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Carthamus oxyacantha is the noxious weed of Pothwar Region of Pakistan. This weed has excellent growing and surviving characteristics even under extreme stress conditions that may be due to its higher level of phenolic compounds. Similarly, utilization of nanotechnology is a novel and innovative field. Drought is threatening the productivity of wheat worldwide as a main environmental stress, especially in countries like Pakistan, where about 25% of cultivated area is rainfed. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy spectrum of Carthamus oxyacantha nano-biomass showed the presence of seven functional groups (alcohols, phenols, alkanes, 1-amines, aromatics, aromatic amines and alkyl halides). Plant phenolic compounds can act as antioxidants, structural polymers (lignin), attractants (flavonoids and carotenoids), UV screens (flavonoids), signal compounds (salicylic acid and flavonoids) and defense response chemicals (tannins and phytoalexins). They also play a crucial role in the tolerance mechanisms against a wide range of stresses. So, it was hypothesized that the exogenous application of nano-biomass of aforesaid weed as catalytic agent may improve the drought tolerance of wheat and this technology will be proved as an environment friendly solution for drought prone areas. The nano biomass of the subject weed was prepared through top-down approach and was applied exogenously through petri dish, test tube, pot experiments and then under open field conditions at different crop growth stages of wheat. Results of petri dish, test tube and pot experiments showed positive effects of nanobiomass upto certain limits but affected negatively beyond 250 ppm. The results of field experiments showed that there were 55.55 and 68.75% increase in the crop growth rate of wheat in 2020 and 2021 by three applications of nano-biomass at 250 ppm compared to control. Similarly, 61.27 and 53.97% increase in the grain yield of wheat was recorded with nano-biomass application compared to control in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Similarly, there was 250% and 252% decrease in the proline accumulation where nano biomass was applied by three times at different growth stages of wheat as compared with control during 2020 and 2021 respectively which confirmed the presence of drought stress in control treatment but mitigation in treated plots. So, results of this study clearly exhibited that the application of this technology would be useful to mitigate drought stress under rainfed conditions and we can increase our wheat growth and production by following this technique under this changing climate. Moreover, the application of this technique is user and environment friendly. The study is also suggested to be evaluated for other crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize fodder yield was determined under various nitrogen and phosphorus doses under sub-humid rainfed conditions during 2009 at PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The annual rainfall at the experimental site during 2009 was 685.9 mm. The experimental soil was of loamy texture having E.C. of 0.48 dscm-1 pH 7.7, organic matter 0.65%, saturation 30%, available phosphorus 5.7 mg kg-1 and available potassium 78 mg kg-1 Maize cv. Sargodha-2002 was sown in randomized complete block design (factorial) and was fertilized with four each nitrogen @ 0, 60, 120 and 180 kg ha-1 and phosphorus 0, 30, 60 and 90 kg ha-1 doses. Significant increase in green fodder and dry matter yield was observed with the increased doses of nitrogen and phosphorus. Overall, the nitrogen application @ 180 kg ha-1 increased the green fodder and dry matter yield by 12.33% and 51.50%, respectively. Similarly, with phosphorus application @ 90 kg ha-1 the 36.80% and 46.26% increase was observed in green fodder and dry matter yield, respectively. In combination of nitrogen and phosphorus @ 180:90 NP kg ha-1 there was a significant increase in green fodder and dry matter yields through their interactive effect, that were 90.19% and 159.31%, respectively. This increase may be due to increase in vegetative growth parameters like plant height, stem diameter and leaf area. It was concluded that fertilizers combination of 180:90 NP kg ha-1 was recommended for obtaining higher maize fodder yield under rainfed conditions of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize fodder yield was determined under various nitrogen and phosphorus doses under sub-humid rainfed conditions during 2009 at PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The annual rainfall at the experimental site during 2009 was 685.9 mm. The experimental soil was of loamy texture having E.C. of 0.48 dscm-1, pH 7.7, organic matter 0.65%, saturation 30%, available phosphorus 5.7 mg kg-1 and available potassium 78 mg kg-1. Maize cv. Sargodha-2002 was sown in randomized complete block design (factorial) and was fertilized with four each nitrogen @ 0, 60, 120 and 180 kg ha-1 and phosphorus 0, 30, 60 and 90 kg ha-1 doses. Significant increase in green fodder and dry matter yield was observed with the increased doses of nitrogen and phosphorus. Overall, the nitrogen application @ 180 kg ha-1 increased the green fodder and dry matter yield by 12.33% and 51.50%, respectively. Similarly, with phosphorus application @ 90 kg ha-1, the 36.80% and 46.26% increase was observed in green fodder and dry matter yield, respectively. In combination of nitrogen and phosphorus @ 180:90 NP kg ha-1, there was a significant increase in green fodder and dry matter yields through their interactive effect, that were 90.19% and 159.31%, respectively. This increase may be due to increase in vegetative growth parameters like plant height, stem diameter and leaf area. It was concluded that fertilizers combination of 180:90 NP kg ha-1 was recommended for obtaining higher maize fodder yield under rainfed conditions of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinity is a menace that is affecting the agricultural soils and turning these soils into low productive ones and interfere the normal crop development. Wheat is an important cereal crop and salinity is also affecting the growth and yield of this crop. While salicylic acid is found to play a helpful role in supporting the plant growth and development under salt stress. Keeping in view these factors a hydroponic experiment was conducted on wheat with two levels of salicylic acid (0.25 mM and 0.50 mM) under two salt levels (75 mM and 150 mM) to assess that whether the salicylic acid is helpful in coping the harmful effects of salinity on crop growth or not and if it has certain positive response then which level is more suitable for wheat crop growth along with the genotypic assessment of salt tolerance in wheat cultivars (Faisalabad-2008 and Punjab-2011). Punjab-2011 performed better under normal and saline conditions than Faisalabad-2008. Shoot length reduction was 13.15 and 27.50% for Faisalabad-2008 and Punjab-2011 respectively under 75 mM salt stress but response at higher level 150 mM was different with 34.21 and 25.0% reduction in shoot length for Faisalabad-2008 and Punjab-2011 respectively. A significant improvement in shoot length was observed with the application of salicylic acid. Same trend was found for root length. Salt stress lowered the chlorophyll contents, number of tillers and K+/Na+ ratio in both genotypes but the application of salicylic acid improve all the mentioned parameters significantly. The treatment effect of 0.25 mM salicylic acid was more effective under both levels of salt stress as compared to 50 mM salicylic acid treatment. Genotypic differences were non-significant but cumulatively Punjab-2011 showed better performance as compared to Faisalabad-2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study 48 Suffolk × Mule (S × M) and 48 Scottish Blackface (SBF) weather lambs were used in a 2 breeds × 2 diets × 4 replications factorial experiment with 6 lambs per pen. Lambs were offered either a concentrate (CONC) finishing diet (DM: 876 g kg-1, estimated ME: 10.9 MJ kg-1 of DM, estimated DUP: 32.4 g kg-1 of DM) ad libitum, together with 100 g hay head-1 day-1, or silage (SIL) offered ad libitum (D value: 67.2), together with up to 450 g head-1 day-1 of a concentrate supplement (DM: 888 g kg-1, estimated ME: 10.9 MJ kg-1 of DM, estimated DUP: 63.9 g kg-1 of DM). Lambs were slaughtered at estimated MLC fat class 2 to 3L. Both breed and diet had a significant effect on daily live weight gain (DLWG) (S × M: 282 vs. SBF: 210 g; CONC: 383 vs. SIL: 109 g) and the food conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly affected by diet (CONC: 5.3 vs. SIL: 7.7). Breed × diet interactions were significant for both DLWG and FCR. Conformation score was better in the S × M lambs than in the SBF lambs (3.2 vs. 2.6; scale E = 5, P = 1), whereas diet influenced the estimated subcutaneous fat proportion (CONC: 121.5 g kg-1 vs. SIL: 113.2 g kg-1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]