Low temperature can seriously limit maize seed germination and seedling growth, and subsequently reduce grain yield. The calcium ion (Ca²⁺), an important messenger in the response to environmental stress, can minimise cold damage. Application of CaCl₂ at 80 mmol L^–1 significantly improved seed germination, protected the function and structure of cell membrane and photosynthesis systems, and improved the antioxidant enzyme system and the osmotic regulatory system of seedlings under cold stress.

Soybean cyst nematode is the most important disease affecting soybean yield. Based on RNA-Seq analysis, this research provides an atlas of gene expressions of soybean cv. Dongnong L-204 in response to HG Type 0 infection, and identifies candidate genes that may be useful in future studies.

The yield of direct-seeded rice has been shown to decrease after straw amendment; however, the reasons for this yield decrease and measures that can be taken to alleviate it are currently unknown. The results suggest that continuous flooding along with straw incorporation mainly limits soil phosphorus availability, thereby affecting yield performance, and that alternate wetting and drying irrigation could be a promising strategy for the sustainable production of direct-seeded rice.

Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. mungcola (Fom), is an important disease of mungbean in China. Pathogenic variability of Fom isolates has been observed. This study developed a set of Fom pathotype differential hosts and identified 12 Fom pathotypes, providing important information for resistance breeding and disease control of Fusarium wilt.

Recombinant inbred line populations of soybean were used to study the inheritance and linkage mapping of resistance genes against Soybean mosaic virus strains SC7 and SC13. Based on genetic information, the resistance region to strains SC7 and SC13 was fine-mapped on chromosome 2 with respective physical distance of intervals ~77 kb and 191 kb. Sequence analysis showed that six and 11 candidate genes were predicated in the region, which will be helpful for the map-based cloning of SMV-resistance genes.

Water-soluble protein concentration (WSPC) of soybean affects the quality of soybean-derived food and the appearance of soybean products. In the present study, a representative soybean population of 178 elite accessions was selected and used to determine quantitative trait nucleotides of WSPC via a genome-wide association study. Identified loci along with eight candidate genes will be of great value for further functional analysis and marker-assisted selection of WSPC in soybean.

B-BOX (BBX) proteins are important transcription factors involved in the regulation of plant growth and development. In this study, 96 BBX genes were identified from wheat by using bioinformatics-based methods, and the functions of TaBBX genes were verified by qPCR and preliminarily studied. Gene-family analysis was found to be a systematic and comprehensive method of analysing a class of genes and screening those with the strongest expression and regulation capabilities for further research.

Incorporating foliar zinc (Zn) application into common management, e.g. foliar application of pesticides, KH₂PO₄ or biostimulants, is a feasible agronomic strategy to biofortify wheat with Zn. However, in this study, both environmental conditions and foliar Zn management, e.g. Zn forms and spray regimes (alone or combined) contributed to the magnitude of grain Zn enrichment, which accounted for 20–37% and 35–45% of explained variation, respectively. The study highlights that management and environment interactions need to be considered in agronomic biofortification of food crops with micronutrients.

Genetic engineering offers a rapid solution for improving the tolerance level of sugarcane against drought stress. Tomato ethylene responsive factor 1 (TERF1) gene conferred drought tolerance to transgenic sugarcane through modulation of accumulation of osmo-protectant and antioxidant metabolism. Thus, the gene may have regulatory function in response to drought stress in sugarcane.

Malnutrition of iron (Fe) in cereals occurs worldwide, particularly, Fe deficiency is more apparent in food crops grown on high-pH soils. Agronomic biofortification seems a feasible solution; however, accumulation and bioavailability of Fe may vary with application method and crop management regime. The presented study, for the first time, reports the comparative efficacy of various Fe application methods (seed coating, osmopriming, surface broadcasting, foliar application) on paddy yield, net benefits, grain Fe accumulation, bioavailability, and Fe-use efficiencies in conventional (puddled transplanted rice) and conservational (direct-seeded aerobic rice) production systems.

We provide the first large-scale development of intron-length polymorphic (ILP) markers in common vetch. The common vetch ILP markers exhibited relatively high levels of transferability to leguminous and non-leguminous species. The developed common vetch ILP markers will be valuable for assessment of genetic relationships, comparative genomic studies, and marker-assisted breeding for leguminous and non-leguminous species.

Contamination of arsenic (As) presents a health hazard that affects home gardeners neighbouring contaminated environments. Chitosan modified biochar (BR-C) and as-is biochars are vital due to their role in removing As(V) from an aqueous environment using zucchini as a test crop. Results showed that BR-C, can increase the sorption capacity of As from polluted water and resist the uptake of As form the crop.

Flooding conditions will result in excess accumulation of arsenic (As) in the grains of rice plants. NaH₂PO₄ generally enhanced the soil release of As and Sb by increasing pH and competitive adsorption in the soil, which resulted in their accumulation in many tissues of the rice plants. The treatment of CaCl₂ at 200 mg kg⁻¹ was most effective for reducing As, Sb and Cd concentrations in the grains.

Drought stress reduces the quantity and quality of pollen grains, resulting in significant loss of kernel setting and thus final yield. This study identified a suite of genes in maize controlling drought stress for development of pollen grains and pollen tubes. Our findings improve the understanding of gene networks in regulating reproductive drought tolerance in maize.

Cytokinin response regulators are important components of the two component signal systems that are involved in the regulation of plant growth and development, and in the response to abiotic stresses. The results of qRT-PCR showed that Triticum aestivum response regulators (TaRRs) were significantly up-regulated under polyethylene glycol treatments. Under sodium chloride stress, TaRRs were up-regulated to varying degrees, These results provide new ideas for further exploring the role of B-type TaRR genes in plant response to drought stress and salt stress.

Red clover is an important legume forage and green manure crop in temperate agricultural zones and has been considered an outcrossing species, although its outcrossing rate under open-pollination conditions is not certain. In this study, the outcrossing rate of diploid red clover in a natural environment was calculated for the first time, using microsatellite molecular markers. These results are valuable for future studies involving breeding research in red clover.

With widespread use of transgenic soybeans, it is important to assess the nutritional value of their seeds. We verified that GmWRI1a and Bar were stably inherited in GmWRI1a-overexpressing lines and then compared the nutritional composition of transgenic and wild-type soybean. Contents of nutritional and anti-nutritional components of GmWRI1a-overexpressing lines were substantially equivalent to the wild-type, and the nutritional composition safety was the same.

This review suggests that small RNA (sRNA) based technologies are promising strategies for increasing plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, thereby helping to address global food insecurity. The technology has the potential to improve plant resistance to pests, diseases and other environmental stresses, resulting in increased crop yield and reliability. A focus on sRNA-based technology and its potential applications for plant improvement suggests a brighter future for agriculture.