Agro-industrial wastes are rich in polyphenols and other bioactive compounds, and valorizing these wastes is a crucial worldwide concern for saving health and the environment. In this work, olive leaf waste was valorized by silver nitrate to produce silver nanoparticles (OLAgNPs), which exhibited various biological, antioxidant, anticancer activities against three cancer cell lines, and antimicrobial activity against multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria and fungi. The obtained OLAgNPs were spherical, with an average size of 28 nm, negatively charged at −21 mV, and surrounded by various active groups more than the parent extract based on FTIR spectra. The total phenolic and total flavonoid contents significantly increased in OLAgNPs by 42 and 50% over the olive leaf waste extract (OLWE); consequently, the antioxidant activity of OLAgNPs increased by 12% over OLWE, recording an SC₅₀ of OLAgNPs of 5 µg/mL compared to 30 µg/mL in the extract. The phenolic compound profile detected by HPLC showed that gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, rutin, naringenin, catechin, and propyl gallate were the main compounds in the HPLC profile of OLAgNPs and OLWE; the content of these compounds was higher in OLAgNPs than OLWE by 16-fold. The higher phenolic compounds in OLAgNPs are attributable to the significant increase in biological activities of OLAgNPs than that of OLWE. OLAgNPs successfully inhibited the proliferation of three cancer cell lines, MCF-7, HeLa, and HT-29, by 79–82% compared to 55–67% in OLWE and 75–79% in doxorubicin (DOX). The preliminary worldwide problem is multi-drug resistant microorganisms (MDR) because of the random use of antibiotics. Therefore, in this study, we may find the solution in OLAgNPs with concentrations of 2.5–20 µg/mL, which significantly inhibited the growth of six MDR bacteria L. monocytogenes, B. cereus, S. aureus, Y. enterocolitica, C. jejuni, and E. coli with inhibition zone diameters of 25–37 mm and six pathogenic fungi in the range of 26–35 mm compared to antibiotics. OLAgNPs in this study may be applied safely in new medicine to mitigate free radicals, cancer, and MDR pathogens.

Salinity in soil or irrigation water requires developing genetically salt-tolerant genotypes, especially in arid regions. Developing salt-tolerant and high-yielding wheat genotypes has become more urgent in particular with continuing global population growth and abrupt climate changes. The current study aimed at investigating the genetic variability of new breeding lines in three advanced generations F6–F8 under salinity stress. The evaluated advanced lines were derived through accurate pedigree selection under actual saline field conditions (7.74 dS/m) and using saline water in irrigation (8.35 dS/m). Ninety-four F6 lines were evaluated in 2017–2018 and reduced by selection to thirty-seven F7 lines in 2018–2019 and afterward to thirty-four F8 lines in 2019–2020 based on grain yield and related traits compared with adopted check cultivars. Significant genetic variability was detected for all evaluated agronomic traits across generations in the salt-stressed field. The elite F8 breeding lines displayed higher performance than the adopted check cultivars. These lines were classified based on yield index into four groups using hierarchical clustering ranging from highly salt-tolerant to slightly salt-tolerant genotypes, which efficiently enhance the narrow genetic pool of salt-tolerance. The detected response to selection and high to intermediate broad-sense heritability for measured traits displayed their potentiality to be utilized through advanced generations under salinity stress for identifying salt-tolerant breeding lines.

Determining the appropriate parents for breeding programs is the most important decision that plant breeders must make to maximize the genetic variability and produce excellent recombinant genotypes. Several methods are used to identify genotypes with desirable phenotypic features for breeding experiments. In this study, five kalanchoe genotypes were morphologically characterized by assessing plant height, number of inflorescences, number of flowers, flower length, flower diameter and number of petals. The analysis showed the distinction of yellow kalanchoe in the plant height trait, while the orange kalanchoe was distinguished in the number of inflorescences, the number of flowers and flower length traits, whereas the violet kalanchoe possessed the largest flower diameter and the highest number of petals. The molecular profiling was performed by random amplified polymorphism DNA (RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and start codon targeted (SCoT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tools. Genomic DNA was extracted from young leaves and the PCR reactions were performed using ten primers for each SCoT, ISSR and RAPD marker. Only four out of ten primers showed amplicon profiles in all PCR markers. A total of 70 bands were generated by SCoT, ISSR and RAPD-PCR with 35 polymorphic bands and 35 monomorphic bands. The total number of bands of RAPD, ISSR and SCoT was 15, 17 and 38, respectively. The polymorphism percentages achieved by RAPD, ISSR and SCoT were 60.25%, 15% and 57%, respectively. The cluster analysis based on morphological data revealed two clusters. Cluster I consisted of violet and orange kalanchoe, and cluster II comprised red, yellow and purple kalanchoe. Whereas the cluster analysis based on molecular data revealed three clusters. Cluster I included only yellow kalanchoe, cluster II comprised orange and violet kalanchoe while cluster III comprised red, and purple kalanchoe. The study concluded that orange, violet and yellow kalanchoe are distinguished parents for breeding economically valued traits in kalanchoe. Also, the study concluded that SCoT and RAPD markers reproduced reliable banding patterns to assess the genetic polymorphism among kalanchoe genotypes that consider the basis stone for genetic improvements in ornamental plants.

Nematodes are hidden enemies that inhibit the entire ecosystem causing adverse effects on animals and plants, leading to economic losses. Management of foliar phytoparasitic nematodes is an excruciating task. Various approaches were used to control nematodes dispersal, i.e., traditional practices, resistant cultivars, plant extract, compost, biofumigants, induced resistance, nano-biotechnology applications, and chemical control. This study reviews the various strategies adopted in combating plant-parasitic nematodes while examining the benefits and challenges. The significant awareness of biological and environmental factors determines the effectiveness of nematode control, where the incorporation of alternative methods to reduce the nematodes population in plants with increasing crop yield. The researchers were interested in explaining the fundamental molecular mechanisms, providing an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the sustainable management of nematodes in croplands. Eco-friendly pesticides are effective as a sustainable nematodes management tool and safe for humans. The current review presents the eco-friendly methods in controlling nematodes to minimize yield losses, and benefit the agricultural production efficiency and the environment.