Medicinal Plant-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Networks in the Semi-Arid Landscapes of Marathwada: Challenges, Opportunities and Future Research

Trends in biofertilisation and agroecological practices for the sustainable enhancement of CAM plants growth in arid environment: the case of Opuntia ficus-indica

Phytophthora in forestry, natural environments, agriculture, and horticulture of the Mediterranean Basin and emerging Phytophthora threats from other regions

Phytophthora is one of the most destructive genera of plant pathogens, comprising more than 260 described species, with numerous cryptic and undescribed taxa that remain undetected. These oomycetes cause severe diseases in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and natural ecosystems resulting in major economic losses, altered forest dynamics and biodiversity decline. The Mediterranean Basin is particularly vulnerable to these pathogens, due to high crop diversity, rich endemic flora, intensive plant trade networks, and climatic conditions that favour pathogen establishment and spread. Most damaging Phytophthora species are exotic, introduced primarily through infected nursery stock, contaminated soil or irrigation and river water. Their impacts are also affected by environmental stresses, climate change, intensive cultivation and interactions and connectivity among agricultural, forest and natural landscapes. New diagnostic tools and global surveys have revealed significant and previously undiscovered diversity and ongoing biosecurity risks for these pathogens. Effective management and mitigation require harmonised surveillance systems, robust early detection tools, production of pathogen-free planting material, improved hygiene and cultivation practices, and breeding for host tolerance. These approaches must be integrated within broad landscape-level strategies, to safeguard biodiversity and enhance ecosystem resilience across the Mediterranean Basin ecosystems.

Enhancing Ecological Integrity and Resilience: The Use of Biocontrol Agents and Botanicals for Sustainable Plant Disease Management in Jhum Systems of Nagaland

Shifting cultivation (Jhum) is a common farming method in the Northeastern hill areas of India. Jhum system of farming is traditionally prevalent throughout the hilly regions of Nagaland. Jhum is frequently misrepresented as being environmentally destructive. The multilayered diversity in the Jhum system, however, serves as the ecological basis for disease suppression in Jhum fields. At the genetic level, farmers keep and use landraces and traditional types of rice, maize, beans and millets, many of which have built-in resistance to pathogens that are common in the area. Diversity at the species level, such as co-cultivating functionally complementary crops like legumes (which fix nitrogen (N), aromatic herbs (which repel pests) and root crops (which stabilise soil), adds spatial heterogeneity that limits the capacity of pests and pathogens to disseminate efficiently. The vertical layering of the plant structures and uneven field shapes make conditions less like monoculture, which stops the movement of insects that carry diseases and the spread of fungal spores through the air. These actions together create an environment of systemic stability that protects the agroecosystem from both living and non-living stressors. Combining these native ecological strategies with scientific research findings on eco-friendly disease management approaches investigating the effectiveness of biocontrol agents and botanicals in controlling plant pathogens pertinent to the crops of Nagaland provides a comprehensive view of the resilience of Jhum systems. In this context, laboratory and field trials executed to evaluate the biocontrol agents like Trichoderma spp. and plant-based treatments from the area against important crop pathogens by various researchers are reviewed here. Combining modern science with traditional ecological knowledge, biological control techniques can improve disease resistance and promote sustainable agriculture practices in traditional Jhum farming systems.

Forb species benefit more than grasses from a diverse arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community in semi-arid grasslands

Forb species benefit more than grasses from a diverse arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community in semi-arid grasslands

Abstract. In exchange for the carbon assimilated by plants, mycorrhizal fungi increase plant nutrient supply, protect them against pathogens and drought, and influence soil formation and aggregation, among other benefits. These processes, in turn, affect the diversity of vegetation and various ecosystem functions, including biomass production. While plant functional diversity is known to mediate mycorrhizal effects on dryland diversity and functioning, experimental tests of such effects are scarce. We conducted an experiment using simplified grassland communities with forbs and grasses to evaluate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and their diversity on plant biomass production. At the community level, the impact of AMF richness on plant biomass production was negative, with shoot and root production consistently decreasing with higher AMF richness. However, the biomass response was somewhat mediated by plant functional group identity, revealing that forb species benefit more than grasses from a diverse AMF community. Specifically, leaf production was controlled by grass dominance, leading to grass-dominant communities with low-diversity AMF inoculum producing the most shoot biomass. This research suggests that a full understanding of AMF–plant interactions requires accounting for the complexities of nutrient economy mechanisms, and joint assessment of AMF community diversity and plant functional traits or groups enables us to disentangle these mechanisms in semi-arid grasslands.

Dendrocalamus strictus: a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge and future research priorities

This review compiles and synthesizes information on the morphological, anatomical, phytochemical, physical, and mechanical properties of the species, as well as its reproductive biology, propagation techniques, agroforestry applications, carbon sequestration potential, and genomics, to support the sustainable utilization and long-term conservation of D. strictus.