The possibility of using the diseased citrus sinensis plant as a feedstock for the synthesis of biosurfactants by various species was investigated in this study. Four fungal species were identified, namely Penicillium glabrum, Alternaria alternata, Alternaria solani, and Rhizopus stolonifer. Preliminary screening of biosurfactants was carried out by dye binding assay. About 5.75cm ring was noted for Penicillium glabrum. In the blood hemolysis assay, about halo diameter of clear zone 3.85cm was noted for Rhizopus stolonifer. The highest emulsification (E24) and oil displacement ability were noted for Penicillium glabrum and Rhizopus stolonifer. Maximum drop collapsing ability was observed for Alternaria alternata. Maximum drop sliding was observed for Alternaria solani. In the Phenol- Sulfuric acid and foaming activity assay, all four fungal species showed good activity, which indicates the presence of biosurfactants. In the microplate assay, four fungal species showed small results and minor distortion. In the penetration assay, only three species, namely, Penicillium glabrum, Alternaria alternata, and Rhizopus stolonifer, showed positive results and were able to move through hydrophilic fluids to reach the oil layer, resulting in a color change from red to hazy white.

Wheat stands out as the most extensively cultivated cereal crop and serves as a primary food source across numerous regions worldwide. Therefore, to assess wheat breeding material for sustained food security, an experiment was carried out. The research material comprised 44 genotypes, encompassing 8 lines, 4 testers, and 32 F1 generations utilized for the assessment of various indices, including plant height (PH), flag leaf area (FLA), spikelet per spike (SPS), grain per spike (GPS), spike length (SL), 1000-grain weight (TGW), tillers per plant (TP), grain yield per plant (GYP), biological yield per plant (BYP), harvest index (HI), and relative water content (RWC). The data obtained from the studied attributes underwent an analysis of variance to discern significant differences among the lines and testers for each evaluated trait. The results revealed notable variations, indicating the significance of both genetic factors and environmental conditions on trait expression. Among the evaluated traits, Line (L3) and Tester (T2) consistently demonstrated the genotypes exhibiting good combining ability for both general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA). Such favorable combining ability suggests that the offspring resulting from crosses involving Line L3 and tester T2 are likely to inherit desirable traits for drought tolerance. Particularly, the cross between Line L3 and tester T2 mentioned exceptional performance in most of the studied traits and proved to be a promising combination for withstanding drought conditions. The observed variations in the performance of different lines and testers under different environments emphasize the importance of selecting genotypes with adaptive traits for specific conditions. By examining dominant and additive gene action, researchers can better understand the genetic basis of drought tolerance in wheat. Consequently, the recommendation is to enhance the production of the varieties that are superior performers with improved attributes by focusing on selection in later (F3-F5) segregating generations in the wheat breeding program.

A field population of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) after toxicological bioassays, was subjected to laboratory selection with chlorantraniliprole and flubendiamide to investigate how resistance develops. The S. frugiperda field population from Multan (Mt Field-Pop), Pakistan, at second generation exhibited moderate resistance to chlorantraniliprole (27.48-fold) and flubendiamide (20.77-fold), very low resistance to abamectin and fenoxycarb (7.9-fold), but high resistance to lufenuron (78.3-fold) and pyriproxyfen (96.8-fold) compared to a laboratory susceptible population (LAB-SUS). Selection of S. frugiperda with chlorantraniliprole and flubendiamide over 10 generations resulted in the development of 198.7-fold and 136.5-fold resistance to these insecticides, respectively. The realized heritability (h2) of resistance to chlorantraniliprole and flubendiamide in S. frugiperda was estimated at 0.15 and 0.16, respectively. Selection for chlorantraniliprole resistance increased the resistance by 22.3-fold for flubendiamide, 17.5-fold for abamectin, and 10.9-fold for pyriproxyfen, but had no effect on resistance to lufenuron and only a slight increase in resistance (2.4-fold) to fenoxycarb. Similarly, selection with flubendiamide increased resistance to chlorantraniliprole (31.9-fold) but did not lead to resistance development against the insect growth regulators (IGRs) lufenuron, pyriproxyfen, and fenoxycarb. The inheritance analysis of chlorantraniliprole and flubendiamide resistance in S. frugiperda revealed that resistance to both diamides was autosomal, polygenic, and incompletely dominant. These findings provide important implications in managing insect resistance in S. frugiperda, including rotation of insecticides to mitigate the pest resistance.

Plentiful quantities of agro-waste are generated after utilizing commercially valuable parts of the agrobiomass and often go to waste or are burned in the open air, resulting in environmental pollution. Herein, bio-nanocomposite is prepared using agro-waste-based activated carbon as a support and loading waste peel-mediated synthesized nanoparticles over it. The method used is cost-effective and simple due to its ease of synthesis and the availability of tons of agro-waste for sustainable agro-waste management. In the present work, orange peel extract is used to synthesize iron-oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) that are loaded over activated carbon derived from ice-apple fruit shell waste (IFSAC), based on the seventh principle of Green Chemistry. Batch studies were conducted using bio-nanocomposite to evaluate its adsorptive removal efficiency for Pb (II) ions from water. The optimum conditions obtained for a Pb (II) ion concentration of 25 ppm were pH 5.5 at 40 °C for 120 minutes and stirring at 120 RPM. The maximum removal (99.44%) of Pb (II) at an adsorbent dosage of 0.2 g 10 mL-1 of bio-nanocomposite was achieved. Kinetics and thermodynamic parameters were also calculated to determine the viability of removal. The findings demonstrated that agro-wastes could be converted into useful assets for the sustainable development of the ecosystem, viz. ice-apple shell residue-derived nanocomposites (IONP@IFSAC) was verified to be a cost-effective adsorbent for the mitigation of lead from water.

Many arthropod species are vectors of numerous diseases of humans and animals, which include ticks, fleas, sandflies, mosquitoes, triatomine bugs, and blackflies. The vector transmits bacteria, viruses, and protozoa from one host to another causing various diseases, such as dengue fever, West Nile Virus, Lyme disease, and malaria. They are scold-blooded animals and very sensitive to the fluctuation in climatic factors. Changing climate influences the survival, reproduction, abundance, and spatiotemporal distribution of vectors throughout the year and the rate of development and survival of pathogens within the vector-host. Climate change is among the prime factors that influence the survival, reproduction, distribution, and density of disease vectors.

Tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) has gained the status of major pest globally. Integrated pest management (IPM) consists of different control methods. This field study was conducted to evaluate the influence of different pheromone-based traps to attract the male population and the potential of sticky pads of four different colors in capturing the adults in the absence of pheromone lures. The trials were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) for two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021. The Delta trap with rubber septum type lure was significantly more attractive in both years, with mean number of capturing 76.0 and 86.17, as compared to polymer wax (32.83 and 28.2) and polymer vial (10.37 and 11.77), lures. The highest mean number of capturing of T. absoluta adults were noted as 17.93 and 21.73 with black color sticky trap without pheromone, whereas the lowest number of adults, i.e., 1.33 and 1.47, were captured during the first and second year of the study, respectively, with yellow color sticky traps. However, a significant difference was found in pheromone lures and among black, red, green, and yellow color sticky pads. Hence, Delta traps equipped with rubber septum pheromones lures and black colored sticky pads were more useful for the control of T. absoluta than any other colored sticky pads and pheromone lures alone. These findings could be helpful for the integrated management of T. absoluta.