Organic seed priming with curtailed seed rate compensated wheat grains productivity by upgrading anti-oxidant status against terminal drought at flowering and milking.

Terminal irrigation drought stress is one of the most drastic abiotic stress to diminish the wheat crop development and grains yield in arid regions of the world. The use of moringa leaf extract (MLE30) via seed priming technique is investigated as an organic and sustainable approach for the mitigation of drought stress along with curtailed seed rate in wheat crop. The study investigated the interaction of organic seed priming: control (dry seeds), hydro-priming, MLE30-priming, seed rate: recommended @ 125 kg ha, curtailed @ 25 kg ha, and terminal irrigation drought (TID): normal irrigation, mild-TID, severe-TID in wheat crop at agronomic research station, Bahawalpur, Pakistan during the wheat winter season of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

Aquaculture sediments amended with biochar improved soil health and plant growth in a degraded soil.

Sustainable and safe management of aquaculture sediments is of great concern. Biochar (BC) and fishpond sediments (FPS) are rich in organic carbon and nutrients and thus can be used as soil amendments; however, it is not fully explored how the biochar amended fishpond sediments can affect soil properties/fertility and modulate plant physiological and biochemical changes, particularly under contamination stress. Therefore, a comprehensive investigation was carried out to explore the effects of FPS and BC-treated FPS (BFPS) on soil and on spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.

Alteration in soil arsenic dynamics and toxicity to sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in response to phosphorus in different textured soils.

Being analogue to arsenic (As), phosphorus (P) may affect As dynamics in soil and toxicity to plants depending upon many soil and plant factors. Two sets of experiments were conducted to determine the effect of P on As fractionation in soils, its accumulation by plants and subsequent impact on growth, yield and physiological characteristics of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).

Potential of organic and inorganic amendments for stabilizing nickel in acidic soil, and improving the nutritional quality of spinach.

Contamination of soils by nickel (Ni) has become a serious environmental problem throughout the world, and this substance wields dangerous effects on the ecosystem and food chain. A pot experiment was conducted to examine the effect of rice straw (RS), rice straw biochar (BI), and calcite (CC) at 1% and 2% application rates in a Ni-contaminated soil. The objective was to potentially stabilize Ni and reduce its bioavailability to spinach (Spinacia Oleracea L.

Assessment of health and ecological risks of heavy metal contamination: a case study of agricultural soils in Thall, Dir-Kohistan.

Heavy metal (HM) contamination in agricultural soils has been a significant health concern worldwide due to their persistent and non-biodegradable nature and biomagnification to higher trophic levels. The present study was conducted to assess Cd and Pb concentrations in soil samples collected from potato-growing areas in Thall, Dir-Kohistan, and to determine their associated health and ecological risks. The contamination factor calculated for Cd (0 to 1.

Terminal drought and heat stress alter physiological and biochemical attributes in flag leaf of bread wheat.

Heat stress along with low water availability at reproductive stage (terminal growth phase of wheat crop) is major contributing factor towards less wheat production in tropics and sub-tropics. Flag leaf plays a pivotal role in assimilate partitioning and stress tolerance of wheat during terminal growth phase. However, limited is known about biochemical response of flag leaf to combined and individual heat and drought stress during terminal growth phase.

Variations of dissolved organic matter and Cu fractions in rhizosphere soil induced by the root activities of castor bean.

The root soil interaction affects metal bioavailability in the rhizosphere, thus impacting the uptake and accumulation of metals by plants. In this study, a greenhouse experiment using a root-bag technique for castor bean plants was conducted to determine the i) rhizosphere effect on the fractions of Cu, and ii) the characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the rhizosphere soil. Results showed that the Cu concentration in the leaves, stems, and roots was 15.

Correction: Iron application improves yield, economic returns and grain-Fe concentration of mungbean.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Iron application improves yield, economic returns and grain-Fe concentration of mungbean.

Malnutrition is among the biggest threats being faced globally, and Pakistan is among the countries having high malnutrition rate. Pulses grown in Pakistan have lower amounts of micronutrients, especially iron (Fe) in grains compared to developed world. Biofortification, -a process of integrating nutrients into food crops-, provides a sustainable and economic way of increasing minerals/micronutrients' concentration in staple crops.

Response of growth, antioxidant enzymes and root exudates production towards As stress in Pteris vittata and in Astragalus sinicus colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

The modern agricultural practices have led to improve the contaminated soils with a variety of heavy metals that have become a major environmental concern. The use of arbuscular mycorrihizal fungi (AMF) is considered a potential tool for the sustainable agriculture especially in contaminated sites. Moreover, recently, the use of AMF has become a fascinating and multidisciplinary subject for the scientists dealing with plant protection.

Physiological and anthocyanin biosynthesis genes response induced by vanadium stress in mustard genotypes with distinct photosynthetic activity.

The present study aimed to elucidate the photosynthetic performance, antioxidant enzyme activities, anthocyanin contents, anthocyanin biosynthetic gene expression, and vanadium uptake in mustard genotypes (purple and green) that differ in photosynthetic capacity under vanadium stress. The results indicated that vanadium significantly reduced photosynthetic activity in both genotypes. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes were increased significantly in response to vanadium in both genotypes, although the purple exhibited higher.

Cadmium Immobilization Potential of Rice Straw-Derived Biochar, Zeolite and Rock Phosphate: Extraction Techniques and Adsorption Mechanism.

Heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils has become a serious environmental concern due to their generally high mobility and toxic effects on plants and food security. An incubation study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of biochar (BC), zeolite (ZE) and rock phosphate (RP) stabilizers on the immobilization of cadmium (Cd) in contaminated soils. Various extraction techniques were carried out: a sequential extraction procedure, the European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR), the toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP) and extraction with ammonium nitrate.

Phosphate-arsenate relations to affect arsenic concentration in plant tissues, growth, and antioxidant efficiency of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) under arsenic stress.

Relations between phosphate and arsenate are important but inconsistent to influence arsenic (As) phytotoxicity depending on many plant and soil factors. Present research aimed to investigate the phosphate and arsenate interactions in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) grown in alkaline calcareous soil for 18 weeks under natural environmental conditions at three arsenate [0 (As), 40 (As), and 80 (As) mg As kg soil as sodium arsenate] and three phosphate [0 (P), 100 (P), and 200 (P) mg PO kg soil as diammonium phosphate] levels.

Influence of phosphorous fertilization on copper phytoextraction and antioxidant defenses in castor bean (Ricinus communis L.).

Application of fertilizers to supply appropriate nutrients has become an essential agricultural strategy for enhancing the efficiency of phytoremediation in heavy metal contaminated soils. The present study was conducted to investigate the beneficial effects of three types of phosphate fertilizers (i.e.

Silicon occurrence, uptake, transport and mechanisms of heavy metals, minerals and salinity enhanced tolerance in plants with future prospects: A review.

Recently, heavy metals pollution due to industrialization and urbanization, use of untreated wastewater and unreasonable use of pesticides and fertilizers is increasing rapidly, resulting in major threat to the environment and contaminate soils. Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in the earth crust after oxygen. Although it's higher accumulation in plants, yet Si has not been listed as essential nutrient however, considered as beneficial element for growth of plants particularly in stressed environment.

Comparison of antioxidant enzyme activities and DNA damage in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes exposed to vanadium.

The present study was done to elucidate the effects of vanadium (V) on photosynthetic pigments, membrane damage, antioxidant enzymes, protein, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) integrity in the following chickpea genotypes: C-44 (tolerant) and Balkasar (sensitive). Changes in these parameters were strikingly dependent on levels of V, at 60 and 120 mg V L(-1) induced DNA damage in Balkasar only, while photosynthetic pigments and protein were decreased from 15 to 120 mg V L(-1) and membrane was also damaged. It was shown that photosynthetic pigments and protein production declined from 15 to 120 mg V L(-1) and the membrane was also damaged, while DNA damage was not observed at any level of V stress in C-44.

Chemical immobilization of Pb, Cu, and Cd by phosphate materials and calcium carbonate in contaminated soils.

Soil contamination with toxic metals has increasingly become a global concern over the past few decades. Phosphate and carbonate compounds are good passivation materials for Pb immobilization, while the effect of phosphate and carbonate on the immobilization of multiple heavy metals (Pb, Cu, and Cd) in contaminated soils was seldom investigated. In this study, bone meal (BM), phosphate rock (PR), oxalic acid-activated phosphate rock (APR), super phosphate (SP), and calcium carbonate (CC) were added to the contaminated soils to evaluate the effect of phosphate materials and calcium carbonate on the immobilization of Pb, Cu, and Cd.

Immobilization of Pb and Cu in polluted soil by superphosphate, multi-walled carbon nanotube, rice straw and its derived biochar.

Lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) contamination in croplands pose severe health hazards and environmental concerns throughout soil-food chain transfer. In the present study, BCR, TCLP, CaCl2, and SBET techniques were employed to evaluate the simultaneous effectiveness of rice straw (RS) and its derived biochar (BC), multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT), and single superphosphate (SSP) to immobilize the Pb and Cu in co-contaminated soil. The BCR sequential extraction results suggested that with increasing BC and SSP amount, the acid-soluble fractions decreased while oxidizable and residual proportions of Pb and Cu were increased significantly.

Influence of pyrolytic and non-pyrolytic rice and castor straws on the immobilization of Pb and Cu in contaminated soil.

Soil contamination with heavy metals has become a global environmental health concern. In the present study, European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) sequential extraction and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) techniques were used to evaluate the Pb and Cu subsequent transformations, immobilizing impact of pyrolytic and non-pyrolytic rice and castor straws and their efficiency to reduce the metals mobility and leachability in the polluted soil. Obtained results highlight the potential of biochar over non-pyrolytic residues to enhance the immobilization of Pb and Cu in the soil.

The importance of evaluating metal exposure and predicting human health risks in urban-periurban environments influenced by emerging industry.

The human population boom, urbanization and rapid industrialization have either directly or indirectly resulted in the serious environmental toxification of the soil-food web by metal exposure from anthropogenic sources in most of the developing industrialized world. The present study was conducted to analyze concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in soil and vegetables in the urban-periurban areas influenced by emerging industry. Vegetables and their corresponding soil samples were collected and analyzed for heavy metals contents from six random sites.

Enhanced accumulation of Cd in castor (Ricinus communis L) by soil-applied chelators.

Phytoextraction has been identified as one of the most propitious methods of phytoremediation. This pot experiment were treated with varying amounts of (ethylenediamine triacetic acid) EDTA 3-15, (Nitriloacetic acid) NTA 3-10, (Ammonium citrate) NH4 citrate 10 - 25 mmol and one mg kg(-1)Cd, filled with 5 kg soil. The addition of chelators significantly increased Cd concentration in soil and plant.

Vanadium, recent advancements and research prospects: A review.

Metal pollution is an important issue worldwide, with various documented cases of metal toxicity in mining areas, industries, coal power plants and agriculture sector. Heavy metal polluted soils pose severe problems to plants, water resources, environment and nutrition. Among all non-essential metals, vanadium (V) is becoming a serious matter of discussion for the scientists who deals with heavy metals.