Role of Salicylic Acid in Combating Heat Stress in Plants : Insights into Modulation of Vital Processes

Peer reviewe

Sustained proliferation in cancer: mechanisms and novel therapeutic targets

Proliferation is an important part of cancer development and progression. This is manifest by altered expression and/or activity of cell cycle related proteins. Constitutive activation of many signal transduction pathways also stimulates cell growth. Early steps in tumor development are associated with a fibrogenic response and the development of a hypoxic environment which favors the survival and proliferation of cancer stem cells. Part of the survival strategy of cancer stem cells may manifested by alterations in cell metabolism. Once tumors appear, growth and metastasis may be supported by overproduction of appropriate hormones (in hormonally dependent cancers), by promoting angiogenesis, by undergoing epithelial to mesenchymal transition, by triggering autophagy, and by taking cues from surrounding stromal cells. A number of natural compounds (e.g., curcumin, resveratrol, indole-3-carbinol, brassinin, sulforaphane, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, genistein, ellagitannins, lycopene and quercetin) have been found to inhibit one or more pathways that contribute to proliferation (e.g., hypoxia inducible factor 1, nuclear factor kappa B, phosphoinositide 3 kinase/Akt, insulin-like growth factor receptor 1, Wnt, cell cycle associated proteins, as well as androgen and estrogen receptor signaling). These data, in combination with bioinformatics analyses, will be very important for identifying signaling pathways and molecular targets that may provide early diagnostic markers and/or critical targets for the development of new drugs or drug combinations that block tumor formation and progression

Role of growth elicitors and microbes in stress management and sustainable production of Sorghum

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is an important tropical species of the Poaceae family with wide distribution in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It is one of the significant cereal crops that is being cultivated widely across the world with diversified applications in various fields such as agriculture, beverage, and food industries. Because of its high nutritious values, it is being consumed as a source of carbohydrate by human beings, as an animal feed, and also utilized as a raw material by alcoholic and other industries. Hence, on the basis of ever-increasing human population size and most countries policies aimed at improving the processing and industrial usage of sorghum, the demand for its cultivation is rising in all the developing countries. On the other hand, the crop plants are facing the stressful environmental changes that are considerably affecting the metabolism, growth, and yield of Sorghum. In recent times, it has been observed that microbes and growth elicitors plays an important role in alleviating the plants response to stressful conditions. In view of this background, the present review paper provides an overview of the literature available on the role of growth elicitors and microbes that can increase the tolerance levels of Sorghum towards environmental stresses

Effect of Crop Load on Yield and Quality Parameters in Apple cv. Gala Redlum

The present study was conducted at the experimental field of the Division of Fruit Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir during the year 2021-2022. The primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of varying crop loads on the growth, yield, quality, and return bloom of Gala Redlum apples, with specific emphasis on trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA). The experimental design involved a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, utilizing 4-year-old Gala Redlum plants. The trees were subjected to manual thinning, resulting in crop loads of 4, 6, 8, 10 fruits per cm² of TCSA, with a non-thinned control group. Notably, the maximum fruit yield (18.52 kg/tree) was observed in the control group (no thinning), while the minimum yield (7.57 kg/tree) was recorded in the C2 group (4 fruits per cm² of TCSA), followed by C3 (11.03 kg/tree). Furthermore, the impact of different TCSA ranges on fruit yield was statistically significant. The maximum fruit yield (14.45 kg/tree) was observed in the S2 group (10-12 cm² TCSA), while the minimum yield (12.16 kg/tree) was noted in the S1 group (8-10 cm² TCSA). Yield efficiency, measured as yield per unit of TCSA, reached its highest (1.838 kg/cm²) in the control group and is lowest (0.766 kg/cm²) in the C2 group (4 fruits per cm² of TCSA). The results further revealed that the C2 group (4 fruits per cm² of TCSA) exhibited the maximum Total Soluble Solids (TSS) content (14.73 °Brix), total sugars (11.62%), and TSS: Acid ratio (61.45). Similarly, the C3 group (6 fruits per cm² of TCSA) demonstrated elevated TSS (14.20 °Brix), total sugars (10.99%), and TSS: Acid ratio (54.66). Additionally, the S2 group (10-12 cm² TCSA) recorded the highest TSS (13.75 °Brix), total sugars (10.51%), and TSS: Acid ratio (50.53). The combination of C2S2 and C3S2 treatments exhibited superior results, with the highest TSS (14.82 °Brix), total sugars (11.77%), and TSS: Acid ratio (62.64). Fruit firmness (8.81 kg/cm²) and fruit acidity (0.327%) were maximized in the C1S1 treatment combination