The presented maize experiment commenced in autumn 2022 at the Al-Hussainiya, Kerbala, Iraq. The experiment comprised two factors: the first included nitrogen (0, 150, and 300 kg N ha^-1) and phosphorus (0, 50, and 100 kg P ha^-1), and the second was the seaweed extract (2 and 4 ml L^-1) used as a foliar application. The seaweed extracts (Algazone Mx30) were treatments applied in the main plots, while the subplots received mineral fertilizer combinations. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) consisted of a factorial arrangement and three replications to evaluate the maize cultivar ‘Maha’s’ response in clay loam soil. In most growth and yield parameters, applying nitrogen-phosphorous fertilizer combinations and the foliar application of seaweed extract (4 ml L^-1) had a substantial effect. The interaction between the seaweed extract and nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers significantly improved leaf area, stem diameter, chlorophyll index in leaves, 500-grain weight, and biological and grain yields. The treatments with seaweed extract (4 ml L^-1) and the combination of 150 N + 50 P performed better for leaf area (55.48 cm² plant^-1), stem diameter (23.10 mm), chlorophyll index (48.54 SPAD), 500-grain weight (141.17 g), biological yield (357.56 g plant^-1), and grain yield (201.46 g plant^-1).

Keywords: Maize (Zea mays L.), seaweed extract, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, growth and yield traits, chlorophyll index

Key findings: A significant improvement in growth and yield traits of maize resulted from the foliar application of seaweed extract (4 ml L^-1) in combination with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers.

Pulses are notably good nutritive complements of carbohydrate-rich staple diets, such as, wheat, maize, and rice. Mung bean is an essential pulse crop with different proteins and antioxidants proven beneficial for health. The yield of mung bean in Pakistan is comparable to the world average, but overall production is low because of several biotic and abiotic factors. Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) is one of mung bean’s most damaging diseases, limiting its productivity, causing significant losses in yield and an overall gap in production. The presented investigation progressed to comprehending the genetics of resistance to CLS in mung bean. A minicore set of 293 mung bean genotypes developed and maintained by the World Vegetable Center, Taiwan, served as samples in the study. Observed CLS attacks occur during flowering and reduce the yield by decreasing the number of pods per plant. The genetics to resistance against CLS has a single recessive gene controlling it; hence, homozygous recessive plants will be CLS-resistant. Therefore, single gene transfer methods, such as, backcross breeding, are recommendable for incorporating CLS resistance in high-yielding mung bean genotypes.

Keywords: Cercospora, CLS, generation mean analysis, mung bean, minicore

Key findings: Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) negatively correlates with number of pods per plant (PPP), and PPP positively correlates with seed yield per plant (SYPP). Thus, ultimately, CLS reduces plant yield by reducing PPP. Genotype VI000105 BG was the most susceptible, and genotype VI004954 BG was the most tolerant to CLS. Both genotypes can be valuable in different breeding programs to focus on CLS resistance as an objective. None of the checks were resistant to CLS. Resistance to CLS has the control by a single recessive gene.

The latest study aimed to identify the effects of organic manure (sheep manure) with four concentrations (0, 5, 10, and 15 g seedling^-1) and nano-zinc four levels (0, 1, 2, and 3 g L^-1) on the growth of peach cultivar Hollywood seedlings. The experiment began in 2022 at private nurseries in Babylon province, Iraq. The nano-zinc application with three foliar sprays transpired at 30-day intervals. The experiment continued in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The addition of organic manure treatment (15 g seedling^-1) excelled in traits of seedling length, stem diameter, number of leaves, chlorophyll content, shoot dry weight, leaves area, and zinc in the leaves, with highest averages of 62.03 cm, 8.08 mm, 51.20 leaf seedling^-1, 43.8 SPAD, 57.35 g seedling^-1, 1322.3 cm², and 56.40 mg kg^-1, respectively, compared with the control treatment. The addition of nano-zinc (3 g L^-1) was significantly superior in performance and excelled other treatments by revealing the highest values for the above growth traits, i.e., 60.45 cm, 7.83 mm, 50.90 leaves seedling^-1, 42.35 SPAD, 54.85 g seedling^-1, 1251.90 cm², and 53.63 mg kg^-1, respectively.

Keywords: Peach (Prunus persica L.), organic matter, nano-zinc, foliar nutrition, growth traits, physiological parameters

Key findings: Organic manure (15 g seedling^-1) produced the highest averages of 62.03 cm, 8.08 mm, 51.20 leaf seedling^-1, 43.8 SPAD, 57.35 g seedling^-1, 1322.3 cm², and 56.40 mg kg^-1 for the seedling’s length, stem diameter, number of leaves, chlorophyll content, dry matter of the seedling shoot, leaf area, and zinc content in the leaves, compared with the control treatment.

This study aimed to determine the effect of electrocution with magnetized water on the seed germination and seedling growth characteristics of Acacia cyanophylla. The seeds exposed to electrocution with magnetized water at low magnetic flux levels had different exposure durations using a device designed for this purpose. The parameters were zero × zero, four amps × zero, four amps × 500 gauss, four amps × 850 gauss, and four amps × 1100 gauss, while the exposure durations were four, six, and eight minutes. The experiment occurred in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three blocks. The results showed that treating A. cyanophylla seeds with an intensity of 4 amperes × 850 watts in all exposure periods displayed a significant increase in the seed germination ratio (60.00%) compared with the control treatment, recorded with the lowest germination ratio (37.77%). For growth characteristics, the treated seedlings with four amps × 850 gauss for four min emerged with the highest seedling height, dry weight, and shoot diameter, compared with the control treatment providing the lowest rates for studied growth traits.

Keywords: Acacia cyanophylla, magnetic flux, germination ratio, germination stimuli, seed treatments, dormancy-breaking phase

Key findings: Treating Acacia cyanophylla seeds with an intensity of four amps × 850 watts with four min exposure time showed a significant increase in germination percentage. It was excellent over all other interactions in most traits.

This study pursued tests on 17 local and exotic soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) cultivars with two different water regimes. In the optimal irrigated condition (control), the soybean plants gained five times irrigation in the scheme of 1:3:1 during the vegetation period, with the total volume of water used for that irrigation being 5000–5500 m³/ha. For the water deficit condition, irrigation was only three times on the scheme 1:1:1, using a total volume of water at 3000–3500 m³/ha. In the optimal irrigated condition, water provision was only once during the formation of soybean leaves, three times during the budding period, and once again at the beginning of the blooming period. In that condition, the provision of an artificially created water deficit condition and drought with one irrigation ensued at the beginning of the blossoming period. According to the results, chlorophyll “b” pigment was more sensitive to water deficit conditions than chlorophyll “a.” The increase in chlorophyll “b” under drought conditions increased chlorophyll’s protection function, the primary photosynthetic pigment, with its reception of photons from sunlight. Stress enzyme activity increased to different extents compared with optimal water supply conditions in the soybean cultivars under water deficit conditions. The number of chloroplast pigments in plant leaves and the activity of peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase enzymes in leaves strongly influenced local and exotic soybean genotypes during the blooming-harvest period under drought conditions. With water deficit conditions, the number of pods per plant and 1000-grain weight reduced from 8.6% to 63.7% and 1.7% to 12.8% in the local and 3.8% to 28.3% and 5.6% to 58.8% in exotic soybean cultivars compared with water optimal conditions.

Keywords: Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.), genotypes, diverse water regimes, water deficit condition, peroxidase, catalase, chlorophyll, carotenoids

Key findings: Under water stress conditions, the peroxidase enzyme activity was notably higher in local soybean cultivars Genetic-1 and Tomaris and the exotic cultivar Selecta-301 compared with other genotypes.

Drought tolerance is a quantitative trait that is exceedingly challenging to breed, especially for allotetraploids like cotton. The scenario of limited water resources necessitates developing drought-tolerant cultivars that conserve significant irrigation water throughout the summer. Therefore, the presented study used a design to statistically analyze the morphological, physiological, and fiber quality parameters linked with drought tolerance, which is a comprehensive method for choosing better genotypes from the available cotton germplasm. Measuring these parameters ensued for plants grown under field conditions. The germplasm comprised 150 cotton genotypes studied at two water regimes, i.e., regular and water-stressed conditions for two consecutive seasons of 2015–2016 and 2016–2017. Data recording ran for different morpho-physiological and fiber quality parameters. Significant differences occurred for all the treatments, genotypes, and Genotype × Environment interaction for all the morphological, physiological, and fiber quality parameters under study. Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) analysis and AMMI biplot analysis helped analyze the results, which revealed that the cotton genotypes FH-900, FH-901, FH-312, AS-1, AS-2, AS-3, RH-510, RH-627, AR-2, AR-9, BH-118, BH-175, SLH-74, CIM-1100, CIM-598, and MM-58 were drought tolerant and ranked highest concerning stress condition. Moreover, correlation studies distinguished the relationship between relevant traits concerning drought tolerance.

Keywords: AMMI analysis, cotton, drought tolerance, morpho-physiological traits, field evaluation

Key findings: The drought-tolerant cotton genotypes, FH-900, FH-901, FH-312, AS-1, AS-2, AS-3, RH-510, RH-627, AR-2, AR-9, BH-118, BH-175, SLH-74, CIM-1100, CIM-598, and MM-58, stood out in this study to benefit a cotton breeding program for drought tolerance.

The applicable study assessed the impact of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars and cytokinin (benzyl adenine) seed soaking on grain vitality, growth, and yield-related traits. The experiment materialized in the winter of 2022–2023 at the Al-Qasim Green University, Babylon, Iraq, laid out in a randomized complete block design with two factors. The first factor was cytokinin with three levels (100, 200, and 300 mg L^-1), while the second factor was the four wheat cultivars (IPA 99, Bohuth 22, Babylon 113, and Mawadah). The wheat cultivar IPA 99 excelled in grains per spike (57.50) and biological yield (17.95 t ha^-1), while the cultivar Mawadah stood out in spike m² (364.2), 1000-seed weight (46.87 mg) and grain yield (7.40 t ha^-1). The cytokinin activation treatments varied significantly, and 200 mg L^-1 treatment led to spike count (359.7), grain yield (7.20 t ha^-1), and biological yield (18.06 t ha^-1). The cytokinin (300 mg L^-1) excelled in 1000-seed weight (47.20 mg). In their interaction, the cultivar Mawadah with cytokinin (200 mg L^-1) exhibited the highest 1000-grain weight (51.38 mg) and grain yield (8.80 t ha^-1). In conclusion, the study highlights the substantial influence of cytokinin treatments and wheat cultivars on key growth and yield parameters.

Keywords: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), cultivars, cytokinin, seed activation, growth and yield traits

Key findings: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Mawadah, under the influence of cytokinins (200 mg L^-1), performed better and positively affected growth and yield-related traits.

Best-quality seeds of high-yielding commercial cultivars are the foundation of the future harvest in all crops. Significant seed damage arises from seed injury during harvesting and tillage. With the use of machinery in all harvesting and processing stages, the issue of seed injury has become severe. Therefore, the presented research sought to determine commercial soybean seeds’ properties and seeding qualities, depending on the cultivar properties and the influence of machinery used in harvesting. The identified degree of soybean seed injury of commercial soybean cultivars depends on the growing strength after harvesting with drum threshing combined with the harvesting equipment’s influence. Based on biological characteristics, the soybean cultivars differed significantly in the number of damaged seeds during harvest using the drum thresher type ‘Sampo SR 2035’. However, the soybean cultivar Birlik KV showed the minimum seed damage (49.5%), whereas the cultivar Zhansaya had the most seed injuries (83.0%). According to laboratory tests, high intensity of initial growth resulted in seeds of soybean cultivars Birlik KV (86.0%), followed by Perizat (82.0%), and Lastochka (78.0%). Seeds of the soybean cultivars Ivushka and Zhansaya had the lowest growth strength (52.0%–60.0%). The most injury-prone soybean cultivar Zhansaya exhibited 21.3% crushed and inured seeds when their threshing used a drum thresher, but when threshed with a rotary thresher, the number of damaged seeds decreased to 2.9%. For injury-resistant soybean cultivar Lastochka, the harvester Sampo SR 2035 produced 12.4% injured seeds, and the harvester ’John Deere’ generated 2.2% crushed seeds.

Keywords: Soybean (Glycine max L.), cultivars, seeds, sowing qualities, seed injury, seed production, harvesting combines

Key findings: The findings revealed that different soybean cultivars grown under the same conditions gained damage in varying degrees and showed various growth strengths due to varietal characteristics.

The presented study determined the effect of biofertilizers on the growth and production of broad bean (Vicia faba L.) cultivars conducted during the autumn season of 2020–2021 at the Al-Mahaweel area, Babylon Governorate, Iraq. The experiment followed a randomized complete block design with two factors and three replicates. The first factor was the three broad bean cultivars—local, Turkish, and Spanish—while the second was four biofertilizer levels(control, Bacillus mucilaginous, and mycorrhizal fungi). The results showed the Spanish cultivar significantly excelled over other cultivars in yield-related traits, pods per plant (16.82), seeds per pod (6.11), seed yield (5,884.29 kg ha^-1), and biological yield (12,599.05 kg ha^-1). The mycorrhizal fungi biofertilizer treatment remarkably excelled for all treatments, i.e., pods per plant (17.84), seeds per pod (6.98), seed yield (5,874.11 kg ha^-1), and biological yield (14,495.79 kg ha^-1). Meanwhile, the interaction treatment (Spanish cultivar + mycorrhiza fungi) superbly shone and gave the highest rate for most studied traits.

Keywords: Broad bean (Vicia faba L.), cultivars, biofertilizer, mycorrhizal, yield-related traits

Key findings: Broad bean (Vicia faba L.) cultivar Spanish and mycorrhiza, individually and in combination, significantly showed better performance for most studied traits.

Highland papaya (Vasconcellea pubescens A.DC.) is a member of the family Caricaceae and native to Ecuador. The plant’s introduction and cultivation were successful in specific highland areas of Indonesia but with limited growing areas. V. pubescens has monoecious and dioecious characteristics and allows fruit production from female dioecious and monoecious plants. This plant is valuable, and the knowledge about its sex pattern, though still limited, is crucial for its efficiency, productivity, and development. Hence, the presented study aimed to explain the patterns of plant segregation, as well as, pollen morphology and germination based on sex in V. pubescens. The investigations began by recognizing the total population of V. pubescens in its cultivated area for grouping and mapping according to sex. Observations on the pollen characteristics, such as, morphology and germination, used light microscopy and a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The results revealed that the basis for plant segregation pattern depended on sex in male and female dioecious and monoecious plants of V. pubescens (1:5:1). In both sexes, the pollen morphological characteristics showed that the unit of monads, prolate spheroidal, radial, tricolporate, isopolar, reticulate, and P/E index of male dioecious pollen was 0.70, while monoecious was 0.52. Anthers and pollen grains from the male plant were round, but those of monoecious elongate more. However, no significant differences occurred among the sexes for pollens. The pollen grains from male flowers on male dioecious plants showed faster germination than monoecious individual plants, having a difference of 25.14 days.

Keywords: V. pubescens, sex types, plant segregation, pollen morphology, pollen germination

Key findings: V. pubescens are of three types growing in Indonesia, i.e., male dioecious, female dioecious, and monoecious. SEM observations showed that the shape of anthers and pollen of flowers in male plants were round, while those in monoecious elongated. Based on germination and the time required for pollen tube formation, pollen from male flowers of male dioecious reached the ovule stage faster than monoecious, with a time difference of 25.14 days.