Faisalabad industrial units discharge effluents and associated toxic chemicals into the environment, deteriorating ecological conditions and ecosystem health. Morphoanatomical changes in some medicinally important native species (Calotropis procera, Eclipta alba, Phyla nodiflora, and Ranunculus sceleratus) exposed to heavy industrial pollution gained evaluation. These species of choice were due to their widespread distribution in the area. Ten sites selected in the River Chenab, Chiniot, had three near point source pollution of Faisalabad industries within the 500-m radius (polluted) at three drains and two sites inside the river after each drain point source with the control site at 14 km after from the first industrial drain point source. The general response of all plants to effluents was growth retardation. Plant height increased significantly in all species from river sites. An increase in tallness was more prominent in species like C. procera and P. nodiflora. An increase in stem sclerification in C. procera and E. alba from polluted sites occurred, which indicated a better ability to tolerate industrial pollution. Remarkable increases in stem and leaf epidermis, intensive stem sclerenchyma, and closely packed stem vascular bundles in C. procera appeared, which could increase resistance to industrial pollution. Most of the morphoanatomical parameters notably attained a decrease in E. alba, the most vulnerable species. Plant survival depends on particular structural changes in dermal, mechanical, parenchymatous, and vascular tissues. Overall, industrial pollution adversely impacts plant morphological and micromorphological features, although the reaction of specific species to industrial contamination varies. The study determined that stem and leaf anatomical features, such as, epidermis size and storage tissue thickness, are suitable morphoanatomical markers for industrial pollution biomonitoring. Internal modifications of plants vegetating different industrial contaminated sites played a significant role in high tolerance levels.

Keywords: Industrial pollution, leaf lamina thickness, metaxylem, micromorphology, plant height, sclerification

Key findings: The riparian flora differed significantly across seasons and sites, with substantial micromorphological and anatomical differences. The impact of industrial pollution on the chosen species varied in terms of morphoanatomical parameters.

Avena sativa L. is a quick-growing, highly nutritious fodder of cool climates, grown for various purposes, and can meet feed demands in scarce periods. The study aimed to identify potential genotypes that offer higher fodder yields. Over three years (2018–2020), 225 genotypes collected from the USDA and FRI were analyzed for genetic diversity based on morphological and yield-related characteristics. The experiments followed an alpha lattice design, with data recorded before panicle emergence. The assessment revealed significant genetic variability among the accessions for the studied traits. The principal component analysis demonstrated that three primary components explained the bulk of the total variability each year. Genotypes with high green fodder yield, tillers per plant, leaves per plant, and plant height acquired positions in the right quadrants of the biplots for 2018 and 2020. Positive correlations observed between tillers per plant and leaves per plant and among plant height, tillers per plant, leaves per plant, and green fodder yield. Exotic and local genotypes were widely distributed across all four quadrants, indicating substantial genetic diversity. The cluster analysis classified 225 oat genotypes into 10 groups based on phenotypic characteristics. Clusters II, VIII, IX, and X displayed higher mean values for most studied traits. Clusters with maximum inter-cluster distances, such as Clusters II and X in 2018, I and X in 2019, and III and VIII in 2020, could be useful in future hybridization programs. Genotypes 198 (Mustang) and 219 (Boppy) provided superior fodder yield than standard checks. These genotypes need further evaluation in different locations for sustainable performance and recommendations for general cultivation.

Keywords: Avena sativa, morphology, diversity, PCA, cluster analysis

Key findings: Oat genotypes have rich genetic diversity, evident from the dispersal of exotic and local genotypes in biplot quadrants. PCA revealed that tillers per plant and leaves per plant were the major source of variation, followed by plant height. Based on the higher mean values for traits, genotypes from Clusters II, VIII, IX, and X can benefit future hybridization programs.

The presented study aims to select the early-maturing and high-yielding winter wheat genotypes via the assessment of various eco-geographical groups and to illustrate their scientific significance for the diverse environmental conditions of the Kashkadarya Region of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Twenty-four advanced wheat lines underwent selection and evaluation for comparison with six regional and promising cultivars to further improve and use for crossbreeding. Overall, eight cultivars showed promising in the desert zone of the Kashkadarya Region, 24 in the middle area, and 13 in the region’s foothills, while selecting five for the desert zone, six in the middle, and 10 in the foothills of Uzbekistan. Seventeen cultivars and advanced lines attained selection for the desert area of District Kasbi with higher protein content (14%), 21 in the middle zone of District Karshi, and 22 in the foothills of District Shahrizabz. Cultivars and advanced lines selected for the desert area of District Kasbi, in the middle zone of District Karshi, and in the foothills of District Shahrizabz numbered 14, 14, and three, respectively, where the gluten content was more than 30%. Weather conditions also affect the wheat genotype yields in the irrigated areas, and due to less rainfall in March-May of 2011, in the desert and foothills, the average yield declined by 0.2–0.23 and 0.15–0.25 t/ha in the deserts and foothills, respectively, compared with other years. The precipitation in March-May strongly correlated (r = 0.47) with the grain yield in winter bread wheat.

Keywords: winter bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), soil, climate, weather condition, cultivars, advanced lines, precipitation, grain yield and quality

Key findings: The present-day study selected early-maturing, highly productive, and good-quality cultivars and advanced lines of winter bread wheat for diverse soil and weather conditions of the Kashkadarya Region, Uzbekistan. Assessing the developmental phases of winter bread wheat in the foothills, middle, and desert regions of Kashkadarya resulted in selecting and identifying early-maturing and high-yielding wheat genotypes suitable for each zone.

Multi-environment experiment undertakings in 2020 recognized the stability and adaptability of promising swamp rice genotypes on five types of swampland agroecosystems. Grain yield data recording occurred on 10 swamp rice favorable lines and two check cultivars, transplanted on swamps consisting of alluvial mud, lowland peaty, lowland peat, middle estuarine tidal, and lower estuarine tidal swamp, then subjected to a combined analysis of variance. The AMMI model employed illuminated the effects of environments on a genotype’s grain yield stability across the surroundings. Among the tested conditions, alluvial mud and lowland peat swamps showed as the most predictable environments for rice grain yield evaluation, with the former also representing a rich surrounding, whereas the latter a poor one, despite their provided weak genotype discrimination. Lowland peaty swamp was also a productive environment and conferred strong genotypic discrimination. Both middle and lower estuarine tidal swamps were less fruitful and had rationally durable genotype discrimination. Rice lines UBPR 1, UBPR 8, UPBR 2, and UBPR 4 indicated more desirable than the check cultivars (Inpara 6 and Inpara 4) for grain yield and stability across the test environments. The lines UBPR 3 and UBPR 10 enunciated desirable adaptive performance at the lowland peaty swamp.

Keywords: Swamp rice lines, promising lines, agroecosystem, lowland swamp, tidal swamp, genotype by environment interaction, AMMI model

Key findings: The swampland’s environmental conditions differing in typologies manage the rice grain yield. Comparatively, some genotypes outperformed others in response to changing agroecological conditions. Relatively stable and adapted genotypes emerged from lowland peaty swamps.

Highland papaya (Vasconcellea pubescens A.DC.) is a monoecious and dioecious plant with female and male organs. In Indonesia, three sexes of highland papaya exist with different telomere lengths, which protect chromosomes and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from damage. Therefore, the purposeful study aimed to determine the telomere length, elemental composition, and phytochemical content of highland papaya leaves belonging to their different sexes. The telomere length observed and studied in said leaves (female, male, and monoecious) used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure. A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis provided a more detailed material of leaves, while an energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX) helped observe elemental composition. Phytochemical content analysis ran by histochemical analysis. The results showed that the telomere lengths of young female, male, and monoecious leaves differed at 381, 391, and 396.66, respectively. According to the SEM analysis, nonsignificant differences occurred in the leaf surface of the three sexes of highland papaya leaves. Observation with EDX showed that sodium (1.98%) surfaced in female plant leaves; however, sodium and chlorine did not show in male plants. Monoecious leaves had sodium and chlorine at 0.88% and 0.28%, respectively. The histochemical analysis provided an overview of the distribution of flavonoids and tannins in young leaves of highland papaya. A discovery also noted the existence of both compounds in the adaxial and abaxial epidermis, mesophyll, xylem, phloem, sheath parenchyma, secretory cavities, and trichomes. The study concluded that sex affects telomere length, elemental composition, and the phytochemical content of highland papaya leaves. The study suggests that knowing the highland papaya’s sex is vital in plant breeding and genetics and could help improve plant health and productivity.

Keywords: Highland papaya (Vasconcellea pubescens), monoecious and dioecious, telomere length, chromosomes, elemental composition, phytochemical content

Key findings: The telomere lengths of female, male, and monoecious highland papaya were unequal, making it possible to determine the particular sex. Sodium and chlorine did not show in male highland papaya leaves.

Rapeseed and mustard crops’ extensive promotion for crop diversification and their potential to favorably respond to breeding programs depends on their existing nature and the magnitude of genetic variability. Therefore, the progressive research sought to estimate the genetic diversity of 40 genotypes of Brassica napus (20) and Brassica juncea (20) based on phenotypic characters. The material, grown in randomized complete block design, had three replications during winter 2020–2021. The mean square from analysis of variance demonstrated significant differences for all the parameters among examined varieties, indicating that utilized material contained sufficient genetic variability. Regarding average performance, two mustard genotypes, Dhoom-I and Anmol Raya, performed better for seed yield plant-1 and can undergo assessment in upcoming breeding programs for enhancing seed yield. Meanwhile, high heritability occurred in oil content, silique length, 1000-seed index weight, and plant height. Diversity analysis, cluster mean, and total divergence contribution revealed maximum differences for various traits and possessed noteworthy sources for future breeding programs. The magnitude of cluster distance indicated that cluster VI comprised two mustard genotypes (Early Raya and Sindh Raya) and cluster IV consisted of three rapeseed genotypes (Rohi Sarson, hyola-401, and Kn-277), demonstrating that maximum distance is more diverse and helpful for upcoming heterotic recombination. Comparing genetic variation between rapeseed and mustard genotypes showed that rapeseed genotypes displayed more genetic variability in the first three components of PCA than its counterpart, yet expressing that mustard genotypes also have enormous valuable genetic resources. Similarly, genotypes Rohi Sarson, hyola-401, and Kn-277 resulted in the highest genotypic scores in three-dimensional graphs; hence, these genotypes are more diverse and can benefit future hybridization programs.

Keywords: Rapeseed, mustard genetic diversity, principal component analysis, genetic variation

Key findings: Genetic diversity analysis indicated sufficient genetic divergence among rapeseed and mustard genotypes. Moreover, among mustard genotypes, Early Raya, Sindh Raya, and Rohi Sarson were more diverse and for rapeseed, hyola-401 and Kn-277 for all studied genotypes. Thus, they can serve as good combiners in interspecific hybridization programs.

Rhizobia are important bacteria, playing a vital role in atmospheric nitrogen fixation. In addition, it increases soil fertility, enhancing crop production and preserving the soil from pollution resulting from inorganic fertilizers’ use. From 81 bacteria samples, nine isolates segregated from nine types of leguminous crops are economically valuable for cultivation within nine different locations in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. The isolates underwent initial diagnosis by phenotypical and cultural characteristics and host specialization tests. Molecular characterization also ran on the selected bacterial isolates. Performing the 16S rRNA region amplification applied forward primer 27F and a reverse primer 1541R using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The results of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP-PCR) employing three endonuclease enzymes showed that EcoRI had similar sequences among the isolates under study but significantly different for MspI and HaeIII. Based on the analysis of results using the statistical program MVSP version 3.22, the degree of similarity divided the isolates into three groups. Results revealed that there were genetic differences between the isolates and the suppressing enzymes, providing more accurate results in recognizing the similarity among the bacterial isolates as a result of the difference in the location and environmental conditions from which the bacteria were isolated, in addition to the different agricultural processes used for those regions.

Keywords: Leguminous crops, rhizobium, culture and biochemical tests, endonuclease enzymes, RFLP-PCR, 16S Rrna

Key findings: The use of 16S rRNA-RFLP technology enables the division of isolated bacteria by studying their genetic polymorphisms treated with restriction enzymes. Detecting three distinct groups from three different sections in Mosul City, Iraq, was possible. The differences were due to the influence of the environments and plants from which the bacteria were isolated and were evident using RFLP. It was possible to determine the phylogenetic tree that shows the degree of genetic affinity between the bacterial isolates.

Assembly, genetic analysis, and preservation of wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum L. Gaertn.) diversity is an important task in improving the said crop under the environmental conditions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The presented study evaluated and isolated various wheatgrass species and their populations for breeding and developing promising cultivars based on the genetic principles to improve the degraded pasture situation in South-East Kazakhstan from the perspective of global climate change. For the succeeding investigations, collection of the wheatgrass landraces from various regions of Kazakhstan ensued, as well as from accessions already conserved in the gene pool, and gained evaluation under the environmental conditions of South-East Kazakhstan. In performance-based screening, 20 wheatgrass cultivars identified underwent further genotyping by using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSRs) polymerase chain reaction markers. The pertinent study significantly contributes to understanding the Agropyron species’ genetic structure and molecular characteristics. Using seven ISSR primers helped study the kinship and genetic polymorphism of the five Agropyron species collected from diverse locations. The ISSR primers were extremely informative for determining the Agropyron’s genetic diversity and interspecific similarity. Moreover, they come highly recommended for an in-depth study comparing the DNA sequencing of the Agropyron populations available in the National Center for Biotechnology’s database.

Keywords: Wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum L. Gaertn.), genetic diversity, perennial grasses, drought resistance, DNA electrophoresis, phylogenetic tree

Key findings: The study contributed to understanding the Agropyron species’ genetic structure and molecular characteristics. The seven ISSR primers investigated the affinity and genetic polymorphism of five Agropyron species collected from various locations. The ISSR primers were also highly informative in determining the Agropyron’s genetic diversity and interspecific resemblance.

Brassica rapa is an important oilseed crop in Pakistan. It is a rich source of oil and contains 40%–46% oil. In addition, its meal has 38%–40% protein. Given their high levels of erucic acid and glucosinolate, mustard and rapeseed oil is unhealthy as regular cooking oil. A dire need to exploit the genetic variability of rapeseed germplasm is necessary to improve the performance of cultivars. The line × tester analysis helped estimate various types of gene actions that are important to quantitative traits. The key to successful research is selecting suitable lines and testers and designing good mating patterns. Choosing and developing genotypes with high yield and fatty acid profiles are the major concern of rapeseed breeders. The current research on hybridization and evaluation of Brassica rapa accessions sought better harvest and its related traits from the selected germplasm. The combining ability effects determination used line × tester analysis in rapeseed. The accessions’ variability analysis exhibited extremely significant differences in yield and related traits. Recorded data for different morphological and yield-related qualities provided days till 50% flowering, the number of major branches per plant, and the number of secondary branches per plant had positive and significant general combining ability estimates, and all yield-related variables had extremely notable specific combining ability estimates. All the yield-related characteristics displayed a favorable and substantial connection in the examined germplasm. Among the lines, 28244, 40980, and 40981 occurred to be the best general combiners showing the additive gene action. The cross combinations, 40977 × 26283, 40979 × 26283, and 40981 × 26283, indicated significant specific combining ability effects, which showed the non-additive genetic effects of total variance due to the dominance and/or epistasis. The results suggested that the research material used in the remarkable study can benefit by improving yield and fatty acids-related components and can further enhance upcoming breeding programs based on strong particular combining ability impacts.

Keywords: additive, non-additive, line × tester, glucosinolate, erucic acid, protein, rapeseed, analysis of variance

Key findings: Among 150 accessions screened concerning yield and their related traits, the accessions 40977 × 26283, 40979 × 26283, and 40981 × 26283 were the best cross combinations for yield and fatty acids-related components. These accessions will benefit future breeding programs for harvest enhancement along with its quality components.

The latest study aimed to analyze the path coefficient for synthetic cultivars of maize (Zea mays L.) to determine the selection criterion for improved grain yield. In achieving this goal, a field experiment commenced in 2022 at the Ibn-Al-Bitar Preparatory Vocational School, Kerbala Governorate, Iraq. The study set up in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) used a split-plot arrangement and three replications. The main plots comprised six combinations of mineral and organic fertilizers, while subplots were the six synthetic corn cultivars, Fajr1, Maha, 5018, Sumer, Sarah, and Baghdad-3. The genotypic path coefficient analysis showed that grains per ear in the first and second fertilizer levels could benefit as a selection index, achieving the highest total effect (genotypic correlation) of 0.9459 and 0.9957, respectively, obtained through an indirect influence of the biological yield. The third level of fertilizer combination gave a harvest index that can also be a selection index because it showed the highest total result of 0.9825, obtained from a direct consequence of the grain yield (0.8745). In the fourth fertilizer combination, the biological yield can become a selection index because it gained the highest total outcome of 0.9898 from the direct effect of the grain yield (6.7848). In the fifth and sixth fertilizer combinations, the total uptake of nitrogen may be the basis for the selection index reaching the maximum total effects of 0.9806 and 0.9834, respectively, acquired through indirect effects of the biological yield in the fifth and total uptake of phosphorus in the sixth fertilizer combination.

Keywords: Maize (Zea mays L.), mineral fertilizers, organic manures, path coefficient, selection criteria, nitrogen uptake, growth and yield traits

Key findings: The grains per ear at the first and second fertilizer levels, the harvest index at the third level, the biological yield at the fourth level, and the total nitrogen uptake at the fifth and sixth fertilizer levels can be effective selection indicators for improving the maize grain yield.