Genome-editing (GE) is having a tremendous influence around the globe in the life science community. Among its versatile uses, the desired modifications of genes, and more importantly the transgene (DNA)-free approach to develop genetically modified organism (GMO), are of special interest. The recent and rapid developments in genome-editing technology have given rise to hopes to achieve global food security in a sustainable manner. We here discuss recent developments in CRISPR-based genome-editing tools for crop improvement concerning adaptation, opportunities, and challenges. Some of the notable advances highlighted here include the development of transgene (DNA)-free genome plants, the availability of compatible nucleases, and the development of safe and effective CRISPR delivery vehicles for plant genome editing, multi-gene targeting and complex genome editing, base editing and prime editing to achieve more complex genetic engineering. Additionally, new avenues that facilitate fine-tuning plant gene regulation have also been addressed. In spite of the tremendous potential of CRISPR and other gene editing tools, major challenges remain. Some of the challenges are related to the practical advances required for the efficient delivery of CRISPR reagents and for precision genome editing, while others come from government policies and public acceptance. This review will therefore be helpful to gain insights into technological advances, its applications, and future challenges for crop improvement.

Maize, along with rice and wheat, is a popular staple food crop worldwide, and the most widely produced cereal crop. It is a versatile crop that may be utilized as a source of raw materials for human and animal fodders. Low agricultural yield and rapid population expansion significantly threaten future food security. Maize production is hampered by biotic and abiotic causes, with abiotic factors being the most critical limitation to agricultural output worldwide. Soil salinity is a key abiotic factor that reduces agricultural production by imposing negative impacts at several life cycle phases, including germination, seedling, vegetative, and reproductive development. Maize plants experience many physiological changes due to osmotic stress, toxicity of particular ions, and nutritional imbalance induced by salt stress. The degree and duration of stress, crop growth phases, genetic characteristics, and soil conditions influence yield reduction. Maize plants can tolerate salt stress involving a complex mechanism by changing their physiological, biochemical, and metabolic activities like stomatal functioning, photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, hormone regulation, enzymes, metabolite generation, etc. After studying the salt tolerance mechanisms of maize plants under stress, integrated management techniques should be developed for maize agriculture in saline settings. Therefore, the study of plant responses to salt stress, stress tolerance mechanisms, and management strategies is one of the most imperative research fields in plant biology, and the study will focus on the effects of salt stress in different growth stages, plant tolerance mechanisms, and agronomic management practices for successful maize production all over the world.

To deal with increasing salinization, plants show an array of responses such as root system architecture remodelling, thereby enhancing stress tolerance. Although various chemical, molecular and genetic techniques such that generally expensive and difficult applications are used to enhance stress tolerance, out of them, seed priming with suitable substrates is an easy-applicable and cost-effective treatment. The experiment aimed to evaluate the effects of salicylic acid (SA), silicon (Si), and sodium chloride (NaCl) priming on lentil seed germination parameters, seedling development, and root system architecture. In 2022, the experiment was carried out in the Field Crops Department laboratory at Siirt University in Turkey. Petri and pot investigations were part of the two stages of the experiment. Three concentrations of NaCl and priming treatments were utilized. Germination characteristics were impeded by rising saline levels. But seed priming, which boosted uniformity of germination by 50% as compared to unprimed seeds under saline stress, enhanced germination characteristics. A pot experiment revealed that the dry matter accumulation in roots was reduced by 24.6% due to salt stress. Si priming increased number of lateral roots by 32.6% compared to control seeds, whereas salt stress lowered it by 22.8%. The total length of lateral roots (TLLR) and mean length of lateral roots (MLLR) were inhibited by salinity stress by 75% and 63, respectively. Total root area was reduced by salinity stress by almost 70%, although seed priming increased it by as much as 29.3%. The SA and Si priming treatments improved germination stage and induced seedling growth by reducing salinity stress via more effective shoot development and root system architecture. In conclusion, seed priming with SA and Si is an affordable and sustainable method for reducing salt stress in lentil farming.

The study was carried out to determine the effect of different levels of iron (0, 5, 10 and 20 kg ha⁻¹) and molybdenum (0, 2, 4 and 6 g kg⁻¹ seed) on the yield and yield components in lentil (Lens culinaris Medic. cv. Sazak-91). The experiments were conducted in a factorial design with three replications during 2006–07 and 2008–09 in Van, Turkey. The highest seed yield was obtained from 20 kg ha⁻¹ iron with 956 kg ha⁻¹ and 6 g kg⁻¹ seed molybdenum levels with 963 kg ha⁻¹ in the first year, while it was obtained from 20 kg ha⁻¹ iron with 1031 kg ha⁻¹ and 6 g kg⁻¹ seed molybdenum with 1010 kg ha⁻¹ in the second year. Seed nutrient contents such as protein rate, phosphorus, manganese, copper and molybdenum significantly increased under the influence of iron and molybdenum treatments over control.

Wheat constitutes the backbone of global food supplies, and its production is directly linked to the food and nutritional security of the mounting population. Wheat is vulnerable to abiotic stresses like heat, salinity, and drought. These abiotic stresses tend to reduce the food security of the increasing population by reducing wheat production and nutritional quality. Among abiotic stresses, salinity stress (SS) has emerged as the most prevailing stress in modern high-input wheat farming systems, as it severely hampers crop growth by inducing numerous physiological, biochemical, and molecular alterations. Different genomic approaches, proteomics tools, phenomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics approaches have been applied to overcome the adverse impacts of salinity stress and increase wheat productivity on a per unit land area basis. In this study, the adverse effects of salt stress on wheat have been objectively elaborated, along with highlighting conceivable mechanisms to deal with salt stress, as well as ion and hormonal management alternatives enabling wheat to mitigate its deleterious impacts.