Increasing soil salinity due to global warming severely restricts crop growth and yield. To select and recommend salt-tolerant cultivars, extensive genotypic screening and examination of plants’ morpho-physiological responses to salt stress are required. In this study, 18 prescreened maize hybrid cultivars were examined at the early growth stage under a hydroponic system using multivariate analysis to demonstrate the genotypic and phenotypic variations of the selected cultivars under salt stress. The seedlings of all maize cultivars were evaluated with two salt levels: control (without NaCl) and salt stress (12 dS m⁻¹ simulated with NaCl) for 28 d. A total of 18 morpho-physiological and ion accumulation traits were dissected using multivariate analysis, and salt tolerance index (STI) values of the examined traits were evaluated for grouping of cultivars into salt-tolerant and -sensitive groups. Salt stress significantly declined all measured traits except root–shoot ratio (RSR), while the cultivars responded differently. The cultivars were grouped into three clusters and the cultivars in Cluster-1 such as Prabhat, UniGreen NK41, Bisco 51, UniGreen UB100, Bharati 981 and Star Beej 7Star exhibited salt tolerance to a greater extent, accounting for higher STI in comparison to other cultivars grouped in Cluster-2 and Cluster-3. The high heritability (h²_bs, >60%) and genetic advance (GAM, >20%) were recorded in 13 measured traits, indicating considerable genetic variations present in these traits. Therefore, using multivariate analysis based on the measured traits, six hybrid maize cultivars were selected as salt-tolerant and some traits such as Total Fresh Weight (TFW), Total Dry Weight (TDW), Total Na⁺, Total K⁺ contents and K⁺–Na⁺ Ratio could be effectively used for the selection criteria evaluating salt-tolerant maize genotypes at the early seedling stage.

Drought adversely affects growth and yield of crops to various extents. Growing of drought tolerant crops is a good option to obtain economical yields from water stress areas for which quick method to screen drought tolerant plants, particularly in early stages of their growth is important. For this reason, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the genetical potential to drought tolerance of four sorghum varieties viz Hybrid Sorgo, Safal, BD 731, BD 740. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with three replications. The plants were grown under three drought levels viz. 100% FC (control), 70% FC and 40% FC. Growth and yield of the Sorghum varieties were found to be decreased gradually with gradual increase in drought levels as compared to the control. This reduction was associated with decreased yield components. Water stress also decreased protein and starch content. The variety BD 740 followed by BD 731 showed the better performance in respect of no. of grains panicle-1, panicle dry weight, 1000-grain weight, grain yield hill-1, protein content and starch content than Hybrid Sorgo and Safal at same water stress condition. Therefore Bangladeshi varieties were found more tolerant than Hybrid Sorgo variety to water stress. Findings of this research will be helpful for the farmers about the beneficial use of resource in terms of managing limited water as well as increasing crop productivity. Finally these research findings would certainly contribute food security in Bangladesh.Progressive Agriculture 27 (3): 265-271, 2016

Salt stress is one of the major limitations to modern agriculture that negatively influences plant growth and productivity. Salt tolerant cultivar can provide excellent solution to enhance stress tolerance with plant fitness to unfavorable environments. Therefore, this study was aimed to screen salt tolerant sorghum genotypes through evaluating of different morphological, biochemical, and physiological attributes in response to salinity stress. In this study, we have been evaluated total six sorghum genotypes including Hybrid sorgo, Debgiri, BD-703, BD-706, BD-707, and BD-725 under salt stress (12 dS m⁻¹ NaCl). The response variables included length and weight of root and shoot, root: shoot ratio (RSR), photosynthesis (A), transpiration rate (E), elemental concentrations (K⁺ , Na⁺ and K⁺ /Na⁺ ), photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (F_v/F_m), water use efficiency (WUE) and pigment content (chlorophyll a, and b). The results revealed that saline environment significantly reduced all response variables under study of sorghum genotypes, however, Hybrid sorgo remained unmatched by recording the maximum root and shoot traits. The same genotype recorded higher photosynthetic efficiency which was attributed to Na⁺ extrusion, K⁺ uptake and higher K⁺ /Na⁺ ratio (1.8 at stress), while these mechanisms were not fully active in rest of genotypes. Moreover, this study also implies the involvement of proline in imparting tolerance against saline environment in Hybrid sorgo genotype. Overall, BD-703 remained the most salt sensitive genotype as evident from the minimum morphological growth traits and the least biosynthesis of osmoprotectants. These findings open new research avenues for salt stress alleviation by identifying elite salt-tolerant genotypes of sorghum for breeding programs.

Synthetic antidiabetic drugs are often associated with various adverse side effects, including hypoglycemia, nausea, gastrointestinal disturbances, headaches, and even liver damage. In contrast, plant-derived natural antidiabetic bioactive compounds typically exhibit lower toxicity and fewer side effects and have been reported to aid effectively in diabetes management. These plant extracts regulate diabetes by restoring pancreatic function, enhancing insulin secretion, inhibiting intestinal glucose absorption, and facilitating insulin dependent metabolism. This study explored four extraction methods, including reflux distillation (RD), ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE), microwave assisted extraction (MAE), and enzyme assisted extraction (EAE) to optimize the yield of crude leaf extract and vasicine from Adhatoda zeylanica. RD produced the highest crude extract yield (98.29 g/kg of dried leaf), while MAE was the most effective for vasicine extraction, yielding 2.44 g vasicine per kg dried leaf. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with a diode array detector (DAD) was used to identify and quantify vasicine, a quinazoline alkaloid with known antidiabetic properties. The hypoglycemic effects of leaf extracts were evaluated in alloxan-induced diabetic mice, and the effect of A. zeylanica extract was compared to the extracts of Centella asiatica, Allamanda cathartica, and the standard drug metformin. At a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight (BW), methanolic leaf extracts of A. zeylanica, C. asiatica, and A. cathartica reduced blood glucose level by 78.95 %, 74.50 %, and 70.19 %, respectively, compared to the standard drug metformin, which reduced blood glucose levels by 85.84 %. A. zeylanica at 400 mg/kg BW dose and metformin demonstrated statistically similar and significant blood glucose level reduction (p < 0.001). Additionally, therapeutic doses of A. zeylanica leaf extract exhibited low cytotoxicity (cell survival rate >89 %), highlighting its potential as a safe and effective source of antidiabetic agent.