Climate change significantly affects plant growth and productivity by causing different biotic and abiotic stresses to plants. Among the different abiotic stresses, at the top of the list are salinity, drought, temperature extremes, heavy metals and nutrient imbalances, which contribute to large yield losses of crops in various parts of the world, thereby leading to food insecurity issues. In the quest to improve plants’ abiotic stress tolerance, many promising techniques are being investigated. These include the use of nanoparticles, which have been shown to have a positive effect on plant performance under stress conditions. Nanoparticles can be used to deliver nutrients to plants, overcome plant diseases and pathogens, and sense and monitor trace elements that are present in soil by absorbing their signals. A better understanding of the mechanisms of nanoparticles that assist plants to cope with abiotic stresses will help towards the development of more long-term strategies against these stresses. However, the intensity of the challenge also warrants more immediate approaches to mitigate these stresses and enhance crop production in the short term. Therefore, this review provides an update of the responses (physiological, biochemical and molecular) of plants affected by nanoparticles under abiotic stress, and potentially effective strategies to enhance production. Taking into consideration all aspects, this review is intended to help researchers from different fields, such as plant science and nanoscience, to better understand possible innovative approaches to deal with abiotic stresses in agriculture.

The excessive use of chemicals and inorganic fertilizers by farmers to increase crop yield is detrimental to the environment and human health. Application of biostimulants such as seaweed extract (SWE) in agriculture could be an effective and eco-friendly alternative to inorganic fertilizers. Biostimulants are natural organic degradable substances. Their application serves as a source of nutrition for crops, possibly improving growth and productivity when applied in combination with the fertilizers. The current study was conducted to evaluate the vegetative growth, reproductive behavior and quality attributes of four onion cultivars, ‘Lambada’, ‘Red Bone’, ‘Nasarpuri’, and ‘Phulkara’, in response to different concentrations of commercial SWE. Four levels of SWE extract were used, 0% (control), 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 3%, which were applied as a foliar spray to each cultivar. The application of 0.5% SWE caused a significant increase in total soluble solids, mineral content (N, P, and K), bulb weight and yield. Application at 3% SWE increased ascorbic acid as compared to control. The cultivars responded in different ways regarding bulb dry weight and bulb and neck diameter. Among all cultivars, ‘Lambada’ showed the maximum bulb dry matter, ‘Phulkara’ showed enhanced neck diameter whereas ‘Red Bone’ showed maximum leaf length. It is concluded that 0.5% SWE increased the yield, nutrient contents, and total soluble solids (TSS) of the four onion cultivars whereas 3% SWE, the highest concentration, increased ascorbic acid in different onion cultivars.

Plants are frequently exposed to various environmental stressors, and their survival relies on intricate sensory mechanisms that detect and respond to these challenges. In recent years, several biomolecules have been identified as key regulators of plant responses to abiotic stresses. Lipids, one of crucial biomolecules serves as energy source, provides structural integrity and being a major component of plasma membranes forms the interface between the cell and the environment. Among the lipids, phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphoinositides, sphingolipids, lysophospholipids, oxylipins, and free fatty acids have been identified as substrates for stress-related signaling pathways. Despite the significance of these lipids, our understanding of their specific roles, interactions, and physiological impacts under conditions such as drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures remains limited. This review aims to synthesize recent advancements in our knowledge of lipid generation, distribution, and lipid-mediated signal transduction in response of plants to abiotic stresses. By exploring these processes, we seek to provide a comprehensive overview of lipid function in plant stress tolerance and identify potential avenues for future research.

Bitter gourd is one of the important cucurbits and highly liked among both farmers and consumers due to its high net return and nutritional value. However, being monoecious, it exhibits substantial variation in flower bearing pattern. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are known to influence crop phenology while gibberellic acid (GA₃) is one of the most prominent PGRs that influence cucurbits phenology. Therefore, a field trial was conducted at University of Agriculture Faisalabad to evaluate the impact of a commercial product of gibberellic acid (GA₃) on growth, yield and quality attributes of two bitter gourd (Momordica charantiaL.) cultivars. We used five different concentrations (0.4 g, 0.6 g, 0.8 g, 1.0 g, and 1.2 g per litre) of commercial GA₃ product (Gibberex, 10% Gibberellic acid). Results showed that a higher concentration of gibberex (1.0 and 1.20 g L⁻¹ water) enhanced the petiole length, intermodal length, and yield of bitter gourd cultivars over control in Golu hybrid and Faisalabad Long. A significant decrease in the enzyme superoxidase dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase activities were observed with an increasing concentration of gibberex (1.0 and 1.20 gL⁻¹ water) as compared to control. These results indicate that the exogenous application of gibberex at a higher concentration (1.2 g L⁻¹) has a dual action in bitter gourd plant: i) it enhances the plant growth and yield, and ii) it also influenced the antioxidant enzyme activities in fruits. These findings may have a meaningful, practical use for farmers involved in agriculture and horticulture.

COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is declared global pandemic. The virus owing high resemblance with SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV has been placed in family of beta-coronavirus. However, transmission and infectivity rate of COVID-19 is quite higher as compared to other members of family. Effective management strategy with potential drug availability will break the virus transmission chain subsequently reduce the pressure on the healthcare system. Extensive research trials are underway to develop novel efficient therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2. In this review, we have discussed the origin and family of coronavirus, structure, genome and pathogenesis of virus SARS-CoV-2 inside human host cell; comparison among SARS, MERS, SARS-CoV-2 and common flu; effective management practices; treatment with immunity boosters; available medication with ongoing clinical trials. We suggest medicinal plants could serve as potential candidates for drug development against COVID-19 infection.

| Avocado being an energetic fruit owing to its high nutritional value has gained global popularity. Its global production has witnessed a two-fold increase in the last decade. This scenario has led a pressure on avocado nursery production. Generally, avocado has been propagated through seed production that led to variability among off-spring and long juvenile period. Therefore, asexual propagation via grafting is the most appropriate method for producing high-quality, true to type plants. The current study was planned to evaluate four different grafting techniques (Cleft, Tongue, Patch and T-budding) in ten different cultivars of avocado. The outcomes suggested that Cleft grafting was most suitable one among all other evaluated techniques. The highest survival rate (27.40%) was recorded in cleft grafting. Moreover, vegetative characters, i.e., no. of leaves and leaf area, no. of internodes and internodal length, shoot length and diameter were also higher in cleft and tongue grafting as compared to other grafting method. Among cultivars, NARC-Feurte and NARC-Purple give the best outcomes.