Sharukh Pasha Mohammed

Main conclusion The review discusses endophyte-mediated tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, molecular-omics signalling insights, and a bibliometric overview. This emphasis is on endophytes as sustainable tools for improving crop resilience. Abstract Plant-endophyte associations offer a promising, sustainable strategy to improve crop resilience against a range of biotic and abiotic stresses. Modern agriculture faces significant yield losses due to pathogenic microbes, insect pests, weeds, drought, salinity, extreme temperature, and heavy metal contamination. These challenges are further intensified by climate change and overreliance on chemical agroinputs. Endophytes are diverse communities of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes that live within plant tissues. These endophytes develop mutualistic interactions that strengthen plant growth, physiology, and defense. These microorganisms promote nutrient acquisition, modulate phytohormone production, enhance photosynthesis, and encourage strong root development. Endophytes provide effective protection against pathogens and herbivores by inducing systemic resistance, biosynthesizing antimicrobial compounds, and modulating stress-responsive pathways. They mitigate abiotic stress by improving water-use efficiency, maintaining ionic balance, increasing antioxidant activity, and protecting plants against drought, temperature fluctuations, salinity, heavy metal toxicity, and flooding. This review summarizes recent advances in the functional roles of bacterial, fungal, and actinomycete endophytes, emphasizing their multifaceted contributions to plant stress tolerance. It further examines molecular and omics-driven findings that reveal complex plant-endophyte signaling networks and metabolic reprogramming. A bibliometric analysis indicates a rapid global interest in endophyte-based sustainable agriculture. Despite the substantial potential of endophytes, challenges persist regarding strain specificity, inconsistent field performance, ecological compatibility, and commercialization. To address these challenges, integrated omics tools, optimized microbial formulations, and precise farming techniques will be essential. Utilization of plant-endophyte synergy offers a practical, eco-friendly solution toward resilient crop production and long-term agricultural sustainability.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an economically important crop worldwide, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. However, production is significantly and increasingly affected by the impacts of climate change, including heat and drought stress and emerging pests and diseases. This study specifically evaluated the effects of heat stress on root and shoot morphology, photosynthesis, and yield traits in five tomato genotypes, to identify the characteristics that differentiate heat tolerance from susceptibility. Heat stress experiments were conducted in a polyhouse, one during the summer under high temperatures, with a non-stress trial during the winter under conducive natural conditions. Significant reductions in yield, root traits and photosynthesis were observed across all genotypes under heat stress. However, the genotype MG785-1 maintained a relatively higher yield (298.01 ± 25.1 g), a 37.7% reduction compared to non-stress conditions, while CLN4786F1 showed resilience with a 32.3% decrease compared to its non-stress harvest index. Root dry weight (5.91 ± 0.53 g in MG785-1) and root shoot ratio (0.19 ± 0.01 in MG785-1) were identified as key traits for heat tolerance. Physiological traits, such as photosynthetic rate (11.71 ± 1.61 µmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹ in MG785-1), were critical for maintaining growth under heat stress. In contrast, the heat-sensitive genotype CLN3961D exhibited a significant decline in yield and physiological performance. Root dry weight and root to shoot ratio were key indicators for heat tolerance, while the photosynthetic rate was critical for maintaining plant growth under stress. These findings underscore the importance of integrated root and physiological traits, providing valuable insights for breeding climate-resilient tomato varieties.

Agriculture encounters significant challenges, with the demand to increase food production by 50% by 2050 to sustain a growing global population while tackling the impacts of climate change and resource scarcity. Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformative potential for precision agriculture, optimizing crop management, resource allocation and sustainable farming practices. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted using the Scopus database, initially identifying 8145 articles. Based on eligibility criteria, 76 were selected for in-depth analysis. This paper focuses on AI applications in key areas of agriculture, including crop monitoring, irrigation management, weed and pest control, yield prediction, and smart spraying technologies. AI-driven techniques, such as machine learning, computer vision, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT), enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability through data-driven decision-making and real-time monitoring. AI-based irrigation systems optimize water use efficiency by integrating sensor inputs with weather data, while robotic technologies enhance targeted weed and pest management. Resource efficiency is further enhanced by smart sprayers and yield estimation techniques. Despite these advancements, research gaps remain, particularly in integrating AI with emerging fields such as nutrient management and expanding the use of sensor systems. This paper highlights advancements in AI for precision agriculture, including crop monitoring, irrigation management and yield prediction, while identifying gaps in areas like nutrient management and sensor integration. Addressing these gaps is essential for developing more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is economically important worldwide, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions, and production is significantly affected by climate change, notably heat stress. This study evaluated the effects of heat stress on root and shoot morphology, photosynthesis, fruit set, and yield traits in five tomato genotypes to identify the characteristics that differentiate heat tolerance from susceptibility, which will enable us to identify sources for key traits for breeding. The heat stress experiment was conducted during the summer under naturally high temperature conditions in a polyhouse, while a non-stress trial was conducted during the winter under permissive natural conditions in a polyhouse. Significant differences were observed between the trials and among genotypes, with heat tolerant MG785-1 and CLN1621L demonstrating superior root system architecture, greater leaf area and better physiological performance compared to the susceptible genotype CLN3961D. Root dry weight and root to shoot ratio were key indicators for heat tolerance, while the photosynthetic rate was critical for maintaining plant growth under stress. These findings highlight the importance of strong root systems and effective photosynthesis for heat tolerant tomato, providing new insights into improving crop resilience for regions affected by climate change.

A growing issue of tomato plants enduring heat stress as a consequence of climate change, which is defined by warmer temperatures, longer hot spells, and fewer instances of rainfall, poses a serious threat to overseas production of vegetables. The goal of this review is to highlight the value of heat‐tolerant tomato cultivars with features such as high pollen viability, splitting resistance, optimal fruit setting ability, membrane integrity at high temperatures and consistent productivity. Tomato plants optimise their growth between 21 and 24°C, but temperatures above 35°C during day and over 21°C at night have a quantitative and qualitative impact on fruit production, accelerating the maturation of fruit while cutting the usual fruit size. Multiple apparent indications of heat stress, such as yellowing and drooping leaves, are discussed, as well as the distinct responses demonstrated by various tomato varieties. Morphological, physiological, biochemical, and genetic responses to heat stress deliver critical insight into potential mitigations such as the use of CRISPR‐Cas genome‐editing tools or protective cultivation approaches. To ensure food safety and agricultural improvement under varying climatic conditions, prioritising studies on heat‐tolerant tomatoes is necessary.