Assessing the effect of soil cultivation methods and genotypes on crop yield components, yield and soil properties in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and Rice (Oryza sativa L.) cropping system.

BACKGROUND: The rice-wheat cropping system is the prevailing agricultural method in the North-Western states of India, namely in the Indo-Gangetic plains. The practice of open burning of rice residue is frequently employed for expedient land preparation, but it has significant adverse impacts on both the environment and human health. These include the emission of greenhouse gases, loss of nutrients, elevated concentrations of particulate matter (PM), and disruption of the biological cycle. This research aims to investigate the implementation of effective management strategies in the rice-wheat cropping system, namely via the use of tillage-based crop cultivation techniques, stubble retention, and integration approaches. The objective is to enhance soil health features in order to augment crop yield and improve its attributes. RESULTS: The research was carried out using a split plot experimental design, consisting of three replications. The main plot consisted of four different cultivation methods, while the subplot included three genotypes of both rice and wheat. The research demonstrates the enhanced efficacy of residue application is significantly augmenting soil nutrient concentrations compared to standard tillage practices (P < 0.05). This was accomplished by an analysis of soil nutrient levels, namely nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and organic carbon (OC), at a depth of 0-15 cm. The implementation of natural farming, zero tillage, and reduced tillage practices resulted in decreases in rice grain yields of 34.0%, 16.1%, and 10.8%, respectively, as compared to conventional tillage methods. Similarly, the implementation of natural farming, zero tillage, and reduced tillage resulted in reductions in wheat grain yields of 59.4%, 10.9%, and 4.6% respectively, in comparison to conventional tillage practices. CONCLUSION: Regarding the individual crop genotypes investigated, it was continuously observed that Him Palam Lal Dhan 1 and HPW 368 displayed considerably greater grain yields for both rice and wheat during the two-year experimental period. Furthermore, when considering different cultivation methods, conventional tillage emerged as the most effective approach for obtaining higher productivity in both rice and wheat. Additionally, Him Palam Lal Dhan 1 and HPW 368 exhibited superior performance in terms of various crucial yield components for rice (such as panicle density, grains per panicle, panicle weight, and test weight) and wheat (including effective tiller density, grains per spike, spike weight, and 1000-grain weight).

Unravelling the synergistic interaction of Thrips tabaci and newly recorded, Thrips parvispinus with Alternaria porri (Ellis.) Cif., inciting onion purple blotch.

Onion purple blotch is the most indispensable foliar disease of crop and has become a major concern for farmers and research fraternity. An attempt to investigate the role of injury in parasitism by Alternaria porri indicated that disease incidence and severity enhance considerably with injury. Thrips injured plants inoculated with A. porri presented 100% incidence and 52-72% severity while mechanically injured plants inoculated with A. porri showed 60-70% incidence and 28-34% severity. The uninjured plants showed considerably less disease incidence (30-40%) and severity (10-16%). Injured inoculated plants presented reduced leaf length and leaf area while the leaf diameter remained unaffected. The lesion number, lesion length and size was substantially enhanced with concomitant infestation of pest and pathogen. Thrips tabaci injury led to more pronounced symptoms of purple blotch compared to Thrips parvispinus injury. There was substantial decrease in photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content with stress imposed on plant whilst the relative stress injury was enhanced. The induction of injury and inoculation of A. porri had an impact on the concentration of total phenolics, total soluble sugars, total proteins and hydrogen peroxide in onion leaves. A. porri combined with injury caused a more pronounced decrease in total soluble sugars and total protein content while enhancement in total phenolics and hydrogen peroxide content compared to uninjured plants. The dynamic nature of morpho-physiological and biochemical changes owing to stress conditions imposed on onion plant adds an extra layer of complexity in understanding the onion plant physiology and their ability to work out in response to challenging environment conditions.

Bilayer Tablet Based Chronotherapeutics in the Management of Nocturnal Asthma: An Overview.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a common ailment with a larger circadian difference. Nocturnal Asthma (NA) is an inconstant exacerbation of asthmatic condition related to the rise in warning sign during the night time and there is a need for its treatment addressing air route alertness and decline in lung functions. These symptoms are linked to sleep or known as circadian events. Chronotherapeutics is a management system based on an in-vivo drug accessibility programmed to check the rhythms of ailment in a direction to improve the therapeutic outcomes by suppressing the side effects. This review aims to provide an overview of NA, chronotherapeutics for the treatment of NA, bilayer tablets, and advanced techniques involved in the fabrication of bilayer tablets. The review also discusses some of the related patents. METHODS: Relevant literature about the latest developments and updated information related to NA, chronotherapeutics and bilayer tablets has been very widely searched on different biomedical literature programs such as Google, Web of Science, PubMed portals, etc. Bilayer tablet mediated chronotherapy has gained significant attention and consideration as it is developed and fabricated based on the body's circadian rhythm. Bilayer tablets can deliver the bioactive compounds at an appropriate time, place as well as amount and site. RESULTS: Available literature advocated that the bilayer matrix tablet containing a single drug in the sustained release film and fast releasing film, may be beneficial for the chronic diseases like asthma, migraine, diabetes, hypertension and inflammation which usually require immediate as well as maintained therapeutic effect. CONCLUSION: The application of nanotechnology in the arena of medicine will transform the diagnosis and treatment strategies of a wide range of diseases in the upcoming years. The findings of this review confirm the importance of bilayer tablet based chronotherapy in nocturnal asthma.