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Main conclusionHeat stress reduces strawberry growth and fruit quality by impairing photosynthesis, disrupting hormone regulation, and altering mineral nutrition. Multi-omics studies show extensive transcriptional, post-transcriptional, proteomic and metabolomic under high temperatures.Garden strawberry is a globally cultivated, economically important fruit crop highly susceptible to episodic heat waves and chronically rising temperatures associated with climate change. Heat stress negatively affects the growth, development, and quality of strawberries. Elevated temperatures affect photosynthesis, respiration, water balance, hormone signaling, and carbohydrate metabolism in strawberries. Heat stress reduces the size and number of leaves, the number of crowns, the differentiation of flower buds, and the viability of pollen and fruit set, ultimately leading to a lower yield. On a physiological level, heat stress reduces membrane stability, increases the production of reactive oxygen species, and reduces the antioxidant capacity of strawberries. Heat-tolerant varieties have better physiological and biochemical adaptation mechanisms compared to heat-sensitive varieties. Breeding heat-tolerant strawberry cultivars involves selection for traits such as increased leaf temperature, membrane thermostability, and chlorophyll content. Multi-omics studies show extensive transcriptional, post-transcriptional, proteomic, metabolomic, and ionomic reprogramming at high temperatures. Integrative-omics approaches combine multiple omics datasets to obtain a systemic understanding of the responses to heat stress in strawberries. This article summarizes the deciphering of strawberry responses to heat stress using physiological, biochemical, and molecular approaches that will enable the development of resilient adaptation strategies that sustain strawberry production under global climate change.

Since ancient times, seaweeds have been employed as source of highly bioactive secondary metabolites that could act as key medicinal components. Furthermore, research into the biological activity of certain seaweed compounds has progressed significantly, with an emphasis on their composition and application for human and animal nutrition. Seaweeds have many uses: they are consumed as fodder, and have been used in medicines, cosmetics, energy, fertilizers, and industrial agar and alginate biosynthesis. The beneficial effects of seaweed are mostly due to the presence of minerals, vitamins, phenols, polysaccharides, and sterols, as well as several other bioactive compounds. These compounds seem to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antimicrobial, and anti-diabetic activities. Recent advances and limitations for seaweed bioactive as a nutraceutical in terms of bioavailability are explored in order to better comprehend their therapeutic development. To further understand the mechanism of action of seaweed chemicals, more research is needed as is an investigation into their potential usage in pharmaceutical companies and other applications, with the ultimate objective of developing sustainable and healthier products. The objective of this review is to collect information about the role of seaweeds on nutritional, pharmacological, industrial, and biochemical applications, as well as their impact on human health.

In recent years, the harmful effects of drought stress have been be mitigated by using bioactive compounds such as antioxidants and osmolytes. In this research, pot experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of ascorbic acid, glutathione and proline on alleviating the harmful effect of drought stress in chickpea plants during season 2017. Chickpea plant seeds were soaked in ascorbic acid (0.75 mM), glutathione (0.75 mM), proline (0.75 mM) singly and/or in sequence combinations for 4 h and then planted in pots. The pots were irrigated with water after seven days (to serve as control), after 14 days (moderate drought stress) and after 28 days (severe drought stress). The sequence combination of antioxidants and proline under drought stress has not been studied yet. The results showed significantly decreased in plant growth, yielding characteristics, photosynthetic pigments and soluble protein content in response to moderate and severe drought stress. Moreover, treatment with antioxidants caused increment the antioxidant enzyme activity, non-enzymatic antioxidant (ascorbic acid and glutathione) contents and endogenous proline in stressed and unstressed plants. In conclusion, The sequence combination of antioxidants and proline caused improvement in plant growth under drought stress by up-regulating the antioxidant defense system and osmolyte synthesis.

This research was carried out in order to demonstrate that mulching the ground helps to conserve water, because agricultural sustainability in dryland contexts is threatened by drought, heat stress, and the injudicious use of scarce water during the cropping season by minimizing surface evaporation. Improving soil moisture conservation is an ongoing priority in crop outputs where water resources are restricted and controlled. One of the reasons for the desire to use less water in agriculture is the rising demand brought on by the world’s growing population. In this study, the use of organic or biodegradable mulches was dominated by organic materials, while inorganic mulches are mostly comprised of plastic-based components. Plastic film, crop straw, gravel, volcanic ash, rock pieces, sand, concrete, paper pellets, and livestock manures are among the materials put on the soil surface. Mulching has several essential applications, including reducing soil water loss and soil erosion, enriching soil fauna, and improving soil properties and nutrient cycling in the soil. It also reduces the pH of the soil, which improves nutrient availability. Mulching reduces soil deterioration by limiting runoff and soil loss, and it increases soil water availability by reducing evaporation, managing soil temperature, or reducing crop irrigation requirements. This review paper extensively discusses the benefits of organic or synthetic mulches for crop production, as well as the uses of mulching in soil and water conservation. As a result, it is very important for farmers to choose mulching rather than synthetic applications.

Cucumber mosaic cucumovirus (CMV) is a deadly plant virus that results in crop-yield losses with serious economic consequences. In recent years, environmentally friendly components have been developed to manage crop diseases as alternatives to chemical pesticides, including the use of natural compounds such as glycine betaine (GB) and chitosan (CHT), either alone or in combination. In the present study, the leaves of the cucumber plants were foliar-sprayed with GB and CHT—either alone or in combination—to evaluate their ability to induce resistance against CMV. The results showed a significant reduction in disease severity and CMV accumulation in plants treated with GB and CHT, either alone or in combination, compared to untreated plants (challenge control). In every treatment, growth indices, leaf chlorophylls content, phytohormones (i.e., indole acetic acid, gibberellic acid, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid), endogenous osmoprotectants (i.e., proline, soluble sugars and glycine betaine), non-enzymatic antioxidants (i.e., ascorbic acid, glutathione and phenols) and enzymatic antioxidants (i.e., superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, catalase, lipoxygenase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase, chitinase and β-1,3 glucanase) of virus-infected plants were significantly increased. On the other hand, malondialdehyde and abscisic acid contents have been significantly reduced. Based on a gene expression study, all treated plants exhibited increased expression levels of some regulatory defense genes such as PR1 and PAL1. In conclusion, the combination of GB and CHT is the most effective treatment in alleviated virus infection. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the induction of systemic resistance against CMV by using GB.

Lead (Pb) is a toxic heavy metal (HM) that harms plant growth and productivity. Phytohormones, such as jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA), and osmoprotectants, such as proline (Pro), play an important role in the physiological and biochemical processes of plants. We investigated the effect of exogenous applications of JA, SA, Pro, and their combination on Pb-stress tolerance in maize as well as their effect on physiological, biochemical, and yield traits. Pb exposure severely affected maize plants, reducing growth, yield, photosynthetic pigments, and mineral (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) nutrients, as well as enhancing electrolyte leakage (EL), malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, osmolytes, and non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants. The application of JA, SA, Pro, and their combination enhanced plant growth and induced pigment biosynthesis, and decreased EL, MDA accumulation, and Pb concentration. All treatments enhanced Pro and total soluble sugar production, glutathione activity, ascorbic acid, phenol, superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and mineral nutrients. JA, SA, and Pro application improved physiological processes directly or indirectly, thereby enhancing the ability of maize plants to overcome oxidative damage caused by Pb toxicity. The combination of JA, SA, and Pro was the most efficient treatment for maize plant growth and development, eliminating the negative consequences of Pb stress.

A pot experiment was conducted to observe the effect of salicylic acid on qualitative and quantitative attributes of tomato plants under salinity stress at Agriculture Research Institute Tarnab, Peshawar during the summer season 2016. The experiment was conducted in a shade house and laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) having 12 treatments and replicated thrice. After 15 days of transplantation tomato plants (cv. Rio Grande) were subjected to various levels of salinity (0, 30, 60 and 90 mM) and to foliar application of salicylic acid (0, 0.5 and 1 mM) at 6 days after salinity stress. Results revealed that salinity stress (90 mM NaCl) significantly reduced the fruit length (4.71 cm), fruit diameter (3.95 cm), number of fruits plant−1 (13), yield pot−1 (0.51 kg), fruit dry matter (6.89 g), and pH (4.14) with increase in fruit firmness (2.72 kg · cm2), total soluble solids (TSS, 8.87 0Brix) and vitamin C (18.07 mg · 100 ml). The foliar application of salicylic acid at 0.5 mM significantly reduced the harmful effect of salt stress and improved the fruit length (5.02 cm), fruit diameter (4.17 cm), number of fruits plant−1 (18.67), yield pot−1 (0.86 kg), fruit dry matter (9.04 g), fruit firmness (2.68 kg · cm2), TSS (9.05 0Brix), pH (4.33) and vitamin C (17.28 mg · 100 ml). Regarding in interaction both salinity and salicylic acid significantly affected all the variables except fruit firmness, total soluble solids, pH and vitamin C. From the present study it can be concluded that salinity reduced the quantitative attributes while it increased the qualitative attributes except pH. Therefore, salicylic acid at 0.5 mM might be applied to the tomato plant under saline condition up to 90 mM which could effectively alleviates the deleterious effect of salt stress.

The worldwide textile industry extensively uses azo dyes, which pose serious health and environmental risks. Effective cleanup is necessary but challenging. Developing bioremediation methods for textile effluents will improve color removal efficiency. The recent attention to effectively utilizing microbes to convert toxic industrial azo dyes into non-hazardous compounds has garnered significant attention. In the present study, four fungal strains— Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus niger , and Fusarium oxysporium —were employed to screen for the degradation and detoxification of azo dyes including congo red, crystal violet, bromophenol blue, and malachite green. After eight days, A. flavus had degraded azo dyes at the maximum proportion. The maximum decolorization (%) was achieved at 50 mg/L of dye concentration, 8 days of incubation, pH 6, 30 °C temperature, sucrose as a carbon source, NaNO 3 as a nitrogen source, Ca +2 as minerals, and using static culture. The efficient production of laccases, lignin peroxidase, and manganese peroxidase enzymes by A. flavus proved that the enzyme played a crucial role in decolorizing the harmful azo dyes. The Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) data validated the decolorization and degradation process brought on by absorption and biodegradation. Compared to control plants, the results of the phytotoxicity assay showed that the degraded product was less harmful to maize and common bean plant's growth and germination rates. As a result, the findings indicate that A. flavus is a viable option for remediating azo dyes. This aids in the biodegradation of azo dyes found in wastewater.

Boron (B) is a microelement required in vascular plants at a high concentration that produces excess boron and toxicity in many crops. B stress occurs widely and limits plant growth and crop productivity worldwide. Salicylic acid (SA) is an essential hormone in plants and is a phenolic compound. The goal of this work is to explore the role of SA in the alleviation of excess B (10 mg L−1) in watermelon plants at a morphological and biochemical level. Excess boron altered the nutrient concentrations and caused a significant reduction in morphological criteria; chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoids; net photosynthetic rate; and the stomatal conductance and transpiration rate of watermelon seedlings, while intercellular carbon dioxide (CO2) was significantly increased compared to the control plants (0.5 mg L−1 B). Furthermore, excess boron accelerated the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and induced cellular oxidative injury. The application of exogenous SA significantly increased chlorophyll and carotenoid contents in plants exposed to excess B (10 mg L−1), in line with the role of SA in alleviating chlorosis caused by B stress. Exogenously applied SA promoted photosynthesis and, consequently, biomass production in watermelon seedlings treated with a high level of B (10 mg L−1) by reducing B accumulation, lipid peroxidation, and the generation of H2O2, while significantly increasing levels of the most reactive ROS, OH−. SA also activated antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and protected the seedlings from an ROS induced cellular burst. In conclusion, SA can be used to alleviate the adverse effects of excess boron.

There is growing interest in the production and characterization of bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS) because of their diverse range of applications. This study aimed to examine the production of EPS by Pseudomonas aeruginosa AG01, to characterize the produced EPS and its application as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antibiofilm, antitumor, and antiviral activity. The results indicated that the ideal conditions for achieving the highest production of EPS included an incubation period of 96 h, a pH level of 6, and a temperature of 32 °C in a nutrient broth medium. The most efficient sources of carbon and nitrogen for the formation of EPS were found to be galactose, glucose, yeast extract, and peptone. Several functional groups were confirmed to be present by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy including amino groups, amides, carboxylic acids, hydroxyl groups, and phosphates. In the same respect, EPS has antioxidant activity. Moreover, EPS produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa AG01 demonstrated antibacterial activity against various Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria, and yeast, besides antibiofilm activity about 98.93%, 98.86%, 98.63%, and 97.19% for Bacillus subtilis , Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Escherichia coli , respectively as well as anticancer activity against prostate cancer (PC3) and breast cancer (MCF7) cells with IC50 values of 156.41 and 156.41 µg/ml, respectively. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that MCF7 cells treated with EPS at a concentration of 500 µg/ml for 48 h showed a reduction in the percentage of cells in both the G0/G1 and S phases compared to the untreated control MCF7 cells. EPS resulted in apoptosis induction in MCF7 cells using the Annexin V-FITC PI staining method. The findings indicate that EPS demonstrates significant antiviral activity against both the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) and the hepatitis A virus (HAV). In conclusion, EPS has great potential to be developed as a natural antioxidant or used in medicine and pharmaceuticals.