Soybean is an important oilseed crop that provides high-quality protein and vegetable oil. Salinity constitutes a negative abiotic factor that reduces soybean plant growth, production, and quality. The adsorption of Na⁺ by chitosan-modified biochar (CMB) has a significant effect on salinity but the application of CMB is limited in soybean. In the current study, CMB was used for characterization of physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of soybean under salt stress. Comparison of CMB and unmodified (as-is) biochar (BR) demonstrated a significant difference between them shown by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scan electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), elemental analysis and z-potential measurement. Pseudo-first and second-order better suited for the analysis of Na⁺ adsorption kinetics. The salt-stress reduced the soybean plants growth, root architecture characteristics, biomass yield, nutrients acquisition, chlorophyll contents, soluble protein, and sugar contents, while CMB with salt-stress significantly increased the above parameters. Moreover, CMB also reduced the salinity-induced increase in the Na⁺, glycine betaine (GB), proline, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in plants. The antioxidant activity and gene expression levels triggered by salinity but with the application of CMB significantly further boosted the expression profile of four genes (CAT, APX, POD and SOD) encoding antioxidant enzyme and two salt-tolerant conferring genes (GmSALT3 and CHS). Overall, these findings demonstrate the crucial role of CMB in minimizing the adverse effects of high salinity on soybean growth and efficiency of the mechanisms enabling plant protection from salinity through a shift of the architecture of the root system and enhancing the antioxidant defense systems and stress-responsive genes for achieving sustainable crop production.

Rhizoctonia solan Kühn (teleomorph: Thanatephorus cucumeris (Frank) Donk ( R. solani ) is a soil-borne phytopathogenic species complex as well as a necrotic fungus that causes significant crop yield losses worldwide. Agronomic practices (crop rotation), resistant cultivars, and chemical pesticides are widely used to control R. solani . However, these practices are insufficient to control the pest. Moreover, the application of chemical pesticides is harmful to both the environment and human health. Therefore, the use of biocontrol agents (BCAs) and that of plant-growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) are considered to be potentially sustainable, cost-effective, efficient, and eco-friendly ways to control R. solani . Several microorganisms have been used as biocontrol agents (BCAs) to manage R. solani . Among these, biocontrol agents (BCAs) Bacillus spp. are used to promote plant growth. Furthermore, due to its broad range of antibiotic-producing abilities, Bacillus spp. is widely used against R. solani . In this review, current and previous studies about the ability of Bacillus spp. to control diseases caused by R. solani are reported . It also focuses on the plant-growth promotion attributes of Bacillus spp. in response to the deleterious effects of R. solani.

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity is a serious threat to future food security and health safety. To identify genetic factors contributing to Cd uptake in wheat, we conducted a genome‐wide association study with genotyping from 90K SNP array. A spring wheat diversity panel was planted under normal conditions and Cd stress (50 mg Cd/kg soil). The impact of Cd stress on agronomic traits ranged from a reduction of 16% in plant height to 93% in grain iron content. Individual genotypes showed a considerable variation for Cd uptake and translocation subdividing the panel into three groups: (1) hyper‐accumulators (i.e. high Leaf _{_Cd} and low Seed _{_Cd} ), (2) hyper‐translocators (i.e. low Leaf _{_Cd} and high Seed _{_Cd} ), and (3) moderate lines (i.e. low Leaf _{_Cd} and low Seed _{_Cd} ). Two lines (SKD‐1 and TD‐1) maintained an optimum grain yield under Cd stress and were therefore considered as Cd resistant lines. Genome‐wide association identified 179 SNP‐trait associations for various traits including 16 for Cd uptake at a significance level of P < .001. However, only five SNPs were significant after applying multiple testing correction. These loci were associated with seed‐cadmium, grain‐iron, and grain‐zinc: qSCd‐1A , qSCd‐1D , qZn‐2B1 , qZn‐2B2 , and qFe‐6D . These five loci had not been identified in the previously reported studies for Cd uptake in wheat. These loci and the underlying genes should be further investigated using molecular biology techniques to identify Cd resistant genes in wheat.