Obidjon Sindarov

Balanced cotton nutrition is fundamental to sustaining crop productivity, enhancing nutrient-use efficiency, and maintaining environmental stability. A field experiment was conducted over two consecutive growing seasons (2024–2025) at the experimental station of Tashkent State Agrarian University, Uzbekistan, to evaluate the effects of foliar nutrition in combination with basal fertilization rates on cotton yield and nutrient-use efficiency parameters. The experiment was established using a split-plot design with three replications. Three basal fertilization rates (N₁₅₀P₁₀₅K₇₅, N₂₀₀P₁₄₀K₁₀₀, and N₂₅₀P₁₇₅K₁₂₅) were considered the main-plot factor, while the sub-plot treatments consisted of foliar urea applications at the true-leaf, bud-formation, and flowering stages of cotton, using three regimes (3:5:7, 5:7:9 and 7:9:11 kg ha⁻¹). The results demonstrated that cotton yield increased with increasing basal fertilization rates up to the moderate fertilization rate; however, a decline in yield was observed under the highest fertilizer application rate (N₂₅₀P₁₇₅K₁₂₅). This response suggests that excessive nutrient inputs may have adversely affected crop growth and productivity, potentially due to nutrient imbalance, increased osmotic stress, or reduced nutrient use efficiency. The highest cotton yield was observed at the moderate (N₂₀₀P₁₄₀K₁₀₀) inorganic fertilization norm in tandem with the 7:9:11 kg ha⁻¹ foliar nutrition regime, averaging 21.5% higher than the same fertilization regime without foliar feedings. Under the moderate fertilization regime, foliar application further increased cotton yield to 3.87 Mg ha⁻¹, 4.15 Mg ha⁻¹, and 4.45 Mg ha⁻¹, depending on foliar treatment intensity, corresponding to 17.6%, 26.1%, and 35.3% increases, respectively. However, increasing the basal fertilization rate to N₂₅₀P₁₇₅K₁₂₅ did not yield further improvement in maximum cotton output. Cotton seed and fiber quality indicators also increased significantly in response to the applied agronomic interventions, demonstrating the beneficial effect of balanced nutrition on quality traits. These findings suggest that foliar nutrition can effectively improve cotton productivity and nutrient-use efficiency, thereby reducing reliance on excessive basal fertilization and supporting more sustainable crop production in fragile dryland ecosystems.

Along with pharmacological applications due to bioactive elements such as flavonoids and glycyrrhizin, licorice has positive influences on the rehabilitation, rejuvenation, and management of salt-affected degraded lands in arid regions. These features made this plant widely appreciated worldwide when climate change is showing detrimental impacts for crop production and food security. However, a growing demand followed by irrational harvesting of wild licorice plants has led to substantial dwindling of its natural habitat. There is an increasing need to protect the plant biodiversity since sustainability can be a problem with wild harvesting. Therefore, it is important to investigate cultivation technologies of licorice under harsh environments, while this plant can adapt to a wide range of climates. Thus, in this review, we studied, analyzed and summarized the literature on licorice cultivation methods counteracting the most common environmental stresses in the Aral Sea region. Particularly, the current knowledge was rationalized regarding on cultivation technologies for alleviating salt stress thereby improving crop production. We also highlighted that future research directions on licorice breeding and genomics that might facilitate to produce more resilient and sustainable licorice genotypes to renovate agricultural productivity under disastrous ecology and climate change of the arid regions. Whereas this area possesses all prerequisite conditions needed for successful cultivation of the alternative cash crop.