Probing the potential of bioactive compounds of millets as an inhibitor for lifestyle diseases: molecular docking and simulation-based approach

Millets are becoming more popular as a healthy substitute for people with lifestyle disorders. They offer dietary fiber, polyphenols, fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, protein, and antioxidants. The nutritional importance of millets leads to the present in-silico study of selective bioactive compounds docked against the targets of lifestyle diseases, viz., diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis using molecular docking and molecular simulations approach. Pharmacokinetic analysis was also carried out to analyse ADME properties and toxicity analysis, drug-likeliness, and finally target prediction for new targets for uncharacterized compounds or secondary targets for recognized molecules by Swiss Target Prediction was also done. The docking results revealed that the bioactive compound flavan-4-ol, among all the 50 compounds studied, best docked to all the four targets of lifestyle diseases, viz., Human dipeptidyl peptidase IV (−5.94 kcal mol−1 binding energy), Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (−6.49 kcal mol−1) diabetes-related enzyme, the Human angiotensin-converting enzyme (−6.31 kcal mol−1) which plays a significant role in hypertension, and Proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (−4.67 kcal mol−1) for atherosclerosis. Molecular dynamics simulation analysis substantiates that the flavan-4-ol forms a better stability complex with all the targets. ADMET profiles further strengthened the candidature of the flavan-4-ol bioactive compound to be considered for trial as an inhibitor of targets DPPIV, SGLT2, PCSK9, and hACE. We suggest that more research be conducted, taking Flavon-4-ol into account where it can be used as standard treatment for lifestyle diseases

Seed nutritional quality in lentil (Lens culinaris) under different moisture regimes

The world’s most challenging environmental issue is climate change. Agricultural productivity and nutritional quality are both substantially threatened by extreme and unpredicted climate events. To develop climate resilient cultivars, stress tolerance along with the grain quality needs to be prioritized. Present study was planned to assess the effect of water limitation on seed quality in lentil, a cool season legume crop. A pot experiment was carried out with 20 diverse lentil genotypes grown under normal (80% field capacity) and limited (25% field capacity) soil moisture. Seed protein, Fe, Zn, phytate, protein and yield were recorded in both the conditions. Seed yield and weight were reduced by 38.9 and 12.1%, respectively, in response to stress. Seed protein, Fe, Zn, its availability as well as antioxidant properties also reduced considerably, while genotype dependent variation was noted with respect to seed size traits. Positive correlation was observed between seed yield and antioxidant activity, seed weight and Zn content and availability in stress. Based on principal component analysis and clustering, IG129185, IC559845, IC599829, IC282863, IC361417, IG334, IC560037, P8114 and L5126 were promising genotypes for seed size, Fe and protein content, while, FLIP-96-51, P3211 and IC398019 were promising for yield, Zn and antioxidant capacity. Identified lentil genotypes can be utilized as trait donors for quality improvement in lentil breedin

Antioxidant activities, dietary nutrients, and yield potential of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) lines in diverse growing environments

The biotic and abiotic stresses cause a significant decline in the yield and fruit quality traits, including antioxidants and minerals, of bitter gourd when grown in open fields. Protected cultivation technology has emerged to minimize such stresses. We investigated the effect of diverse environments (hi-tech greenhouse, naturally ventilated polyhouse, insect-proof net-house, and open field) and breeding lines on earliness, yield potential, antioxidant activities, and dietary nutrients. In the GYT analysis, 12 treatment combinations involving four growing environments and three breeding lines of bitter gourd were examined. The 3-year study suggested that the cultivation of bitter gourd crops in an insect-proof net house (NH) showed superior performance in earliness, yield-attributing traits, antioxidant activities, and dietary nutrients, followed by a naturally ventilated polyhouse (NP). However, NH was on par with NP and significantly better than the open-field-grown crop. The GYT biplot analysis highlighted that the combinations of NH and Pusa Rasdar outperformed and were the most stable treatments for all the traits investigated, followed by NH in conjunction with S32 and S57 lines. This study suggests that growing bitter gourd in protected environments is the optimal strategy to achieve early market prices and improve the yield and nutritional quality of the fruits

Elucidating the interactive impact of tillage, residue retention and system intensification on pearl millet yield stability and biofortification under rainfed agro-ecosystems

Micronutrient malnutrition and suboptimal yields pose significant challenges in rainfed cropping systems worldwide. To address these issues, the implementation of climate-smart management strategies such as conservation agriculture (CA) and system intensification of millet cropping systems is crucial. In this study, we investigated the effects of different system intensification options, residue management, and contrasting tillage practices on pearl millet yield stability, biofortification, and the fatty acid profile of the pearl millet. ZT systems with intercropping of legumes (cluster bean, cowpea, and chickpea) significantly increased productivity (7–12.5%), micronutrient biofortification [Fe (12.5%), Zn (4.9–12.2%), Mn (3.1–6.7%), and Cu (8.3–16.7%)], protein content (2.2–9.9%), oil content (1.3%), and fatty acid profile of pearl millet grains compared to conventional tillage (CT)-based systems with sole cropping. The interactive effect of tillage, residue retention, and system intensification analyzed using GGE statistical analysis revealed that the best combination for achieving stable yields and micronutrient fortification was residue retention in both (wet and dry) seasons coupled with a ZT pearl millet + cowpea–mustard (both with and without barley intercropping) system. In conclusion, ZT combined with residue recycling and legume intercropping can be recommended as an effective approach to achieve stable yield levels and enhance the biofortification of pearl millet in rainfed agroecosystems of South Asia

Effect of Crop Establishment Methods and Microbial Inoculations on Augmenting the Energy Efficiency and Nutritional Status of Rice and Wheat in Cropping System Mode

A field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years with the aim to quantify the role of different nutrient management variables such as microbial inoculation, zinc (Zn) fertilization and optimal and sub-optimal fertilization of nitrogen and phosphorus on the energetic and nutritional status of the rice–wheat cropping system (RWCS). The said nutrient management variables were applied over six different crop establishment methods (CEMs) in RWCS viz. puddled transplanted rice (PTR), system of rice intensification (SRI) and aerobic rice system (ARS) in rice and conventional drill-sown wheat (CDW), system of wheat intensification (SWI) and zero-tillage wheat (ZTW) in wheat. Two microbial consortia viz. Anabaena sp. (CR1) + Providencia sp. (PR3) consortia (MC1) and Anabaena-Pseudomonas biofilmed formulations (MC2) were used in this study, while recommended dose of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) (RDN) (120 kg N ha−1 and 25.8 kg P ha−1), 75% RDN and Zn fertilization (soil applied 5 kg Zn ha−1 through zinc sulphate heptahydrate) were the other variables. The contribution of microbial consortia, Zn fertilization and RDN (over 75% RDN) to net energy production of RWCS was 12.9–16.1 × 103 MJ ha−1, 10.1–11.0 × 103 MJ ha−1 and 11.7–15.3 × 103 MJ ha−1. Among the CEMs, the highest gross and net energy production was recorded in ARS–ZTW with lowest energy required for production of one tonne of system yield (2366–2523 MJ). The system protein yield varies from 494.1 to 957.7 kg ha−1 with highest protein yield in 75% RDN + MC2 + Zn applied ARS–ZTW. Among micronutrients, the uptake of Zn and iron (Fe) is sensitive to all studied variables, while manganese (Mn) and cupper (Cu) uptake was found significantly affected by CEMs alone. The combination of 75% RDN + MC2 + Zn in ARS–ZTW was found superior in all respects with 288.3 and 286.9 MJ ha−1 net energy production and 2320 and 2473 MJ energy required for production of one tonne system yield in the first and second year of study, respectively

AgriResponse: A Real-Time Agricultural Query-Response Generation System for Assisting Nationwide Farmers

Advancements in information sciences can play a vital role in strengthening the nation’s sustainable agriculture goals. In this direction, we propose a framework for a text-based query-response generation system to cope with the demand for timely help to the nationwide Indian farmers. One of the major challenges in designing such systems is constructing a knowledge base that can answer plant-protection-related questions from a diverse population of farmers. To tackle this problem, the past eight years’ call-log records from the countrywide farmers’ helpline network are collected and processed to construct the required knowledge base. Additionally, three response-retrieval models with approximate matching and spatial-based searching functionality are developed to administer the user input questions and extract relevant answers from the base. To validate the performance of the proposed framework, a diversified question bank consisting of 755 queries covering 151 crops in India is compiled. Three metrics (Accuracy Percentage, Crop-weighted Performance Score, and Average Response-retrieval time) are considered for the models’ assessment. Experimental results show that AgriResponse is a practical framework in real-world applications, with the different retrieval models useful for different scenarios

Assessing the Impact of Altered Clay Mineral and Red Mud Derivatives on the Characteristics of Mustard (B. juncea) and the Soil Arsenic Content

A pot experiment was conducted during the winter season (rabi) of 2020-21 at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) was cultivated to investigate the impact of modified clay mineral (Bentonite) and Red mud on yield characteristics and total arsenic content in the soil. The main objective was to examine how the application of modified clay mineral and red mud (Fe-exchanged bentonite, Dimethyl sulfoxide-intercalated bentonite, and Iron-exchanged red mud) would affect the yield attributes of Indian mustard. The initial soil's total arsenic content was 16.2 mg kg-1. The results revealed that all the mentioned treatments led to a significant increase in leaf biomass and root volume compared to the control pot. Significantly, highest leaf biomass (g pot-1) was recorded in Fe-exchanged bentonite (4.10 g pot-1) followed by Dimethyl sulfoxide-intercalated bentonite (4.00 g pot-1), and Iron-exchanged redmud (3.93 g pot-1) respectively at the rate of 5.00 g product per kg soil. The highest root volume (6.6 cm2) was observed in soil treated with 5.00 g kg-1 of Fe-exchanged bentonite. Dimethyl sulfoxide-intercalated bentonite, and Iron-exchanged red mud also showed positive effects but to a lesser extent. total As content in contaminated soil was thoroughly investigated, and the results revealed that these clays did not exert a significant influence on the total As content under the given application rates

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Not AvailableIn zero-till direct seeded rice (DSR), systematic information pertaining to weed management under on-farm conditions for medium- or long-term is lacking. Therefore, on-farm adaptive trials were conducted to find out the effect of different crop establishment and weed management practices on yield stability and weed dynamics over the years at Faridabad and Sonepat districts of Haryana, India. Results showed that DSR with residue (DSRR) coupled with pretilachlor as pre-emergence (PE) @ 0.75 kg ha−1 followed by bispyribac-sodium as post-emergence (POE) @ 0.025 kg ha-1 (PretBis) or cyhalofop butyl @ 0.060 kg ha-1 (PretCy) resulted in rice grain yield (5.38 t ha-1 and 5.33 t ha-1, respectively) statistically at par with transplanted rice (TPR)-PretBis (5.30 t ha-1) and TPR-PretCy (5.21 t ha-1). PretBis produced 32.3 % higher grain yield as compared to farmers’ practice (FP). Higher broad-leaved weeds (BLWs) biomass was recorded under DSR (8.25 g m-2), followed by DSRR (4.58 g m-2) and TPR (3.99 g m-2). Whereas, among weed management practices, PretBis had least BLWs biomass (4.17 g m-2) followed by PretCy (4.77 g m-2). Biomass of narrow leaved weeds (NLWs) and sedges was found lowest under PretCy (3.63 g m-2 and 3.77 g m-2). GGE biplot analysis of biomass of BLWs and NLWs reveals that PretBis and PretCy, respectively had the highest-ranking owing to their stability across the environments (location x year). In year x location environments, last three years of study were in the same mega environments, which indicated stability in weed biomass and population reduction from third year onwards. Yield stability was highest under DSRR-PretCy followed by DSRR-PretBis. The study highlights that, under north-western Indo-Gangetic plains, if the weeds are managed properly, DSRR can be adopted without significant yield reduction during initial years and comparable yield to TPR and improved soil fertility in the long-term.Not Availabl

Impact of Futuristic Climate Variables on Weed Biology and Herbicidal Efficacy: A Review

Our changing climate will likely have serious implications on agriculture production through its effects on food and feed crop yield and quality, forage and livestock production, and pest dynamics, including troublesome weed control. With regards to weeds, climatic variables control many plant physiology functions that impact flowering, fruiting, and seed dormancy; therefore, an altered climate can result in a weed species composition shift within agro-ecosystems. Weed species will likely adapt to a changing climate due to their high phenotypic plasticity and vast genetic diversity. Higher temperatures and CO2 concentrations, and altered moisture conditions, not only affect the growth of weeds, but also impact the effectiveness of herbicides in controlling weeds. Therefore, weed biology, growth characteristics, and their management are predicted to be affected greatly by changing climatic conditions. This manuscript attempted to compile the available information on general principles of weed response to changing climatic conditions, including elevated CO2 and temperature under diverse rainfall patterns and drought. Likewise, we have also attempted to highlight the effect of soil moisture dynamics on the efficacy of various herbicides under diverse agro-ecosystems

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Not AvailableAgriculture and its allied sectors significantly contribute to the Indian economy's long-term growth and development and a livelihood for the majority of the population that can never be deprecated. Since it has made significant progress toward the agricultural development goals of food security, abundance, and accessibility, it started to pose a serious agricultural crisis to satisfy hunger in the coming period. Although farmers are very innovative and always ready to accept and adopt the latest technologies developed in the farming sector for increasing the farmers’ income but there are many more advanced technologies available and one outcoming technology is the use of robots in the field of agriculture in various farm operations like weed control fertilizer application, automated irrigation, etc. So here the goal of Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes. AI is a discipline that can empower machines to execute tasks in real- time situations and cognitive processing like the human mind. AI in agriculture not only helps the farmers to automate their farming operations like sowing, harvesting, crop monitoring, and sale purchase of their product but also shifts to precise cultivation for precision farming for higher crop yield and better quality by optimizing the inputs/resources. Using AI techniques in various fields of agriculture will provide more useful applications to the sector, which are directly or indirectly helping the world to deal with food production issues for the growing population. Some of the challenges faced by farmers using traditional agricultural methods are as follows: harsh weather conditions, the gap between demand and supplies, competition for growth factors by pests, etc. can be optimized using AI techniques.Not Availabl