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<jats:p>The intelligent pesticide application techniques in orchards have grown rapidly worldwide due to the decrease in agricultural populations and the increase in labor costs. However, whether and how intelligent pesticide application techniques are better than conventional pesticide application remains unclear. Here, we evaluated the performance of the unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) on pesticide application, ecological environment protection, and human’s health protection compared to conventional manual methods. We quantified characteristics from the aspects of working effectiveness, efficiency, environmental pollution, water saving and carbon dioxide reduction. The results showed that the UAV application has the advantages of a higher working efficiency and less environmental pollution and natural resource consumption compared to the UGV and conventional manual methods despite of its worse spray performance The UGV application techniques could improve spray performance at the cost of high environmental pollution. The conventional spray gun technique was unfriendly to environmental and resource protection although it showed a better spray performance. Thus, the balance of improving spray performance and controlling environmental pollution is the key to improve the performance of UAV and UGV technology in the future. The study could be useful in the development of intelligent pesticide application techniques and provide scientific support for the transition of intelligent management in orchards.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Plant nutrition, growth, and response to environmental stresses are pH-dependent processes that are regulated at the apoplastic and subcellular levels. The root apoplastic pH is especially sensitive to external cues and can also be modified by intracellular inputs, such as hormonal signaling. Optimal crosstalk of the mechanisms involved in the extent and span of the apoplast pH fluctuations promotes plant resilience to detrimental biotic and abiotic factors. The fact that variations in local pHs are a standard mechanism in different signaling pathways indicates that the pH itself can be the pivotal element to provide a physiological context to plant cell regions, allowing a proportional reaction to different situations. This review brings a collective vision of the causes that initiate root apoplastic pHs variations, their interaction, and how they influence root response outcomes.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Ascorbate peroxidase (APX), an important antioxidant enzyme, plays a significant role in ROS scavenging by catalyzing the decrease of hydrogen peroxide under various environmental stresses. Nevertheless, information about the <jats:italic>APX</jats:italic> gene family and their evolutionary and functional attributes in peanut (<jats:italic>Arachis hypogea</jats:italic> L.) was not reported. Therefore, a comprehensive genome-wide study was performed to discover the <jats:italic>APX</jats:italic> genes in cultivated peanut genome. This study identified 166 <jats:italic>AhAPX</jats:italic> genes in the peanut genome, classified into 11 main groups. The gene duplication analysis showed that <jats:italic>AhAPX</jats:italic> genes had experienced segmental duplications and purifying selection pressure. Gene structure and motif investigation indicated that most of the <jats:italic>AhAPX</jats:italic> genes exhibited a comparatively well-preserved exon-intron pattern and motif configuration contained by the identical group. We discovered five phytohormones-, six abiotic stress-, and five growth and development-related <jats:italic>cis</jats:italic>-elements in the promoter regions of <jats:italic>AhAPX</jats:italic>. Fourteen putative ah-miRNAs from 12 families were identified, targeting 33 <jats:italic>AhAPX</jats:italic> genes. Furthermore, we identified 3,257 transcription factors from 38 families (including AP2, ARF, B3, bHLH, bZIP, ERF, MYB, NAC, WRKY, etc.) in 162 <jats:italic>AhAPX</jats:italic> genes. Gene ontology and KEGG enrichment analysis confirm the role of <jats:italic>AhAPX</jats:italic> genes in oxidoreductase activity, catalytic activity, cell junction, cellular response to stimulus and detoxification, biosynthesis of metabolites, and phenylpropanoid metabolism. Based on transcriptome datasets, some genes such as <jats:italic>AhAPX4/7/17/77/82/86/130/133</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>AhAPX160</jats:italic> showed significantly higher expression in diverse tissues/organs, i.e., flower, leaf, stem, roots, peg, testa, and cotyledon. Likewise, only a few genes, including <jats:italic>AhAPX4/17/19/55/59/82/101/102/137</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>AhAPX140</jats:italic>, were significantly upregulated under abiotic (drought and cold), and phytohormones (ethylene, abscisic acid, paclobutrazol, brassinolide, and salicylic acid) treatments. qRT-PCR-based expression profiling presented the parallel expression trends as generated from transcriptome datasets. Our discoveries gave new visions into the evolution of <jats:italic>APX</jats:italic> genes and provided a base for further functional examinations of the <jats:italic>AhAPX</jats:italic> genes in peanut breeding programs.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Micronutrient malnutrition is a serious concern in many parts of the world; therefore, enhancing crop nutrient content is an important challenge. Chickpea (<jats:italic>Cicer arietinum</jats:italic> L.), a major food legume crop worldwide, is a vital source of protein and minerals in the vegetarian diet. This study evaluated a diverse set of 258 chickpea germplasm accessions for 12 key nutritional traits. A significant variation was observed for several nutritional traits, including crude protein (16.56–24.64/100 g), β-Carotene (0.003–0.104 mg/100 g), calcium (60.69–176.55 mg/100 g), and folate (0.413–6.537 mg/kg). These data, combined with the available whole-genome sequencing data for 318,644 SNPs, were used in genome-wide association studies comprising single-locus and multi-locus models. We also explored the effect of varying the minor allele frequency (MAF) levels and heterozygosity. We identified 62 significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) explaining up to 28.63% of the phenotypic variance (PV), of which nine were localized within genes regulating G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway, proteasome assembly, intracellular signal transduction, and oxidation–reduction process, among others. The significant effect MTAs were located primarily on Ca1, Ca3, Ca4, and Ca6. Importantly, varying the level of heterozygosity was found to significantly affect the detection of associations contributing to traits of interest. We further identified seven promising accessions (ICC10399, ICC1392, ICC1710, ICC2263, ICC1431, ICC4182, and ICC16915) with superior agronomic performance and high nutritional content as potential donors for developing nutrient-rich, high-yielding chickpea varieties. Validation of the significant MTAs with higher PV could identify factors controlling the nutrient acquisition and facilitate the design of biofortified chickpeas for the future.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The (<jats:italic>E</jats:italic>)-β-farnesene (EβF) is one of the most important secondary metabolites in some plants and provides indirect defense against aphids. However, the direct effect of EβF against pests is still unclear. In this study, various concentrations of EβF (0.16, 0.8, and 4 g/kg) were provided in an artificial diet to determine the direct effects of EβF on <jats:italic>Spodoptera exigua</jats:italic>. The results showed that an artificial diet containing 4 g/kg of EβF reduced the final survival of the <jats:italic>S. exigua</jats:italic> larvae and per female fecundity of adults significantly when compared with CK and SC controls (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05), then ultimately it also significantly affected the intrinsic rate of increase (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05). Furthermore, the results of the EβF bioassay in an artificial diet also indicated that the proliferation of the <jats:italic>S. exigua</jats:italic> population was inhibited by the ingestion of EβF in a dose-dependent manner. Combined differential RNA-seq data and RT-qPCR analysis, it was found that four key genes involved in juvenile hormone degradation significantly upregulated in <jats:italic>S. exigua</jats:italic> larvae treated by EβF at a dose of 0.8 and 4 g/kg when compared with two controls (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05). This indicated that EβF could disturb the normal function of juvenile hormones and reduce the survival rate of <jats:italic>S. exigua</jats:italic> larvae. Additionally, two key genes that regulate per fecundity of <jats:italic>S. exigua</jats:italic> females, including <jats:italic>SeVg</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>SeVgR</jats:italic>, were significantly downregulated in adult females (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05) when they were treated with 0.8 and 4 g/kg of EβF at the larval stage, relative to the expression of these genes after treatment with controls. These findings suggested that EβF first disturbed the normal function of juvenile hormone by upregulating key degradation genes, and then inhibited the expression of <jats:italic>SeVg</jats:italic>/<jats:italic>SeVgR</jats:italic> genes and proteins, thus reducing the population size of <jats:italic>S. exigua</jats:italic> by increasing larval mortality and inhibiting per female fecundity.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Indian mustard (<jats:italic>Brassica juncea</jats:italic> L.) is an essential oilseed crop that offers important nutrients to human beings. However, the concurrent micronutrient deficiencies including boron (B), sulfur (S), and nitrogen (N) could pose a significant threat to public health. Therefore, this study was conducted at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, with nine treatments, i.e., T<jats:sub>1</jats:sub>-Control (recommended NPK only), T<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>- borax (0.5%) at flowering, T<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>-borax (1.0%) at flowering,T<jats:sub>4</jats:sub>- borax (0.5%) + urea (1.0%) at flowering,T<jats:sub>5</jats:sub>-borax (1.0%) + urea (1.0%) at flowering, T<jats:sub>6</jats:sub>-borax (0.5%) at flowering + capsule formation, T<jats:sub>7</jats:sub>-borax (1.0%) at flowering + capsule formation, T<jats:sub>8</jats:sub>-borax (0.5%) + urea (1.0%) at flowering + capsule formation, T<jats:sub>9</jats:sub>-borax (1.0%) + urea (1.0%) at flowering + Capsule formation, replicated three times in a randomized block design for 2 years (2020–2021 and 2021–2022). The foliar application of borax (1.0%) + urea (1.0%) at the flowering and capsule formation stage (treatment T<jats:sub>9</jats:sub>) was highly efficient in increasing food quality parameters such as crude fiber, total soluble solids (TSS), and protein content with maximum values of 3.77, 24.9, and 27.53%, respectively. Also, maximum yields of seed as well as stover for treatment T<jats:sub>9</jats:sub> were 1.376 and 6.625 kg ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, respectively. Similarly, the results for B, S, and N concentrations in seed (27.71 mg kg<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, 17.69 mg kg<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, and 2.35%), as well as stover (25.92 mg kg<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, 17.31 mg kg<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, and 0.33%), were maximum in treatment T<jats:sub>9</jats:sub>. Also, B, S, and N uptake by seed (38.18 g ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, 24.40 g ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, and 32.05 Kg ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>) and stover (172.55 g ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, 115.44 g ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, and 21.99 Kg ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>) were maximum for the treatment T<jats:sub>9</jats:sub> involving borax (1.0%) + urea (1.0%) at the flowering and capsule formation stage. Whereas, the concentration and uptake decreased in the treatments involving the sole application of borax and urea. Therefore, the application of borax (1.0%) and urea (1.0%) at the flowering and capsule formation stage significantly improved the quality parameters, seed and stover yield, nutrient concentration, and uptake over control and could be used to alleviate the B, S, and N deficiency in Indian mustard.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Leaf rolling is an important agronomic trait in wheat (<jats:italic>Triticum aestivum</jats:italic> L.). Moderate leaf rolling keeps leaves upright and maintains the relatively normal photosynthesis of plants under drought stress. However, the molecular mechanism of wheat leaf rolling remains unclear. Here, we identified a candidate gene <jats:italic>TaMYB5-3A</jats:italic> that regulates leaf rolling by using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a panel of 323 wheat accessions. Phenotype analysis indicated that the leaves of <jats:italic>tamyb5</jats:italic> mutants were flatter than that of the wild type under drought condition. A nucleotide variation in the <jats:italic>TaMYB5-3A</jats:italic> coding region resulted in a substitution of Thr to Lys, which corresponds to two alleles <jats:italic>SNP</jats:italic>-3A-1 and <jats:italic>SNP</jats:italic>-3A-2. The leaf rolling index (LRI) of the <jats:italic>SNP</jats:italic>-3A-1 genotype was significantly lower than that of the <jats:italic>SNP</jats:italic>-3A-2 genotype. In addition, <jats:italic>TaMYB5-3A</jats:italic> alleles were associated with canopy temperature (CT) in multiple environments. The CT of the <jats:italic>SNP</jats:italic>-3A-1 genotype was lower than that of the <jats:italic>SNP</jats:italic>-3A-2 genotype. Gene expression analysis showed that <jats:italic>TaMYB5-3A</jats:italic> was mainly expressed in leaves and down-regulated by PEG and ABA treatment. TaMYB5 induces <jats:italic>TaNRL1</jats:italic> gene expression through the direct binding to the AC <jats:italic>cis</jats:italic>-acting element of the promoter of the target gene, which was validated by EMSA (electrophoretic mobility shift assay). Our results revealed a crucial molecular mechanism in wheat leaf rolling and provided the theoretical basis and a gene resource for crop breeding.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Optimizing root system architecture (RSA) allows crops to better capture water and nutrients and adapt to harsh environment. Parental reproductive environment (PRE) has been reported to significantly affect growth and development throughout the life cycle of the next generation. In this study, 10 RSA-related traits were evaluated in seedling stage from five independent hydroponic tests using seeds harvested from five different PREs. Based on the Wheat55K SNP array-based genetic map, quantitative trait loci (QTL) for these traits were detected in a recombinant inbred line population. Twenty-eight putative QTL for RSA-related traits were detected, covering thirteen chromosomal regions. A major QTL, <jats:italic>QTrl.sicau-2SY-4D</jats:italic> for total root length (TRL), which was likely independent of PREs, explained 15.81–38.48% of phenotypic variations and was located at 14.96–19.59 Mb on chromosome arm 4DS. Interestingly, it showed pleiotropic effects on TRL, root area, root volume, root forks, root dry weight, and shoot dry weight. The functional marker <jats:italic>KASP-Rht-D1</jats:italic> for <jats:italic>Rht-D1</jats:italic> was used to genotype 2SY population and remapping QTL for TRL showed that <jats:italic>QTrl.sicau-2SY-4D</jats:italic> was not linked to <jats:italic>Rht-D1.</jats:italic> The kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) marker, <jats:italic>KASP-AX-110527441</jats:italic> linked to this major QTL, was developed and used to successfully validate its effect in three different genetic populations. Further analysis suggested that the positive allele at <jats:italic>QTrl.sicau-2SY-4D</jats:italic> was mainly utilized in wheat breeding of northwest China where precipitation was significantly lower, indicating that wheat requires longer TRL to capture water and nutrients in arid or semi-arid regions due to deficient precipitation. Additionally, four genes (<jats:italic>TraesCS4D03G0059800</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>TraesCS4D03G0057800</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>TraesCS4D03G0064000</jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>TraesCS4D03G0064400</jats:italic>) possibly related to root development were predicted in physical interval of <jats:italic>QTrl.sicau-2SY-4D</jats:italic>. Taken together, these results enrich our understanding on the genetic basis of RSA and provide a potentially valuable TRL QTL for wheat breeding.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Stone cells are sclerenchyma cells formed by deposition of lignin, which is the most significant factor limiting the quality of pears. Ca<jats:sup>2+</jats:sup> was known to inhibit stone cells in pear fruits, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Our study revealed that exogenous CaCl<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> (Ca<jats:sup>2+</jats:sup>) treatment of “Nanguo” pear (<jats:italic>Pyrus ussuriensis</jats:italic>) suppressed the synthesis of lignin and stone cell production. We further analysed the transcriptomes using RNA-seq, identified a transcription factor, <jats:italic>PuDof2.5</jats:italic>, and its targets gene <jats:italic>PuPRX42-like</jats:italic> (lignin polymerase gene) expression decreased in CaCl<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-treated samples, which are involved in suppressing lignin biosynthesis in pear fruit. <jats:italic>PuDof2.5</jats:italic> was found to bind directly to the <jats:italic>PuPRX42-like</jats:italic> promoter and induced its transcription. Taken together, our results revealed that Ca<jats:sup>2+</jats:sup> modulated the key lignin biosynthetic transcription factor <jats:italic>PuDof2.5</jats:italic> to suppress stone cell production in pear fruits.</jats:p>

<jats:p><jats:italic>Brassica oleracea</jats:italic> is an important species due to its high economic and nutritional value. Moreover, it is an ideal model for studies of morphology and genome evolution. In the genomic era, with massive “omics” data being generated, a high-efficiency platform is crucial to deepen our understanding of this important species. In this study, we developed the <jats:italic>B. oleracea</jats:italic> Genome Database (BoGDB) to consolidate genome, transcriptome, and metabolome data of <jats:italic>B. oleracea</jats:italic> cultivars, providing the first cross-omics platform for <jats:italic>B. oleracea</jats:italic>. In order to make full use of the multi-omics data, BoGDB integrates multiple functional modules, including “Gene Search,” “Heatmap,” “Genome Browser,” “Genome,” “Tools,” “Metabolic,” and “Variation,” which provides a user-friendly platform for genomic and genetic research and molecular design breeding of <jats:italic>B. oleracea</jats:italic> crops. In addition, BoGDB will continue to collect new genomic data of <jats:italic>B. oleracea</jats:italic> and integrate them into BoGDB when higher-quality genomic data are released.</jats:p>