Annals of Applied Biology最新文献

Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) is a crucial oilseed crop in India, enhancing the nation's oilseed production. A primary agricultural goal is to develop high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties with superior nutritional quality. To address this, a novel recombinant inbred lines (RIL) population was developed by crossing an exotic East European genotype, ‘Heera’ with the high-yielding Indian mustard variety ‘DRMRIJ-31’ using a single seed descent method. Our study presents the comprehensive characterisation of this RIL population for yield components and oil quality traits. Over the 2 years (2021–2022 and 2022–2023), we meticulously phenotyped 320 individuals from this RIL population, focusing on yield component traits. The RIL population showed a high level of variability for traits such as plant height (175–236 cm), days to 50% flowering (48–72 DAS), days to maturity (145–164), number of primary branches (5–9), thousand seed weight (1.6–6.2 g), seed coat colour and yield (957–3039 kg/ha). Concurrently, we conducted biochemical analysis, measuring total antioxidants (11.3–110.2 mg/g), phenol (57.6–274.3 μg/g), flavonoids (29.2–1591.6 μg/g) and glucosinolates (21.2–140.3 μmol/g) and erucic acid content (0.5%34%) to gain insights into the nutritional and anti-nutritional components of this RIL population. This multi-faceted characterisation provides a holistic understanding of the RIL population, offering valuable insights for future breeding programmes and crop improvement strategies.

Soil fauna plays an important role in the stabilization of ecosystems in agricultural landscapes, due to their morphological and functional variety and for directly or indirectly participating in biological processes. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of landscape fragmentation on soil fauna communities and their relationship with environmental and spatial variables in Southern Brazil. The heterogeneity of land use systems in rural landscapes of three municipalities was considered. A sampling grid was established in a window with a 1 km diameter in each landscape in two sampling periods. The increase in landscape complexity and efficiency followed the fragmentation gradient (High < Intermediate < Low). The environmental variables related to the fauna were land uses, altitude, litter dry weight, litter carbon to nitrogen ratio, soil nitrogen, potassium, pH, biopores, aeration space, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and penetration resistance. Thus, the environmental variables explained the soil fauna composition more than the spatial variables. Furthermore, pasture and native forest were the most important land use systems as refuge and source of soil fauna in the landscape. The heterogeneity of the subtropical landscapes influenced the structure of soil fauna communities, and the more fragmented landscape was less favourable to maintaining complex interconnections.

Phosphorus (P) is less available in acidic soils because of its interaction with iron and aluminium, which results in lower crop yields. To address this issue, a field experiment was conducted using a split-split plot design with three replications to evaluate the effect of Rhizobium inoculation and P rates on the agronomic attributes and economic returns of faba beans. The main plots were assigned to Rhizobium, with subplots for varieties and sub-subplots for P rates. Rhizobium inoculation increased the number of nodules per plant and seeds per pod by 23.6% and 11.1%, respectively. P application resulted in an 88.8% increase in nodule count. The interactions among Rhizobium, P, and variety significantly influenced plant height, branch and pod count, above-ground biomass, shoot biomass, and grain yield. Inoculated Dosha at 30 kg P ha⁻¹ produced taller and higher pods, with increases of 24.4% and 66.2% compared to uninoculated and unfertilized Numan. Grain yields increased by 214% in inoculated Numan, while biomass yield increased by 79.4% in inoculated Dosha, compared to uninoculated and zero P-supplied Gebelcho. Economic analysis revealed the highest net benefit of 317,842.9 ETB ha⁻¹ and a marginal rate of return of 1972.6% from applying 20 kg P ha⁻¹ with Rhizobium inoculation. Based on the current findings, the application of Rhizobium in combination with P at 20 kg ha⁻¹ enhances the productivity and profitability. Therefore, these treatment combinations are recommended for farmers aiming to boost productivity and economic returns in the study areas and other agroecological systems.

Pests cause much loss in tea (Camellia sinensis) production, but there is no appropriate method to detect them. In this work, gas sensors were employed to detect the attack time of tea plants having been attacked by Ectropis obliqua. The volatiles emitted by tea plants attacked by E. obliqua change during different periods of 1 day, and so detection results of the gas sensors are influenced by the detection time point. However, none of the previous studies about pest detection considered this time point. In this study, we determined the pest attack time of tea plants considering the detection time point. The classification performances of the gas sensors based on various detection time points were compared and the best one was determined. Besides, an extreme learning machine was employed for qualitative classification and quantitative regression analysis of tea plants with different pest attack times at the best detection time point. The results showed that the best detection time point of the gas sensors for tea plants was 12 noon, and the extreme learning machine for classification and prediction provided good results, which indicated the feasibility of the gas sensors for determining the pest attack time of tea plants.

Roadsides are increasingly recognised as ecological corridors that support a diverse range of plant species, including those with invasive potential. However, their role in shaping vegetation structure and biodiversity, particularly in mountainous regions, remains understudied. The present study focused on analysing the diversity, distribution patterns, and structural composition of both indigenous and alien plant species inhabiting roadside habitats of the study area. The quadrant method was used for field data collection. The structure of the vegetation was analysed in terms of density, frequency, abundance, importance value index (IVI), Shannon–Wiener index (H′), evenness (E), and Simpson's concentration index (Cd). Following Raunkiær's classification, the collected plants were classified. All the recorded species were grouped into two main classes of native and non-native species. A total of 258 species of plants belonging to 83 families were collected. Among them, 148 species were native and 108 species were non-native. The non-native plants were further classified into casual (22 species), invasive (30 species), and neutralised (56 species). Asteraceae was the dominant family with 26 representative species. Therophytes were the most common life form with 69 species, while microphyllous, with 111 species, was the most common leaf size type. Among the collected plants, 95 species were near threatened, 80 species were vulnerable, 59 species were endangered, and 24 species were least concern. The Shannon–Wiener diversity value for all the sites was 5.38; the species evenness value for all sites was 0.96, and the effective number of species (ENS) for all sites was 217.212. The highest average abundance of all plant species was recorded at Site-6 (46.76). Furthermore, the highest average frequency was recorded at Site-7 (7.03). The highest Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H′ = 5.36) and species evenness value (E = 0.96) were both recorded at Site-6. Based on the IVI value, the dominant species was Parthenium hysterophorus L. (1.37). The findings highlight the urgent need for monitoring and managing roadside vegetation to prevent the proliferation of invasive species and conserve native plant diversity in ecologically sensitive mountain landscapes.

Non-crop plant resources, such as hedgerows and adjacent woodland areas, may impact the distribution of pest species in the crop. Knowledge of the associations between plants and arthropods, as well as their impact on pest distribution, is thus key to adequately managing agroecosystems. We selected native Mediterranean plant species located around organic vineyards in Southern Portugal and determined their associations with species of Auchenorrhyncha and phytophagous tetranychid and tenuipalpid mites, including the main vineyard pests in the area. We also tested if the abundance of vineyard pests is affected by the distance to the edge and/or the species of plants present. Most non-crop plants and ground cover vegetation harboured low numbers of leafhopper pests. Rubus ulmifolius and Tamarix africana proved to be a repository of non-pest Auchenorrhyncha species, with the former also serving as a winter repository of the leafhopper pest Jacobiasca lybica. Rosa canina and Fraxinus angustifolia hosted abundant populations of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae. Still, plots next to plant biodiverse margins harboured fewer T. urticae when compared with plots next to other vineyards. Pest abundance in vineyards increased with growing distance to plant biodiverse margins. Our results highlight the benefits of biodiverse margins in reducing pest abundance and point to the importance of a good selection of plant species when managing and planning these non-crop plant resources.

Trichoderma species are extensively studied for their biocontrol potential and plant growth-promoting properties, making them invaluable in sustainable agriculture. These rhizosphere-dominant filamentous fungi are abundant in soil and exhibit strong antagonistic activity against plant pathogens. Notably, approximately 60% of commercially available biofungicides are derived from Trichoderma species. Their efficacy stems from the production of plant growth regulators and the secretion of secondary metabolites with antifungal properties, which degrade pathogen cell walls and suppress their proliferation. Beyond disease control, Trichoderma enhances root architecture, nutrient uptake efficiency, and soil health, contributing to improved crop productivity. Their mycoparasitic nature further reinforces their role as potent biocontrol agents, particularly against fungal pathogens. Excessive reliance on chemical fertilisers and synthetic pesticides in modern agriculture has led to soil degradation, environmental contamination, and the emergence of resistant pathogens, posing serious threats to global food security and ecosystem stability. As a sustainable alternative, Trichoderma presents a promising eco-friendly approach to integrated disease management and crop enhancement. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent advancements in Trichoderma research, highlighting its applications in biocontrol, biofertilisation, and stress tolerance, along with emerging formulation technologies and synergistic interactions with beneficial microbes.

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a major tool for the study of vocalizing animals. As data can be collected by non-experts and stored for documentation, PAM appears ideal for environmental monitoring. However, the comparability between recordings from different sites can be affected by differential sound attenuation through the sampled habitat and by the target sounds' incidence angle. These effects depend on the sound frequency and may interact with each other. We measured sound attenuation in open and closed habitat with AudioMoth sound recorders, using playback experiments at frequencies between 1.25 and 50 kHz, covering the typical vocalization range of birds and bats. Sound attenuation was stronger in forest than in open land, especially for ultrasound, resulting in up to 52% higher detection ranges for bats in open land than in forest. In addition, fixed-distance playback experiments covering the same frequency range in the same habitats showed that the orientation of our single-channel recorders had a major effect, particularly for ultrasound: Recorded sound levels were up to 7 dB lower for sources behind the microphone at 1.25 kHz, and were 15 dB lower at 40 kHz, the latter corresponding to a more than sixfold difference in distance. Taken together, these effects can lead to substantial variation in the effective detection ranges depending on the recording situation, which needs to be considered for the sampling design and interpretation of results from passive acoustic monitoring. However, it should be possible to alleviate at least the effects of directionality by using multiple AudioMoth per sampling point or by using stereo recorders or devices with external omnidirectional microphones.

Global warming continues to intensify agricultural challenges and elevate global food demand, rendering traditional plant breeding approaches increasingly inadequate. Advanced biotechnological interventions, particularly gene delivery technologies, offer promising alternatives; however, conventional gene transfer methods in plants often suffer from low efficiency and substantial limitations. This study investigates the potential of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs)—commonly used in mammalian gene therapy—for gene delivery in plants, and compares their performance to polyethyleneimine-functionalised single-walled carbon nanotubes (PEI-SWNTs), a known gene delivery vector in plant systems. Chemically synthesised SeNPs (approximately 20 nm) and PEI-SWNTs were characterised and applied to Arabidopsis thaliana leaves and roots. Two DNA constructs encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP)—a plasmid vector (35S-eGFP-nosT) and a linear gene cassette—were used to evaluate nanoparticle-mediated gene delivery efficiency. Phytotoxicity was assessed through visible symptoms such as chlorosis and necrosis, while delivery success was measured via GFP fluorescence and gene expression analyses. SeNPs exhibited significantly lower phytotoxicity than PEI-SWNTs. In terms of gene delivery, SeNPs demonstrated higher efficiency in transporting linear DNA constructs, while PEI-SWNTs were more effective for plasmid DNA delivery. SeNPs show considerable promise as gene delivery vectors in plants, particularly for linear DNA, because of their reduced toxicity and effective uptake. These findings highlight the potential of SeNPs for broader applications in plant biotechnology, warranting further evaluation across different plant species and genetic cargos.

Despite decades of intensive research and thousands of publications reporting stress-related genes and QTLs associated with drought, salinity, heat, and other abiotic stresses, one pressing question looms large: Why do stress-resistant crops remain largely absent from our fields? The answer is not rooted in a single flaw but in a complex interplay of scientific, technical, regulatory, and socio-economic barriers that have collectively hindered the translation of genetic discoveries into practical agricultural applications. To understand why stress-resistant varieties have not become mainstream, we must dissect the multifaceted bottlenecks—ranging from biological complexity to policy and adoption hurdles—that impede the path from gene discovery to on-farm impact.