Enhancing crop resilience by harnessing the synergistic effects of biostimulants against abiotic stress

Plants experience constant exposed to diverse abiotic stresses throughout their growth and development stages. Given the burgeoning world population, abiotic stresses pose significant challenges to food and nutritional security. These stresses are complex and influenced by both genetic networks and environmental factors, often resulting in significant crop losses, which can reach as high as fifty percent. To mitigate the effects of abiotic stresses on crops, various strategies rooted in crop improvement and genomics are being explored. In particular, the utilization of biostimulants, including bio-based compounds derived from plants and beneficial microbes, has garnered considerable attention. Biostimulants offer the potential to reduce reliance on artificial chemical agents while enhancing nutritional efficiency and promoting plant growth under abiotic stress condition. Commonly used biostimulants, which are friendly to ecology and human health, encompass inorganic substances (e.g., zinc oxide and silicon) and natural substances (e.g., seaweed extracts, humic substances, chitosan, exudates, and microbes). Notably, prioritizing environmentally friendly biostimulants is crucial to prevent issues such as soil degradation, air and water pollution. In recent years, several studies have explored the biological role of biostimulants in plant production, focusing particularly on their mechanisms of effectiveness in horticulture. In this context, we conducted a comprehensive review of the existing scientific literature to analyze the current status and future research directions concerning the use of various biostimulants, such as plant-based zinc oxide, silicon, selenium and aminobutyric acid, seaweed extracts, humic acids, and chitosan for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. Furthermore, we correlated the molecular modifications induced by these biostimulants with different physiological pathways and assessed their impact on plant performance in response to abiotic stresses, which can provide valuable insights

"The Pronunciation Difficulties of Urdu speakers Learning British Accent"

Abstract This study declares that learners have to face different problems if they try to speak non-native language. Same is the case with Pakistani Urdu speakers learning British accent. They face difficulties in stress patterns, absence of link between spellings and their pronunciation, multiple sounds of a single letter, etc. These problem occur because of certain factors. This study will discuss these factors such as, complexity of stress pattern, Absence of link between spellings and pronunciation, unfamiliar phonetic symbols, unfamiliar non-native utterances and pronunciation etc

1-MCP Regulates Ethanol Fermentation and GABA Shunt Pathway Involved in Kiwifruit Quality During Postharvest Storage

Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) ‘Bruno’ is prone to accumulate ethanol rapidly after respiratory climacteric during storage at ambient conditions without stresses, which causes quality deterioration of the fruit associated with alcohol off-flavor. For maintaining the postharvest quality of kiwifruit ‘Bruno’, the effects of 1.0 µL • L−1 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatment on regulating the ethanol fermentation and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) shunt pathway associated with control of alcohol off-flavor were investigated during storage at room temperature (24 ± 1) °C for 27 days. The results showed that 1-MCP treatment significantly reduced the respiration rate, ethylene production, decay rate, ascorbic acid (AsA) loss, and delayed the decline in the firmness and titratable acidity (TA), and the increase in total soluble solid (TSS) in kiwifruit. Furthermore, 1-MCP treatment effectively inhibited the increases in contents of acetaldehyde, ethanol, and GABA along with the suppressed activities of key enzymes involved in ethanol fermentation and GABA shunt pathway, such as pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), and GABA-transaminase (GABA-T) in kiwifruit during storage. In conclusion, 1-MCP treatment efficiently regulated the ethanol fermentation and GABA shunt pathway by delaying the ripening process to avoid the alcohol off-flavor development, thereby contributed to maintaining the quality of the kiwifruit