Showing papers by "Muhammad Aamir Iqbal published in 2020"

Consequences of Salinity Stress on the Quality of Crops and Its Mitigation Strategies for Sustainable Crop Production: An Outlook of Arid and Semi-arid Regions

Abstract: One of the key tasks of the Sustainable Development Goals connected to Agriculture, Safety and nutritional quality of food is to raise crop production per unit area without compromising the sustainability of agricultural resources and environmental security. Along with environmental constraints, soil salinization has become one of the major threats that restricts agricultural potential and is closely related to mishandling of agricultural resources and overexploitation of water resources, particularly in arid regions. The effect of salinity on the quality of various agricultural crops has not yet been much explored. Presently, this information is very important due to the increasing use of saline water for irrigation worldwide which has given rise to as soil salinity has become a critical around the world and the situation has been worsening over the last 20 years in arid and semi-arid regions particularly in Mediterranean area. Salinity stress significantly affect the nutritional properties and quality traits of crops due to physiological and biochemical alterations in plants at different growth stage. During salinity stress, plants tend to activate different physiological and biochemical mechanisms to cope with the stress through altering their morphology, anatomy, water relations, photosynthesis, protein synthesis, primary and secondary metabolism and biochemical adaptations such as the antioxidative metabolism response. Therefore, it is important for breeders and producers to understand the influence of salinity on the composition of crops, for improvement of protein and oil quality (amino and fatty acid) under the salinity conditions. The aims of present review is to quantify the adverse effects of salinity on quality parameters of crops and management approaches for ameliorating the adverse effects of salinity stress to enhance the yield and grain quality of crops.

Consequences and Mitigation Strategies of Heat Stress for Sustainability of Soybean ( Glycine max L. Merr.) Production under the Changing Climate

Abstract: Increasing ambient temperature is a major climatic factor that negatively affects plant growth and development, and causes significant losses in soybean crop yield worldwide. Thus, high temperatures (HT) result in less seed germination, which leads to pathogenic infection, and decreases the economic yield of soybean. In addition, the efficiency of photosynthesis and transpiration of plants are affected by high temperatures, which have negative impact on the physio-biochemical process in the plant system, finally deteriorate the yield and quality of the affected crop. However, plants have several mechanisms of specific cellular detection of HT stress that help in the transduction of signals, producing the activation of transcription factors and genes to counteract the harmful effects caused by the stressful condition. Among the contributors to help the plant in re-establishing cellular homeostasis are the applications of organic stimulants (antioxidants, osmoprotectants, and hormones), which enhance the productivity and quality of soybean against HT stress. In this chapter, we summarized the physiological and biochemical mechanisms of soybean plants at various growth stages under HT. Furthermore, it also depicts the mitigation strategies to overcome the adverse effects of HT on soybean using exogenous applications of bioregulators. These studies intend to increase the understanding of exogenous biochemical compounds that could reduce the adverse effects of HT on the growth, yield, and quality of soybean.

Maize Adaptability to Heat Stress under Changing Climate

Abstract: The rapidly increasing human population is an alarming issue and would need more food production under changing climate. Abiotic stresses like heat stress and temperature fluctuation are becoming key issues to be addressed for boosting crop production. Maize growth and productivity are sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Grain yield losses in maize from heat stress are expected to increase owing to higher temperatures during the growing season. This situation demands the development of maize hybrids tolerant to heat and drought stresses without compromising grain yield under stress conditions. The chapter aimed to assess the updates on the influence of high-temperature stress (HTS) on the physio-biochemical processes in plants and to draw an association between yield components and heat stress on maize. Moreover, exogenous applications of protectants, antioxidants, and signaling molecules induce HTS tolerance in maize plants and could help the plants cope with HTS by scavenging reactive oxygen species, upregulation of antioxidant enzymes, and protection of cellular membranes by the accrual of compatible osmolytes. It is expected that a better thought of the physiological basis of HTS tolerance in maize plants will help to develop HTS maize cultivars. Developing HTS-tolerant maize varieties may ensure crops production sustainability along with promoting food and feed security under changing climate.

Sustainable crop production to ensuring food security under climate change: A Mediterranean perspective

Abstract: The global population is predicted to expand to 9.1 billion by 2050. Countries around the Mediterranean Sea are predicted to achieve a combined population of 529 million by 2025. The current major ...

Elevated CO 2 Concentration Improves Heat-Tolerant Ability in Crops

Abstract: The rising concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (aCO2) and increasing temperature are the main reasons for climate change, which are significantly affecting crop production systems in this world. However, the elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration can improve the growth and development of crop plants by increasing photosynthetic rate (higher availability of photoassimilates). The combined effects of elevated CO2 (eCO2) and temperature on crop growth and carbon metabolism are not adequately recognized, while both eCO2 and temperature triggered noteworthy changes in crop production. Therefore, to increase crop yields, it is important to identify the physiological mechanisms and genetic traits of crop plants which play a vital role in stress tolerance under the prevailing conditions. The eCO2 and temperature stress effects on physiological aspects as well as biochemical profile to characterize genotypes that differ in their response to stress conditions. The aim of this review is directed the open-top cavities to regulate the properties like physiological, biochemical, and yield of crops under increasing aCO2, and temperature. Overall, the extent of the effect of eCO2 and temperature response to biochemical components and antioxidants remains unclear, and therefore further studies are required to promote an unperturbed production system.

Exogenously foliage applied micronutrients efficacious impact on achene yield of sunflower under temperate conditions

Abstract: Climate change, rapidly increasing population and decreasing fertile lands demand boosting the productivity of oil seed crops. In hilly areas, micronutrients losses are high owing to leaching and runoff which negatively effects crops yield. A field trial was executed to evaluate the impact of foliage applied micronutrients (zinc 0.5%, boron 0.7% and manganese 0.7%) solely and in co-application, on agro-morphological traits and achene yield of sunflower. The relationship among yield attributes and achene yield of sunflower was also determined through correlation analysis. Solo applied boron (0.7%) remained unmatched by recording the maximum yield attributes such as plant height, stem girth, number of leaves, head diameter and weight, number of achene per head and 100-achene weight which led to the highest achene yield (0.96 t ha). The co-application of zinc and boron followed solely applied boron, while manganese applied solely or in conjunction with zinc and boron remained inferior to rest of the micronutrients. The correlation analysis revealed direct interrelationships among yield attributes (plant height, stem girth, head diameter and weight) and achene yield of sunflower and thus indicating the need to exogenously supply micronutrients especially boron for improving the agro-botanical traits and economic yield of sunflower under temperate conditions of rainfed regions. However, there is a dire need to conduct further studies to comparatively evaluate and optimize the doses of micronutrients including silicon and copper which may impart drought tolerance to rainfed sunflower under varying pedo-climatic conditions.

Advanced Carbon Functional Materials for Superior Energy Storage

Abstract: In the developing world, energy crisis is the main reason for less progress and development. Renewable and sustainable energy may be of bright future for scientific lagging and low-income countries; further, sustainability through smart materials got a huge potential; so, hereby keeping in view the energy crisis which the developing world is facing for many decades, we are proposing to write a chapter project for obtaining energy through cheap, sustainable, and functional advanced carbon materials. Carbon materials are the future of energy storage devices because of their ability to store energy in great capacity. The graphene is a material with amazing properties like no band gap, which turns graphene a wonderful candidate for use in the photovoltaic. Shortly, this chapter will discuss how superior energy storage may be obtained through various routes like using pyrrolic (N5) and pyridinic (N6) doping in advanced carbon functional materials, or superior energy by KOH activation in carbon materials, or through carbonization in organic matter, respectively. Further, for the advanced carbon functional materials, the superior energy storage using pyrrolic (N5) and pyridinic (N6) doping, or KOH activation, or through carbonization will be discussed one by one for lithium ion batteries, supercapacitors, and relevant energy devices, respectively.

Surface Science of Graphene-Based Monoliths and Their Electrical, Mechanical, and Energy Applications

Abstract: Ceramic monoliths are applied in many insulating and high resistive engineering applications, but the energy application of ceramics monoliths is still vacant due to less conductivity of monolithic ceramics (for example, in silica- and alumina-based hybrids). This book chapter is a significant contribution in the graphene industry as it explains some novel and modified fabrication techniques for ceramics-graphene hybrids. The improved physical properties may be used to set ceramics-graphene hybrids as a standard for electrical, mechanical, thermal, and energy applications. Further, silica-rGO hybrids may be used as dielectric materials for high-temperature applications due to improved dielectric properties. The fabricated nano-assembly is important for a technological point of view, which may be further applied as electrolytes, catalysts, and conductive, electrochemically active, and dielectric materials for the high-temperature applications. In the end, this chapter discussed porous carbon as a massive source of electrochemical energy for supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. Carbon materials which are future of energy storage devices because of their ability to store energy in great capacity, so sustainability through smart materials got a huge potential, so hereby keeping in view all the technological aspects, this chapters sums up important contribution of graphene and porous carbon for applied applications.