With an increasing focus on green technologies, this research aimed to synthesize copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO-NPs) using leaf extracts from Allahabad Safeda and Hisar Safeda for environmental and health protection. A range of concentrations of leaf extracts were employed in the synthesis of nanoparticles, utilizing 1–9% extract from Allahabad Safeda and 3–11% extract from Hisar Safeda. The synthesized CuO-NPs were characterized by UV–visible spectrophotometry, Dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. CuO-NPs synthesized using 3% Allahabad Safeda extract and 5% Hisar Safeda extract exhibited a particle size of 15.88 nm and 14.05 nm, respectively. CuO-NPs synthesized with Allahabad Safeda extract exhibited superior antibacterial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and photocatalytic properties. Their antibacterial tests demonstrated significant inhibition zones against Staphylococcus aureus (20.5 cm), Streptococcus latis (20.7 cm), Escherichia coli (19.5 cm), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.7 mm). Additionally, CuO-NPs from Allahabad Safeda extract (70 µg/mL) exhibited 68.23% of scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl. Moreover, the same CuO-NPs at 100 µg/mL concentration showed 67.32% α-amylase inhibition and 75.18% α-glucosidase inhibition, confirming their antidiabetic activities. Furthermore, these nanoparticles demonstrated high performance in photocatalytic degradation, by degrading 82.31% methylene blue and 88.54% crystal violet within 150 min of UV irradiation. Overall, the findings highlight the feasibility of CuO-NPs synthesis using Allahabad Safeda extract and their potential applications in antibacterial treatment, combating diabetes, antioxidation, and environmentally friendly dye photodegradation process. Graphical Abstract

Seaweed extracts have gained significant attention in horticultural practices due to their diverse range of beneficial effects on plant growth, development, and stress tolerance. The presence of antioxidants and Osm-protectants in seaweed extracts helps mitigate oxidative damage and maintain cellular integrity under adverse conditions. It also holds great promise as a valuable input in horticultural systems, offering a range of benefits including enhanced soil health, and sustainability. This review aims to summarize and analyze the benefits of seaweed extract application on horticultural crops. The extracts derived from seaweed are rich in essential nutrients which are available from through which plants can absorb easily and promote growth. It also contains numerous bioactive compounds including cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, and betaines, which act as plant growth regulators. The application of seaweed extracts can induce systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in plants, triggering defense mechanisms against pathogens and pests, which can reduce the need for synthetic pesticides and fungicides, promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly horticultural practices. In addition to its direct effects on plants, seaweed extract enhances soil health and microbial activity. It serves as a natural biostimulant, promoting beneficial microbial populations in the rhizosphere, which facilitate nutrient uptake and cycling. Moreover, the humic substances present in seaweed extract contribute to soil structure improvement, water retention, and nutrient availability, fostering a conducive environment for plant growth.

Strawberry is most economically important fresh and processed fruits, consumed both for its pleasant flavor and its nutrient content. Due to the fruit’s high concentration of antioxidants and phytochemicals, eating strawberries has been linked to maintain good health and preventing the development of chronic diseases. The following information has been compiled from previous year research papers, which contain valuable insights into the health benefits, nutritional status and effects of strawberries. Balanced nutrition is needed by delicate strawberry plants so it’s important to maintain the nutritional status for better growth, yield and quality of strawberry fruits. Although strawberries are a highly perishable fruit and cannot be kept for an extended amount of time, several wrapping techniques have preserved the fruit’s quality when kept at ambient temperature. Disorder like albinism can be corrected with proper spacing and spray of borax and GA3. One step toward helping farmers maximize their profits is the notion of waste utilization in horticultural crops. Therefore, the goal of doubling farmer’s income by minimizing their after-harvest losses and enhancing the demand of perishable cultivable fruit crops is achieved. This review paper showing different practices related to strawberry like its propagation, metabolites and health benefits, biochemistry of fruit ripening, effect of micro and macronutrients on strawberry’s growth, yield and quality.