Muhammad Fraz Ali | Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (original) (raw)
Papers by Muhammad Fraz Ali
BMC plant biology, Jun 27, 2024
Springer eBooks, Dec 31, 2022
Brazilian Journal of Botany, Oct 22, 2023
Plants, Oct 10, 2023
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
BMC plant biology, Apr 5, 2024
Pea (Pisum sativum L.), a globally cultivated leguminous crop valued for its nutritional and econ... more Pea (Pisum sativum L.), a globally cultivated leguminous crop valued for its nutritional and economic significance, faces a critical challenge of soil salinity, which significantly hampers crop growth and production worldwide. A pot experiment was carried out in the Botanical Garden, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur to alleviate the negative impacts of sodium chloride (NaCl) on pea through foliar application of ascorbic acid (AsA). Two pea varieties Meteor (V1) and Sarsabz (V2) were tested against salinity, i.e. 0 mM NaCl (Control) and 100 mM NaCl. Three levels of ascorbic acid 0 (Control), 5 and 10 mM were applied through foliar spray. The experimental design was completely randomized (CRD) with three replicates. Salt stress resulted in the suppression of growth, photosynthetic activity, and yield attributes in pea plants. However, the application of AsA treatments effectively alleviated these inhibitory effects. Under stress conditions, the application of AsA treatment led to a substantial increase in chlorophyll a (41.1%), chl. b (56.1%), total chl. contents (44.6%) and carotenoids (58.4%). Under salt stress, there was an increase in Na + accumulation, lipid peroxidation, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the application of AsA increased the contents of proline (26.9%), endogenous AsA (23.1%), total soluble sugars (17.1%), total phenolics (29.7%), and enzymatic antioxidants i.e. SOD (22.3%), POD (34.1%) and CAT (39%) in both varieties under stress. Salinity reduced the yield attributes while foliarly applied AsA increased the pod length (38.7%), number of pods per plant (40%) and 100 seed weight (45.2%). To sum up, the application of AsA alleviated salt-induced damage in pea plants by enhancing photosynthetic pigments, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic activities, maintaining ion homeostasis, and reducing excessive ROS accumulation through the limitation of lipid peroxidation. Overall, V2 (Sarsabz) performed better as compared to the V1 (Meteor).
Plants
The judicious use of crop input is of prime importance for achieving a considerable output with a... more The judicious use of crop input is of prime importance for achieving a considerable output with a low-cost input. A two-year field experimentation was executed to assess the effect of varying polymer-coated single super phosphate (SSP) regimes on the yield and quality of sugarcane under differential water regimes. A two-factor study was executed under a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement. The CPF-249 sugarcane variety was planted during the 2019–2020 period and the 2020–2021 period. The experiment consisted of four levels of polymer-coated SSP, i.e., control, 90, 110, and 130 kg ha−1, and three water regimes, which consisted of a number of irrigations, i.e., 18 irrigations, 15 irrigations, and 12 irrigations. Moreover, the water regimes were kept in the main plot, whereas the polymer-coated supplement was allocated in a subplot and replicated thrice. The data on the yield components and sugar-related traits were recorded during both years of study, and th...
Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
South African Journal of Botany
Nordic Journal of Botany, 2016
Scientific Reports
Undoubtedly, it is important to remain vigilant and manage invasive grasses to prevent their spre... more Undoubtedly, it is important to remain vigilant and manage invasive grasses to prevent their spread and mitigate their negative impact on the environment. However, these aggressive plants can also play a beneficial role in certain contexts. For example, several invasive grasses provide valuable forage for livestock and have disease control potential. Therefore, a research experiment was conducted to explore the pros and cons of this approach, not only for surrounding vegetation but also for human and animal disease control. The study is primarily focused on developing livestock feed, plant-derived herbicides, and an understanding of the phytotoxic effects of invasive species. All plant parts of Cenchrus ciliaris L., Polypogon monspeliansis L., and Dicanthium annulatum (Forssk.) Stapf, were tested for their phyto-chemical screening, proximate, and toxicity analysis which was caused by the methanolic extract of these grass species. Qualitative phytochemical screening tests were perfor...
CRC Press eBooks, Apr 3, 2023
Hydrology
Agricultural productivity is significantly influenced by the restricted availability of irrigatio... more Agricultural productivity is significantly influenced by the restricted availability of irrigation water and poor soil health. To assess the influence of different potential soil moisture deficit (PSMD) regimes and integrated nutrient levels on the growth, yield, and quality of wheat, an experiment was carried out at the research area of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The experiment includes three levels of PSMD (I1: 25 mm PSMD, I2: 50 mm PSMD, and I3: 75 mm PSMD) and four integrated nutrition levels (N1: 50% organic manure + 50% Inorganic NPK, N2: 75% organic manure + 25% inorganic NPK, N3: 100% application of organic manure, and N4: 100% application of inorganic NPK). Results of the experiment revealed that maximum grain yield (4.78 t ha−1) was obtained as a result of irrigation at 50 mm PSMD with the combined use of organic and inorganic sources in equal proportions. In contrast, the minimum yield was observed at I3: 75 mm PSMD with 100% application of organic manure....
European Journal of Agronomy, 2020
Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.)/mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) intercropping could serve as a n... more Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.)/mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) intercropping could serve as a new cereal/ legume planting pattern to increase crop production. However, how these two crop species compete for resources by stimulating root development and water uptake is unknown. An experiment was conducted at the Northwest A&F University experimental site in northwestern China from 2017 to 2019 to investigate the mechanisms governing the yield responses of both crops and compare interspecific interactions by analyzing the root distribution and water-use efficiency (WUE) of the crops. Intercropped proso millet dominated, as indicated by the highly positive aggressivity (Apm; averaging 1.66) and relative crowding coefficient (Kpm; averaging 2.66). The root growth and distribution of both crops increased under intercropping, with lateral expansion to the middle interrow spaces during the cogrowth period, resulting in greater root length density, surface area density, and volume density in the upper layer (0−50 cm) and close to the plants. This allowed the absorption of more soil water, which helped increase the WUE of intercropped proso millet. These improvements occurred due to significant correlations between soil water content and root structure. However, the relatively short mung bean was shaded by the taller proso millet, creating a disadvantage reflected by the decreased plant biomass and WUE of the former. Compared with grain yield under monocultures, the grain yield of the intercropped proso millet and mung bean increased by 13.9-50.0 % and decreased by 31.9-47.0 %, respectively. Two rows of proso millet intercropped with four rows of mung bean (2P4M) is recommended, as this system, although reducing mung bean yields, increases proso millet yields and enables the greatest land-use efficiency in arid regions of Northwest China.
Arabian Journal of Geosciences
Environmental Sciences
Sewage sludge is now widely used for production of crops throughout the world. Utilizing the sewa... more Sewage sludge is now widely used for production of crops throughout the world. Utilizing the sewage sludge for crop production has various advantages such as nutrient recycling, reducing the need for mineral fertilizer, increasing organic matter amount in soils, and improving physical properties of soil. A large amount of sludge is generated during the sewage treatment process, and it is disposed off on land in the form of fertilizer or soil conditioner. In this, heavy metals are usually in greater concentration than in soil, which is one of the main problems which restricts its utilization as a fertilizer. Nitrate leaching and heavy fertilization cause serious problems for the groundwater and this issue of nitrate leaching is usually neglected. Continuous used of swage sludge cause contamination of soil and water and affects plant growth and soil microorganisms. In this chapter, we have focused on i) various factors which affects nitrate leaching in soil, it includes soil texture, ...
Agronomy
Rice is an important cereal and drought stress is a critical abiotic stress that negatively influ... more Rice is an important cereal and drought stress is a critical abiotic stress that negatively influences the performance and productivity of rice crop, particularly under a changing climate scenario. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impacts of drought stress on grain productivity and water use efficiency of rice cultivars and to assess the genotypic variability among the tested cultivars. Two irrigation treatments including a control and drought stress were applied to the experiments during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020. The statistical evaluation included a comparison of means, genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation, path analysis, correlation assessment, hierarchical clustering of tested cultivars and principal component analysis. The results indicated that drought stress negatively affected the grain productivity of the rice cultivars. The grain productivity of the cultivars decreased, ranging between 21–45% and 21–52% in the first and second season, respecti...
Sustainability
Climate change is aggravating soil salinity, causing huge crop losses around the globe. Multiple ... more Climate change is aggravating soil salinity, causing huge crop losses around the globe. Multiple physiological and biochemical pathways determine the ability of plants to tolerate salt stress. A pot experiment was performed to understand the impact of proline levels, i.e., 0, 10, 20 mM on growth, biochemical and yield attributes of two pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivars (cv. L-888 and cv. Round) under salt stress (150 mM) along with control (0 mM; no stress). The pots were filled with river-washed sand; all the plants were irrigated with full-strength Hoagland’s nutrient solution and grown for two weeks before application of salt stress. Foliar spray of proline was applied to 46-day-old pea plants, once a week till harvest. Data for various growth and physio-biochemical attributes were collected from 70-day-old pea plants. Imposition of salt stress significantly checked growth, gas exchange characteristics [net CO2 assimilation rate (A), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (g...
Arabian Journal of Geosciences
Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science
Frontiers in Plant Science
The intensive use of chemical fertilizers in arable farming dramatically increased environmental ... more The intensive use of chemical fertilizers in arable farming dramatically increased environmental pollution through anthropogenic ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gaseous emissions. Therefore, there is a need to develop improved fertilizer management practices that can reduce these losses. An experiment was conducted to assess the mitigating effects of sole or combined application of zeolite with biochar on gaseous emissions from arable land. For this purpose, zeolite (clinoptilolite) was mixed with different doses of biochar (produced from Dalbergia Sissoo wood chips) and applied along with the recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (NPK @ 150, 100, and 60 kg ha–1, respectively) on arable land in years 2013–14 and 2014–15. Immediately after application, these were incorporated into the top 10 cm of the soil layer and wheat was sown. Treatments were as follows: C = control, Z = zeolite @ 5 t ha–1, B1Z = biochar @ 3 t ha–1 + zeolite @ 5 t ha–1, B2Z = biochar @ 6 t ha–1 + zeolite @ 5 t ha...
BMC plant biology, Jun 27, 2024
Springer eBooks, Dec 31, 2022
Brazilian Journal of Botany, Oct 22, 2023
Plants, Oct 10, 2023
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
BMC plant biology, Apr 5, 2024
Pea (Pisum sativum L.), a globally cultivated leguminous crop valued for its nutritional and econ... more Pea (Pisum sativum L.), a globally cultivated leguminous crop valued for its nutritional and economic significance, faces a critical challenge of soil salinity, which significantly hampers crop growth and production worldwide. A pot experiment was carried out in the Botanical Garden, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur to alleviate the negative impacts of sodium chloride (NaCl) on pea through foliar application of ascorbic acid (AsA). Two pea varieties Meteor (V1) and Sarsabz (V2) were tested against salinity, i.e. 0 mM NaCl (Control) and 100 mM NaCl. Three levels of ascorbic acid 0 (Control), 5 and 10 mM were applied through foliar spray. The experimental design was completely randomized (CRD) with three replicates. Salt stress resulted in the suppression of growth, photosynthetic activity, and yield attributes in pea plants. However, the application of AsA treatments effectively alleviated these inhibitory effects. Under stress conditions, the application of AsA treatment led to a substantial increase in chlorophyll a (41.1%), chl. b (56.1%), total chl. contents (44.6%) and carotenoids (58.4%). Under salt stress, there was an increase in Na + accumulation, lipid peroxidation, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the application of AsA increased the contents of proline (26.9%), endogenous AsA (23.1%), total soluble sugars (17.1%), total phenolics (29.7%), and enzymatic antioxidants i.e. SOD (22.3%), POD (34.1%) and CAT (39%) in both varieties under stress. Salinity reduced the yield attributes while foliarly applied AsA increased the pod length (38.7%), number of pods per plant (40%) and 100 seed weight (45.2%). To sum up, the application of AsA alleviated salt-induced damage in pea plants by enhancing photosynthetic pigments, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic activities, maintaining ion homeostasis, and reducing excessive ROS accumulation through the limitation of lipid peroxidation. Overall, V2 (Sarsabz) performed better as compared to the V1 (Meteor).
Plants
The judicious use of crop input is of prime importance for achieving a considerable output with a... more The judicious use of crop input is of prime importance for achieving a considerable output with a low-cost input. A two-year field experimentation was executed to assess the effect of varying polymer-coated single super phosphate (SSP) regimes on the yield and quality of sugarcane under differential water regimes. A two-factor study was executed under a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement. The CPF-249 sugarcane variety was planted during the 2019–2020 period and the 2020–2021 period. The experiment consisted of four levels of polymer-coated SSP, i.e., control, 90, 110, and 130 kg ha−1, and three water regimes, which consisted of a number of irrigations, i.e., 18 irrigations, 15 irrigations, and 12 irrigations. Moreover, the water regimes were kept in the main plot, whereas the polymer-coated supplement was allocated in a subplot and replicated thrice. The data on the yield components and sugar-related traits were recorded during both years of study, and th...
Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
South African Journal of Botany
Nordic Journal of Botany, 2016
Scientific Reports
Undoubtedly, it is important to remain vigilant and manage invasive grasses to prevent their spre... more Undoubtedly, it is important to remain vigilant and manage invasive grasses to prevent their spread and mitigate their negative impact on the environment. However, these aggressive plants can also play a beneficial role in certain contexts. For example, several invasive grasses provide valuable forage for livestock and have disease control potential. Therefore, a research experiment was conducted to explore the pros and cons of this approach, not only for surrounding vegetation but also for human and animal disease control. The study is primarily focused on developing livestock feed, plant-derived herbicides, and an understanding of the phytotoxic effects of invasive species. All plant parts of Cenchrus ciliaris L., Polypogon monspeliansis L., and Dicanthium annulatum (Forssk.) Stapf, were tested for their phyto-chemical screening, proximate, and toxicity analysis which was caused by the methanolic extract of these grass species. Qualitative phytochemical screening tests were perfor...
CRC Press eBooks, Apr 3, 2023
Hydrology
Agricultural productivity is significantly influenced by the restricted availability of irrigatio... more Agricultural productivity is significantly influenced by the restricted availability of irrigation water and poor soil health. To assess the influence of different potential soil moisture deficit (PSMD) regimes and integrated nutrient levels on the growth, yield, and quality of wheat, an experiment was carried out at the research area of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The experiment includes three levels of PSMD (I1: 25 mm PSMD, I2: 50 mm PSMD, and I3: 75 mm PSMD) and four integrated nutrition levels (N1: 50% organic manure + 50% Inorganic NPK, N2: 75% organic manure + 25% inorganic NPK, N3: 100% application of organic manure, and N4: 100% application of inorganic NPK). Results of the experiment revealed that maximum grain yield (4.78 t ha−1) was obtained as a result of irrigation at 50 mm PSMD with the combined use of organic and inorganic sources in equal proportions. In contrast, the minimum yield was observed at I3: 75 mm PSMD with 100% application of organic manure....
European Journal of Agronomy, 2020
Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.)/mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) intercropping could serve as a n... more Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.)/mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) intercropping could serve as a new cereal/ legume planting pattern to increase crop production. However, how these two crop species compete for resources by stimulating root development and water uptake is unknown. An experiment was conducted at the Northwest A&F University experimental site in northwestern China from 2017 to 2019 to investigate the mechanisms governing the yield responses of both crops and compare interspecific interactions by analyzing the root distribution and water-use efficiency (WUE) of the crops. Intercropped proso millet dominated, as indicated by the highly positive aggressivity (Apm; averaging 1.66) and relative crowding coefficient (Kpm; averaging 2.66). The root growth and distribution of both crops increased under intercropping, with lateral expansion to the middle interrow spaces during the cogrowth period, resulting in greater root length density, surface area density, and volume density in the upper layer (0−50 cm) and close to the plants. This allowed the absorption of more soil water, which helped increase the WUE of intercropped proso millet. These improvements occurred due to significant correlations between soil water content and root structure. However, the relatively short mung bean was shaded by the taller proso millet, creating a disadvantage reflected by the decreased plant biomass and WUE of the former. Compared with grain yield under monocultures, the grain yield of the intercropped proso millet and mung bean increased by 13.9-50.0 % and decreased by 31.9-47.0 %, respectively. Two rows of proso millet intercropped with four rows of mung bean (2P4M) is recommended, as this system, although reducing mung bean yields, increases proso millet yields and enables the greatest land-use efficiency in arid regions of Northwest China.
Arabian Journal of Geosciences
Environmental Sciences
Sewage sludge is now widely used for production of crops throughout the world. Utilizing the sewa... more Sewage sludge is now widely used for production of crops throughout the world. Utilizing the sewage sludge for crop production has various advantages such as nutrient recycling, reducing the need for mineral fertilizer, increasing organic matter amount in soils, and improving physical properties of soil. A large amount of sludge is generated during the sewage treatment process, and it is disposed off on land in the form of fertilizer or soil conditioner. In this, heavy metals are usually in greater concentration than in soil, which is one of the main problems which restricts its utilization as a fertilizer. Nitrate leaching and heavy fertilization cause serious problems for the groundwater and this issue of nitrate leaching is usually neglected. Continuous used of swage sludge cause contamination of soil and water and affects plant growth and soil microorganisms. In this chapter, we have focused on i) various factors which affects nitrate leaching in soil, it includes soil texture, ...
Agronomy
Rice is an important cereal and drought stress is a critical abiotic stress that negatively influ... more Rice is an important cereal and drought stress is a critical abiotic stress that negatively influences the performance and productivity of rice crop, particularly under a changing climate scenario. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impacts of drought stress on grain productivity and water use efficiency of rice cultivars and to assess the genotypic variability among the tested cultivars. Two irrigation treatments including a control and drought stress were applied to the experiments during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020. The statistical evaluation included a comparison of means, genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation, path analysis, correlation assessment, hierarchical clustering of tested cultivars and principal component analysis. The results indicated that drought stress negatively affected the grain productivity of the rice cultivars. The grain productivity of the cultivars decreased, ranging between 21–45% and 21–52% in the first and second season, respecti...
Sustainability
Climate change is aggravating soil salinity, causing huge crop losses around the globe. Multiple ... more Climate change is aggravating soil salinity, causing huge crop losses around the globe. Multiple physiological and biochemical pathways determine the ability of plants to tolerate salt stress. A pot experiment was performed to understand the impact of proline levels, i.e., 0, 10, 20 mM on growth, biochemical and yield attributes of two pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivars (cv. L-888 and cv. Round) under salt stress (150 mM) along with control (0 mM; no stress). The pots were filled with river-washed sand; all the plants were irrigated with full-strength Hoagland’s nutrient solution and grown for two weeks before application of salt stress. Foliar spray of proline was applied to 46-day-old pea plants, once a week till harvest. Data for various growth and physio-biochemical attributes were collected from 70-day-old pea plants. Imposition of salt stress significantly checked growth, gas exchange characteristics [net CO2 assimilation rate (A), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (g...
Arabian Journal of Geosciences
Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science
Frontiers in Plant Science
The intensive use of chemical fertilizers in arable farming dramatically increased environmental ... more The intensive use of chemical fertilizers in arable farming dramatically increased environmental pollution through anthropogenic ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gaseous emissions. Therefore, there is a need to develop improved fertilizer management practices that can reduce these losses. An experiment was conducted to assess the mitigating effects of sole or combined application of zeolite with biochar on gaseous emissions from arable land. For this purpose, zeolite (clinoptilolite) was mixed with different doses of biochar (produced from Dalbergia Sissoo wood chips) and applied along with the recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (NPK @ 150, 100, and 60 kg ha–1, respectively) on arable land in years 2013–14 and 2014–15. Immediately after application, these were incorporated into the top 10 cm of the soil layer and wheat was sown. Treatments were as follows: C = control, Z = zeolite @ 5 t ha–1, B1Z = biochar @ 3 t ha–1 + zeolite @ 5 t ha–1, B2Z = biochar @ 6 t ha–1 + zeolite @ 5 t ha...