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The global population surge presents a dual challenge and opportunity in the realms of food consumption, safety, and mental well-being. This necessitates a projected 70% increase in food production to meet growing demands. Amid this backdrop, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates these issues, underscoring the need for a deeper understanding of the intricate interplay between food consumption patterns and mental health dynamics during this crisis. Mitigating the spread of COVID-19 hinges upon rigorous adherence to personal hygiene practices and heightened disease awareness. Furthermore, maintaining stringent food quality and safety standards across both public and private sectors is imperative for safeguarding public health and containing viral transmission. Drawing upon existing research, this study delves into the pandemic’s impact on mental health, food consumption habits, and food safety protocols. Through a comprehensive analysis, it aims to elucidate the nuanced relationship among food, food safety, and mental well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting synergistic effects and dynamics that underpin holistic human welfare. Our study offers a novel approach by integrating psychological wellness with food security and safety. In conceiving this review, we aimed to comprehensively explore the intricate interplay among food security, safety, and psychological wellness amid the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our review is structured to encompass a thorough examination of existing research, synthesizing insights into the multifaceted relationships among food consumption patterns, mental health dynamics, and food safety protocols during the crisis. Our findings provide valuable insights and practical recommendations for enhancing food security and psychological well-being, thus supporting both academic research and real-world applications in crisis management and policy development.

Climate change significantly threatens crops, mainly through drought stress, affecting barley, which is essential for food and feed globally. Ten barley cultivars were evaluated under normal and drought stress conditions during the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, focusing on traits such as days to heading and maturity, plant height, number of spikes m−2, spike length, 1000-kernel weight, and biological and grain yield. Drought stress significantly reduced most of these traits. The genotypes showed significant differences in their responses to irrigation treatments, with the interaction between seasons and cultivars also being significant for most traits. The grain yield and 1000-kernel weight were among the least affected traits under drought stress, respectively. Notably, Giza138 and Giza126 showed strong drought tolerance, suitable for drought-resilient breeding. In season one, Giza126, Giza134, and Giza138 yielded 13%, 9%, and 11%, respectively, while Giza135 and Giza129 showed higher reductions at 31% and 39%. In season two, Giza126, Giza134, and Giza138 had reductions of 14%, 10%, and 13%, respectively, while Giza135 and Giza129 again exhibited higher reductions at 31% and 38%. These cultivars also showed strong performance across various stress tolerance indices, including the MP, YSI, STI, GMP, and YI. Giza 134 demonstrated the lowest values for the SDI and TOL, indicating superior drought stress tolerance. On the other hand, Giza 129 and Giza 135 were the most sensitive to drought stress, experiencing significant reductions across critical traits, including 6.1% in days to heading, 18.37% in plant height, 28.21% in number of kernel spikes−1, 38.45% in grain yield, and 34.91% in biological yield. In contrast, Giza 138 and Giza 2000 showed better resilience, with lower reductions in the 1000-kernel weight (6.41%) and grain yield (10.61%), making them more suitable for drought-prone conditions. Giza 126 and Giza 132 also exhibited lower sensitivity, with minimal reductions in days to heading (2%) and maturity (2.4%), suggesting potential adaptability to water-limited environments. Giza 126 maintained the highest root lengths and had the highest stomatal conductance. Giza 138 consistently had the highest chlorophyll content, with SPAD values decreasing to 79% under drought. Despite leading in shoot length, Giza 135 decreased to 42.59% under drought stress. In conclusion, Giza 126 and Giza 138 showed adaptability to water-limited conditions with minimal impact on phenological traits. Giza 126 had the longest roots and highest stomatal conductance, while Giza 138 consistently maintained a high chlorophyll content. Together, they and Giza 134 are valuable for breeding programs to improve barley drought tolerance.

Heavy metal stress affects crop growth and yields as wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) growth and development are negatively affected under heavy metal stress. The study examined the effect of cobalt chloride (CoCl 2 ) stress on wheat growth and development. To alleviate this problem, a pot experiment was done to analyze the role of sulfur-rich thiourea (STU) in accelerating the defense system of wheat plants against cobalt toxicity. The experimental treatments were, i) Heavy metal stress (a) control and (b) Cobalt stress (300 µM), ii) STU foliar applications; (a) control and (b) 500 µM single dose was applied after seven days of stress, and iii) Wheat varieties (a) FSD-2008 and (b) Zincol-2016. The results revealed that cobalt stress decreased chlorophyll a by 10%, chlorophyll b by 16%, and carotenoids by 5% while foliar application of STU increased these photosynthetic pigments by 16%, 15%, and 15% respectively under stress conditions as in contrast to control. In addition, cobalt stress enhances hydrogen peroxide production by 11% and malondialdehyde (MDA) by 10%. In comparison, STU applications at 500 µM reduced the production of these reactive oxygen species by 5% and by 20% by up-regulating the activities of antioxidants. Results have revealed that the activities of SOD improved by 29%, POD by 25%, and CAT by 28% under Cobalt stress. Furthermore, the foliar application of STU significantly increased the accumulation of osmoprotectants as TSS was increased by 23% and proline was increased by 24% under cobalt stress. Among wheat varieties, FSD-2008 showed better adaptation under Cobalt stress by showing enhanced photosynthetic pigments and antioxidant activities compared to Zincol-2016. In conclusion, the foliar-applied STU can alleviate the negative impacts of Cobalt stress by improving plant physiological attributes and upregulating the antioxidant defense system in wheat. Graphical Abstract

Drought stress is a major abiotic stress affecting the performance of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L . ). The current study evaluated the effects of drought on wheat phenology, physiology, and biochemistry; and assessed the effectiveness of foliar-applied sulfhydryl thiourea to mitigate drought-induced oxidative stress. The treatments were: wheat varieties; V 1  = Punjab-2011, V 2  = Galaxy-2013, V 3  = Ujala-2016, and V 4  = Anaaj-2017, drought stress; D 1  = control (80% field capacity [FC]) and D 2  = drought stress (40% FC), at  the reproductive stage, and sulfhydryl thiourea (S) applications; S 0  = control-no thiourea and S 1  = foliar thiourea application @ 500 mg L −1 . Results of this study indicated that growth parameters, including height, dry weight, leaf area index (LAI), leaf area duration (LAD), crop growth rate (CGR), net assimilation rate (NAR) were decreased under drought stress-40% FC, as compared to control-80% FC. Drought stress reduced the photosynthetic efficiency, water potential, transpiration rates, stomatal conductances, and relative water contents by 18, 17, 26, 29, and 55% in wheat varieties as compared to control. In addition, foliar chlorophyll a, and b contents were also lowered under drought stress in all wheat varieties due to an increase in malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage. Interestingly, thiourea applications restored wheat growth and yield attributes by improving the production and activities of proline, antioxidants, and osmolytes under normal and drought stress as compared to control. Thiourea applications improved the osmolyte defense in wheat varieties as peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, proline, glycine betaine, and total phenolic were increased by 13, 20, 12, 17, 23, and 52%; while reducing the electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content by 49 and 32% as compared to control. Among the wheat varieties, Anaaj-2017 showed better resilience towards drought stress and also gave better response towards thiourea application based on morpho-physiological, biochemical, and yield attributes as compared to Punjab-2011, Galaxy-2013, and Ujala-2016. Eta-square values showed that thiourea applications, drought stress, and wheat varieties were key contributors to most of the parameters measured. In conclusion, the sulfhydryl thiourea applications improved the morpho-physiology, biochemical, and yield attributes of wheat varieties, thereby mitigating the adverse effects of drought.  Moving forward, detailed studies pertaining to the molecular and genetic mechanisms under sulfhydryl thiourea-induced drought stress tolerance are warranted.

Inadvertent accumulation of arsenic (As) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a concern for people depending on it for their subsistence, as it verily causes epigenetic alterations across the genome as well as in specific cells. To ensure food safety, certain attempts have been made to nullify this highest health hazard encompassing physiological, chemical and biological methods. Albeit, the use of mycorrhizal association along with nutrient reinforcement strategy has not been explored yet. Mechanisms of response and resistance of two rice genotypes to As with or without phosphorus (P) nutrition and Serendipita indica (S. indica; S.i) colonization were explored by root transcriptome profiling in the present study. Results revealed that the resistant genotype had higher auxin content and root plasticity, which helped in keeping the As accumulation and P starvation response to a minimum under alone As stress. However, sufficient P supply and symbiotic relationship switched the energy resources towards plant’s developmental aspects rather than excessive root proliferation. Higher As accumulating genotype (GD-6) displayed upregulation of ethylene signaling/biosynthesis, root stunting and senescence related genes under As toxicity. Antioxidant defense system and cytokinin biosynthesis/signaling of both genotypes were strengthened under As + S.i + P, while the upregulation of potassium (K) and zinc (Zn) transporters depicted underlying cross-talk with iron (Fe) and P. Differential expression of phosphate transporters, peroxidases and GSTs, metal detoxification/transport proteins, as well as phytohormonal metabolism were responsible for As detoxification. Taken together, S. indica symbiosis fortified with adequate P-fertilizer can prove to be effective in minimizing As acquisition and accumulation in rice plants.

Key message Serendipita indica induced metabolic reprogramming in colonized plants complements phosphorus-management in improving their tolerance to arsenic stress on multifaceted biological fronts. Restoration of the anthropic damage done to our environment is inextricably linked to devising strategies that are not only economically sound but are self-renewing and ecologically conscious. The dilemma of heavy metal (HM) dietary ingestion, especially arsenic (As), faced by humans and animals alike, necessitates the exploitation of such technologies and the cultivation of healthy and abundant crops. The remarkable symbiotic alliance between plants and ‘mycorrhizas’ has evolved across eons, benefiting growth/yield aspects as well as imparting abiotic/biotic stress tolerance. The intricate interdependence of Serendipita indica ( S. indica ) and rice plant reportedly reduce As accumulation, accentuating the interest of microbiologists, agriculturists, and ecotoxicological scientists apropos of the remediation mechanisms of As in the soil–AMF–rice system. Nutrient management, particularly of phosphorus (P), is also praised for mitigating As phytotoxicity by deterring the uptake of As molecules due to the rhizospheric cationic competition. Taking into consideration the reasonable prospects of success in minimizing As acquisition by rice plants, this review focuses on the physiological, metabolic, and transcriptional alterations underlying S. indica symbiosis, recuperation of As stress together with nutritional management of P by gathering case studies and presenting successful paradigms. Weaving together a volume of literature, we assess the chemical forms of As and related transport pathways, discuss As–P–rice interaction and the significance of fungi in As toxicity mitigation, predominantly the role of mycorrhiza, as well as survey of the multifaceted impacts of S. indica on plants. A potential strategy for simultaneous S. indica  + P administration in paddy fields is proposed, followed by future research orientation to expand theoretic comprehension and encourage field-based implementation.