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Background Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) can enhance plant growth and phosphorus (P) solubilization, it also has been reported to reduce the negative effects of overused agricultural fertilizer in farmland and protect the soil environment. However, the mechanism behind this interaction has not been fully elucidated. Results In this study, we screened out Pseudomonas moraviensis , Bacillus safensis , and Falsibacillus pallidus which can both solubilize P efficiently and produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) from sandy fluvo-aquic soils. The yield of wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) under PSB inoculation significantly increased up to 14.42% ( P  < 0.05) compared with the control treatment in phosphate fertilizer-used farmland. Besides promoting wheat growth, we found the labile P fraction in soil was significantly increased by over 122.04% ( P  < 0.05) under PSB inoculation compared with it in soils without, in parallel, the stable P fraction was significantly reduced by over 46.89% ( P  < 0.05). Furthermore, PSB inoculation increased the soil microbial biomass and activity, indicating that PSB screened out in this work performed a remarkable ability to colonize the soils in the wheat field. Conclusion PSB from sandy fluvo-aquic soil improve wheat growth and crop productivity by increasing the labile P fraction and IAA content in the greenhouse and wheat field. Our work provides an environment and economy-friendly bacterial resource that potentially promotes sustainable agricultural development in the long term.

Irrational application of chemical fertilizers causes soil nutrient imbalance, reduced microbial diversity, soil diseases, and other soil quality problems and is one of the main sources of non-point pollution. The application of microbial inoculant (MI) can improve the soil environment and crop growth to reduce problems caused by irrational application of chemical fertilizers. Field experiments were carried out in high-phosphorus soils to study the effects of the addition of various MIs combined with chemical fertilizers on soil properties, wheat growth, and soil microbial composition and structure. The MIs consisted of one fungal agent: Trichoderma compound agent (TC) and five bacterial agents, namely soil remediation agent (SR), anti-repeat microbial agent (AM), microbial agent (MA), plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PG), and biological fertilizer agent (BF). The wheat yield increased by 15.2–33.4% with the addition of MIs, and PG with Bacillus subtilis as the core microorganism had the most obvious effect on increasing the production ( p  < 0.05). For the entire growth period of wheat, all MIs applied significantly increased the available nitrogen (AN) ( p  < 0.05) but did not significantly affect the available phosphorus (AP). BF has the best effect on increasing AN in the soil. The 16S rRNA sequencing results indicated that the dominant phyla of soil bacteria were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. The addition of MIs increased the relative abundance of Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi and decreased Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. The diversity of soil bacterial community (Chao1) was significantly higher in the soil added with TC than that added with BF ( p  < 0.05). All bacterial agents significantly enriched various genera ( p  < 0.05), while the fungal agent (TC) did not enrich the genera significantly. pH and AN, but not TP, were closely related to the dominant bacteria phylum in high-P soil. The application of MIs improved AN in soil, increased the wheat yield, and changed the relative abundance of the soil dominant phylum, and these changes were closely related to the type of MIs. The results provide a scientific basis for rational use of different types of MIs in high-P soil.

Our study from an ongoing research experiment initiated in Rabi 1967 at the Research Farm of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Haryana, India, reports that during the 51st wheat cycle in pearl millet-wheat sequence, adding FYM in both seasons significantly impacted various soil parameters at different wheat growth stages compared to the rabi season. The application of 15 t of FYM ha −1 resulted in a considerable increase in dissolved organic carbon content (9.1–11.2%), available P (9.7–12.1%), and available S (12.6–17.1%), DHA levels by 7.3–22.0%, urease activity (10.1 and 17.0%), β-Glucosidase activity (6.2–8.4%), and APA activity (5.2–10.6%), compared to 10 t FYM ha −1 . Application of N 120 exhibited a considerable improvement in DHA (11.0–23.2%), β-Glucosidase (9.4–19.2%), urease (13.3–28.3%), and APA (3.3–6.2%) activity compared to control (N 0 ). At stage 3, the box plot revealed that 50% of the available N, P, and S values varied from 223.1 to 287.9 kg ha −1 , 53.0 to 98.2 kg ha −1 , and 50.0 to 97.6 kg ha −1 , respectively. Principal component analysis, with PC1 explaining 94.7% and PC2 explaining 3.15% of the overall variability, and SOC had a polynomial relationship with soil characteristics (R 2  = 0.89 to 0.99). Applying FYM 15  × N 120 treatment during both seasons proved beneficial in sustaining the health of sandy loam soil in North-West India.

Rapidly developing remote sensing techniques are shedding new light on large-scale crop growth status monitoring, especially in recent applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Many inversion models have been built to estimate crop growth variables. However, the present methods focused on building models for each single crop stage, and the features generally used in the models are vegetation indices (VI) or joint VI with data derived from UAV-based sensors (e.g., texture, RGB color information, or canopy height). It is obvious these models are either limited to a single stage or have an unstable performance across stages. To address these issues, this study selected four key wheat growth parameters for inversion: above-ground biomass (AGB), plant nitrogen accumulation (PNA) and concentration (PNC), and the nitrogen nutrition index (NNI). Crop data and multispectral data were acquired in five wheat growth stages. Then, the band reflectance and VI were obtained from multispectral data, along with the five stages that were recorded as phenology indicators (PIs) according to the stage of Zadok’s scale. These three types of data formed six combinations (C1–C6): C1 used all of the band reflectances, C2 used all VIs, C3 used bands and VIs, C4 used bands and PIs, C5 used VIs and PIs, and C6 used bands, Vis, and PIs. Some of the combinations were integrated with PIs to verify if PIs can improve the model accuracy. Random forest (RF) was used to build models with combinations of different parameters and evaluate the feature importance. The results showed that all models of different combinations have good performance in the modeling of crop parameters, such as R2 from 0.6 to 0.79 and NRMSE from 10.51 to 15.83%. Then, the model was optimized to understand the importance of PIs. The results showed that the combinations that integrated PIs showed better estimations and the potential of using PIs to minimize features while still achieving good predictions. Finally, the varied model results were evaluated to analyze their performances in different stages or fertilizer treatments. The results showed the models have good performances at different stages or treatments (R2 > 0.6). This paper provides a reference for monitoring and estimating wheat growth parameters based on UAV multispectral imagery and phenology information.

Environmental stresses due to climate changes, such as high temperatures and land degradation, significantly impact crop yield, making innovative strategies necessary to increase plant stress tolerance. This study investigates the potential of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to enhance wheat resilience under multiple environmental stresses, such as high salinity and temperature. For this, 15 bacterial strains were isolated from the rhizosphere and roots of Pancratium maritimum and screened for their ability to withstand high salinity (50–600 mM NaCl) and elevated temperatures (up to 42 °C). The isolates were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing and tested for their PGP traits under combined abiotic stresses. Most of the strains exhibited PGP features, such as biofilm formation, phosphate solubilization, and phytohormone production. To enhance the growth of wheat plants, used as a model crop of commercial interest, three different consortia were designed and tested in vitro. The consortium (CONSIII), composed of Serratia marcescens ERA6, Enterobacter cloacae ERA9, and Bacillus proteolyticus ESOB2, provided synergistic effects that led to an enhancement in plant growth and stress resilience in vitro. This positive effect was confirmed in pot trials under double abiotic stress (37 °C, 132 mM NaCl), where CONSIII was able to boost the root and shoot growth, increase chlorophyll and carotenoid content, and enhance antioxidant activity, mitigating reactive oxygen species accumulation. These findings underscore the potential of PGPR consortia as bioinoculants for sustainable agriculture, demonstrating their effectiveness in the simultaneous presence of salinity and heat stresses—a challenging and under-investigated environmental scenario. Key points • PGPR strains isolated from Pancratium maritimum rhizosphere are able to grow and exhibit PGP traits under combined salinity and heat conditions • The formulated consortium of PGPR strains (CONSIII) significantly enhances wheat growth and stress resilience under a multi-stress environment • CONSIII increases plant biomass, pigment content, and antioxidant activity, proving its value as a sustainable bioinoculant

Drought stress imposes a serious challenge to cultivate wheat, restricting its growth. Drought reduces the capability of plant to uptake essential nutrients. This causes stunted growth, development and yield. Traditional ways to increase wheat growth under drought stress have shortcomings. Using plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) has proved feasible and eco-friendly way to enhance wheat growth even under the drought stress. Combining PGPR in consortiums further boosts up their effects. In this study, we have checked the efficacy of drought-tolerant Bacillus halotolerans , Pseudomonas sihuiensis and Bacillus atrophaeus in combination. These strains were allowed to grow on PEG 6000 with concentrations (-0.15, -0.49, -0.73 and − 1.2) Mega Pascal (MPa) alone and in combination. Furthermore, Fourier transmission infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used. Their biochemical traits such as solubilization of K, P and Zn and the synthesis of siderophore, indole acetic acid (IAA), protease, amylase, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase were done. In addition to this, we investigated the optimum folic acid concentration i.e 150 ppm for wheat against drought stress. We conducted a pot experiment to check the growth-enhancing and drought-mitigating effects of consortium and folic acid alone and in combination. As a result, we found a significantly increased wheat biomass, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, antioxidants including glutathione reductase and total soluble sugars and protein content under all treatments. However, the combined treatment of bacterial consortium and folic acid showed maximum potential to boost wheat growth and survival even under drought. We also investigated the minerals uptake by wheat after the treatments and found maximum nutrient uptake under the co-effect of folic acid and bacterial consortium We believe this is the first study that has investigated the optimal dose of folic acid for wheat. Our research is also novel in that we seek to investigate the effects of folic acid along with a bacterial consortium comprising Bacillus halotolerans , Pseudomonas sihuiensis and Bacillus atrophaeus on wheat grown under the drought stress. Highlights Bacillus halotolerans , Pseudomonas sihuiensis and Bacillus atrophaeus are drought tolerant strains. Their consortium significantly improves wheat growth under drought stress. 150 ppm of folic acid is the optimum concentration for wheat growth. Synergistic application of bacterial consortium and folic acid has shown promising wheat growth abilities.

Azospirillum brasilense , a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium that plays a vital role in sustainable wheat production by enhancing nutrient uptake, improving stress tolerance, and reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers. This study aimed to investigate the integrative effects of Azospirillum brasilense inoculation and different mulching practices on the growth, physiology, and soil health of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) under drought stress, particularly during the critical booting stage. The primary research question focused on identifying whether these combined treatments could mitigate drought-induced damage and enhance plant performance. The experimental was consisted of 9 treatments, including T0 (control: no mulch, no drought, no soil microbes), T1 (drought stress at the booting stage (DB)), T2 (DB +  A. brasilense ), T3 (DB + wheat straw mulch), T4 (DB + rice husk mulch), T5 (DB + plastic mulch), T6 (DB +  A. brasilense  + wheat straw mulch), T7 (DB +  A. brasilense  + rice husk mulch), and T8 (DB +  A. brasilense  + plastic mulch) with randomized complete block design having three replications. Various growth, yield, physiological, and soil nutrient parameters were assessed. Data analysis included ANOVA, cluster heatmap, and principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate treatment impacts. Drought stress significantly reduced plant height (34.24%), 1000-grain weight (49.05%), and photosynthetic pigments. However, treatments combining A. brasilense with organic mulches (T6: wheat straw and T7: rice husk) substantially improved plant biomass, photosynthetic rate (up to 24.67%), stomatal conductance (7.54%), and soil nutrient uptake. T6 showed the highest increase in chlorophyll a (118.74%) and grain weight (78.78%) compared to drought alone. PCA and heatmap analyses revealed strong clustering of treatments, highlighting T6 as the most effective strategy. The combination of A. brasilense and organic mulching (especially wheat straw) effectively mitigated drought stress in wheat by enhancing physiological resilience, nutrient uptake, and soil health. The demonstrated benefits suggest that incorporating bio-inoculants with locally available mulching materials can be scaled up as a practical intervention for climate-smart agriculture.

Salinity stress is a major and ever-present threat to crop production, especially where irrigation is necessary for agriculture. Two independent field experiments were carried out in natural non-saline (site-I; electrical conductivity [EC] < 4 dS m-1) and saline (site-II; EC = 10-13.8 dS m-1) fields to test the efficacy of different doses of Si (0, 75, and 150 mg kg-1) on two wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars with different salt susceptibility, i.e., 'Auqab-2000' (salt-sensitive) and 'SARC-5' (salt-tolerant). The crop was harvested at maturity and various ionic and yield parameters were recorded. The concomitant increase in the number of tillers, number of grains per spike, grain yield, and biological yield were observed given that Si was applied under both optimal and salt-affected field conditions. It was concluded that 'SARC-5' is better than 'Auqab-2000' under salt stress. When Si was applied, similar effects were observed in both cultivars regardless of their salt sensitivity and whether the field was saline or non-saline, and it enhanced wheat growth by improving K+:Na+, which was adversely influenced by salt stress.

Wheat is one of the world’s most widely cultivated cereal crops and is a primary food source for a significant portion of the population. Wheat goes through several distinct developmental phases, and accurately identifying these stages is essential for precision farming. Determining wheat growth stages accurately is crucial for increasing the efficiency of agricultural yield in wheat farming. Preliminary research identified obstacles in distinguishing between these stages, negatively impacting crop yields. To address this, this study introduces an innovative approach, MobDenNet, based on data collection and real-time wheat crop stage recognition. The data collection utilized a diverse image dataset covering seven growth phases ‘Crown Root’, ‘Tillering’, ‘Mid Vegetative’, ‘Booting’, ‘Heading’, ‘Anthesis’, and ‘Milking’, comprising 4496 images. The collected image dataset underwent rigorous preprocessing and advanced data augmentation to refine and minimize biases. This study employed deep and transfer learning models, including MobileNetV2, DenseNet-121, NASNet-Large, InceptionV3, and a convolutional neural network (CNN) for performance comparison. Experimental evaluations demonstrated that the transfer model MobileNetV2 achieved 95% accuracy, DenseNet-121 achieved 94% accuracy, NASNet-Large achieved 76% accuracy, InceptionV3 achieved 74% accuracy, and the CNN achieved 68% accuracy. The proposed novel hybrid approach, MobDenNet, that synergistically merges the architectures of MobileNetV2 and DenseNet-121 neural networks, yields highly accurate results with precision, recall, and an F1 score of 99%. We validated the robustness of the proposed approach using the k-fold cross-validation. The proposed research ensures the detection of growth stages with great promise for boosting agricultural productivity and management practices, empowering farmers to optimize resource distribution and make informed decisions.

Soil acidification often occurs when the concentration of ammonium (NH 4 + ) in soil rises, such as that observed in farmland. Both soil acidification and excess NH 4 + have serious adverse effects on crop growth and food production. However, we still do not know which of these two inhibitors has a greater impact on the growth of crops, and the degree of their inhibitory effect on crop growth have not been accurately evaluated. 31 wheat cultivars originating in various areas of China were planted under 5 mM sole NH 4 + (ammonium nitrogen, AN) or nitrate nitrogen in combined with two pH levels resembling acidified conditions (5.0 and 6.5). The results showed that the shoots and roots biomass were severely reduced by AN in both and these reduction effects were strengthened by a low medium pH. The concentration of free NH 4 + and amino acids, the glutamine synthetase activity were significantly higher, but the total soluble sugar content was reduced under NH 4 + conditions, and the glutamine synthetase activity was reduced by a low medium pH. Cultivar variance was responsible for the largest proportion of the total variance in plant dry weight, leaf area, nodal root number, total root length and root volume; the nitrogen (N) form explains most of the variation in N and C metabolism; the effects of pH were the greatest for plant height and root average diameter. So, soil acidification and excess NH 4 + would cause different degrees of inhibition effects on different plant tissues. The findings are expected to be useful for applying effective strategies for reducing NH 4 + stress in the field.