Genetic information obtained from ancestral species of wheat and other registered wheat has brought about critical research, especially in wheat breeding, and shown great potential for the development of advanced breeding techniques. The purpose of this study was to determine correlations between some morphological traits of various wheat (Triticum spp.) species and to demonstrate the application of MARS and CHAID algorithms to wheat-derived data sets. Relationships among several morphological traits of wheat were investigated using a total of 26 different wheat genotypes. MARS and CHAID data mining methods were compared for grain yield prediction from different traits using cross-validation. In addition, an optimal CHAID tree structure with minimum RMSE was obtained and cross-validated with nine terminal nodes. Based on the smallest RMSE of the cross-validation, the eight-element MARS model was found to be the best model for grain yield prediction. The MARS algorithm proved superior to CHAID in grain yield prediction and accounted for 95.7% of the variation in grain yield among wheats. CHAID and MARS analyses on wheat grain yield were performed for the first time in this research. In this context, we showed how MARS and CHAID algorithms can help wheat breeders describe complex interaction effects more precisely. With the data mining methodology demonstrated in this study, breeders can predict which wheat traits are beneficial for increasing grain yield. The adaption of MARS and CHAID algorithms should benefit breeding research.

The analysis of genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI) in multi-environmental trials (METs) represents a crucial component of breeding programs prior to the release of new commercial cultivars tailored for specific regions or diverse environmental conditions. Moreover, emphasizing individual traits during selection can yield misleading conclusions. Consequently, the implementation of robust selection models is essential for identifying superior genotypes based on multiple traits. The present dataset demonstrates the utility of the multi-trait stability index (MTSI) in identifying high-yielding and stable barley genotypes across ten diverse environments. The evaluated phenological and agronomic traits included days to heading, days to physiological maturity, grain-filling period, plant height, thousand-kernel weight, and grain yield. A combined analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant effects attributable to environments (E), genotypes (G), and their interaction (GEI) across all assessed traits. Correlation analysis further indicated positive associations between all measured traits and grain yield. In the MTSI model, three first factors accounted for 75% of the total phenotypic variation observed across the test environments. The highest selection gain percentages were recorded for thousand-kernel weight and grain yield. Among the genotypes evaluated, G3, G10, and G14, characterized by the lowest values of the MTSI index, were identified as superior in terms of grain yield, stability, and desirable agronomic attributes. In conclusion, the findings highlight the efficacy of the MTSI in reliably identifying superior genotypes in METs. The results demonstrate that the MTSI index not only enhances the efficiency of the selection process but also improves the accuracy of genotype evaluation and ranking across heterogeneous environmental conditions. This underscores the potential of the MTSI index to support informed breeding decisions, ultimately facilitating the development of high-performing plant varieties that exhibit both yield stability and adaptability across diverse environments.

Intensive agriculture uses continuous chemical fertilizers to increase crop yields, but excessive use of fertilizers leads to environmental pollution, permanent changes in physicochemical conditions in soil ecology, deterioration of soil biological health, leaching of nutrients, surface and groundwater pollution and eutrophication. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are becoming increasingly important for ensuring crop safety, increasing nutrient uptake and output, lowering fertilizer costs, preventing environmental contamination and promoting sustainable agriculture and agricultural resources. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate the effects of fifteen bacteria strains that were isolated from various acidic rhizospheric soils as biofertilizers on soil biological properties. Growth, yield and quality traits were analyzed, and various PGPR were identified using 16S ribosomal RNA of Turkish oregano. Fifteen bacterial inoculations with 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, N₂-fixing, P-solubilizing and/or IAA-producing genes were used in the experiment, which was carried out in a randomized block design with five replicates (each with three pots) and a control without inoculation. Increased biological activity in soil inoculated with bacteria with multiple traits was confirmed by high C and N content in microbial biomass, urease, dehydrogenase and acid and alkaline phosphatase activities. Essential oil content, oil yield, thymol and carvacrol contents increased by 0.5–40.1%, 5.9–71.9%, 0.07–16.7% and 0.3–9.2%, respectively, as a result of bacterial inoculation. Oil content ranged from 2.02% to 2.83%; carvacrol (66.1–72.2%) was the main constituent, followed by thymol (14.5–16.9%) and linalool (1.38–3.68%). Two large PGPR groups were formed based on genetic distance analysis. Responses were variable and depended on the inoculant strain and the parameters being evaluated. The results indicate PGPR has clear potential for improving the yield of cultivated aromatic and essential oil plants, such as oregano.

Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing field of science and technology that deals with the development of new solutions by understanding and controlling matter at the nanoscale. Since the last decade, magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO-NPs) have gained tremendous attention because of their unique characteristics and diverse applications in materials sciences and because they are non-toxic and relatively cheaply available materials. MgO-NPs can improve plant growth and contribute to plant tolerance of heavy metal toxicity. The effects of MgO-NPs on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) plants were surveyed under in vitro conditions to find the optimum combination for cowpea tissue culture. The MgO-NPs used in the study were synthesized using walnut shell extract by the green synthesis method. MgO nanoparticles with 35–40 nm size was used in this research. When the size distribution of the MgO-NPs’ structure was examined, two peaks with 37.8 nm and 78.8 nm dimensions were obtained. The zeta potential of MgO-NPs dispersed in water was measured around −13.3 mV on average. The results showed that different doses of MgO-NPs applied to cowpea plant on all in vitro parameters significantly affected all measured parameters of cowpea plantlets under in vitro condition in a positive way. The best results in morphogenesis were MS medium supplemented with high MgO-NP applications (555 mg/L), resulting in a 25% increase in callus formation. The addition of Mg-NPs in the induction medium at concentrations at 370 mg/L increased shoot multiplication. The highest root length with 1.575 cm was obtained in MS medium containing 370 mg/L MgO. This study found that MgO-NPs greatly influenced the plantlets’ growth parameters and other measured traits; in addition, our results indicate that the efficiency of tissue culture of cowpea could be improved by increased application of MgO in the form of nanoparticles. In conclusion, the present work highlights the possibility of using MgO-NPs in cowpea tissue culture.

Phytohormones are chemical compounds found naturally in plants that have a significant effect on their growth and development. The increase in research on the occurrence of mammalian sex hormones (MSHs) in plants has prompted the need to investigate the functions performed by these hormones in plant biology. In the present study, we investigated the effects of MSHs on DNA damage and DNA methylation of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during the seedling growth stage, using the CRED-iPBS (coupled restriction enzyme digestion/inter primer binding site) assay and iPBS analysis to determine DNA methylation status. Exogenous treatment with four MSHs (17-β-estradiol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) was carried out at four different concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.5, and 5 µM). The highest genomic template stability (GTS) value (80%) was observed for 5 µM 17-β-estradiol, 0.5 µM testosterone, and 0.05 µM estrogen, while the lowest value (70.7%) was observed for 5 µM progesterone and 0.5 µM estrogen. The results of the CRED-iPBS analysis conducted on MspI indicate that the 0.05 µM estrogen-treated group had the highest polymorphism value of 40%, while the 5 µM progesterone-treated group had the lowest value of 20%. For HpaII, treatment with 0.5 µM 17-β-estradiol had the highest polymorphism value of 33.3%, while the group treated with 0.05 µM 17-β-estradiol and 0.05 µM progesterone had the lowest value of 19.4%. In conclusion, MSH treatments altered the stability of the genomic template of wheat plants and affected the cytosine methylation status at the seedling growth stage. Upon comprehensive examination of the results, it was seen that the employed methodology successfully detected alterations in cytosine methylation of genomic DNA (gDNA), as well as changes in the pattern of genomic instability.

Salvia yangii B.T. Drew and Salvia abrotanoides Kar are two important fragrant and medicinal plants that belong to the subgenus Perovskia. These plants have therapeutic benefits due to their high rosmarinic acid (RA) content. However, the molecular mechanisms behind RA generation in two species of Salvia plants are still poorly understood. As a first report, the objectives of the present research were to determine the effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on the rosmarinic acid (RA), total flavonoid and phenolic contents (TFC and TPC), and changes in the expression of key genes involved in their biosynthesis (phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL), and rosmarinic acid synthase (RAS)). The results of High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis indicated that MeJA significantly increased RA content in S. yungii and S. abrotanoides species (to 82 and 67 mg/g DW, respectively) by 1.66- and 1.54-fold compared with untreated plants. After 24 h, leaves of Salvia yangii and Salvia abrotanoides species treated with 150 M MeJA had the greatest TPC and TFC (80 and 42 mg TAE/g DW, and 28.11 and 15.14 mg QUE/g DW, respectively), which was in line with the patterns of gene expression investigated. Our findings showed that MeJA dosages considerably enhanced the RA, TPC, and TFC contents in both species compared with the control treatment. Since increased numbers of transcripts for PAL, 4CL, and RAS were also detected, the effects of MeJA are probably caused by the activation of genes involved in the phenylpropanoid pathway.