Drought is a leading abiotic constraints for onion production globally. Breeding by using unique genetic resources for drought tolerance is a vital mitigation strategy. With a total of 100 onion genotypes were screened for drought tolerance using multivariate analysis. The experiment was conducted in a controlled rainout shelter for 2 years 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 in a randomized block design with three replications and two treatments (control and drought stress). The plant was exposed to drought stress during the bulb development stage (i.e., 50–75 days after transplanting). The genotypes were screened on the basis of the drought tolerance efficiency (DTE), percent bulb yield reduction, and results of multivariate analysis viz. hierarchical cluster analysis by Ward’s method, discriminate analysis and principal component analysis. The analysis of variance indicated significant differences among the tested genotypes and treatments for all the parameters studied, viz. phenotypic, physiological, biochemical, and yield attributes. Bulb yield was strongly positively correlated with membrane stability index (MSI), relative water content (RWC), total chlorophyll content, antioxidant enzyme activity, and leaf area under drought stress. The genotypes were categorized into five groups namely, highly tolerant, tolerant, intermediate, sensitive, and highly sensitive based on genetic distance. Under drought conditions, clusters II and IV contained highly tolerant and highly sensitive genotypes, respectively. Tolerant genotypes, viz. Acc. 1656, Acc. 1658, W-009, and W-085, had higher DTE (>90%), fewer yield losses (<20%), and performed superiorly for different traits under drought stress. Acc. 1627 and Acc. 1639 were found to be highly drought-sensitive genotypes, with more than 70% yield loss. In biplot, the tolerant genotypes (Acc. 1656, Acc. 1658, W-085, W-009, W-397, W-396, W-414, and W-448) were positively associated with bulb yield, DTE, RWC, MSI, leaf area, and antioxidant enzyme activity under drought stress. The study thus identified tolerant genotypes with favorable adaptive traits that may be useful in onion breeding program for drought tolerance.

Tomato production is severely affected by abiotic stresses (drought, flood, heat, and salt) and causes approximately 70% loss in yield depending on severity and duration of the stress. Drought is the most destructive abiotic stress and tomato is very sensitive to the drought stress, as cultivated tomato lack novel gene(s) for drought stress tolerance. Only 20% of agricultural land worldwide is irrigated, and only 14.51% of that is well-irrigated, while the rest is rain fed. This scenario makes drought very frequent, which restricts the genetically predetermined yield. Primarily, drought disturbs tomato plant physiology by altering plant–water relation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Many wild tomato species have drought tolerance gene(s); however, their exploitation is very difficult because of high genetic distance and pre- and post-transcriptional barriers for embryo development. To overcome these issues, biotechnological methods, including transgenic technology and CRISPR-Cas, are used to enhance drought tolerance in tomato. Transgenic technology permitted the exploitation of non-host gene/s. On the other hand, CRISPR-Cas9 technology facilitated the editing of host tomato gene(s) for drought stress tolerance. The present review provides updated information on biotechnological intervention in tomato for drought stress management and sustainable agriculture.

Apart from the culinary usage, Alliums are known for their therapeutic potential since antiquity. Alliums contain diverse bioactive compounds such as, sulfur-containing compounds (allicin, diallyl sulfides), flavonoids, and saponins. These compounds have demonstrated a wide range of pharmacological actions, including antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, cardioprotective activities and treatment of metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Despite encouraging preclinical results, translating these findings into clinical practice remains difficult, necessitating more rigorous human trials and molecular research. One of the major constrain in enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of these bioactive compound is to develop large-scale extraction techniques besides improving their stability, solubility, and bioavailability. The current scenario urges to focus research on optimizing the bioavailability of these compounds, evaluate their synergistic effects with existing therapies, as well as their long-term safety. This perspective article provides a comprehensive overview of the therapeutic potential of Allium spp. and suggests the key avenues for future research aiming at realising their full clinical potential.

Introduction: Climate change affects geographical distribution of insect pests which poses threats to the environment, as well as agricultural productivity and production worldwide. Spodoptera frugiperda is commonly known as fall armyworm (FAW), a potential insect pest of monocot crops like maize, wheat, rice and sorghum globally. Among these, maize is the most preferred host crop while worldwide there are very few reports on onion being a host of fall armyworm.Methods: The fall armyworm (FAW) was identified by examining the morphological characteristics of its immature and mature stages, as well as by analyzing the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (COX1) gene. Further, the strain identity was confirmed through multiple sequence alignment with previously identified S. frugiperda strains from corn and rice. Also studied the biology and damage symptoms caused by FAW in onion crops.Results: During our experiments, the incidence of FAW ranged from 5 to 20 percent in different plots. The highest incidence was observed in young crops (30–45 days after transplanting) that were sown in November 2020. The FAW larvae exhibited six instars, with a total larval duration of 22.2 ± 0.37 days. The pest had multiple generations per year. The fully developed larvae formed earthen cocoons in the soil for pupation, with a pupal duration of 8.0 ± 0.45 days. The male adults had a recorded longevity of 6.4± 0.40days, while the female adults lived for approximately 9.2 ± 0.37 days. The COX1 gene sequencing revealed its 100% similarity with Spodoptera frugiperda and the comparison of sequences among FAW infecting rice and maize by using multiple sequence alignment showed differences at 11 positions.Discussion: The present study is the first report of FAW invasion in onion in India and provides basic ideas about FAW characteristics which will help to control this new invasive pest in onion. In tropical regions with multiple cropping system and seasons, it becomes very important to investigate invasive pests as well as its host range in order to forecast its potential damage and devise suitable control measures.