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Use of older age seedlings of rice often decreased the yield in transplanted rice systems. However, the response of rice seedlings at different ages in transplanting system under alternate wetting ...

In this study, a new hybrid model, bootstrap multiple linear regression (BMLR) is suggested to investigate the potential of bootstrap resampling technique for daily reservoir inflow prediction. The proposed model compares with three other models: Multiple linear regression (MLR), wavelet multiple linear regression (WMLR) and wavelet bootstrap multiple linear regression (WBMLR). River stage data of monsoon season (1st July 2010 to 30 September 2010) from three gauging stations of Chenab river basin are used. In wavelet transformation, input vectors are decomposed using discrete wavelet transformation (DWT) into discrete wavelet components (DWCs). Then suitable DWCs are used to provide input to MLR model to develop WMLR model. Bootstrap technique coupled with MLR model to build up BMLR model. While WBMLR model is the conjunction of suitable DWCs and bootstrap technique to MLR model. Performance indices namely root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency (NSC), and persistence index (CP) are used in study to evaluate the performance of model. Results showed that hybrid model BMLR produce significantly better results on performance indices than other models MLR, WMLR and WBMLR.

Weed management in blackgram is one of the most efficient ways to improve its yield, as uncontrolled weed growth causes a significant decrease in crop yield. A field experiment was performed at Berthin, Himachal Pradesh, India, to investigate the efficacy, energy use efficiency (EUE), and carbon footprints of weed management tactics. Twelve weed control treatments were tested applied alone or in combination at pre and post emergence stages. The most prominent weeds were Cyperus iria, Dactyloctenium aegyptium, and Echinochloa colona, which caused a 68.1% loss in unweeded conditions. The application of weed control treatments reduced the weed count at 60 DAS from around 50% to 90%. The most efficient weed control treatment was pre-emergence (PRE) use of ready mix imazethapyr 35% + imazamox 35% WG @ 80 g ha−1, which resulted in a minimum weed infestation (i.e., weed count and weed biomass) and consequently highest yield. Its efficacy in weed control treatment was on par with PRE use of ready mix imazethapyr (35%) + imazamox (35% WG @ 70 g ha−1. Maximum energy use efficiency was also obtained upon PRE use of imazethapyr (35%) + imazamox (35% WG) @ 80 g ha−1 (8.27), trailed by PRE use of imazethapyr + imazamox @ 70 g ha−1 (7.84), mainly because of the higher yield obtained in these treatments which shows their efficiency in energy conversion. The carbon footprints were observed to be the lowest in ready mix combination of imazethapyr (35%) + imazamox (35% WG) applied at 80 g ha−1 (0.11 kg CE kg−1 yield), followed by imazethapyr (35%) + imazamox (35% WG) applied at 70 g ha−1 (0.12 kg CE kg−1 yield), as it resulted in the lowest emission per unit output production.

Diversifying available natural resources to cope with abrupt climatic changes and the necessity to equalize rising agricultural production with improved ability to endure environmental influence is the dire need of the day. Inherent allelic variability regarding significant economic traits featuring both enhanced productivity and environmental adaptability is one such prominent need. To address this requirement, a series of analyses were conducted in this study for exploring natural diploid wheat germplasm resources. The current study involved 98 Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) populations developed by crossing two diploid ‘A’ sub-genome wheat species, Triticummonococcum and Triticum&nbsp, boeoticum, enriched with valuable alleles controlling, in particular, biotic and abiotic stresses tolerance. Their 12 phenotypic traits were explored to reveal germplasm value. All traits exhibited vast diversity among parents and RILs via multivariate analysis. Most of the investigated traits depicted significant (p &lt, 0.05) positive correlations enlightening spikelet per spike, total biomass, seed weight per spike, number of seeds per spike, plant height, and days to heading as considerably focused traits for improving hexaploid wheat. Principal component analysis (PCA) exhibited 61.513% of total variation with three PCs for 12 traits. Clustering of genotypes happened in three clades, and the two parents were separated into two extreme clusters, validating their enrichment of diversity. This study provided beneficial aspects of parental resources rich in diverse alleles. They can be efficiently exploited in wheat improvement programs focusing on introgression breeding and the recovery of eroded genetic factors in currently available commercial wheat cultivars to sustain calamities of environmental fluctuations.

Photosynthetic efficiency decreases as light energy surpasses the photosynthesis capacity. This study was designed to investigate the potential effects of high-intensity light on the photooxidation-prone mutant 812HS of rice and its wild-type 812S during yellow and recovering stages. Results showed that in the yellowing stage, light oxidation occurs due to the exposure of mutant 812HS leaves to the high sunlight, which causes yellowing of the leaves, leading to a reduction in the photochemical activities, physiological mechanisms, and protein contents in mutant 812HS. In the recovery stage, mutant 812HS leaves were exposed to the maximum high brightness, the mutant’s leaves were draped with a dark cover to decrease the exposure of leaves of the plants from direct sunlight, which leads to the restoration of the green color again to the mutant 812HS leaves, leading to improving the performance of the photochemical activities, physiological mechanisms, and protein contents in mutant 812HS. Exposing leaves of mutant 812HS to high light at the yellow stage also resulted in a decrease in the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) in carotenoids content and chlorophyll a and b. Similarly, chlorophyll fluorescence of mutant 812HS decreased in (O-I-J-I-P) curves, and the ATP content, Mg2+-ATPase, and Ca2+-ATPase activities also decreased. An increase in energy dissipation was observed, while ABS/RC, DI0/RC, and TR0/RC values in mutant 812HS at the yellow stage increased. During photooxidation, an increase in O2•– and H2O2 contents was observed in mutant 812HS. While O2•– and H2O2 contents were decreased in mutant 812HS at the recovery stage. The rate of thylakoid membrane protein content was significantly decreased in mutant 812HS at the yellow stage, while at the recovery stage, there was no significant decrease. Our findings showed that photooxidation prompted oxidative damages and lipid peroxidation that caused severe damages to the membranes of the cell, photosynthetic pigments degradation, protein levels, and photosynthesis inhibition in mutant 812HS.

Agriculture plays important role in human welfare. An extensive research has been carried out on agriculture and changes in climate over the past decades. Variation in climate is anticipated to influence livestock and crop production, hydrologic balances, input supplies, and other constituents of agricultural systems. It is likely to have significant effect on food security in the upcoming decades, by decreasing food production and enhancing food prices. Food may become more exclusive as climate variation mitigation struggles increase energy prices. Water essential for food production may become rarer due to enhanced crop water use and dry period. Struggle for land may enhance as definite regions become climatically unsuitable for production. Though stable increases in carbon dioxide and temperature may outcome in more satisfactory conditions that could enhance the production of some crops, but in some areas, these latent production increases are likely to be limited by severe events, particularly extreme drought and heat, during flowering phase. Crop production is probably to reduce in many regions during the twenty first century due to climatic variations.

Delay sowing of wheat is a common problem in Punjab that exacerbates serious yield loss. To reduce yield loss and improve yield, different combinations of foliar-applied bioregulator and micronutrients, control (CK), zinc (Zn), boron (B), thiourea (TU), Zn + B (ZnB), Zn + TU (ZnTU), B + TU (BTU), Zn + B + TU (ZnBTU) were applied at booting and grain filling stages in delayed sown wheat in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The results showed that ZnBTU treatment significantly increased leaf area index by 25.06% and 23.21%, spike length by 15.11% and 19.65% in 2017 and 2018, respectively, compared to CK. The ZnBTU treatment also increased 1000-grain weight by 21.96% and 22.01% in 2017 and 2018, respectively, compared to CK. Similarly, higher Zn, B and N contents in straw and grain were recoded for ZnBTU treatment which was statistically similar to ZnB and ZnTU treatments. Overall, ZnBTU treatment also increased the photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance by 46.67%, 26.03%, 76.25% and decreased internal CO

Water scarcity is a major concern for sunflower production in the semi-arid and arid regions of the world. Potassium (K) application has been found effective to alleviate the influence of drought stress; however, the impact of drought stress on seed quality of sunflower has not been reported frequently. Therefore, a field experiment was performed to determine the optimum K requirement for mitigating the adverse effects of water stress and improving growth and seed quality of spring-planted sunflower. Sunflower plants were exposed to water stress at different growth stages, i.e., Io = no stress (normal irrigation), I1 = pre-anthesisi stress (irrigation skipped at pre-anthesis stage), I2 = anthesis stress (irrigation skipped at anthesis stage) and I3 = post-anthesis stress (irrigation skipped at post-anthesis stage). Potassium was applied at four different rates, i.e., Ko = 0, K1 = 50, K2 = 100 and K3 = 150 kg ha-1. The results revealed that water stress at pre- and post-anthesis stages significantly reduced plant height, head diameter, number of achenes, oleic acid contents, and phosphorus (P) uptake. However, pre-anthesis stress improved linoleic acid contents. Treatment IoK3 (stress-free with 150 kg ha-1 K) was optimum combination for 1000-achene weight, biological and achene yields, oil contents, protein contents, and N and P uptake. Results indicated that a higher amount of K and irrigation resulted in higher yield, whereas yield and yield components decreased with early-stage water stress. Nevertheless, potassium application lowered the impacts of waters stress compared to no application. Keeping in view these results, it is recommended that sunflower must be supplied 150 kg ha-1 K in arid and semi-arid regions to achieve higher yield and better seed quality.

Stem reserves in grain crops are considered important in grain filling under post-anthesis stress in the absence/low availability of photosynthetic assimilates. Considerable variation is present among genotypes for stem reserve translocation in wheat. Therefore, this study aimed to exploit the phenotypic variation for stem reserve translocation in wheat under control and chemically induced stress conditions. The phenotypic variation among six parents and their corresponding direct cross combinations was evaluated under induced stress conditions. The results signify the presence of considerable variation between treatments, genotypes, and treatment-genotype interactions. The parent LLR-20 depicted the highest translocation of dry matter and contribution of post-anthesis assimilates under induced-stress conditions. Similarly, cross combinations Nacozari × LLR22, Nacozari × LLR 20, Nacozari × Parula, Nacozari × LLR 21, LLR 22 × LLR 21, and LLR 20 × LLR 21 showed higher source-sink accumulation under induced-stress conditions. The selected parents and cross combinations can be further utilized in the breeding program to strengthen the genetic basis for stress tolerance in wheat.

Electronic waste (e-waste) is used for all electronic/electrical devices which are no more used. Conventionally, waste management policies are desfighandle the traditional waste. Although e-waste contains toxic materials, however, its management is rarely focused by policy makers; therefore, its negative impact on the global environment, ecosystem, and human health is aggravated. The review outlines the categories of e-waste materials, major pollutants including ferrous/non-ferrous metals, plastics, glass, printed circuit boards, cement, ceramic, and rubber beside, some valuable metals (such as copper, silver, gold, platinum). Toxic elements from e-waste materials, released in the air, water, and soil, include arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury, and lead, causing pollution. Although their roles in biological systems are poorly identified, however, they possess significant toxic and carcinogenic potential. It is therefore critical to monitor footprint and device strategies to address e-waste-linked issues from manufacturing, exportation, to ultimate dumping, including technology transmissions for its recycling. This review traces a plausible link among e-waste condition at a worldwide dimension, as far as settlement procedures to keep it secure and carefully monitored when traded. Their fate in the three spheres of the earth, i.e., water, soil, and air, impacts human health. The strategies and regulation to handle e-waste generation at the global level have been discussed. Graphical abstract .

Dry land plants owing to their capability to grow under stressful environment have shown higher allelopathic potential as compared to cultivated plants. An experiment was conducted to investigate the herbicidal potential of aqueous extracts of four dry land plants viz. fruit and vine of Citrullus colocynthis, and above ground parts of Rhazya stricta; Crotalaria burhia and Calligonum polygonoides, with four concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100%) of initially prepared extracts against Lathyrus aphaca, a common weed of wheat in the studied region. These plants were collected from dry land area (30.03° N and 70.38° E, 129 m above sea level, almost desert conditions) of Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. All the four plants exhibited pronounced herbicidal potential with 9 to 91% suppression of different parameters in L. aphaca). Maximum inhibition was recorded in germination (36-91%). Significant suppression in leaf count (9-65%), shoot length (12-59%), root length (4-62%), shoot fresh weight (17-71%), root fresh weight (10-60%), shoot dry weight (15-72%), root dry weight (13-64%), and nodule numbers (34-89%) was also observed. The highest inhibition was exhibited by R. stricta followed by C. colocynthis: fruit. However, in case of nodulation maximum suppression was produced by C. burhia extract. Least suppressant activity was observed for the C. polygonides extract. These results encourage the potential use of locally available dry land plants possessing strong allelochemical properties for nonchemical control of weeds ultimately reducing reliance on chemical control.

This study investigated pollinator assemblage diversity and richness in four forested ecosystems of southern Punjab, Pakistan, with different landscape types. Pirowal is situated in the plains of irrigated Punjab, Lal Suhanra is part of a sandy desert ecosystem, Ghazi Ghat is part of the Indus River delta, and Fort Munro is located in dry hilly mountains. A yearlong survey of pollinator populations was carried out in these four forested ecosystems from January to December of 2010. Fortnightly hand netting was performed for collecting flower-visiting insects whereas, pan traps of three colors (white, blue, and yellow) were deployed for collecting the data. A total of 8,812 individuals from two orders (Lepidoptera and Diptera) were observed, including 22 families and 154 species. Bees were the most abundant, with 4,502 individuals, and the most species-rich taxa, with 70 species in five families, followed by flies having 2,509 individuals and 51species in 10 families. Wasps were the least abundant with 1,801 individuals and 33 species in seven families. The assemblage structure of pollinator communities as visualized through rank abundance curves showed that there were many species with low abundance and only a few species with a much higher abundance. The most abundant species among the bees, in order, were Nomia sp.3, Megachile bicolor, and Colletes sp.3; among flies, Syrphus sp.2, Calliphoridae sp.1, and Empididae sp.4; and among wasps, Tiphiidae sp.1, Myzininae sp.2, and Scelionidae sp.1. Keywords: Insect pollinators, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Diversity, Bees, Flies, Wasps, Ecosystem

The hydro-distilled essential oil of hog plum peel may be used for enhancing the flavor and taste of food products as well as for hiding the unpleasant odor of drugs. Thus, the waste peels of Spondias mombin appear to have economic importance. To find out the chemical composition and anti-microbial properties of hog plum peel oil, the samples were collected from different regions of Bangladesh for extraction and identification of volatile compounds by GC-MS, where dichloromethane was used as an extraction solvent. The required standard analytical methods were used to assay the anti-microbial properties of hog plums. In this study, pentenyl-3-thy-met-4-alpha-methyl-alpha-ethanol-oxiranen (29.04%), (3,3.1,1)-4-dimethylethyl-1,1-phenol (8.00%), cycohexanol-3 (10.85%), 4-hydroxy-penzeneethanamine (7.09%), hydroxylamine (4.63%), dibutyl phthalate (6.85%), etc., were majorly determined. Consequently, the highest content of 75.81% volatile compounds was found in the Dinajpur district, where the lowest content of 35.00% was found in the Rajshahi district. In contrast, 33 volatile compounds were identified in hog plum peels collected from the Barishal district, whereas 22 compounds were detected in the peel samples collected from the Dinajpur district. In addition, the antimicrobial activity of the oil was analyzed by the disk diffusion method, and the results revealed that the highest Ciprocin content was recorded in the hog plums of Barishal (22.0–23.0 mm), while the lowest was recorded in the Mymensingh sample (20.67–21.63 mm), which was on par with Rajshahi sample (20.70–21.50 mm). The results of the anti-fungal activities of the peel oil showed the highest zone of inhibition against the Aspergillus niger (11.63 ± 0.0003 mm) and Penicillium oxalicum (13.67 ± 1.97 mm) content of the Rajshahi and Pabna district samples, respectively.

Introduction: Despite advances in treatment and vaccination, COVID-19 continues to have a significant toll on healthcare services. Identifying more modifiable risk factors for severe infection is of utmost importance to guide effective health care delivery. Recent studies show conflicting results regarding the association of gastric acid suppression with the risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection. Considering that acid-suppressive medications are among the most commonly consumed drugs in the United States, an understanding of the impact of these agents on COVID-19 outcomes is of significant importance and inconclusive. We aimed to investigate if pre-admission exposure to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is associated with worse outcomes among patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Methods: We retrospectively identified COVID-19 patients admitted to Ochsner LSU Health, Shreveport, from July 2020 to November 2020. Information on baseline demographics, comorbidities, presenting symptoms, PPI use and clinical course was abstracted. We compared outcomes for PPI users and non-users using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: 1370 patients were included in this study, with 14 (22.9%) PPI users, and 1056 (77.1%) non-users. Baseline characteristics are shown in Table 1. PPI users were older (66.00 vs 61.24, p< .0001) and had a lower BMI (31.54 vs 32.39, p< .0085) compared to non-users. Both groups received similar treatment: steroids, antibiotics, remdesivir, convalescent plasma, and supplemental oxygen. There was no significant difference in the length of stay between these 2 groups. On univariate analysis, PPI users were significantly associated with developing secondary infection (OR 1.45, P=0.049) and acute kidney injury (AKI) (OR 1.45, P=0.015). The rate of developing other complications like deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke, encephalopathy, shock, need for renal replacement therapy was similar in both groups. After adjusting for age, gender, race, BMI, comorbidities, PPI use was not associated with worse outcomes like ICU admission, ventilation requirement, mortality, or more complications (Figure 1). Conclusion: An interesting finding in this study was that PPI users were significantly associated with developing secondary infection but not with worse clinical outcomes or mortality. We recommend continuing PPI use when clinically indicated and educating users regarding their safety.

Jabran, Khawar/0000-0001-8512-3330; Rehmani, M.I.A./0000-0001-7922-1233; Rahman, Muhammad Habib ur/0000-0002-2823-9959; Amin, Asad/0000-0003-2242-8377; Ahmad, Ashfaq/0000-0002-9249-185X; Turan, Veysel/0000-0001-7805-8411; Shah, Ghulam Mustafa/0000-0003-1230-7029 WOS: 000419944100076 PubMed: 29103112 Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is the leading non-conventional oilseed crop in Pakistan. Nitrogen fertilizer can affect plant growth and productivity by changing canopy size which has an effect on the radiation use efficiency (RUE) of the crop. The response of sunflower hybrids in terms of phenology, fraction of intercepted radiation (F-i), and RUE to nitrogenous rates (0, 60, 120, 180, and 240 kg ha(-1)) was studied in three field experiments conducted in three various environments: Multan (arid), Faisalabad (semi-arid), and Gujranwala (sub-humid) during spring seasons 2008 and 2009. The treatments were laid out according to a randomized complete block design with split plot arrangements, keeping the sunflower hybrids in main plots and nitrogen rates in subplots, and replicated three times. The results showed Hysun-38 took a maximum number of days to anthesis (101) as compared to Pioneer-64A93 (100) and Hysun-33 (99). The mean values of F-i were 0.850, 0.903, and 0.978, and the estimated values of RUE for total aboveground dry matter were 2.14, 2.47, and 2.65 g MJ(-1) at experimental locations of Multan, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala, respectively. The values of RUE for grain yield (RUEGY) were 0.78, 0.98, and 1.26 g MJ(-1) at experimental locations of Multan, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala, respectively. The average RUEGY values over three locations were 2.61, 2.60, 2.43, and 2.36 g MJ(-2) in N-4 (180 kg ha(-1)), N-5 (240 kg ha(-1)), N-3 (120 kg ha(-1)), and N-2 (60 kg ha-1) treatments, respectively. Increasing rates of N increased RUEGY over the standard treatment N-3 (120 kg N ha(-1)); however, the averaged values over three locations were 1.22, 1.08, 0.99, and 0.92 g MJ(-2) in N-4, N-5, N-3, and N-2 treatments, respectively. Therefore, optimum water and N doses are important for attaining higher RUE, which may enhance sunflower growth and yield. Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF); University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan The first author is highly thankful to the Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) for the partial funding to present this work in a second International Balkan Agriculture Congress at the Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey (2017). Moreover, the first author is also appreciative to the Endowment Fund Secretariat, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, which was highly acknowledged for the partial financial support of this study.

Effective nitrogen (N) management strategies ensure optimal N status in rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants for improving crop growth and grain quality with optimal N use efficiency. In-season plant N status affects rice grain quality. The critical N (Nc) dilution curves have been applied for predicting in-season nitrogen requirement (NR) and grain yield in rice, however, its application for estimating rice grain quality at harvest is yet to be tested. This research was endeavored to establish the quantitative relationships of protein content (PC) and amylose content (AC) with nitrogen nutrition index (NNI), accumulated nitrogen deficit (AND), and NR at various growth stages during vegetative growth period of rice and to validate these relationships in Japonica and Indica rice ecotypes. Five multi-locational field trials with five rice cultivars and varied N application rates were carried out in eastern China. The quantitative relationships of PC and AC with NNI, AND, and NR at various growth stages in both rice ecotypes were highly significant (for Japonica and Indica, R2 > 0.88 and 0.85 for PC, R2 > 0.85 and 0.81 for AC, respectively). The strongest relations were observed for both rice ecotypes at later vegetative growth stages and periods. The validation of the developed quantitative relationships with the independent dataset revealed a solid model performance, especially during later vegetative growth period (R2 > 0.90, root mean square error

Auxins (IAA) and cytokinins (CKs) are the most influential phytohormones, having multifaceted roles in plants. They are key regulators of plant growth and developmental processes. Additionally, their interplay exerts tight control on plant development and differentiation. Although several reviews have been published detailing the auxin-cytokinin interplay in controlling root growth and differentiation, their roles in the shoot, particularly in leaf morphogenesis are largely unexplored. Recent reports have provided new insights on the roles of these two hormones and their interplay on leaf growth and development. In this review, we focus on the effect of auxins, CKs, and their interactions in regulating leaf morphogenesis. Additionally, the regulatory effects of the auxins and CKs interplay on the phyllotaxy of plants are discussed.

Soil salinity disrupts the physiological and biochemical processes of crop plants and ultimately leads to compromising future food security. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a contributor to nitric oxide (NO), holds the potential to alleviate abiotic stress effects and boost tolerance in plants, whereas less information is available on its role in salt-stressed lentils. We examined the effect of exogenously applied SNP on salt-stressed lentil plants by monitoring plant growth and yield-related attributes, biochemistry of enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD)) amassing of leaf malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Salinity stress was induced by NaCl application at concentrations of 50 mM (moderate salinity) and 100 mM (severe salinity), while it was alleviated by SNP application at concentrations of 50 µM and 100 µM. Salinity stress severely inhibited the length of roots and shoots, the relative water content, and the chlorophyll content of the leaves, the number of branches, pods, seeds, seed yield, and biomass per plant. In addition, MDA, H2O2 as well as SOD, CAT, and POD activities were increased with increasing salinity levels. Plants supplemented with SNP (100 µM) showed a significant improvement in the growth- and yield-contributing parameters, especially in plants grown under moderate salinity (50 mM NaCl). Essentially, the application of 100 µM SNP remained effective to rescue lentil plants under moderate salinity by regulating plant growth and biochemical pathways. Thus, the exogenous application of SNP could be developed as a useful strategy for improving the performance of lentil plants in salinity-prone environments.

Spatial variations in extreme precipitation events make hydrological, climatological, social, environmental and agricultural effects on a country. This study presents the spatiotemporal autocorrelation analysis of extreme precipitation events over Iran using gridded data on daily precipitation for the period 1961–2010. The 95th percentile is considered as extreme precipitation factor. The spatial autocorrelation of extreme precipitation is examined by three commonly used spatial autocorrelation statistics, the G i statistic index, Moran’s I global index, and Local Moran’s I (LISA) index, at the 95 and 99% significant confidence level. The results showed a strong significant spatial autocorrelation for extreme precipitation events with the highest Moran’s I value in January. The positive significant autocorrelation of extreme precipitation is observed over the southern parts of the Caspian Sea and Zagros Mountains ranges, while the negative significant autocorrelation is observed over the central and eastern parts of country. In spring and summer the positive autocorrelation cores displace from the Zagros Mountains ranges to the northwestern and southeastern parts.

Unbalanced climate during the last decades has created spatially alarming and destructive situations in the world. Anomalies in temperature and precipitation enhance the risks for crop production in large agricultural region (especially the Southern Punjab) of Pakistan. Detailed analysis of historic weather data (1980–2011) record helped in creating baseline data to compare with model projection (SimCLIM) for regional level. Ensemble of 40 GCMs used for climatic projections with greenhouse gas (GHG) representative concentration pathways (RCP-4.5, 6.0, 8.5) was selected on the baseline comparison and used for 2025 and 2050 climate projection. Precipitation projected by ensemble and regional weather observatory at baseline showed highly unpredictable nature while both temperature extremes showed 95 % confidence level on a monthly projection. Percentage change in precipitation projected by model with RCP-4.5, RCP-6.0, and RCP-8.5 showed uncertainty 3.3 to 5.6 %, 2.9 to 5.2 %, and 3.6 to 7.9 % for 2025 and 2050, respectively. Percentage change of minimum temperature from base temperature showed that 5.1, 4.7, and 5.8 % for 2025 and 9.0, 8.1, and 12.0 % increase for projection year 2050 with RCP-4.5, 6.0, and 8.5 and maximum temperature 2.7, 2.5, and 3.0 % for 2025 and 4.7, 4.4, and 6.4 % for 2050 will be increased with RCP-4.5, 6.0, and 8.5, respectively. Uneven increase in precipitation and asymmetric increase in temperature extremes in future would also increase the risk associated with management of climatic uncertainties. Future climate projection will enable us for better risk management decisions.

Paddy soils have a heterogenous nature, with complex physico-chemical interactions and varying soil characteristics. Paddy soils remain flooded and are considered as rich sources of nutrients for plant growth. The nutrient levels mostly depend on different management practices, such as fertilizer application, irrigation, and tillage, and the movement of nutrients in the soils. These paddy soils normally show less movement of applied nutrients out of the medium than other soils, because of stagnant water that reduces the mobility rate. Paddy soils can become polluted by anthropogenic practices such as the use of sewage wastewater; industrial wastewater containing heavy metals; fertilizers; and pesticides, and the leakage of petrochemicals. Some natural pollutants can be oxidized by microbial activity, but most pollutants do not undergo biotic and chemical degradation. Inorganic (heavy metals) and organic pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, and polychlorinated dibenzofurans) are the major types of pollutants in paddy soils. The numerous organic and inorganic pollutants resulting from anthropogenic activities can remain for long periods in nature and can be transported over long distances. In particular, organic pollutants can be bioaccumulated and biomagnified, thus reaching high levels that can be dangerous for human wellbeing and biological communities. Inorganic pollutants such as the heavy metals Pb, Cr, As, Zn, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Ni cause hazards for human health, for plants, for animals, and for the fertility status of the soil. These heavy metals are common pollutants in paddy soil and they bioaccumulate; in this way the concentrations of these pollutants increase in living systems, owing to their retention rates being higher than their discharge rates in these systems. The fate of these pollutants depends on their bioavailability, degradation by microorganisms, adsorption, desorption, leaching, and runoff. The transport and degradation of these pollutants in paddy soils and groundwater results in contamination. The physico-chemical characteristics of the paddy soil framework; for example, the water content, soil organic matter, presence of clay, and pH, influence the sorption or desorption and degradation of pollutants and also influence leaching to the groundwater and runoff to surface waters. The translocation of natural pesticides in paddy soils depends upon the ionic or neutral behavior of the soil constituents, on the pesticides’ solubility in water, extremity on the substance, and the colloidal nature of the paddy soils.

Soil contamination with heavy metals is threatening the food security around the globe. Chromium (Cr) contamination results in poor quality and reduction in yield of crops. The present research was performed to figure out the Cr toxicity in sunflower and the ameliorative role of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) as a plant growth regulator. The sunflower (FH-614) was grown under increasing concentration of Cr (0, 5, 10 and 20mgkg-1) alone and/or in combination with 5-ALA (0, 10 and 20mgL-1). Results showed that Cr suppressed the overall growth, biomass, gas exchange attributes and chlorophyll content of sunflower plants. Moreover, lower levels of Cr (5 and 10mgkg-1) increased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and electrolyte leakage (EL) along with the activities of antioxidant enzymes i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacole peroxidase (POD), ascorbate (APX), catalase (CAT). But at higher concentration of Cr (20mgkg-1), the activities of these enzymes presented a declining trend. However, the addition of 5-ALA significantly alleviated the Cr-induced toxicity in sunflower plant and enhanced the plant growth and biomass parameters along with increased chlorophyll content, gas exchange attributes, soluble proteins and soil plant analysis development (SPAD) values by scavenging the ROS and lowering down the EL. The 5-ALA also enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes at all levels of Cr. The increase in Cr concentration in all plant parts such as leaf, root and stem was directly proportional to the Cr concentration in soil. The application of 5-ALA further enhanced the uptake of Cr and its concentration in the plants. To understand this variation in response of plants to 5-ALA, detailed studies are required on plant biochemistry and genetic modifications.

Rice production is challenged by asymmetric rise in day and night temperatures. Efforts are required to improve our understanding about the impact of climate change induced asymmetrical fluctuations in temperature extremes. This paper presents first effort to investigate effect of post-anthesis asymmetric daytime, nighttime and diel warming, as predicted under low emission scenario (B1) of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), on yield and milling quality of two indica rice hybrids, Teyou-559 (susceptible) and Shanyou-63 (resistant), differing in response to temperature. Four canopy warming regimes, ambient reference (AT), daytime warming (HDT, +1.3 °C), nighttime warming (HNT, +2.7 °C), and diel warming (HDNT, +1.3/2.7 °C), were imposed through free-air temperature enhancement (FATE) facility using infrared heaters. Both hybrids responded differentially to daytime, nighttime and diel warming and shortened grain filling duration (1–2 days), reduced grain yield and 1000-grain weight were determined. Nighttime warming caused more deleterious impact than daytime or diel warming. These results indicate that the daytime (−4%), nighttime (−7%) and diel (−6%) warming under low emission scenario will have differential effects on rice production. This reduction is mainly due to differential decrease in grain weight. Resistant Shanyou-63 proved to be more susceptible to daytime warming, while susceptible Teyou-559 was affected more by nighttime and diel warming. Diel warming had significantly negative influence on head rice recovery of both cultivars, with slight inter-annual variation, followed by nighttime and daytime warming. Reduction in head rice recovery indicated the breakage of rice kernels. Daytime warming had greater effect on grain yield 1000-grain weight than nighttime warming considering per 1 °C warming. Effect of warming on yield and quality can be attributed to reduction in translocation of photosynthates during grain filling, resulting in reduced grain filling, grain weight and development of chalky kernels. Further studies are required to elucidate mechanism underlying differential response to asymmetric warming and to suggest appropriate management practices to minimize yield loses.