Yield limitation and widespread sulphur (S) deficiency in pearl-millet-nurturing dryland soils has emerged as a serious threat to crop productivity and quality. Among diverse pathways to tackle moisture and nutrient stress in rainfed ecologies, conservation agriculture (CA) and foliar nutrition have the greatest potential due to their economic and environmentally friendly nature. Therefore, to understand ammonium thiosulphate (ATS)-mediated foliar S nutrition effects on yield, protein content, mineral biofortification, and sulphur economy of rainfed pearl millet under diverse crop establishment systems, a field study was undertaken. The results highlighted that pearl millet grain and protein yield was significantly higher under no-tillage +3 t/ha crop residue mulching (NTCRM) as compared to no-tillage without mulch (NoTill) and conventional tillage (ConvTill), whereas the stover yield under NTCRM and ConvTill remained at par. Likewise, grain and stover yield in foliar S application using ATS 10 mL/L_twice was 19.5% and 13.2% greater over no S application. The sulphur management strategy of foliar-applied ATS 10 mL/L_twice resulted in significant improvement in grain protein content, protein yield, micronutrient fortification, and net returns (₹ 54.6 × 1000) over the control. Overall, ATS-mediated foliar S nutrition can be an alternate pathway to S management in pearl millet for yield enhancement, micronutrient biofortification and grain protein content increase under ConvTill, as well as under the new NTCRM systems.

To address the rising global demand for food, the development of sustainable technologies that can increase agricultural productivity while minimizing environmental impact is essential. This study reports on the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and evaluates their application in mitigating the adverse effects of elevated temperatures on rice. An experiment was conducted on rice PB-1121 during the kharif seasons of 2021 and 2022, utilizing synthesized green ZnO NPs (30 nm) compared to ZnSO₄ under a Free Air Temperature Enrichment (FATE) system. The temperature of FATE was higher by ~ 1.5 °C compared to the ambient temperature throughout the crop growing period. The incorporation of ZnO NPs into the soil increased the photosynthetic rate (Pn) by 17.8%, stomatal conductance (gs) by 16.2%, and chlorophyll concentration by 4.3% compared to the control under FATE (CKET). In contrast, Pn, gs, chlorophyll, and carotenoids decreased by 9.2–18.6% in the control under FATE compared to the ambient control (CK). Moreover, protein, proline, catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities improved by 6.8–12.8% under ZnO NPs soil manipulation compared to ZnSO₄ under FATE. Soil treated with ZnO NPs also significantly enhanced (p < 0.05) the number of productive tillers, filled grains (p < 0.05), and overall grain yield (p < 0.001) compared to control under CKET. Additionally, root length, root surface area, and root diameter were significantly (p < 0.05) greater in soil amended with ZnO NPs than in the control under FATE. Zinc (Zn) concentration in grains was higher (p < 0.001) in ZnO NPs, while phytic acid (PA) concentration decreased by 25.8–31.1%. The bioavailability of Zn was also significantly (p < 0.05) increased in the treatments using ZnO NPs. This study investigates how NPs interact with plants, demonstrating their potential to enhance agricultural sustainability, particularly during periods of extreme weather. Future studies should elucidate the molecular bases underlying the observed enhancement of Zn uptake, translocation, and high temperature stress tolerance in rice with ZnO NPs application.

Little mallow (Malva parviflora L.) is a notorious weed that causes substantial yield losses in winter crops. For effective weed management and seed testing, a deeper understanding of seed dormancy, germination behavior, and dormancy-breaking methods is necessary. Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of seed treatments, i.e., mechanical scarification, acid scarification, hot water treatment, and different germinating temperatures, i.e., 15 °C, 20 °C, or alternating 15–20 °C (16/8 h), on the seed dormancy in M.parviflora. A large proportion of M. parviflora seeds were physically dormant, with just 10.90% germination. Seed treatments had a significant influence on seed germination, seedling dry weight, vigor index, and water absorption (p ≤ 0.01). Among the various treatments, mechanical scarification enhanced germination by 32%, the vigor index by 487% and water uptake by 34%, and decreased percent hard seeds by 34%. Among the various germination temperatures, alternating 15–20 °C temperatures (16/8 h) gave the most significant result for germination and the lowest percent hard seeds. The findings of this study will serve as a valuable reference for seed testing and the development of suitable weed control strategies for M. parviflora.

Zinc (Zn) malnutrition has emerged as one of the major health challenges in developing nations across the globe. Development of Zn management protocols in staple food crops using modern scientific tools to enhance Zn concentration in grains along with augmented crop yields became utmost necessary. In this context a 2-year experiment was carried out to assess the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) vis-à-vis bulk zinc sulfate (ZnSO ₄ ) on wheat growth, yield and Zn concentration in plant parts. Four levels of application of ZnO-NPs (0, 20, 25 and 30 mg kg ^-1 ) were compared with ZnSO ₄ (equal to Zinc concentration in ZnO-NPs). Results revealed that seed vigor was significantly (p <0.05) higher under 25 and 30 mg kg ^-1 soil ZnO-NPs treatments over ZnSO ₄ . Among the crop yield parameters such as tillers (plant ^-1 ), grain weight (plant ^-1 ), biomass (plant ^-1 ) and grain yield were significantly (p <0.05) higher under ZnO-NPs 25 mg kg ^-1 treated soil as compared to any other treatment. Zinc concentration in grains increased with dose of ZnO-NPs and it was significantly more than ZnSO ₄ treated soil at each treatment level. ZnO-NPs and ZnSO ₄ treatments did not affect photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll (SPAD) content significantly. In conclusion, 25 mg kg ^-1 ZnO-NPs application could be recommended in wheat cultivation to improve growth, yield and grain Zn biofortification.

The production of foodgrains are likely to be affected by increasing atmospheric [CO₂] levels with subsequent changes in the grains quality. The objective of the present study was to quantify the interactive effects of increasing CO₂ and different levels of soil nitrogen applications on quality of the produce. For this rice, C₃ (Oryza sativa L.) and maize, C₄ (Zea mays L.) crops were grown under ambient [CO₂] (380 ppm, AC) and elevated [CO₂] (550 ppm, EC) using free air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) with five application levels of nitrogen (N0 = No external supply, N₁ = 50 kg ha⁻¹, N₂ = 100 kg ha⁻¹, N₃ =150 kg ha⁻¹ and N₄ =200 kg ha⁻¹). Grainswere sampled at maturityand their starch, sugar, protein and mineral nutrient (N, P, K, Zn and Fe) concentrations were analyzed. Increment in grain yield due to elevated [CO₂] was more in rice (∼12%) as compared to maize (∼7%). Similarly, the effect of elevated [CO₂] on nutritional quality of rice grains was higher as compared to maize grain under all nitrogen levels. Protein concentration declined both in rice and maize grain under elevated CO₂ condition at all nitrogen levels as compared to its ambient CO₂ counterparts. However, starch and sugar contents increased both in rice and maize grains under elevated CO₂ condition at all nitrogen levels. Grain nutrient concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and iron were diluted both in rice and maize under EC at all nitrogen levels. In general, the extent of changes in nutritional quality was lower in maize than in rice grain. Despite reduction in protein concentration, the grain protein yield (g pot⁻¹) was increased both in rice and maize under EC. Data from this study indicate that CO₂ fertilization has the potential to change both the quality and quantity of C₃ (rice) and C₄ (maize) crops.