Ageratum conyzoides L., long used in ethnomedicine for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic and allelopathic effects, is one such species. To support its sustainable utilization, this study, conducted from March–December 2024, hypothesized that optimizing the balance of cytokinins and auxins can enhance shoot proliferation and secondary metabolite accumulation in Ageratum conyzoides L. Nodal explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various plant growth regulators. Shoot proliferation was highest on media supplemented with 1.0 mg/L benzyladenine (BA), while rooting was most effective with 0.5 mg/L naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA); higher auxin concentrations inhibited root development. Extracts from in vitro grown aerial parts using multiple solvents were analyzed by GC-MS, identifying major compounds including Phenol, 2,4-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl)-, phosphite (3:1) (≈ 27.7 %), Neophytadiene (≈ 17.4 %), a benzopyran derivative (6,7-dimethoxy-2,2-dimethyl) (≈ 11.2 %), (E)-β-Farnesene (≈ 10.1 %), and Caryophyllene (≈ 6.5 %). These findings demonstrate that tissue culture provides a reliable propagation route while conserving the phytochemical integrity of A. conyzoides, supporting ex-situ conservation and sustainable utilization.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a strategic Andean crop due to its high nutritional value and adaptability to marginal environments; however, grain yield and quality are often constrained by genotype × environment interaction (GEI), increasing production risk for farmers. Identifying genotypes that combine high yield, phenotypic stability, and low saponin content is therefore essential for varietal improvement and recommendation in heterogeneous agroecological conditions. During the 2022–2023 agricultural season, three promising quinoa genotypes (CQH-3, CQH-52, and CQH-19) and a local control (Hualhuas) were evaluated at three representative locations of the Mantaro Valley, central highlands of Peru. Grain yield and saponin content were assessed using a randomised complete block design. Yield data were subjected to combined analysis of variance across locations, and phenotypic stability was determined using the Eberhart and Russell regression model. Significant GEI (p ≤ 0.05) confirmed differential genotype responses across environments, justifying stability analysis. Genotype CQH-3 exhibited the highest mean grain yield (2829 kg/ha) and a near-ideal stability profile (bi = 1.041; Sdi² = −0.234), indicating broad adaptability and predictable performance. All evaluated INIA-UNCP genotypes were classified as sweet quinoa, with saponin contents ranging from 0.028% to 0.043%, markedly lower than the bitter local control (0.211%). The combined evaluation of productivity, stability, and grain quality identified CQH-3 as an elite candidate for commercial release in the central highlands of Peru.

Dragon fruit, belonging to family Cactaceae, is a highly resilient fruit crop with high nutritional profile and commercial prospects. Although West Garo Hills offers favourable conditions for growing dragon fruit, there is a dearth of phenological information in the region. Therefore, the vegetative and reproductive phenology of two species of dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus and Hylocereus undatus) were studied in the West Garo Hills of Meghalaya from 2023 to 2025 using the extended BBCH (Biologische Bundesantalt, Bundessortenamt and Chemische Industrie). Major vegetative flush occurred from November to May after the completion of fruiting. The total time required for completion of vegetative flush starting from vegetative bud swelling (011) to completion of side shoot development (419) was 77.68±13.85 days in H. polyrhizus and 88.19±12.31 days in H. undatus. Reproductive phase was observed in six to seven flushes in H. polyrhizus (early May to early December), compared to five flushes in H. undatus (late May to early December). H. polyrhizus completed reproductive bud development (510-519) in 18.10±1.70 days, flowering (610-619) in 2.02±0.18 days, fruit development (711-719) in 19.46±1.80 days and fruit maturation (811-817) in 4.75±0.61 days, totalling to 49.89±2.61 days for a complete reproductive cycle (510-817). Whereas H. undatus required 16.50±1.02 days for reproductive bud development (510-519), 2.01±0.10 days for flowering (610-619), 20.70±2.16 days for fruit development (711-719) and 4.59±0.89 days for fruit maturation (811-817), accounting to a total of 50.32±2.63 days cycle (510-817). H. polyrhizus produced greater number of reproductive flushes with longer fruiting period and took lesser time for completion of vegetative and reproductive flush. Phenological studies of dragon fruit will be useful in various crop management practices and post-harvest planning. The findings have significant implications for future research, popularization and commercialization.

Blast is one among the serious diseases affecting pearl millet foliage and yield. Identifying the Blast isolates causing severe damage to crop is very critical to develop resistant genotypes. This study was conducted during 2023 and 2024 at the Research Farm of Rasi Seeds (Pvt) Ltd, Toopran, District Medak, Telangana, India wherein isolates were obtained from the major cultivated areas of Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Uniform Blast Nursery (UBN) screening was deployed on 11 pearl millet genotypes by inoculating with the five isolates individually. Blast severity scores on ICMB03555, ICMB11666, ICMR12888 and ICMB97111 indicated the differential reaction of the isolates. Among the five isolates, isolate collected from Jaipur (RJ1) has high virulence score of 7.0. Molecular identification of the most virulent isolate was carried out by using ITS primers. The ITS-rDNA partial sequence was amplified by utilising ITS4 and ITS5 primers. Morphological characterisation of virulent isolate showed greyish brown blast fungus with globose to sub-globose colonies with irregular margin and pyriform conidia confirming Pyricularia. Virulent Isolate (RJ1) sequence data of ITS4 and ITS5 primers is in alignment with 99.80% similarity with Pyricularia pennisetigena (NFCCI accession number: 4864). Most virulent isolate RJ1 collected from Jaipur was identified as P. pennisetigena which has huge potential to affect grain and fodder yield.

Weeds are major biological constraints to crop productivity, competing with crops for nutrients, light, and water. Wheat is particularly vulnerable to weed interference during its early growth stages, leading to considerable yield reductions. Herbicides are widely adopted as an effective and economical means of weed management, reducing dependence on manual labour. Therefore, this experiments aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of various herbicides in controlling weeds that accompany different wheat varieties. Two field experiments were conducted in the Babylon Governorate, specifically within the Babylon Agriculture Directorate and the Alexandria Agriculture Division in the Muwailhah District, Iraq during the winter seasons of 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. The study was implemented as a factorial experiment, using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates, with factor 1 comprising of 4 varieties (Sham 6, Mowadah, Buhuth 22, Gorcki). The factor 2 was the combination of newer weedicided viz., Tarzek @ 90 g/ha, Timeline Trio @ 1.5 g/ha, and compared with weedy check. The results showed that the herbicide Tarzak outperformed the other herbicides, achieving the best results as evidenced by the lowest average weed density after 30 days of application, which were 20.97 and 19.96 plants/m2. Additionally, it recorded the highest average control percentages, reaching 90.77% and 91.55% for the two growing seasons, respectively. The superiority in these traits was reflected in improving the crop performance, yielding the highest average flag leaf area (47.58 and 47.51 cm2), the highest number of tillers (397.2 and 401.9 tillers/m2), and the highest grain yield compared to the control treatment, which recorded the lowest averages for the two growing seasons. The variety Mowadah was superior, showing the best results, as it achieved the lowest average weed density 30 days after application, the highest average flag leaf area, the highest number of tillers, and the highest grain yield. In conclusion, Tarzk combined with the Mowadah variety, achieved optimal results in reducing weed density and providing superior growth characteristics and yield.

Maize is potentially important for human nutrition and contributes to strengthening food security, parallel to the cultivation of rice. Due to the nutritional value, dietary energy source and the emerging limitations of rice farming in the reduced water supply scenario in India during winter, the growing trend of adopting maize, especially in the rabi season under judicious nutrient management practices, is in high demand. However, fewer findings are available on enhancing the rabi maize productivity with balanced nutrient management in the coastal tracts of West Bengal. Based on the above facts, a field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different doses of phosphorous in combination with Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (VAM) and Phosphate-Solubilising Bacteria (PSB) for enhancing growth and yield of maize in rabi season of 2024-25 comprising ten treatments, conjoining biofertilizers either solely without any chemical phosphorous or with different levels of chemical phosphorous separately that can boost the productivity of rabi maize. The P2O5 application at 60 kg/ha, combined with VAM inoculation at 20 g/kg seed exhibited the highest grain yield (5.91 t/ha) and stover yield (8.31 t/ha), as well as all growth and yield parameters, indicating the most suitable synergistic impacts between the bioinoculant and inorganic phosphorus. The aforesaid treatment was closely followed by applying P2O5 @ 40 kg/ha + VAM inoculation @ 20 g/kg, with the grain yield of 5.53 t/ha, and it remained significantly inferior in enhancing the grain yield of maize. The combined impact of 60 kg phosphorus + 20 g VAM/kg seed reflected better plant growth that eventually increased the grain yield of rabi maize, which can be recommended for the coastal areas of West Bengal.

Rice is a staple food for much of the world, grown mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Conventional transplanting, though widely practised, is increasingly challenged by labour and water scarcity. Dry direct seeding has emerged as a promising alternative, offering savings in time, labour, and water, but heavy weed pressure limits its potential. Since, rice is cultivated across diverse ecosystems that differ in weed flora and dynamics; hence, appropriate weed management strategies are essential to tackle this variation. Since herbicides offer the fastest and most efficient control option, an experiment was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of different pre- and post-emergence herbicides during the Kharif season of 2024 at the Post Graduate Research Farm, M. S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with three replications, two crop establishment methods - transplanted rice (TPR) and dry seeded rice (DSR) were assigned to the main plots, while five weed management practices were tested in subplots: including pre-emergence (PE) that is pretilachlor and post-emergence (PoE) included: fenoxaprop-p-ethyl, ethoxysulfuron and pyrazosulfuron-ethyl with a test rice variety RNR-15048. Results indicated that transplanted rice outperformed dry-seeded rice in terms of weed suppression, growth, and yield attributes, with a 33% yield advantage. Among weed management strategies, pretilachlor fb pyrazosulfuron-ethyl proved most effective, showing comparable performance to hand weeding in terms of weed control efficiency (82.76%), and yield reduction of only 5% with highest B:C ratio (1.66) among all treatments, surpassing hand weeding as well, which showed a B:C ratio liability of 41% due to engagement of labours. Therefore, the combined use of pretilachlor and pyrazosulfuron-ethyl in either rice establishment method can significantly enhance productivity and contribute to food security.

Weed infestation is one of the most important biotic factors, compromising 15-50% of grain yield in transplanted rice. Among different methods, the chemical method is the most effective one in terms of efficiency, time, cost, and labour. Single selective herbicide application is unable to suppress all categories of weeds, for which a herbicide mixture is the solution. To find out the best suitable combination of herbicides, an experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2024-25 at M.S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, India. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with ten treatments of weed management and three replications. The treatments consist of eight different combinations of herbicides, viz., bispyribac-sodium, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl, penoxsulam, triafamone, ethoxysulfuron, carfentrazone-ethyl, pretilachlor, and bensulfuron-methyl, along with weed-free (hand weeding at 20 and 40 days after transplanting) and weedy check. Among the herbicide mixtures, the bispyribac-sodium @25 g/ha + ethoxysulfuron @15 g/ha at 20 DAT (tank mix) was found to be the best performing herbicide registering the lowest weed density and dry weight; and highest crop growth parameters, yield parameters, grain yield (4.65 t/ha) and weed control efficiency (86.7%) compromising the grain yield of mere 4.2% as against 48.7% in the weedy check. The combination showed at par results with the weed-free check.

Finger millet is a climate resilient crop with C4 nature of carbon fixation. However, its yield improvement has been stagnated in the recent decades due to climate extremities, majorly the drought as crop is cultivated in rainfed conditions. Early seedling stage is the most crucial for seedling establishment, adequate plant population, and grain yield, which is generally affected due to failure of rainfall after the seed sowing. Screening of germplasm at early seedling stage for drought tolerance would provide the donors for crop improvement. The study was conducted at the Department of Crop Physiology, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru, India. Forty-nine germplasm accessions were screened at the early seedling stage under laboratory conditions using PEG 8000 MW (-5.11 bars) to create physiological drought. The effect of PEG stress was evaluated considering the seed germination, seedling length, seedling vigour index and the response indices like percent reduction, drought susceptibility index and fuzzy membership function value were compared to use in selection of stress tolerant accessions. A significant reduction in seed germination, seedling length and seedling vigour index, with an increased root length and root to shoot ratio due to PEG stress was observed. Variability for root length and root to shoot ratio was higher compared to other parameters. Among the selection models, percent reduction, drought susceptibility index (DSI), and membership function value (MFV), the MFV approach was found appropriate. Using the MFV values, the accessions, GE-568, GE-4596, GE-4729, were found highly tolerant and GE-492, GE-1240, GE-1034, GE-2866, GE-3454, GE-4478 as tolerant to osmotic stress.

Hairamine, a protein hydrolysate obtained from waste human hair, is a growth-promoting biostimulant rich in organic nitrogen, carbon, amides and amino acids. A field experiment was carried out at the Department of Agriculture, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana, Ambala, during the Rabi seasons of 2022-2023 and 2023-24. The study evaluated the performance of three wheat varieties under an integrated nutrient management approach, incorporating hairamine, along with inorganic fertilizers (NPK) to assess their impact on grain yield and related attributes. The study evaluated four fertilizer regimes—recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF); a combination of 75% RDF with 25% nutrients from vermicompost; 75% RDF supplemented with foliar application of hairamine at 30, 60, and 90 days after sowing (DAS) at 10 ml/L; and a mix of 50% RDF, 25% vermicompost, and three foliar sprays of hairamine at the same intervals. These nutrient strategies were assessed across three wheat varieties (WH-1124, WH-1105 and WH-1184) using a factorial randomized block design with three replications. The nutrient regime approach, specifically 50% RDF + 25% Vermicompost + 3 foliar sprays of hairamine at 30, 60 and 90 DAS @ 10 ml/L water, resulted in the greatest shoot length, tiller count and biomass accumulation, which was statistically comparable to nutrient management approach of 75% RDF + 25% nutrients from Vermicompost. Therefore, the incorporation of Hairamine as a bio-stimulant along with a reduced fertilizer dose is suggested for promoting sustainable wheat cultivation.