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Early-generation sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) breeding requires high-throughput phenotyping of large unreplicated populations across contrasting environments. A DJI Phantom 4 Multispectral UAV was flown at 40, 80, and 120 m above ground level (AGL) over 588 M2 genotypes under full irrigation (ENV1) and terminal drought (ENV2; irrigation withheld from reproductive onset) on four dates (July–September 2025). Structure-from-motion canopy height models were compared with ground measurements, and four spectral reflectance indices—Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalised Difference Red Edge (NDRE), Green Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI), and Leaf Chlorophyll Index (LCI)—were derived from 40 m imagery. Ordinary least squares (OLS), Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting were evaluated under leave-one-genotype-out (LOGO), leave-one-environment-out (LOEO), and leave-one-date-out (LODO) cross-validation; genotypic repeatability was quantified by intraclass correlation (ICC), and drought performance was ranked by a composite Stress Tolerance Index (STI) validated against an independent breeder assessment. The 40 m altitude gave the highest height accuracy (R2 = 0.812 in ENV1; 0.663 in ENV2). LOGO accuracy (R2 ≈ 0.83) fell to R2 ≈ 0.55 under LODO—the operationally relevant figure for a new phenological stage—and the full structural–spectral OLS model collapsed (R2 = −0.203) where tree ensembles remained stable. Spectral-index repeatability was up to ~2-fold higher under stress (ICC(3,4) > 0.84). The composite STI flagged 38 elite genotypes (7.6% of 498); 10 of its top 30 were confirmed in the breeder’s 48-best selection from all 588 rows—a 4.1-fold enrichment over chance (hypergeometric p = 4.5 × 10−5).

In the Mediterranean basin, olive cultivation occupies the largest share of agricultural land, due to the region’s favorable soil and climatic conditions. However, the intensification of farming systems has had negative environmental impacts, for which diversified approaches such as agroforestry offer a potential solution. The objective of the present study was to determine the growth of barley, triticale, and pea as cover crops, as well as the respective intercrops in olive orchards and their productivity. The results showed that the intercropping of pea with barley and triticale had the highest yields in dry biomass compared to the other treatments, while barley monoculture recorded the highest yield in terms of grain. The findings demonstrated that intercropping enhances resource-use efficiency, particularly in terms of land productivity, Radiation-Use Efficiency, and Water-Use Efficiency. However, competitive dynamics varied significantly between species and across years, with pea often exhibiting dominance in biomass production, while cereals showed trade-offs in seed yield components due to shading and interspecific competition. These findings can be used for sustainable intensification strategies, ensuring higher productivity while minimizing external inputs in climate-vulnerable regions.

Intercropping is the cultivation of two or more crop species in the same space for a considerable proportion of the growth period. Farmers use cultivars that were bred under monoculture and there are no cultivars that have been evaluated under intercropping systems. The objective of the present study was to evaluate different cultivars of pea and wheat on intercropping systems. The experiment was conducted for two successive growing seasons (2018–2019 and 2019–2020) at the University Farm of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, using two cultivars of field pea and six cultivars of bread wheat, and all their mixture combinations. The growing seasons, the intercropping treatments, and the cultivars affected the grain yield, the yield components, and the land equivalent ratio (LER) and actual yield loss (AYL) values. The different cultivars showed different responses under the intercropping treatments, indicating that there are cultivars that show higher grain yield in mixtures. Based on the mean grain yield for both growing seasons, the mixture ‘Isard’–‘Mavragani’ showed higher grain yield by 86.5% and 55.7% compared with the mean grain yield of all other mixtures and monocultures, respectively. The total LER value of ‘Isard’–‘Mavragani’ was high in both years: 1.954 and 1.693 in 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, respectively. This multicriteria evaluation of winter wheat and field pea varieties exhibited the need for the selection of appropriate cultivars for intercropping systems that were previously assessed under intercropping conditions before their exploitation from the farmers.

Intercropping is an old and commonly used agricultural practice and involves the cultivation of two or more crops in the same area of land at the same time and may improve yield, the use of the environmental resources, product quality, and soil health. The objective of the present study was to study the effect of water availability of wheat-pea intercrops using agronomic and physiological characteristics. The experiment was conducted at the farm of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece during two growing seasons 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 using two different cultivars from pea (Isard and Olympos) and wheat (Yecora E and Elissavet) and two irrigation regimes. The availability of water increased grain yield and affected most of the characteristics that were studied. In terms of total Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) there was a yield advantage of intercrops over monocrops, which indicates the efficiency of intercropping for using the environmental resources. Both wheat cultivars, the pea cultivar Olympos and their intercrops indicated high adaptation capacity to rainfed conditions, whereas Isard and its intercrops performed better under irrigation. Therefore, the intercropping of wheat with pea uses the water resources of the environment more efficiently and can be used in dry land conditions for higher yield.

Addressing principal challenges in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) breeding requires a holistic approach. A combined strategy was implemented to assess seven genotypes (landraces and commercial varieties) for yield potential, stability and resistance to bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) under Mediterranean low-input conditions. Pure-line selection and prognostic breeding together with SSR and CAPS-SCAR marker-assisted selection (MAS) formed the core methodology. Significant variation was detected across 24 morpho-agronomic descriptors, while SSR revealed 48.57% polymorphic loci and private alleles in specific landraces. High genetic coefficients of variation and high heritability were recorded for yield-related traits. Phenotypical evaluation showed diverse responses to BCMV, with mild symptoms predominating (52.14%). Entries G1 (45%) and G5 (35%) exhibited the highest frequency of the symptomless resistant phenotype. Molecular screening at I and bc-3/eIF4E loci confirmed G5’s robust dominant I gene profile, while G1 included individuals carrying both the dominant I gene and recessive bc-3, offering a valuable source for pyramiding resistance. Additionally, G1 (LI = 2.35; 100%) performed strongly in productivity, whereas G2 (SI = 3.1; 100%) and G7 (SI = 2.8; 89.7%) exhibited exceptional stability. Overall, the mixed-model approach highlighted the complementary characteristics of the tested genotypes and identified G1, G2, G5 and G7 as promising candidates for future breeding programs targeting high yield, low-input adaptability and resistance to BCMV.

The term intercropping is used to describe agricultural systems where at least two or more species are cultivated in the same field for a portion of their biological cycle. It is an ancient agricultural practice that, with the evolution of agriculture, the prevalence of intensive cultivation systems, and the use of multiple inputs became mostly restricted to developing countries. However, due to climate instability and uncertainty about weather conditions, interest in intercropping has been revived in recent years. The objective of the present study was to determine which faba bean cultivar can be used with wheat cultivars to achieve higher yields and to examine the interaction between the cultivars in intercropping systems. It was found that the combination of Flamenko with Polycarpi gave the highest yield and showed complementarity in the interaction between these cultivars that also have the highest yield; also, the other indices that were used showed a good response on the intercropping system and the LER was 1.30 and 1.19 for the first and the second year of the study, respectively. Therefore, there are faba bean and wheat cultivars that are better adapted to intercropping conditions and can be utilized by farmers to enhance productivity.

Intercropping is the simultaneous cultivation of two or more crops species in the same space for a considerable proportion of the growth period. Intercropping has several advantages and is used in both traditional and sustainable agriculture. The objective of the present study was to study the interactions among different pea and wheat cultivars and the effect of water availability on wheat-pea mixtures and the competition between the two species. The experiment was conducted for two successive growing seasons using two different irrigation regimes and two cultivars from each species. The different treatments were evaluated using morphological and agronomic characteristics. Intercropping treatment, cultivars, and irrigation level affected most of the characteristics that were studied and the competition between the two species. Biomass was higher by 47% and leaf area index by 34% under irrigation compared to the rainfed conditions. The different cultivars showed different response under the two water regimes. Based on the intercropping indices, the mixture ‘Yecora E’ - ‘Isard’ is favoured under irrigation while the combination ‘Elissavet’ - ‘Isard’ under low water availability. There was interaction between cultivars and irrigation and using different cultivars in intercropping can have higher yield advantage than monocropping by exploiting the environmental resources more efficiently. Therefore, the use of appropriate cultivars in mixtures can affect the growth, biomass yield and competition between the two species leading to higher yield and greater economic return.

The health-promoting effects of lentil seeds due to phenolic compounds and other antioxidants make lentils a potential source of functional food or feed ingredients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of genotype and growing environment on the phytochemical contents and antioxidant activities such as ABTS (2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) assays of soluble extracts from five lentil cultivars grown in ten diverse locations over a 2-year experimental period. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total proanthocyanidin content (TPAC), total hydrolyzed tannin content (TNC), tocopherols and carotenoids were investigated. The major proanthocyanidins and individual polyphenols were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Our results indicated that flavanols were the main phenolic compounds in hydrophilic extracts, followed by phenolic acids. Concerning lipophilic extracts, tocopherols and carotenoids were the main components, with γ-tocopherol and lutein being the predominant isomers, respectively. In general, both genetic and environmental effects had a strong impact on all bioactive components tested. Greater variation due to environmental effects was found for phenolic compounds (TPC, TFC and TPAC) and antioxidant activities; however, tocopherols and carotenoids revealed a high genotypic dependence. The principal component analysis highlighted the genotypes with higher content of antioxidants and stability across environments. The red lentil population “03-24L” was characterized as a promising genetic material due to its high phenolic contents and antioxidant capacity values across environments and is suggested for further investigation. In conclusion, multi-environmental trials are essential for a better understanding of the genotypic and environmental effect on phytochemical profiles of lentils and provide important information for breeding or cultivating lentil varieties of high-bioactive value.

Cotton although is an autogamous species could be cross pollinated under favorable climate conditions and/or in the presence of pollinators. The coexistence of cotton with Malvaceae species raises questions on the possibility pollen to be exchanged among Malvaceae species and on the resulted consequences. The present work was undertaken to evaluate the in situ response of cotton flowers (G.hirsutum L, G. barbadense L.) and their F1 interspecific hybrids when are artificially pollinated with Malva sylvestris L., Hibiscus syriacus L. and Abelmoschus esculentus Moench. Furthermore, an in vitro protocol was attempted to support embryos’ growth in order to produce viable progenies originating from crosses between cotton and the aforementioned Malvaceae species. The obtained results gave evidence that pollen from the above Malvaceae species stimulated cotton ovaries without successful hybridization. The interaction between pollen and cotton’s stigmas was higher at early stages when M. sylvestris was used as pollinator but in crosses with H. syriacus and A. esculentus more ovules were activated as revealed by the percentage of carpodesis and life-time of bolls onto maternal plants. Only crosses between cotton with okra produced cotton seeds under in situ conditions. The in vitro embryo-ovule culture protocol, used, increased the number of regenerated cotton plants, especially in crosses among F1 interspecific cotton hybrids and A. esculentus. In this case, regenerated plants were recombinant aneuploids, combining traits from both cotton species. This novel cotton germplasm possessing unique chromosome rearrangements, at aneuploid level could be proved useful after cytogenetic, molecular or QTL genetic analysis referring to important agronomic traits.