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Salt excretory halophytes are the major sources of phytoremediation of salt-affected soils. Cressa cretica is a widely distributed halophyte in hypersaline lands in the Cholistan Desert. Therefore, identification of key physio-anatomical traits related to phytoremediation in differently adapted C. cretica populations was focused on. Four naturally adapted ecotypes of non-succulent halophyte Cressa cretica L. form hyper-arid and saline desert Cholistan. The selected ecotypes were: Derawar Fort (DWF, ECe 20.8 dS m−1) from least saline site, Traway Wala Toba (TWT, ECe 33.2 dS m−1) and Bailah Wala Dahar (BWD, ECe 45.4 dS m−1) ecotypes were from moderately saline sites, and Pati Sir (PAS, ECe 52.4 dS m−1) was collected from the highly saline site. The natural population of this species was collected and carefully brought to the laboratory for different structural and functional traits. As a result of high salinity, Na+, Cl–, K+, and Ca2+ content significantly increased at root and shoot level. At root level, some distinctive modifications such as increased sclerification in vascular bundles, enlarged vascular bundles, metaxylem vessels, phloem region, and storage parenchyma (cortex) are pivotal for water storage under extreme arid and osmotic condition. At the stem level, enhanced sclerification in outer cortex and vascular bundles, stem cellular area, cortical proportion, metaxylem and phloem area, and at the leaf level, very prominent structural adaptations were thicker and smaller leaves with increased density of salt glands and trichomes at surface, few and large stomata, reduced cortical and mesophyll parenchyma, and narrow xylem vessels and phloem area represent their non-succulent nature. The ecotype collected from hypersaline environments was better adapted regarding growth traits, ion uptake and excretion, succulence, and phytoremediation traits. More importantly, structural and functional traits such as root length and biomass, accumulation of toxic ions along with K+ in root and shoot, accumulation of Ca2+ in shoot and Mg2+ in root, excretion of toxic ions were the highest in this ecotype. In conclusion, all these alterations strongly favor water conservation, which certainly contributes to ecotypes survival under salt-induced physiological drought. Naturally adapted salt tolerant plants provide exceptional material for exploring adaptive mechanisms they use to confront high salt concentrations. Cressa cretica is a hypersaline hyperarid desert colonizer, which was previously underexplored. In the present study, we focused on the new insight on relationship among anatomical modifications, salt accumulation and excretion and phytoremediation potential of this rare species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, heat, and cold stress prevailing in natural habitats affect plant growth and development. Different species modify their structural and functional traits to combat these abiotic stresses while growing in stressful environments. Cenchrus species, i.e., Cenchrus pennisetiformis, C. setiger, and C. prieurii are widely distributed grasses found growing all over the world. Samples from natural populations were collected from different ecological regions in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa that were exposed to aridity, salinity, and cold, while one site was designated as normal control. In the present study, structural and functional modifications of three Cenchrus species under abiotic stresses were evaluated. It was expected that each Cenchrus species may evolve different strategies to cope with multiple abiotic stresses. All Cenchrus species responded differently whether growing in normal environment or stressful conditions. The most remarkable feature for survival in C. pennisetiformis under cold stress was increased inflorescence and increased stem and root lignification. C. prieurii showed better tolerance to saline and cold environments. C. setiger showed better development of leaf sheath anatomical traits. The structural and functional modifications in Cenchrus species such as development of mechanical tissues provided structural support, while dermal and parenchymatous tissues increased water storage capacity and minimized water loss. An increase in the concentration of organic osmolytes and ionic content aids turgor pressure maintenance and ionic content crucial for plant growth and development. It was concluded that structural and functional alterations in all Cenchrus species were very specific and critical for survival under different environmental stresses. The ecological fitness of these species relied on maintenance of growth and biomass production, and the development of mechanical, vascular, dermal and parenchyma tissues under stressful environmental conditions. Moreover, accumulation of beneficial ions (K+ and Ca2+) and organic osmolytes were critical in turgor maintenance, hence survival of Cenchrus spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chrysopogon serrulatus (false beard-grass) is a dominant component of vegetation in the foothills of the Himalayas. To study whole plant morphology, individuals of C. serrulatus were collected from three plots at each of six locations spanning from 400 to 1,400 m. The population colonizing the highest elevation showed noticeable morphological modifications in different plant organs. Roots showed increased xeromorphy, specifically increased metaxylem number and area. In the stem, especially outside of the vascular tissue, there was intensive sclerification indicative of increased xeromorphy as a survival strategy. At the highest elevation, leaves were wider; aerenchyma formation and increased sclerification were noted in the leaf sheath; and a greater proportion of storage parenchyma was observed in the leaf blade, all indicators of succulence. In contrast, leaves at lower elevations had xeric morphological features such as increased epidermal thickness, sclerification and more developed metaxylem area. In conclusion, shifting of morphological features in below- and above-ground plant parts of C. serrulatus were linked to shifts in environmental factors along this elevation gradient, thus enabling the successful distribution of this species along this elevation gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro and macro-morphological features contribute to plants' tolerance to a variety of environmental pollutants. The contribution of such structural modifications in the phytoremediation potential of Diplachne fusca populations collected from five saline habitats were explored when treated with 100 to 400 mM NaCl for 75 days along with control. Structural modifications in the populations from the highest salinity included development of aerenchyma in stem instead of chlorenchyma, absence of excretory hairs in stem, and exceptionally large trichomes on the leaf surface to help excretion of excess salt. Large parenchyma cells provided more space for water and solute storage, while broad metaxylem vessels were linked to better conduction water and nutrients, which ultimately excreted via glandular hairs, microhairs, and vesicular hairs. Broad metaxylem vessels and exceptionally long hairs observed in the populations collected from 52 dS m−1. In conclusion, large stem aerenchyma, exceptionally large trichomes on the leaf surface, and tightly packed outer cortical region in roots with intensive sclerification just inside the epidermis accompanied with salt excretion via glandular hairs, microhairs, and vesicular hairs were the main anatomical modifications involved in the phytoremediation potential of D. fusca in hyper-saline environments. Morpho-anatomical characteristics of the differently adapted populations of Diplachne fusca has never been reported. In particular, structural variation in their mechanism of adaptation for salinity tolerance was investigated for the first time in current study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This correction notice addresses an error in the affiliation of one of the authors, Prashant Kaushik, in a paper titled "Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd. (Poaceae) Differentially Responds to Pre- and Post-Emergence Herbicides through Micro-Structural Alterations." The correct affiliation for Prashant Kaushik is "Independent Researcher, 46022 Valencia, Spain." The authors assure that this correction does not affect the scientific conclusions of the paper. The correction has been approved by the Academic Editor and the original publication has been updated. [Extracted from the article]

A pot experiment was conducted in Old Botanical Garden, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (2016-2017)to study the effect of waste water treatment on two verities of wheat i.e. Shafaq-06 and Lasani-08 in sand medium. Three treatments of water used which were control, anaerobic sewage water and aerobic sewage water. The experimental design was CRD with three replicates. Once in a week Hoagland's nutrient solution was applied to fulfill the requirement of nutrients. The effect of sewage water treatments on chlorophyll contents, biomass, leaf area and yield parameters were studied. Results of this experiment showed that sewage water application decreased the biomass, leaf area and yield attributes but increased the weight of seed, shoot Na+, chlorophyll a and carotenoids. All the attributes analyzed statistically. Shafaq-06 performed better in all attributes under stress and normal conditions except chlorophyll contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation was carried out to evaluate the impact of the allelopathic effect of Alstonia scholaris leaf extract on morphoanatomical and physiological characteristics of 5 wheat lines. Three extract dilutions were prepared, viz. 0 (control), 15 and 30% of the aqueous extract and sprayed on wheat lines (3094, 5066, M5082, 7076 and A2011) at 15-day intervals until maturity from November 2017 to May 2018. All wheat lines responded differently to an allelochemical extract of A. scholaris. Disintegration of root parenchyma and transformation of stem chlorenchyma to sclerenchyma in stems were noted in Line 3094. Increased sclerification in the root cortex (141.7-212.5 µm) and stem hypodermal region (212.5-354.2 µm) was recorded in Line 5066. Line M5082 showed intensive sclerification in the root cortex and vascular region, and around stem vascular bundles along with a significant decrease in leaf thickness. Line 7076 was the most sensitive genotype showing significant reduction in the stem (1402.8-821.8 µm) and root area (963.5- 791.9 µm) and leaf thickness (1346.2-396.8 µm). Line A2011 responded very differently by increasing proportion of parenchyma and sclerenchyma. A low concentration (15%) of allelochemical extract promoted growth and development and a high concentration (30%) was toxic, causing growth retardation and tissue damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]