Water scarcity is a major challenge to wheat productivity under changing climate conditions, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. During recent years, different agronomic, physiological and molecular approaches have been used to overcome the problems related to drought stress. Breeding approaches, including conventional and modern breeding, are among the most efficient options to overcome drought stress through the development of new varieties adapted to drought. Growing drought-tolerant wheat genotypes may be a sustainable option to boost wheat productivity under drought stress conditions. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim to screen different wheat genotypes based on stress tolerance levels. For this purpose, eleven commonly cultivated wheat genotypes (V₁ = Akbar-2019, V₂ = Ghazi-2019, V₃ = Ujala-2016, V₄ = Zincol-2016, V₅ = Anaj-2017, V₆ = Galaxy-2013, V₇ = Pakistan-2013, V₈ = Seher-2006, V₉ = Lasani-2008, V₁₀ = Faisalabad-2008 and V₁₁ = Millat-2011) were grown in pots filled with soil under well-watered (WW, 70% of field capacity) and water stress (WS, 35% of field capacity) conditions. Treatments were arranged under a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. Data on yield and yield-related traits (tillers/plant, spikelets/spike, grains/spike, 100 grain weight, seed and biological yield) and physio-biochemical (chlorophyll contents, relative water content, membrane stability index, leaf nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content) attributes were recorded in this experiment. Our results showed that drought stress significantly affected the morpho-physiological, and biochemical attributes in all tested wheat varieties. Among the genotypes, all traits were found to be significantly (p < 0.05) higher in wheat genotype Faisalabad-2008, including biological yield (9.50 g plant⁻¹) and seed yield (3.39 g plant⁻¹), which was also proven to be more drought tolerant than the other tested genotypes. The higher biological and grain yield of genotype Faisalabad-2008 was mainly attributed to greater numbers of tillers/plant and spikelets/spike compared to the other tested genotypes. The wheat genotype Galaxy-2013 had significantly lower biological (7.43 g plant⁻¹) and seed yield (2.11 g plant⁻¹) than all other tested genotypes, and was classified as a drought-sensitive genotype. For the genotypes, under drought stress, biological and grain yield decreased in the order V₁₀ > V₂ > V₁ > V₄ > V₇ > V₁₁ > V₉ > V₈ > V₃ > V₆. These results suggest that screening for drought-tolerant genotypes may be a more viable option to minimize drought-induced effects on wheat in drought-prone regions.

Plant and fruit surfaces are covered with cuticle wax and provide a protective barrier against biotic and abiotic stresses. Cuticle wax consists of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) and their derivatives. β-Ketoacyl-CoA synthase (KCS) is a key enzyme in the synthesis of VLCFAs and provides a precursor for the synthesis of cuticle wax, but the KCS gene family was yet to be reported in the passion fruit (Passiflora edulis). In this study, thirty-two KCS genes were identified in the passion fruit genome and phylogenetically grouped as KCS1-like, FAE1-like, FDH-like, and CER6-like. Furthermore, thirty-one PeKCS genes were positioned on seven chromosomes, while one PeKCS was localized to the unassembled genomic scaffold. The cis-element analysis provides insight into the possible role of PeKCS genes in phytohormones and stress responses. Syntenic analysis revealed that gene duplication played a crucial role in the expansion of the PeKCS gene family and underwent a strong purifying selection. All PeKCS proteins shared similar 3D structures, and a protein–protein interaction network was predicted with known Arabidopsis proteins. There were twenty putative ped-miRNAs which were also predicted that belong to nine families targeting thirteen PeKCS genes. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotation results were highly associated with fatty acid synthase and elongase activity, lipid metabolism, stress responses, and plant-pathogen interaction. The highly enriched transcription factors (TFs) including ERF, MYB, Dof, C2H2, TCP, LBD, NAC, and bHLH were predicted in PeKCS genes. qRT-PCR expression analysis revealed that most PeKCS genes were highly upregulated in leaves including PeKCS2, PeKCS4, PeKCS8, PeKCS13, and PeKCS9 but not in stem and roots tissues under drought stress conditions compared with controls. Notably, most PeKCS genes were upregulated at 9th dpi under Fusarium kyushuense biotic stress condition compared to controls. This study provides a basis for further understanding the functions of KCS genes, improving wax and VLCFA biosynthesis, and improvement of passion fruit resistance.

Oilseed crops require several micronutrients to support their physiological functions and reproductive phases. A deficiency of these nutrients can significantly reduce the yield and oil quality of oilseed crops. Soil application of micronutrients can reduce their deficiency and improve plant growth, yield, and oil quality. Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is an important oilseed crop that produces oil with low levels of saturated fat and high levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, which renders it a widely used cooking oil. However, the yield and oil quality of oilseed rape are significantly affected by the deficiency of boron (B) and zinc (Zn). This two-year field study determined the influence of sole and combined soil application of B and Zn on the physiological attributes of plants, seed and oil yields, and oil quality under semiarid climatic conditions. Nine different B and Z combinations, i.e., B0 + Zn0 (control), B0 + Zn8, B0 + Zn10, B1 + Zn0, B1 + Zn8, B1 + Zn10, B2 + Zn0, B2 + Zn8, and B2 + Zn10 (kg ha⁻¹), were included in the study. Sole and combined application of B and Zn significantly altered physiological attributes, seed and oil yields, and oil quality. The highest values for plant height, number of siliques per plant, number of seeds per silique, 1000-seed weight, seed and oil yields, oil quality (higher stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and lower erucic acid), and physiological traits (protein concentration, soluble sugar concentration, chlorophyll concentration, photosynthesis and transpiration rates, and stomatal conductance) were recorded with the combined application of 2 + 8 kg ha⁻¹ B and Zn, respectively, during both years of this study. The lowest values of yield- and oil-quality-related traits and physiological attributes were recorded for the control treatment. A dose-dependent improvement was recorded in B and Zn contents in leaves, and the highest values were recorded with the combined soil application of 2 + 10 kg ha⁻¹ B + Zn, respectively. It can be concluded that 2 + 8 kg ha⁻¹ B + Zn should be applied to oilseed rape for higher seed and oil yields and better oil quality under semiarid climatic conditions.

Stumpy irrigation water availability is extremely important for sugarcane production in Pakistan today. This issue is rising inversely to river flow due to inadequate water distribution and an uneven rainfall pattern. Sugarcane growth faces a shortage of available water for plant uptake due to the low water–holding capacity of sandy loam soil, particularly under conventional flood irrigation methods. To address this problem, sugarcane clones were evaluated for their agronomic and physiological traits under conditions of low water availability in sandy loam soil. Ten cane genotypes, HSF–240, SPF–213, CPF–249, CP 77–400, S2008–FD–19, S2006–US–469, S2007–AUS–384, S2003–US–633, S2003–US–127, and S2006–US–658, were exposed to four levels of water deficit created through skip irrigations. These deficit levels occurred during the 9th, 11th, 13th, and 16th irrigations at alternate deficit levels between 2020 and 2022. Physiological data were collected during the tillering and grand growth stages (elongation) in response to the water deficit. The sugarcane clones S2006–US–658, S2007–AUS–384, and HSF–240 exhibited resistance to low water availability at both the tillering and grand growth stages. Following them, genotypes S2006–US–658, S2007–AUS–384, and HSF–240 performed better and were also found to be statistically significant. Clones susceptible to water deficit in terms of growth and development were identified as CP 77–400, S2008–FD–19, S2006–US–469, and S2003–US–633. These genotypes showed reduced photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, relative water content, cane yield, and proline content under stressed conditions. Therefore, genotypes S2006–US–658, S2007–AUS–384, and HSF–240 were better performers concerning physiological traits under water deficit and sandy loam soil in both years. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was assessed between agronomic traits and photosynthetic rats. This study highlights that sugarcane can sustain its growth and development even with less irrigation frequency or moisture availability, albeit with certain specific variations.

Background: Recently, there has been a growing demand for the mechanization of flower harvesting to enhance harvesting efficiency. Therefore, the purpose of the current research was to design a jasmine flower automated picker system (JFAPS). The picking system incorporates a gripper that moves along the third vertical axis using an Intel depth camera and the You Only Look Once (YOLO-V5) deep learning system to locate and detect the flowers. Results: For different design cross-sections, it was observed that the least safe factor of design safety was considered high enough to marginalize any mechanical failure potential. Furthermore, according to the prediction box, the flowers’ center point on the pixel plane was detected, while the real vertical position of the flowers was computed using a deep learning system. Consequently, the gripper moves down to pick the flowers and convey them to the storage system. In these conditions, the detection method’s average precision and recall of flowers were 100% and 90%, respectively. Conclusions: The JFAPS was balanced and efficient in detecting flowers. Therefore, future efforts will be directed at evaluating this system and confirming its efficacy in collecting flowers on an experimental farm.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) genes have multiple potential roles in plant metabolism such as regulation and accumulation of organic acids in fruits, movement of guard cells and stress tolerance, etc. However, the systematic identification and characterization of PEPC genes in Rosaceae species i.e., loquat, apple, peach, strawberry, and pear are yet to be performed. In present study, 27 putative PEPC genes (loquat 4, apple 6, peach 3, strawberry 9, and pear 5) were identified. To further investigate the role of those PEPC genes, comprehensive bioinformatics and expression analysis were performed. In bioinformatic analysis, the physiochemical properties, conserved domains, gene structure, conserved motif, phylogenetic and syntenic analysis of PEPC genes were performed. The result revealed that the PEPcase superfamily domain was conserved in all examined PEPC proteins. Most of the PEPC proteins were predicted to be localized in cytonuclear. Genomic structural and motif analysis showed that the exon and motif number of each PEPC gene ranged dramatically, from 8 to 20, and 7 to 10, respectively. Syntenic analysis indicated that the segmental or whole-genome duplication played a vital role in extension of PEPC gene family in Rosacea species. The K_a and K_s values of duplicated genes depicted that PEPC genes have undergone a strong purifying selection. Furthermore, the expression analysis of PEPC genes in root, mature leaf, stem, full-bloom flower, and ripened fruit of loquat, apple, peach, strawberry, and pear was performed. Some genes were differentially expressed in aforementioned plant tissues, signifying their role in plant metabolism. This study provides the first genome-wide identification, characterization, and expression profiling of PEPC gene family in Rosaceae species, and provides the foundation for further functional analysis.