This research paper presents a comprehensive analysis of pesticide use in global and Indian agriculture, focusing on the mounting food security challenges due to population growth and the increased demand for food and fiber crops. While pesticides are crucial in mitigating losses due to pests, diseases, and weeds, increasing apprehension regarding their adverse effects on human and environment health necessitates a critical examination of their usage patterns. Despite India’s relatively low per-hectare pesticide usage of 0.4 kg compared to China’s 1.83 kg, issues with pesticide residue contamination in the food chain require urgent attention. Additionally, significant regional disparities in pesticide application highlight the need for more uniform and sustainable agricultural practices. Therefore, this study examines the evolving trends in global and Indian pesticide application, providing a comprehensive analysis of the shifting dynamics across various Indian states and crop varieties. Furthermore, it analyzes various pesticide categories and their respective market shares, providing insights into production and export patterns. Our research also explores regulatory frameworks aimed at optimizing pesticide use while minimizing detrimental effects on human health and the environment.

During the last few decades, endophytes have attracted increased attention due to their ability to produce a plethora of bioactive secondary metabolites. These compounds not only help the endophytes to outcompete other plant-associated microbes or pathogens through quorum sensing, but also enable them to surmount the plant immune system. However, only a very few studies have described the interlink between various biochemical and molecular factors of host-microbe interactions involved in the production of these pharmacological metabolites. The peculiar mechanisms by which endophytes modulate plant physiology and metabolism through elicitors, as well as how they use transitional compounds of primary and secondary metabolism as nutrients and precursors for the synthesis of new compounds or enhancing existing metabolites, are still less understood. This study thus attempts to address the aspects of synthesis of such metabolites used in therapeutics by the endophytes in the light of their ecological significance, adaptation, and intercommunity interactions. Our study explores how endophytes adapt to the specific host environment, especially in medicinal plants that produce metabolites with pharmacological potential and simultaneously modulate host gene expression for the biosynthesis of these metabolites. We also discuss the differential interactions of fungal and bacterial endophytes with their hosts.

The sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, is a complex species, and many of its biotypes are important agricultural pests. The B and Q biotypes are invasive and coexist with the native Cv biotype on vegetable and ornamental crops in China. In this study, these three bio- types were identified based on their morphological characteristics, RAPD-PCR analysis, and DNA sequences of the COI gene. The ante-rior and posterior wax fringes of the B, Q, and Cv biotypes significantly differed from each other. Based on this morphological characteristic, the three biotypes can easily be distinguished in greenhouses and fields. Genomic DNA RAPD-PCR band patterns also revealed differences between these biotypes using the H16 primer. The B biotype has three bright DNA bands between 250 and 600 bp, the Q biotype only has one bright band at 300 bp, while the Cv biotype has no band between 250 and 500 bp. Both the Cv and Q biotypes have two bright bands at 750 and 1000 bp while the B biotype has only one band at 1000 bp. Based on the COI gene, the genetic identity between B and Cv, B and Q, and Q and CV was 85.8%, 94.7%, and 86.0%, respectively. The MP tree indicated that the phylogenetic relationship between the B and Q biotypes is much closer than that between the B and Cv or the Q and Cv biotypes. The uses of the morphological, RAPD-PCR, and DNA sequencing methods in biotype identification of B. tabaci are discussed.