The current study on the traditional use of medicinal plants was carried out from February 2018 to March 2020, in Gokand Valley, District Buner, Pakistan. The goal was to collect, interpret, and evaluate data on the application of medicinal plants. Along with comprehensive notes on individual plants species, we calculated Use Value (UV), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Use Report (UR), Fidelity Level (FL), Informant Consensus Factor (FCI), as well as Family Importance Value (FIV). During the current study, a total of 109 species belonging to 64 families were reported to be used in the treatment of various ailments. It included three families (four species) of Pteridophytes, 58 families (99 species) of angiosperm, one family (three species) of Gymnosperms, and two families (three species) of fungi. The article highlights the significance of domestic consumption of plant resources to treat human ailments. The UV varied from 0.2 (Acorus calamus L.) to 0.89 (Acacia modesta Wall.). The RFC ranged from 0.059 (Acorus calamus L. and Convolvulus arvensis L.) to 0.285 (Acacia modesta Wall.). The species with 100% FL were Acacia modesta Wall. and the fungus Morchella esculenta Fr., while the FCI was documented from 0 to 0.45 for gastro-intestinal disorders. The conservation ranks of the medicinal plant species revealed that 28 plant species were vulnerable, followed by rare (25 spp.), infrequent (17 spp.), dominant (16 spp.), and 10 species endangered. The traditional use of plants needs conservation strategies and further investigation for better utilization of natural resources.

Biochar (BC) and plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPR) could represent a suitable agronomical strategy to mitigate the impacts of drought in arid agro-environmental conditions. However, there is currently little understanding of the synergistic benefit of combining BC and PGPR to increase drought tolerance in oilseeds. In this study, the physiological response of two water-stressed canola (Brassica napus L.) plants subjected to the application of BC obtained from waste wood of Morus alba applied solely or in combination with PGPR strains (Pseudomonas sp.) was evaluated. The experiment consists of two genotypes and nine treatments [(C-Control, T1-15 days drought (15DD), T2-30 days drought (30DD), T3-15 days of drought + PG (15DD + PG), T4-30 days of drought + PG (30DD + PG), T5-15 days drought + biochar (15DD + BC), T6-30 days drought + biochar (30DD + BC), T7-15 days drought + biochar + PG (15DD + BC + PG), T8-30 days drought + biochar + PG (30DD + BC + PG)]. Drought stress decreased emergence energy (EE), leaf area index (LAI), leaf area ratio (LAR), root shoot ratio (RSR), moisture content of leaves (MCL), percent moisture content (%MC), moisture content of shoot (MCS) and moisture content of root (MCR), and relative water content (RWC) in both varieties of Brassica napus L., which in contrast, it is increased by the collective application of both biochar and PGPR. In both varieties, N, P, K, Mg, and Ca concentrations were highest in all the biochar and PGPRs separate and combined treatments, while lowest in 15 and 30 days drought treatments. Osmolyte contents like Glycine betaine (GB) and sugar remarkably increased in the stress condition and then reduced due to the synergistic application of biochar and PGPR. Drought stress has a repressive effect on the antioxidant enzymatic system like Peroxidase (POD), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione reductase (GR) as well as total flavonoids, phenolics, and protein content. The antioxidant enzymes and phenolic compounds were dramatically increased by the combined action of biochar and PGPRs. A significant increase in EE, LAR, RSR, and RWC under 15 and 30 days drought conditions, evidently highlighting the synergistic effect of BC and PGPR. The results conclude a substantial and positive effect of the combined use of BC and PGPR strains on canola's response to induced drought stress, by regulating the physiological, biochemical, and agronomic traits of the plants. Graphical Abstract

The foraging and consumption of wild food plants is a long-standing tradition in many parts of the world and their importance in promoting food security has become more widely debated in recent years. The current study aimed to document, analyze, and interpret the traditional knowledge of non-cultivated vegetables among four Pathan tribes (Alisher Khel, Hadarzai, Haji Khel, and Umarzai) living in the Gadoon Valley, Swabi District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, NW Pakistan, and to evaluate how these practices vary among the considered tribal communities. A total of 104 informants were interviewed via a semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire and group discussions. The field survey was conducted from October 2018 to November 2020. Information about local names, growth habit, used plant parts, food/cooking details, medicinal perceptions, availability season, and market prices were collected. The field survey recorded 51 non-cultivated vegetables belonging to 24 botanical families, for which the frequently used plant parts included young leaves, stems, and flowers. The greatest number of use reports was recorded for Colocasia and the highest cultural index value was recorded for Rumex dentatus; the dominant botanical families were Asteraceae and Fabaceae (six species each). Seven species were found to be sold at local and regional markets. Cross-cultural analysis among the four considered tribes showed that the largest number of species was reported by members of the Hadarzai and Umarzai tribes, although most of the quoted wild vegetables were homogenously gathered among all considered communities, with some more idiosyncratic plant uses among the Umarzai group, who have likely been less affected by the erosion of traditional knowledge or possibly have had less access to traded cultivated vegetables. The novelty of the data was assessed by comparing it with the previously published wild food ethnobotanical literature of Pakistan, which showed fifteen new wild vegetables not yet reported in the NW of the country. The recorded food biocultural heritage should be seriously considered in future local development projects aimed at fostering environmental sustainability and food security.

Drought is a major abiotic stress forced by the changing climate that affects plant production and soil structure and functions. A study was conducted to explore the impacts of ascorbic acid (AsA) and α-tocopherol (α-toc) on the agro-physiological attributes and antioxidant enzymes of chickpea grown in water deficit regions. The results of the soil analysis showed that the electrical conductivity (EC) and pH were decreased from 521 mS/m and 7.08 to 151 mS/m and 6.6 in 20-day drought regimes, respectively. Agronomic outcomes showed that exogenous application of AsA and α-toc increased the germination rate index (GRI), mean germination time (MGT), germination energy (GE), water use efficiency (WUE), germination percentage (GP), and seed vigor index (SVI). However, all the above attributes experienced a decline under 10- and 20-day drought stress. Similarly, the Chl. a, Chl. b, carotenoids, proline, protein, sugar, glycine betaine, and hydrogen peroxide contents were significantly increased. Meanwhile, malondialdehyde, glutathione reductase, and enzymatic antioxidants (APOX, SOD, and POD) increased during 10- and 20-day drought, except CAT, which decreased during drought. The exogenous fertigation of these growth regulators improved the photosynthetic pigments and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in stressed plants. The current research concludes that simultaneous dusting of AsA and α-toc could be an efficient technique to mitigate the antagonistic impacts of drought, which might be linked to the regulation of antioxidant defense systems.

Water stress is notably a critical environmental condition restricting plant growth and economic outputs in semi-arid and arid environments. In a pot experiment, we explored the potential function of α-tocopherol (α-toc) and/or ascorbic acid (AsA) on the agronomic and physio-biochemical features of oat grown in water-scarce conditions. Drought duration significantly reduced the soil electrical conductivity and pH but increased the soil temperature, influencing the nutrient availability and uptake. For example, post-drought (25 days) soil analysis indicated that electrical conductivity decreased from 597 to 306 mS/m, total dissolved solids from 298 to 153 mg/L, and pH from 7.5 to 6.3 in 25 days of drought. Further, the drought-stressed leaves also contained significantly lower metabolites, such as proline, protein, sugar, and glycine betaine, than the control leaves, indicating impaired plant defense mechanisms. Significantly increased enzymatic antioxidants in leaves (e.g., superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, and peroxidase) suggested the inability of oat plants to overcome drought-induced oxidative damage. In contrast, AsA and/or α-toc significantly amplified the seed germination rates and plant growth. Taken together, our results demonstrate that AsA and α-toc have the capability to mitigate adverse effects of drought conditions on oat plants by improving leaf relative water contents, photosynthetic pigments, and the antioxidant defense system.

Germination models are really useful in predicting seed germination, attributed to their application in economic crop management. Hence, we evaluated cardinal temperatures (Ts), seed germination behavior, and model coefficients of fenugreek under varying temperatures (Ts; 10, 20, 30, and 40 °C) and water potentials (ψ_s 0, −0.01, −0.02, and −0.05 MPa). We observed that the maximum and minimum hydrotime constant (θH) values at 20 °C, respectively. The base water potential at 50 percentiles (Ψb 50) exhibited an asymmetrical pattern with the highest (−0.9 MPa) value computed at 40 °C and the lowest (−0.13 MPa) at 10 °C. Furthermore, the ceiling temperature (TC), base temperature (Tb), and optimal temperature (To) of Fenugreek were determined to be 34.5 °C, 7.8 °C, and 18 °C, respectively. In addition, we observed that germination index, germination rate index, germination percentage, germination energy, Timson germination index, seed vigor index I and II, and root-shoot ratio are at their highest values at 20 °C and lowest at −0.05 MPa at 40 °C. Based on our findings, we suggest that the hydrothermal time model (HTT) can be used to explore the independent and synergistic effects of both T and ψ on the germination of seeds in different environmental conditions. The obtained model coefficients indicate that fenugreek is temperature-sensitive and suitable for agriculture in irrigated regions.