Co-composted Biochar Enhances Growth, Physiological, and Phytostabilization Efficiency of Brassica napus and Reduces Associated Health Risks Under Chromium Stress

Abstract

Among heavy metals, chromium (Cr) contamination is increasing gradually due to the use of untreated industrial effluents for irrigation purposes, thereby posing a severe threat to crop production. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of compost, biochar (BC), and co-composted BC on the growth, physiological, biochemical attributes, and health risks associated with the consumption of Brassica grown on Cr-contaminated soil. Results revealed that Cr stress (Cr-25) significantly reduced the growth and physiological attributes and increased antioxidant enzyme activities in Brassica, but the applied amendments considerably retrieved the negative effects of Cr toxicity through improving the growth and physiology of plants. The maximum increase in plant height (75.3%), root length (151.0%), shoot dry weight (139.4%), root dry weight (158.5%), and photosynthetic rate (151.0%) was noted with the application of co-composted BC under Cr stress (Cr-25) in comparison to the control. The application of co-composted BC significantly reduced antioxidant enzyme activities, such as APX (42.5%), GP (45.1%), CAT (45.4%), GST (47.8%), GR (47.1%), and RG (48.2%), as compared to the control under Cr stress. The same treatment reduced the accumulation of Cr in grain, shoot, and roots of Brassica by 4.12, 2.27, and 2.17 times and enhanced the accumulation in soil by 1.52 times as compared to the control. Moreover, the application of co-composted BC significantly enhanced phytostabilization efficiency and reduced associated health risks with the consumption of Brassica. It is concluded that the application of co-composted BC in Cr-contaminated soil can significantly enhance the growth, physiological, and biochemical attributes of Brassica by reducing its uptake in plants and enhanced phytostabilization efficiency. The tested product may also help in restoring the soils contaminated with Cr.

Biochar Enriched with Buffalo Slurry Improved Soil Nitrogen and Carbon Dynamics, Nutrient Uptake and Growth Attributes of Wheat by Reducing Leaching Losses of Nutrients

“…The leachates were collected from the leaching experiment with the same interval (i.e., days 1,5,10,20,28,35,42,49,60) as was done in the incubation experiment. For the leaching experiment, deionized water (100 mL) was used after every 10 min interval with the help of a pipette (V. 10 mL).…”

“…The soil enzymes were determined after the wheat plant harvesting and analyzed within a week to avoid any change in the enzyme activities. The soil samples were stored at 4 • C. The soil enzymes activities, i.e., β-glucosidase [25], acid phosphate [25], catalase [26], dehydrogenase [27], and phosphomonoestrase [28], and urease [29], while the other parameters like bulk density, total porosity [30], and soil organic carbon [9] were measured.…”

Ecological Assessment, Spatial Analysis, and Potential Sources of Heavy Metals (HMs) in Soils with High Background Values in the Lead-Zinc Mine, Hezhang County, Southwestern China

“…The HMs with persistent and irreversible characteristics will pose significant risks to human health and the ecosystem [4][5][6]. When HMs in the soil are transformed into ionic form and enter into the crops, they are then introduced into the human body through the food chain, which may cause serious harmful impacts on human health [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. In view of the above problems, many government departments, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China (MEE), have formulated the maximum allowable limits of HMs in agricultural soils to protect environmental quality and human health [14].…”

Assessment of heavy metals and potential health risks associated with the consumption of vegetables grown on the roadside soils

“…The concentration and toxicity vary in various plant species (Mehmood et al 2021a; ). High concentrations of toxic heavy metals in roadside soils have been reported in many regions across the globe (Irshad et al 2021; Mehmood et al 2021b; Murtaza et al 2021b;Naveed et al 2021a). It has been disclosed that vehicle exhaust is the main cause of the contamination of nearby roadside soils (Bai et al 2011;Li et al 2020).…”