine treatments was conducted: T0 (Control), T1 (Cd 100 mg/kg), T2 (Cd 100 mg/kg + Vermiculite), T3 (Cd 100 mg/kg + A. brasilense), T4 (Cd 100 mg/kg + Vermiculite + A. brasilense), T5 (Cd 200 mg/kg), T6 (Cd 200 mg/kg + Vermiculite), T7 (Cd 200 mg/kg + A. brasilense), and T8 (Cd 200 mg/kg + Vermiculite + A. brasilense). Higher Cd levels caused more severe growth inhibition in wheat. However, treatments with vermiculite and A. brasilense significantly improved plant growth, reduced Cd accumulation in plant tissues, and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT). Notably, the combined application of vermiculite and A. brasilense (T4 and T8) showed the most effective mitigation of Cd stress. At 100 mg/kg Cd (T4), wheat plants showed a 10.67% increase in height, 10.21% longer spike length, and 19.87% higher grain yield compared to Cd-only treatment. Under 200 mg/kg Cd stress (T8), the same combination led to a 44.83% increase in plant height, 17.63% spike length improvement, and a 44.83% yield increase relative to untreated Cd-stressed plants (T5). These results demonstrate that the synergistic use of Vermiculite and Azospirillum brasilense enhances wheat tolerance to Cd toxicity. Their combined application improves growth parameters, physiological traits, and yield under Cd-stressed conditions, providing an eco-friendly approach for remediating Cd-contaminated soils and sustaining wheat productivity.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a staple crop that is essential for global food security and nutrition. However, cadmium (Cd) stress significantly impairs plant growth and development by disrupting biological processes. This study investigated the potential of the use of CuO nanoparticles synthesized from Melia azedarach (MA-CuONPs) as a strategy to mitigate the lethal effects of CdCl2 and enhance the resilience of T. aestivum L. cv. Arooj-22. The experiment utilized a completely randomized design with a two-factor factorial arrangement and three replications. The green synthesis of MA-CuONPs was achieved via the use of M. azedarach leaves, where copper ions are reduced by plant extracts. The NPs were analyzed via a UV spectrophotometer, which showed a maximum absorbance at 218 nm, confirming the successful formation of green-synthesized MA-CuONPs. The CdCl2 concentrations used were 0, 10, 20, and 30 ppm, whereas MA-CuONPs were applied at concentrations of 0, 10, 15, and 20 ppm. CdCl2 was administered 15 days postgermination, and MA-CuONPs were foliar sprayed during three growth stages, namely, tillering, jointing, and heading, with Tween 80 as a surfactant. The morphological, physiological, and anatomical parameters of the stem and root and yield parameters were recorded and analyzed via Statisticin 8.1 (two-way ANOVA). The results indicated that at the highest Cd concentration (30 ppm), all the measured parameters significantly decreased, reflecting the adverse effects of Cd stress. Conversely, the application of 20 ppm MA-CuONPs significantly increased all the parameters, demonstrating their ability to mitigate Cd-induced stress. As the Cd concentration increased, a corresponding decline in plant performance was observed, while increasing the CuNP concentration led to improved growth and resilience. This study highlights the potential of CuNPs to increase wheat performance under heavy metal stress, positioning them as a promising approach for improving wheat resilience and productivity in contaminated environments.

Common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the world’s most important food crops and serves as the primary raw material for a wide range of flour-based products, including bread, noodles, and steamed bread. Increasing attention has been paid to the quality and appearance of flour products, particularly flour color. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and yellow pigment (YP) content are key factors influencing flour color. However, the genetic basis underlying these traits and the stable loci controlling their dynamic changes during grain development remain unclear. In this study, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted to investigate flour color-related traits. The natural population was genotyped using the wheat 90 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, and 11 and 23 significant SNPs were identified for PPO activity and YP content, respectively. QTL analysis of PPO activity revealed that QPpo3B-2 was a stable locus detected in both conditional and unconditional analyses at 14–21 days after anthesis (DAA), indicating that its expression was largely independent of the developmental stage. In addition, QTLs detected at 7, 21, and 28 DAA all included loci on chromosome 3B, suggesting that this chromosome harbors important genetic factors controlling PPO activity. For YP content, QYp1A2-1 was detected in both conditional and unconditional QTL analyses, explaining 6.00

Sustainable crop improvement is urgently needed to ensure global food security, particularly for developing and densely populated countries. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into crop science tri typing is reshaping the conventional agriculture practices into an era of high-throughput phenotyping (HTPP) data-driven modern agriculture. AI tools accelerate data generation, mining, imputation, storage, transfer, and optimal decision-making within agricultural systems. AI tools are paving the way for modern plant breeding strategies by uncovering genetic variability and bridging the genotype-to-phenotype (G2P) gap, thus enabling the future of predictive breeding. Plant genetic gains or phenotype (P), by and large, depend on the genotype (G), environment (E), and their interaction (GEI). This review will provide a comprehensive overview of the historical background, current status, and prospects for integrating AI and ML tools in agricultural tri-typing, encompassing genotyping, phenotyping, and envirotyping. We explore AI-driven tools for genome analysis, HTPP platforms, and environmental data integration, emphasizing how these technologies overcome persistent bottlenecks in predictive breeding. Furthermore, this review will offer the reader key insight into modern trends, including the paradigm shift in phenomics patent filings, global distribution of HTP phenomics facilities, the publications volume and related research over the last two decades, and individual institutions currently leading or prospectively will lead the world in plant phenomics. Similar to plant phenotyping, we also try to address the integration and application of AI/ML algorithms in plant genotyping and envirotyping.

Mosquitoes are among the most medically significant insects, causing more human suffering than any other organism by serving as vectors for numerous infectious diseases. This study examined the larvicidal effectiveness and phytochemical composition of aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts from Catharanthus roseus and Phyla nodiflora in District Narowal, Pakistan. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of saponins, phenols, flavonoids, diterpenes, proteins, phytosterols, and alkaloids in the extracts. Culex quinquefasciatus larvae were used as test subjects for larvicidal activity. The larvae were exposed to C. roseus and P. nodiflora plant extracts with concentrations of 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 ppm, and the mortality rate was measured after 24 and 48 h. Aqueous and methanolic extracts of C. roseus displayed LC50 and LC90 values ranging from 0.791 ppm to 83.35 ppm, while those of P. nodiflora ranged from 28.83 ppm to 521.3 ppm. Synthetic insecticides Cypermethrin and Deltamethrin were also used for checking resistance levels in Cx. quinquefasciatus with concentrations of 0.03125, 0.0625, 0.125, 0.25 and 0.5 ppm from 1 ppm stock solution. After 24 and 48 h, the LC50 values of Cypermethrin were 0.107 ppm, 0.051 ppm, and LC90 values were 0.707 ppm, 0.245 ppm, respectively. The LC50 and LC90 values for Deltamethrin were 0.066 ppm and 0.355 ppm after 24 h, and 0.022 ppm and 0.105 ppm after 48 h. The resistance level in Cx. quinquefasciatus larvae against synthetic insecticides were very rare in the district Narowal because they cannot be used here frequently, and mosquitoes are not repeatedly exposed to them. This study proved that aqueous and methanolic extracts of C. roseus and P. nodiflora had phytochemicals and can be used as effective larvicidal bioinsecticides to control mosquito larvae and displayed an effective response toward Cx. quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae.

The jewel orchid (Anoectochilus roxburghii L.) plants famous for its medicinal use in traditional Chinese medicine, exhibits distinctive qualities. Drought severely affects the growth and development pattern of A. roxburghii, leading to a notable decline in physiological and biochemical processes entailing reduced recovery of medicinally active compounds. Polyamines have been shown to ameliorate drought tolerance; however, the mechanism remains poorly studied. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate transcriptomic changes of jewel orchid plants in response to drought and exogenous spermidine application employing RNA sequencing. The comparative transcriptomic analysis revealed significant changes in differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across all tissues. Gene Ontology (GO) and enrichment analysis were employed to explain biological processes and the transcript's relative abundance. Out of all tissue and treatment combinations, leaf and root tissues under drought and low spermidine treatment, (LSL vs LSR) were found to exhibit the highest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Arrays of enriched transcripts due to drought and spermidine treatment were associated with the molecular function of binding and catalytic activity, the biological mechanism of cellular and metabolic processes, cellular components, cell and cell parts. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that genetic information processing and environmental information processing signal transduction were important pathways in the stress signaling cascade associated with drought tolerance. Genes such as PAL1, HPPR, S3, and PBP involved in Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, starch metabolism, and plant hormone signal transduction pathways were found upregulated. High expression of plant hormone (ABA) dependent transcription factors and plant hormone signal transduction pathways were found to be interesting results of the current study. Moreover, qRT-PCR results further confirmed the RNA-seq results. This study provides the first report of transcriptomic data for A. roxburghii plants under drought stress and exogenous spermidine application. These findings, offer new perspectives and could be beneficial for elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms of spermidine treatment that contribute to drought tolerance in A. roxburghii.

Soil salinization poses a major challenge to global food security, affecting over one billion hectares of arable land and severely constraining crop productivity. As the primary interface between plants and soil, roots play a pivotal role in sensing and adapting to salinity stress through remarkable structural and functional plasticity. This review integrates recent advances in root system architecture (RSA) dynamics, suberin biosynthesis, hormonal regulation, and microbiome interactions to elucidate how plants achieve salinity resilience. We discuss key genes and regulatory modules controlling primary root elongation, lateral root patterning, and barrier formation, emphasizing transcriptional networks involving MYB, NAC, and WRKY families and their coordination with ABA, auxin, and ethylene signaling. Special attention is given to the biosynthesis and deposition of suberin as a dynamic ion-selective barrier governed by hormonal crosstalk and lipid metabolism. We further highlight how beneficial microbes such as Azospirillum, Bacillus, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance salt tolerance by modulating phytohormones, antioxidant systems, and ionic homeostasis. Integrating multi-omics and CRISPR-based tools with microbiome engineering offers new avenues to design salt-resilient root ideotypes. We propose a conceptual framework linking molecular regulation, hormonal dynamics, and rhizosphere ecology to root system plasticity, providing a blueprint for engineering next-generation crops capable of maintaining growth and productivity in saline environments.

Organic fertilizers are safer and more eco-friendly than chemical fertilizers; hence, organic fertilizers can be used to support sustainable farming. The effects of PGPRs are manifold in agriculture, especially in monoculture crops, where the soil needs to be modified to increase germination, yield, and disease resistance. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of PGPRs combined with fertilizer on the yield and productivity of canola. Canola was chosen for its global importance as an oilseed crop and its responsiveness to soil amendments, making it ideal for evaluating the synergistic effects of PGPRs and fertilizers on yield and soil health. This research, which was carried out over two years, was aimed at establishing the effectiveness of PGPRs together with organic and inorganic fertilizers on canola yields and was performed with a two-factorial RCBD design under field conditions. We applied Azotobacter salinestris and Bacillus subtilis with biochar, compost, animal manure, poultry manure, and NPK fertilizer. Insect pest management and other agronomic practices were carried out to maintain the experiment. Canola yield and agronomic traits were enhanced by the combination of Bacillus subtilis with the fully recommended N: P:K ratio (140:55:40 kg/ha). Additionally, the application of Bacillus subtilis with biochar at 2 tons/ha improved the yield and quality of canola, as well as the structure and nutrient regulation of the soil. In light of these results, we recommend the application of Bacillus subtilis to canola seeds along with either 2 t/ha biochar or the entire recommended dose of N: P:K (140:55:40 kg/ha). These strategies are sustainable and help producers and the environment increase the productivity of canola. Combining PGPRs with fertilizers for canola enhances nutrient efficiency, promotes sustainable growth, and boosts stress resilience, addressing agricultural and environmental challenges. Not Applicable.

Potato farming is a vital component of food security and the economic stability especially in the under developing countries but it faces many challenges in production, blackleg disease caused by Pectobacterium atrosepticum (Pa) is one of the main reason for damaging crop yield of the potato. Effective management strategies are essential to control these losses and to get sustainable potato crop yield. This study was focused on characterizing the Pa and the investigating new chemical options for its management. The research was involved a systematic survey across the three district of Punjab, Pakistan (Khanewal, Okara, and Multan) to collect samples exhibiting the black leg symptoms. These samples were analyzed in the laboratory where gram-negative bacteria were isolated and identified through biochemical and pathogenicity tests for Pa. DNA sequencing further confirmed these isolates of Pa strains. Six different chemicals were tested to control blackleg problem in both vitro and vivo at different concentrations. In vitro experiment, Cordate demonstrated the highest efficacy with a maximum inhibition zones of 17.139 mm, followed by Air One (13.778 mm), Profiler (10.167 mm), Blue Copper (7.7778 mm), Spot Fix (7.6689 mm), and Strider (7.0667 mm). In vivo, Cordate maintained its effectiveness with the lowest disease incidence of 14.76%, followed by Blue Copper (17.49%), Air One (16.98%), Spot Fix (20.67%), Profiler (21.45%), Strider (24.99%), and the control group (43.00%). The results highlight Cordate’s potential as a most effective chemical against Pa, offering promising role for managing blackleg disease in potato and to improve overall productivity.

Background: Nanoparticles (NPs), as a novel source of Nano fertilizers in crop production. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO2) also have the potential to improve plant growth, but their effect on the wheat crop is not studied enough. Nothing is known about that how nTiO2 specifically effect on wheat crops especially with soil microbes and how much its dose is effective. Azospirillum brasilense is a promising bio-fertilizer that can be applied in combination with nano-fertilizers to increase crop productivity and can enhance the efficiency of other fertilizers. Methods: The present study was planned to investigate the role of different doses of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO2) with Azospirillum brasilense on the growth and physiology of wheat, having three replications. Eleven treatments were planned in the field condition (T0 = Control (No A. brasilense and No nTiO2), T1 = nTiO2 @20 mg/L, T2 = nTiO2 @20 mg/L + A. brasilense, T3 = nTiO2 @30 mg/L, T4 = nTiO2 @30 mg/L + A. brasilense, T5 = nTiO2 @40 mg/L, T6 = nTiO2 @40 mg/L + A. brasilense, T7 = nTiO2 @50 mg/L, T8 = nTiO2 @50 mg/L + A. brasilense, T9 = nTiO2 @60 mg/L, T10 = nTiO2 @60 mg/L + A. brasilense) having randomized complete block design (RCBD). Results: Results revealed that the individual application of A. brasilense showed significantly higher results in all treatments, but nTiO2 application shows a positive impact on wheat growth, yield, and physiological parameters when used in a lower concentration. nTiO2 @30 mg/L with A. brasilense gives the highest results as compared to all other treatments with the production of higher antioxidant enzymes, nutrient uptake, higher leaf area index, and photosynthesis. Use of nTiO2 @40 mg/L or with the higher dose negatively affects wheat crops, but with the A. brasilense application its negative effect control up to a certain level. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential advantages of combining A. brasilense with nTiO2, for the growth of wheat crops. While A. brasilense alone consistently produced favorable results, lesser doses of nTiO2 also showed promising results but with the combination of nTiO2 and A. brasilense @ 30 mg/L producing the greatest outcomes. The detrimental effects of excessive nanoscale titanium dioxide on plant growth and development, which may result in stress and physiological abnormalities in the plants, are probably the cause of the decrease in crop output at greater nTiO2 concentrations. However, care should be used while utilizing larger nTiO2 concentrations since they could harm wheat crop growth and yield.

The aromatic and medicinal plants that are used for flavoring, cooking, and medicine make up more than 10

Gladiolus, a widely cultivated cut flower known for its aesthetically pleasing multicoloured spikes, has earned significant commercial popularity. A comprehensive understanding of the rhizosphere bacterial community associated with gladiolus is imperative for revealing its potential benefits. Molecular characterization is considered an effective method to gain insights into the structural and functional aspects of microbial populations. The soil characteristics and bacterial communities in the rhizosphere are typically influenced by quorum sensing (QS) and quorum quenching (QQ) mechanisms. This study aims to explore the niceties and diversity of rhizospheric bacterial populations linked with gladiolus corms, with a specific focus on understanding the dynamics of QS and QQ mechanisms in their complex interactions. The isolation of bacterial strains was achieved through the serial dilution method on nutrient agar (NA) media. The identification of the isolates was accomplished by amplifying 16 S rRNA gene sequences via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) via the use of universal primers. Sequence analysis was conducted via BLAST on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. The characteristics of the isolated bacteria were elucidated via biosensors. This study identified three QS strains and five QQ strains. A consortium of quenchers was formulated utilizing five strains that demonstrated efficacy in mitigating the impact of disease on gladiolus and fostering growth. Among the three treatments—Scale, Descale, and Descale and Cut Half (DSC)—the DSC treatment emerged as the most effective. This treatment exhibited a broader range of variation in biological parameters over time, aligning with prevailing trends in the local market.

The study seeks to contribute novel insights into the efficacy of rhizobacteria, simultaneous Azospirillum brasilense and Bacillus subtilis inoculation as a means to not only mitigate the detrimental impacts of salt stress but also to potentially achieve superior results in terms of wheat biomass production. The experimental design involved a pot experiment where wheat plants were subjected to nine treatments T0 = Control [No seed inoculation with any bacterial strain + Non-saline soil (2.16 dS/m)], T1 = Saline soil (6.0 dS/m), T2 = Saline soil + Azospirillum brasilense, T3 = Saline soil + Bacillus subtilis, T4 = Saline soil + A. brasilense + B. subtilis, T5 = Highly saline (10 dS/m), T6 = Highly saline + Azospirillum brasilense, T7 = Highly saline + Bacillus subtilis, T8 = Highly saline + A. brasilense + B. subtilis. A. brasilense and B. subtilis individually exhibited positive effects in alleviating the detrimental influence of salt stress but combined application of both rhizobacteria showed superior effectiveness, particularly in saline and highly saline environments. A. brasilense and B. subtilis were found to enhance wheat plant growth by fostering improvements in photosynthesis, chlorophyll content, and crop growth rate, particularly in stressful conditions. Both rhizobacteria were improved biomass of wheat crop and other growth parameters. This study demonstrated the potential of A. brasilense and B. subtilis as beneficial rhizobacteria for enhancing wheat biomass production in the face of salt stress. Combined application of A. brasilense and B. subtilis could be a promising strategy for improving wheat growth under saline soils.

Phytohormones are essential for increasing plant resistance to environmental challenges, such as abiotic stress, which have a detrimental impact on plant production and threat to future food security. Strigolactones (SLs) regulate a variety of vegetative growth and development, and help plants respond to various abiotic stresses. This phytohormone controls root morphology, secondary growth, and shoot branching. Exogenous SLs can be utilized to mitigate adverse abiotic stresses, which may enhance plant output and quality. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the biosynthesis of SLs as well as their signal transduction pathways, and the interaction of SLs with other phytohormones such as abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) in plant systems.

The fungal endophytes are an understudied area of research with great potential for new bioactive compounds’ discovery. These are the fungal strains that live within the inner compartments of the host plant without causing it any kind of harm. These fungal endophytes, in combination with the host organisms, synthesize many compounds with a range of pharmaceutical values. Most recently, the discovery of fungal endophyte genes which are linked with the biosynthesis of plant metabolites has opened a new field of research. These plant partners assist plants against biotic stress and protect them from pathogenic attacks or diseases with the presence of some important gene families like WRKY and MYB. The bioactive metabolites from this group are known for their anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-tubercular properties. Therefore, these bioactive compounds offer new routes for discovering novel drugs, which can boost the pharmaceutical industry in times of great demand for novel drugs. Extracellular enzymes are also produced within the members of this distinct group which are crucial for several industrial sectors, including the biofuel production industry. Furthermore, fungal endophytes are capable of synthesizing silver nanoparticles, which exhibit significant potential in fields like biomedical imaging and water purification. This article aims to document all the available data on this group of fungi living in medicinal plants and the major compounds produced by members of this distinct group that are in use for the therapy of various ailments.

A serious environmental problem that threatens soil quality, agricultural productivity, and food safety is heavy metal pollution in water sources. Heavy metal pollution is the main problem in tehsil Pasrur, Sialkot, Pakistan. Present study was arranged to notice the heavy metals in water, soil, forages and buffalo milk. There are seven sites that were used for this experiment. Highest malondialdehyde (MDA) contents (3.00 ± 0.01) were noticed in barseem roots at site 7. Ascorbate Peroxidase (APX) was reached at its peak (1.93 ± 0.01) at site 7 in the fresh barseem. Maximum protein contents (0.36 ± 0.01) were observed in fresh plant samples at site 2. Site 3's buffalo milk samples had the highest Ni content (7.22 ± 0.33 ppm), while Site 3's soil samples had the lowest Cr content (8.89 ± 0.56 ppm), Site 1's plant shoots had the lowest Cr content (27.75 ± 1.98 ppm), and Site 3's water had the highest Cr content (40.07 ± 0.49 ppm). The maximum fat content (5.38 ± 2.32%) was found in the milk of the animals at site 7. The highest density (31.88 ± 6.501%), protein content (3.64 ± 0.33%), lactose content (5.54 ± 0.320%), salt content (0.66 ± 0.1673%), and freezing point (− 0.5814 ± 0.1827 °C) were also observed in the milk from animals at site 7, whereas site 5 displayed the highest water content (0.66 ± 0.1673%) and peak pH value (11.64 ± 0.09). In selected samples, the pollution load index for Ni (which ranged from 0.01 to 1.03 mg/kg) was greater than 1. Site 7 has the highest conductivity value (5.48 ± 0.48). Values for the health risk index varied from 0.000151 to 1.00010 mg/kg, suggesting that eating tainted animal feed may pose health concerns. Significant health concerns arise from metal deposition in the food chain from soil to feed, with nickel having the highest health risk index.

Background Water stress is a major danger to crop yield, hence new approaches to strengthen plant resilience must be developed. To lessen the negative effects of water stress on wheat plants, present study was arranged to investigate the role of synergistic effects of biochar, trans-zeatin riboside (t-ZR), and Azospirillum brasilense on soil improvement and enzymatic activity in water-stressed wheat. Results In a three-replication experiment comprising of four treatments (T0: Control, T1: Drought stress (DS), T2: DS + t-ZR with biochar, T-3: DS + A. brasilense with biochar), we observed notable improvements in soil quality and enzymatic activities in water-stressed wheat plants with the application of t-ZR and A. brasilense with biochar. In drought stress, Treatment having the application of A. brasilense with biochar performs best as compared to the other and significant increased the enzymatic activities such as peroxidase (7.36%), catalase (8.53%), superoxide dismutase (6.01%), polyphenol oxidase (14.14%), and amylase (16.36%) in wheat plants. Different enzymatic activities showed different trends of results. Soil organic C, dissolved organic C, dissolved organic N also enhanced 29.46%, 8.59%, 22.70% respectively with the application of A. brasilense with biochar under drought stress condition. Conclusions The synergistic action of A. brasilense and biochar creates an effective microbiological environment that supports essential plant physiological processes during drought stress. This enhancement is attributed to improved soil fertility and increased organic matter content, highlighting the potential of these novel strategies in mitigating water stress effects and enhancing crop resilience.

Arsenic (As) toxicity is a serious hazard to agricultural land due to growing industrialization, which has a negative effect on wheat crop yields. To address this issue, using seaweed extract and Azospirillum brasilense has emerged as an effective strategy for improving yield under stress conditions. However, the combined application of A. brasilense and seaweed extract in wheat crops under As toxicity has not been fully explored. The effectiveness of combining A. brasilense and seaweed extract in reducing As toxicity in wheat production was examined in this study through a 2-year pot experiment with nine treatments. These treatments included a control with no additives and two As concentrations (50 and 70 μM). At 50 and 70 μM, As was tested alone, with seaweed extract, with A. brasilense, and both. Significant results were achieved in reducing As toxicity in wheat crops. Arsenic at 70 μM proved more harmful than at 50 μM. The application of A. brasilense and seaweed extract was more effective in improving crop growth rates, chlorophyll levels, and stomatal conductance. The combined application notably decreased As concentration in wheat plants. It was concluded that applying A. brasilense and seaweed extract not only improves wheat growth but can also improve soil parameters under As toxicity conditions by increasing organic matter contents, boosting nutrient availability, and increasing the production of antioxidant enzymes.