Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a major pulse crop worldwide, renowned for its nutritional richness and adaptability. Weeds are the main biotic factor deteriorating chickpea yield and nutritional quality, especially Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav. The present study concerns a two-year (2018-19 and 2019-20) field trial aiming at evaluating the effect of weed management on chickpea grain quality. Several weed management practices have been here implemented under a factorial randomized complete block design, including the application of four herbicides [bromoxynil (C7H3Br2NO) + MCPA (Methyl-chlorophenoxyacetic acid) (C9H9ClO3), fluroxypyr + MCPA, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl (C18H16ClNO5), pendimethalin (C13H19N3O4)], the extracts from two allelopathic weeds (Sorghum halepense and Cyperus rotundus), two mulches (wheat straw and eucalyptus leaves), a combination of A. tenuifolius extract and pendimethalin, and an untreated check (control). Chickpea grain quality was measured in terms of nitrogen, crude protein, crude fat, ash, and oil content. The herbicides pendimethalin (Stomp 330 EC (emulsifiable concentrate) in pre-emergence at a rate of 2.5 L ha-1) and fenoxaprop-p-ethyl (Puma Super 7.5 EW (emulsion in water) in post-emergence at a rate of 1.0 L ha-1), thanks to A. tenuifolius control, showed outstanding performance, providing the highest dietary quality of chickpea grain. The herbicides Stomp 330 EC, Buctril Super 40 EC, Starane-M 50 EC, and Puma Super 7.5 EW provided the highest levels of nitrogen. Outstanding increases in crude protein content were observed with all management strategies, particularly with Stomp 330 EC and Puma Super 7.5 EW (+18% on average). Ash content was highly elevated by Stomp 330 EC and Puma Super 7.5 EW, along with wheat straw mulching, reaching levels of 2.96% and 2.94%. Crude fat content experienced consistent elevations across all treatments, with the highest improvements achieved by Stomp 330 EC, Puma Super 7.5 EW, and wheat straw mulching applications. While 2018-19 displayed no significant oil content variations, 2019-20 revealed the highest oil content (5.97% and 5.96%) with herbicides Stomp 330 EC and Puma Super 7.5 EW, respectively, followed by eucalyptus leaves mulching (5.82%). The results here obtained are of key importance in the agricultural and food sector for the sustainable enhancement of chickpea grain's nutritional quality without impacting the environment.

Salinity is a major obstacle to wheat production worldwide. Salt-affected soils could be used by improving salt-tolerant genotypes depending upon the genetic variation and salt stress response of adapted and donor wheat germplasm. We used a comprehensive set of morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters and simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker technique with multivariate analysis to accurately demonstrate the phenotypic and genetic variation of 18 wheat genotypes under salinity stress. All genotypes were evaluated without NaCl as a control and with 150 mM NaCl, until the onset of symptoms of death in the sensitive plant (after 43 days of salinity treatment). The results showed that the relative change of the genetic variation was high for all parameters, heritability (> 60%), and genetic gain (> 20%). Stepwise regression analysis, noting the importance of the root dry matter, relative turgidity, and their respective contributions to the shoot dry matter, indicated their relevance in improving and evaluating the salt-tolerant genotypes of breeding programs. The relative change of the genotypes in terms of the relative turgidity and shoot dry matter during salt stress was verified using clustering methods. For cluster analysis, the genotypes were classified into three groups: tolerant, intermediate, and sensitive, representing five, six, and seven genotypes, respectively. The morphological and genetic distances were significantly correlated based on the Mantel test. Of the 23 SSR markers that showed polymorphism, 17 were associated with almost all examined parameters. Therefore, based on the observed molecular marker-phenotypic trait association, the markers were highly useful in detecting tolerant and sensitive genotypes. Thus, it considers a helpful tool for salt tolerance through marker-assisted selection.

Saline stress is one of the most critical abiotic stress factors that can lessen crops' productivity. However, emerging nanotechnology, nano-fertilizers, and developing knowledge of phytochromes can potentially mitigate the negative effects of saline stress on seed germination. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of seed priming either with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs; 50 and 100 mg L-1) or 24-epibrassinolide (EBL; 0.2 and 0.4 μM) and their combinations on maize (Zea mays L.) grains sown in salt-stressed soil (50 and 100 mM NaCl). Saline stress treatments significantly affected all germination traits and chemical analysis of seeds as well as α-amylase activity. Compared to un-primed seeds, seed priming with ZnO-NPs or EBL and their combinations significantly increased the cumulative germination percentage, germination energy, imbibition rate, increase in grain weight, K+ content, and α-amylase activity, and significantly reduced germination time, days to 50% emergence, Na+ uptake, and Na+/K+ ratio of maize sown in salt-stressed-soil (50 or 100 mM NaCl). The combination of 100 mg ZnO-NPs L-1 + 0.2 μM EBL resulted in the highest improvements for most of the studied traits of maize seeds sown in salt-stressed soil in comparison to all other individual and combined treatments.

The current study was conducted to explore the potential for phytoremediation in different varieties of jute grown under toxic concentrations of copper (Cu). For this purpose, a Petri dish experiment was conducted under controlled conditions using four varieties of jute, i.e., HongTieGuXuan, C-3, GuBaChangaJia, and ShangHuoMa, grown in double filter paper under 50 µmol L-1 of artificially spiked copper (Cu) using CuSO4.H2O. The results of the present study revealed that jute varieties C-3 and HongTieGuXuan were able to survive under high concentrations of Cu without a significant decrease in plant height, plant fresh and dry weights, total chlorophyll content, or seed germination, while varieties GuBaChangaJia and ShangHuoMa exhibited a significant reduction in their growth and biomass. Furthermore, high concentrations of Cu in the medium resulted in lipid peroxidation. This could be due to the oxidative damage induced in the roots and leaves of the jute varieties, which might be a result of by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and electrolyte leakage. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated due to Cu toxicity can be overcome by the increasing activity of antioxidants, and it was also noted that GuBaChangaJia and ShangHuoMa exhibited high Cu stress, while C-3 and HongTieGuXuan showed some resistance to Cu toxicity. Contrastingly, Cu accumulation and uptake was higher in C-3 and HongTieGuXuan, while a little Cu was accumulated in the roots and leaves of GuBaChangaJia and ShangHuoMa. On the basis of these findings, it can be suggested that C-3 and HongTieGuXuan have the potential to cope with Cu stress and can be considered Cu-resistant varieties, while GuBaChangaJia and ShangHuoMa are considered Cu-sensitive varieties. Moreover, C-3 and HongTieGuXuan have the potential to revoke large amounts of Cu, and can be cultivated as phytoremediation tools in Cu-contaminated soil.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution is a growing environmental problem that negatively impacts plant growth and development, particularly in maize. In this research, the impact of farmyard manure (FYM) and salicylic acid (SA) on rhizospheric characteristics and the reduction of Cd stress in maize was examined at Government College (GC) University, Lahore, in 2022. The experiment was arranged with a randomized design, including three replications of 12 treatments (T1 = Control; T2 = Farmyard manure; T3 = Salicylic Acid; T4 = 100 mg/kg of soil Cd; T5 = 200 mg/kg of soil Cd; T6 = Farmyard manure + Salicylic acid; T7 = FYM + 100 mg/kg soil Cd; T8 = FYM + 200 mg/kg soil Cd; T9 = SA + 100 mg/kg soil Cd; T10 = SA + 200 mg/kg soil Cd; T11 = FYM + SA + 100 mg/kg soil Cd; T12 = FYM + SA + 200 mg/kg soil Cd). Results demonstrated that Cd stress negatively affected the maize plant and soil properties, but the application of SA and FYM was effective to mitigate the Cd stress up to a certain level. A reduction of 41.52%, 39.14%, and 39.94% in root length, length of the leaf, and crop growth rate was noticed, due to the Cd stress at 200 mg/kg soil, but this reduction was reduced to 18.83%, 10.35%, and 12.26%, respectively, when FYM and salicylic acid were applied as a combined application under the same stress level of Cd. The root biomass, leaf surface area, and length were all improved by SA and FYM, which enhanced the plant's capacity to absorb nutrients and improve growth under Cd stress. In conclusion, the use of salicylic acid together with farm manure can be an effective approach to mitigate Cd stress in maize crops.