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Not AvailableThe cucurbitaceous family has comprised with diverse economically important cucurbits. It primarily comprised of 118 genera and 825 species which being consumed as food worldwide since the domestication of the plants. In India, cucurbits are being grown throughout regions of the country including hot semi-arid and arid zones. With the advent of genomic breakthrough, a large number of genomic and biotechnological interventions have been developed in cucurbitaceous crops. The plenty of molecular markers are available in cucurbits and these markers were deployed to assess the genetic diversity and mapping of the QTLS/genes of interest. The success in development of genomic tools may happens by genome sequencing of mostly important cucurbitaceous crops such as watermelon, cucumber, muskmelon, bottle gourd, pumpkins. Transgenic and non-transgenic plants were developed in various cucurbitaceous crops by employing of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and CRISPR/CAS9 approach, respectively. Thus cucurbitaceous crops have been considerably exploited at molecular level and biotechnological interventions were developed for crop improvement. However, a comprehensive report in cucurbitaceous crops regarding genomic and biotechnological developments is not available in public domain. Therefore, in the present review, we have collected the information related to genomics and biotechnology in cucurbits and emphasized on some successful interventions.Not Availabl

Plant-insect interactions in different genotypes of ber (Ziziphus mauritiana L) against fruit borer (Meridarchis scyrodes Meyrick)

Differences in genotypes of ber plant characters may affect insect-plant herbivore interactions, and variation in genotype traits is responsible for modifying the bottom-up effects. We evaluated the performance of different genotypes of Z. mauritiana against fruit borer, Meridarchis scyrodes Meyrick, under field conditions in the semi-arid region of India. We found that: (i) four genotypes were resistant; 5 genotypes were moderately resistant; 7 genotypes were susceptible, and seven genotypes were highly susceptible to fruit borers infestation; (ii) per cent fruit infestation was highest in Sanur-5 (75.09 %) and lowest in Safeda (13.27 %) followed by Tikadi (14.01 %); (iii) phenols (0.96), Tannins (0.95), flavonoid (0.95) contents and pericarp thickness (0.88) had significant negative correlations with per cent fruit infestation of fruit borer, M. scyrodes; (iv) fruit length (0.50) and pulp: stone ratio (0.77) showed significant positive correlations with per cent fruit infestation of fruit borer, M. scyrodes and (v) flavonoid contents explained 91.40% of the total variation in fruit borer, M. scyrodes infestation. Two principal components (PCs) were extracted, explaining the cumulative variation of 88.48 %. PC1 explained 64.34 % of the variation, while PC2 explained 24.14 n. In conclusion, growers can adopt the potential resistant genotype (Safeda) of Z. mauritiana with minimal financial investment to obtain higher yields

Biochemical basis of plant-insect interaction in arid horticulture crops: a scientific review

Plants are persistently confronted to both abiotic and biotic stresses that drastically reduce their productivity. Plant responses to these stresses are multifaceted and involve copious Biochemical, physiological, molecular, molecular and cellular adaptations. Recent evidence shows that simultaneous occurrence of abiotic and biotic stress can have a positive effect on plant performance by reducing the susceptibility to biotic stress which is a positive sign for arid horticulture crops. Some of these adaptations specifically biochemical adaptations become the source of plant defense mechanisms against biotic stresses like insect’s pest and diseases. These biochemical adaptations/mechanisms includes production of secondary metabolites of plant defense against the biotic stresses especially against insects are wide spread and highly dynamic, and are mediated the response directly or indirectly in arid horticultural crops. Production of secondary metabolites viz. terpenes, phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, N & S containing compounds is constitutive as well as inducible through mild stress caused by insect damage to plants which leads to affect the feeding, growth and survival of the insect. Quality and quantity of constitutive secondary metabolites production is species as well as cultivar specific and can be expressed as signature of particular plant or species and leads to the phenomenon of host-plant interaction or host-plant resistance. This phenomenon of host plant resistance to insect can be exploited for development of crop cultivars which readily produce the inducible response upon mild infestation and can perform as one of the of integrated pest management for sustainable arid horticulture crop production. This review presents overviews about these constitutive and inducible responses towards biochemical adaptations in arid horticulture crops to protect themselves against insects

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Not AvailableBackground: Calligonum polygonoides is an endemic plant species, belongs to Polygonaceae family, native to the “Thar Desert” of India. It is highly tolerant to multiple stresses with dominant biomass and phytochemical producer under extreme niche. It has significant ethnopharmacological applications, but not yet scientifically validated. Materials and Methods: The methanolic extract of C. polygonoides flower bud was subjected to gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC‑MS) analysis and antioxidant potential assay was done on different radical scavenging scales. The phytochemicals were identified based on retention time and matching their mass spectra to spectra in NIST 14 library. Results: The results revealed the presence of fatty acids, phenolics, terpenoides, flavanoids, alkaloids, tannins, steroids, ketones, esters, and amino acid derivatives, which comprises 93 compounds. Most of the detected compounds have been proved to possess important bio‑activities such as anti‑microbial, anti‑inflammatory, anticancer, anti‑diabetic, hepatoprotective, cardiovascular, antioxidant, and antimutagenic. Interestingly, some compounds such as furan‑2,5‑dimethyl, 2,3-dihydro-2,5- dihydroxy-6 -methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (DDMP), dehydromevalonic lactone, deoxyspergualin, 2‑methoxy‑4‑vinylphenol, benzeneethanol‑4‑hydroxy‑, quinic acid, lauric acid, linolenic acid, and squalene were detected which have proved pharmaceuticals applications against major diseases such as cancer, diabetics, cardiovascular, and some other chronic diseases. Furthermore, the methanolic extract also attributed very high level of antioxidant potential on cupric reducing antioxidant capacity, ferric reducing antioxidant power, 2,2‑diphenyl‑1‑picrylhydrazyl, and phosphomolybdenum assay scales. Conclusion: The identified phytochemicals with ample pharmaceutical application explore the worthiness of this endemic plant species. Along with pharmaceutical, it has an immense scope in nutraceutical and functional food industry. These medicinal importance advised for its conservation and artificial regeneration, to sustain the agro‑ecological balance of Thar Desert of India.Not Availabl

Genomic and biotechnological interventions for crop improvement in cucurbitaceous crops: A review

The cucurbitaceous family has comprised with diverse economically important cucurbits. It primarily comprised of 118 genera and 825 species which being consumed as food worldwide since the domestication of the plants. In India, cucurbits are being grown throughout regions of the country including hot semi-arid and arid zones. With the advent of genomic breakthrough, a large number of genomic and biotechnological interventions have been developed in cucurbitaceous crops. The plenty of molecular markers are available in cucurbits and these markers were deployed to assess the genetic diversity and mapping of the QTLS/genes of interest. The success in development of genomic tools may happens by genome sequencing of mostly important cucurbitaceous crops such as watermelon, cucumber, muskmelon, bottle gourd, pumpkins. Transgenic and non-transgenic plants were developed in various cucurbitaceous crops by employing of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and CRISPR/CAS9 approach, respectively. Thus cucurbitaceous crops have been considerably exploited at molecular level and biotechnological interventions were developed for crop improvement. However, a comprehensive report in cucurbitaceous crops regarding genomic and biotechnological developments is not available in public domain. Therefore, in the present review, we have collected the information related to genomics and biotechnology in cucurbits and emphasized on some successful interventions

Genomic and biotechnological interventions for crop improvement in cucurbitaceous crops: A review

The cucurbitaceous family has comprised with diverse economically important cucurbits. It primarily comprised of 118 genera and 825 species which being consumed as food worldwide since the domestication of the plants. In India, cucurbits are being grown throughout regions of the country including hot semi-arid and arid zones. With the advent of genomic breakthrough, a large number of genomic and biotechnological interventions have been developed in cucurbitaceous crops. The plenty of molecular markers are available in cucurbits and these markers were deployed to assess the genetic diversity and mapping of the QTLS/genes of interest. The success in development of genomic tools may happens by genome sequencing of mostly important cucurbitaceous crops such as watermelon, cucumber, muskmelon, bottle gourd, pumpkins. Transgenic and non-transgenic plants were developed in various cucurbitaceous crops by employing of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and CRISPR/CAS9 approach, respectively. Thus cucurbitaceous crops have been considerably exploited at molecular level and biotechnological interventions were developed for crop improvement. However, a comprehensive report in cucurbitaceous crops regarding genomic and biotechnological developments is not available in public domain. Therefore, in the present review, we have collected the information related to genomics and biotechnology in cucurbits and emphasized on some successful interventions