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Wild plants supply food and shelter to several organisms; they also act as important sources of many nutrients and pharmaceutical agents for mankind. These plants are widely used in traditional medicinal systems and folk medicines. The present study analyzed the nutritional and proximate composition of various compounds in selected wild plants available in the UAE, viz., Chenopodium murale L., Dipterygium glaucum Decne., Heliotropium digynum Asch. ex C.Chr., Heliotropium kotschyi Gürke., Salsola imbricata Forssk., Tribulus pentandrus Forssk., Zygophyllum qatarense Hadidi. The predominant amino acids detected in the plants were glycine, threonine, histidine, cysteine, proline, serine, and tyrosine; the highest quantities were observed in H. digynum and T. pentandrus. The major fatty acids present were long-chain saturated fatty acids; however, lauric acid was only present in S. imbricata. The presence of essential fatty acids such as oleic acid, α-Linoleic acid, and linolenic acid was observed in H. digynum, S. imbricata, and H. kotschyi. These plants also exhibited higher content of nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, ash, and fiber. The predominant vitamins in the plants were vitamin B complex and vitamin C. C. murale had higher vitamin A, whereas vitamin B complex was seen in T. pentandrus and D. glaucum. The phosphorus and zinc content were high in T. pentandrus; the nitrogen, calcium, and potassium contents were high in H. digynum, and D. glaucum. Overall, these plants, especially H. digynum and T. pentandrus contain high amounts of nutritionally active compounds and important antioxidants including trace elements and vitamins. The results from the experiment provide an understanding of the nutritional composition of these desert plant species and can be better utilized as important agents for pharmacological drug discovery, food, and sustainable livestock production in the desert ecosystem.

Orphan crops are indigenous and invariably grown by small and marginal farmers under subsistence farming systems. These crops, which are common and widely accepted by local farmers, are highly rich in nutritional profile, good for medicinal purposes, and well adapted to suboptimal growing conditions. However, these crops have suffered neglect and abandonment from the scientific community because of very low or no investments in research and genetic improvement. A plausible reason for this is that these crops are not traded internationally at a rate comparable to that of the major food crops such as wheat, rice, and maize. Furthermore, marginal environments have poor soils and are characterized by extreme weather conditions such as heat, erratic rainfall, water deficit, and soil and water salinity, among others. With more frequent extreme climatic events and continued land degradation, orphan crops are beginning to receive renewed attention as alternative crops for dietary diversification in marginal environments and, by extension, across the globe. Increased awareness of good health is also a major contributor to the revived attention accorded to orphan crops. Thus, the introduction, evaluation, and adaptation of outstanding varieties of orphan crops for dietary diversification will contribute not only to sustained food production but also to improved nutrition in marginal environments. In this review article, the concept of orphan crops vis-à-vis marginality and food and nutritional security is defined for a few orphan crops. We also examined recent advances in research involving orphan crops and the potential of these crops for dietary diversification within the context of harsh marginal environments. Recent advances in genomics coupled with molecular breeding will play a pivotal role in improving the genetic potential of orphan crops and help in developing sustainable food systems. We concluded by presenting a potential roadmap to future research engagement and a policy framework with recommendations aimed at facilitating and enhancing the adoption and sustainable production of orphan crops under agriculturally marginal conditions.

We acknowledge the support of the 2021 SGR 00688 grant from AGAUR, Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain. SCK is supported by \\u201CAyuda RYC2019-027818-I financiada por MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por El FSE invierte en tu futuro\\u201D. The field trial was funded by the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) as part of its internally supported research projects.

Quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), an Andean crop, is a facultative halophyte food crop recognized globally for its high nutritional value and plasticity to adapt to harsh conditions. We conducted a genome-wide association study on a diverse set of quinoa germplasm accessions. These accessions were evaluated for the following agronomic and biochemical traits: days to 50% flowering (DTF), plant height (PH), panicle length (PL), stem diameter (SD), seed yield (SY), grain diameter (GD), and thousand-grain weight (TGW). These accessions underwent genotyping-by-sequencing using the DNBSeq-G400R platform. Among all evaluated traits, TGW represented maximum broad-sense heritability. Our study revealed average SNP density of ≈ 3.11 SNPs/10 kb for the whole genome, with the lowest and highest on chromosomes Cq1B and Cq9A, respectively. Principal component analysis clustered the quinoa population in three main clusters, one clearly representing lowland Chilean accessions, whereas the other two groups corresponded to germplasm from the highlands of Peru and Bolivia. In our germplasm set, we estimated linkage disequilibrium decay to be ≈ 118.5 kb. Marker-trait analyses revealed major and consistent effect associations for DTF on chromosomes 3A, 4B, 5B, 6A, 7A, 7B and 8B, with phenotypic variance explained (PVE) as high as 19.15%. Nine associations across eight chromosomes were also found for saponin content with 20% PVE by qSPN5A.1. More QTLs were identified for PL and TGW on multiple chromosomal locations. We identified putative candidate genes in the genomic regions associated with DTF and saponin content. The consistent and major-effect genomic associations can be used in fast-tracking quinoa breeding for wider adaptation across marginal environments.

Water salinity and scarcity constitute major limitations to crop production in arid and semi-arid regions. Introduction of nutritious and stress-tolerant underutilized crops is a promising approach for dietary enrichment, cropping system diversification, remediation of marginal and degraded lands, and building climate resilience. The primary objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of water salinity and managed water-deficit stress on grain and fodder yield, identify multi-trait ideotypes, and validate the stability and genetic gain in finger millet ideotypes over a 2-year period. A total of 80 finger millet accessions were evaluated under fresh water (0 dS/m) and two saline irrigation water (6 and 10 dS/m) in Dubai during the 2020/2021 cropping season. Validation of a selected elite subset was conducted under a combination of optimum, salinity, and drought-stress regimes (0 dS/m, 6 dS/m, 10 dS/m, and 50% irrigation) during the 2021/2022 cropping season. Initial analysis showed a grain yield (GYLD) reduction of 87% under 10 dS/m saline irrigation water compared with the control, and the genotype-by-treatment (G × T) interaction revealed highly significant effects for GYLD. Using multi-trait genotype–ideotype distance index (MGIDI), 20 elite accessions were identified, demonstrating a remarkable increase in mean GYLD under high saline irrigation water, corresponding to a genetic gain of 167% over the reference population mean. Validation trials confirmed the success of the selection by showing a non-significant G × T for GYLD and dry fodder yield (DFYLD) across the four validation treatments, alongside a significant increase in heritability ( H 2 ) for GYLD from 0.60 to 0.78. Comparative analysis revealed that managed water-deficit stress was the most limiting factor for GYLD in the elite subset, causing an average loss of 42.7% compared to 20.4% under high saline water irrigation. However, DFYLD displayed exceptional stability across both saline water and water-deficit stress types. The comparative analysis presented in Venn diagrams ultimately identified a core group of stable, broadly adapted accessions, including IE 4028 and IE 4570, which are recommended as high- impact parental lines for combined stress tolerance. These findings establish a reliable selection framework for enhancing the climate-resilience of underutilized crops in marginal environments.

Quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an herbaceous annual crop of the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae). It is increasingly cultivated for its nutritious grains, which are rich in protein and essential amino acids, lipids, and minerals. Quinoa exhibits a high tolerance towards various abiotic stresses including drought and salinity, which supports its agricultural cultivation under climate change conditions. The use of quinoa grains is compromised by anti-nutritional saponins, a terpenoid class of secondary metabolites deposited in the seed coat; their removal before consumption requires extensive washing, an economically and environmentally unfavorable process; or their accumulation can be reduced through breeding. In this study, we analyzed the seed metabolomes, including amino acids, fatty acids, and saponins, from 471 quinoa cultivars, including two related species, by liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry. Additionally, we determined a large number of agronomic traits including biomass, flowering time, and seed yield. The results revealed considerable diversity between genotypes and provide a knowledge base for future breeding or genome editing of quinoa. Measurement(s) metabolites Technology Type(s) LC-MS mass spectrometry

Scarce water resources, high temperatures, limited rainfall, elevated soil salinity, and poor soil quality (98% sand) challenge crop production in the desert regions of the Middle East. Proso millet’s resilience under these stresses presents a potential solution for enhancing food security in arid environments. This field study evaluated 24 proso millet genotypes under three environments (100% freshwater, 50% freshwater, and 10 dS/m salinity) in the UAE during normal and summer seasons, aiming to identify genotypes resilient to water, heat, and salinity stresses and to assess genotype-by-environment (G × E) interactions and key traits associated with grain yield. ANOVA indicated significant G × E interactions. Genotypes G9 and G24 displayed high yield and stability across environments during the normal season. In the summer, genotypes G7 and G10 exhibited resilience with high yields under high-temperature stress alone, while combined stresses led to yield reductions across all genotypes, with greater susceptibility under cumulative stress. GGE biplot analysis identified G9 as ideal in the normal season, while G15 and G23 demonstrated stability under combined stresses in the summer season. High chaffy grain yield (CGY) observed under summer stress conditions suggests a shift in resource allocation away from productive grain formation. The reproductive phase was highly vulnerable to heat stress, with 88% of this period experiencing daytime temperatures exceeding 40 °C, with a peak reaching up to 49 °C. These extreme conditions, coinciding with the crop’s critical growth stages, triggered a significant increase in chaffy grain production, substantially reducing overall grain yield. Despite these challenges, genotypes G7, G10, and G12 exhibited notable resilience, maintaining yields above 0.75 t ha−1. Correlation analysis suggested that selecting for increased plant height, forage yield, and 1000-grain weight (TGW) could enhance grain yield under the normal and summer conditions. This study highlights the potential of proso millet genotypes as climate-resilient options for arid regions, providing a basis for developing stress-tolerant varieties and promoting sustainable agriculture in desert climates.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an herbaceous annual crop of the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae). It is increasingly cultivated for its nutritious grains, which are rich in protein and essential amino acids, lipids, and minerals. Quinoa exhibits a high tolerance towards various abiotic stresses including drought and salinity, which supports its agricultural cultivation under climate change conditions. The use of quinoa grains is compromised by anti-nutritional saponins, a terpenoid class of secondary metabolites deposited in the seed coat; their removal before consumption requires extensive washing, an economically and environmentally unfavorable process; or their accumulation can be reduced through breeding. In this study, we analyzed the seed metabolomes, including amino acids, fatty acids, and saponins, from 471 quinoa cultivars, including two related species, by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Additionally, we determined a large number of agronomic traits including biomass, flowering time, and seed yield. The results revealed considerable diversity between genotypes and provide a knowledge base for future breeding or genome editing of quinoa. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.