The effects of carbon quantum dots (CQD) as promising nanomaterials in agriculture.

The world’s food and agricultural schemes have gradually fallen into an alarming state due to challenges such as high population birth rates, diverse agro-climatic zones, a lack of measures to counter global warming, severe practices of sole-culture cultivation, and asset reduction. A very high dependency on limited staple food crops is associated with repetitious diets, deprivation of food, and shortages of trace minerals, which often causes dietary sicknesses. To ensure nutritious diets worldwide, a real-world and justifiable scheme is provided to garner extra attention towards variation in both agriculture/farming approaches and food habits. The EAT-Lancet statement emphasized an increase in agri-based diets as a way of attaining global generational health. Enlarging neglected crops with plenty of genomic stocks and potentially profitable attributes is a solution that could address food and nutritional security concerns. Bambara groundnut is one such imperative and neglected legume crop that contributes positively to improving global food and nutrient safety. As a “complete food”, this crop has recently been treated as a new millennium crop, and furthermore, it is more adjusted to poor soil and climatic conditions than other dominant crops. Bambara groundnut is a repository of vital nutrients that provides carbohydrates, crucial amino acids, proteins, and energy as well as minerals and vitamins to developed and low-income countries where animal proteins are not readily available. This review explores the potential of Bambara groundnut in ensuring food and nutrient security; its variables, production, processing, nutrient values, role in reducing the nutritional gap, and diverse uses; and attempts in improving its traits. To strengthen food production, an agricultural revolution is required for underutilized crop species to feed the ever-expanding population in the world. Henceforth, advanced plant-breeding procedures, such as next-generation breeding techniques, various molecular tools, TILLING, Eco-TILLING, proteomics, genomics, and transcriptomics (which has been used for major crops), also need to be practiced to intensify production. To boost productivity and to feed the most starved and malnourished populations of the world, it is assumed that the application of modern techniques will play a vital role in the advancement of the underutilized Bambara groundnut.

The world’s food and agricultural programs have gradually declined into an unsustainable situation due to challenges such as increase in world population, varied agro-climatic regions, increase temperature, extreme sole-culture growing techniques, and water shortage. A considerable emphasis has been put on few staple food crops coupled with repeated dieting, food scarcity, and essential mineral deficits, frequently inducing dietary disorders. Because relying on staple crops may lead to serious food shortages in the future, we must adjust our dietary habits to include a diverse range of non-staple foods and maximize their use in order to achieve food security and reduce the nutritional gap. To assure healthy meals around the world, an authentic and reasonable strategy is presented to draw additional awareness towards variations in agricultural production techniques and dietary preferences. The EAT-Lancet declaration highlighted the importance of increasing agri-based foods to achieve sustainable health. Expanding overlooked crops with abundant genetic stocks and possibly beneficial characteristics is an approach that might meet food and nutritional security challenges. Although undervalued, pumpkin is a valuable vegetable herbaceous plant that contributes to global food and nutritional security. This crop has already been identified as a revolutionary age crop, balanced food, and more adapted to low soil and atmospheric circumstances than other major crops. This review paper focuses on the potential uses of pumpkin as an underutilized crop; diversification and development of hybrids, particularly hybridization breeding through diallel mating design; and how implementation of this “modern” technology would contribute to the breeding of the neglected pumpkin vegetable and stimulate productivity and nourish the world’s largest malnourished, deprived, and starved populations.

Adopting environmentally friendly or green technology and incorporating new alternative substrates for a sustainable agricultural industry has garnered the attention of numerous researchers. Although super absorbent hydrogels have exhibited great potential, natural hydrogel-based absorbents have gained more interest due to their environmentally safe properties. The sources for the novel green polymer are easily obtained from agricultural wastes, such as polysaccharides, agarose, chitosan, and mucilage, with zero to minimal cost. The polymer also offers several attributes, including water usage and cost efficiencies, versatile application, and increasing plant growth. Furthermore, the polymer can act as a carrier agent and aid in improving the properties of planting mediums. The present review focuses on natural and chemical hydrogel-based polymers. It discusses their potential application in sustainable agriculture and the conservation of ecosystems by providing balanced protection for seeds, plants, and soil. Future perspectives based on previous investigations are also presented.

Eleven morphologically diverse cultivated eggplant accessions were used for hybridization following half diallel mating design to obtain 55 hybrids. Evaluation of hybrids along with the parents was conducted over two locations followed by randomised complete block design with three replications to study gene action and combining ability of 15 morphological and biochemical traits. The analysis of variance indicated highly significant differences among the environments and interaction of genotype and environment, except for fruit length to width ratio. Additive gene effects were significant for the inheritance of these traits and expression of these additive genes were greatly affected by environments. The general combining ability (GCA) was greater than their respective specific combining ability (SCA) for all traits except for fruit yield per plant. High values of GCA and SCA effects for characters of interest were dispersed among different genotypes. From this study it was observed that the best parental line was BT15 based on days to first flowering, total number of fruits per plant, total soluble solids and total phenol content. Besides, the parent BM5 showed good general combining ability effects for fruit yield per plant, fruit length and fruit length to width ratio and the parent BB1 performed good general combining ability for fruit diameter, fruit girth and fruit weight. Besides, other parents showed the best performance for only one trait. On the other hand, the hybrid BT6 × BT15 was reported bearing early flowering with high total phenol content and the hybrid BM9 × BB26 has high fruit yield with high soluble solids. Besides, the hybrid BM9 × BB1 has a high fruit diameter and fruit weight. All other hybrids except for these three (BT6 × BT15, BM9 × BB26 and BM9 × BB1) were shown the best performance for only one trait. Hence, based on the desired trait, the hybrid can be selected for future use after large scale evaluation.

The knowledge of genetic variability and breeding techniques is crucial in crop improvement programs. This information is especially important in underutilized crops such as Bambara groundnut, which have limited breeding systems and genetic diversity information. Hence, this study evaluated the genetic variability and established the relationship between the yield and its components in Bambara groundnut based on seed weight using multivariate analysis. A field trial was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications on 28 lines. Data were collected on 12 agro-morphological traits, and a statistical analysis was conducted using SAS version 9.4 software, while the variance component, genotypic and phenotypic coefficient variation, heritability, and genetic advance values were estimated. A cluster analysis was performed using NT-SYS software to estimate the genetic relations among the accessions. The results showed significant variability among the accessions based on the yield and yield component characteristics. The evaluated lines were grouped into seven primary clusters based on the assessed traits using the UPGMA dendrogram. Based on the overall results, G5LR1P3, G1LR1P3, G4LR1P1, G2SR1P1 and G3SR1P4 performed the best for the yield and yield components. These improved lines are recommended for large-scale evaluation and utilization in future breeding programs to develop high-yield Bambara groundnut varieties.