article · Frontiers in Plant Science
Cadmium contamination in agricultural soils restricts crop development and threatens food safety. This research investigated the combined use of maize stalk biochar and foliar thiourea sprays to relieve cadmium toxicity in maize. Evaluations included three soil biochar rates alongside three foliar thiourea concentrations. The joint application of the highest rates, consisting of five percent biochar and 1,200 milligrams per litre thiourea, delivered the most substantial gains. This treatment raised fresh biomass by 27 percent, shoot height by 42 percent, leaf area by 36 percent, and photosynthetic rate by 15 percent compared to untreated controls. It also enhanced antioxidant enzyme defences, lowered oxidative stress markers, and reduced cadmium concentrations by 42 percent in shoots and 49 percent in roots, demonstrating that combining these amendments effectively limits heavy metal uptake while supporting plant growth.
Cadmium accumulation in cropland harms crop yields and presents serious risks to human health via the food chain. Demonstrating that combining biochar soil amendments with foliar thiourea sprays can reduce heavy metal accumulation in plant tissues provides a workable approach for maintaining safer crop production and improving plant tolerance in contaminated environments.
This work points toward soil and crop management solutions for farmers cultivating crops on cadmium-contaminated land, as well as agricultural input providers formulating remediation treatments. The research is at an experimental stage, having tested physiological responses to specific application rates. Transitioning these findings to practical use will require field-scale validation to confirm performance under diverse soil conditions and to assess the economic viability of applying biochar and thiourea together.
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Cadmium (Cd) contamination of croplands jeopardizes sustainable crop production and human health. However, curtailing Cd transfer and mobility in the rhizosphere-plant system is challenging. Sole application of biochar (BC) and thiourea (TU) has been reported to restrain Cd toxicity and uptake in plants. However, the combined applications of BC and TU in mitigating the harmful effects of Cd on plants have not yet been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, this study attempts to explore the integrated impact of three maize stalk BC application rates [<i>B</i> <sub>0</sub> (0% w/w), <i>B</i> <sub>1</sub> (2.5% w/w), and <i>B</i> <sub>2</sub> (5% w/w)] and three TU foliar application rates [<i>T</i> <sub>0</sub> (0 mg L<sup>-1</sup>), <i>T</i> <sub>1</sub> (600 mg L<sup>-1</sup>), and <i>T</i> <sub>2</sub> (1,200 mg L<sup>-1</sup>)] in remediating the adverse effects of Cd on maize growth, development, and physiology. Results demonstrated that Cd concentration in soil inhibited plant growth by reducing leaf area, photosynthesis activity, and enhanced oxidative stress in maize. Nevertheless, BC and TU application in combination (<i>B</i> <sub>2</sub> <i>T</i> <sub>2</sub>) improved the fresh biomass, shoot height, leaf area, and photosynthesis rate of maize plants by 27, 42, 36, and 15%, respectively, compared with control (<i>B</i> <sub>0</sub> <i>T</i> <sub>0</sub>). Additionally, the oxidative stress values [malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>), and electrolyte leakage (EL)] were minimized by 26, 20, and 21%, respectively, under <i>B</i> <sub>2</sub> <i>T</i> <sub>2</sub> as compared with <i>B</i> <sub>0</sub> <i>T</i> <sub>0</sub>. Antioxidant enzyme activities [superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)] were 81 and 58%, respectively, higher in <i>B</i> <sub>2</sub> <i>T</i> <sub>2</sub> than in <i>B</i> <sub>0</sub> <i>T</i> <sub>0</sub>. Besides, the shoot and root Cd concentrations were decreased by 42 and 49%, respectively, under <i>B</i> <sub>2</sub> <i>T</i> <sub>2</sub> compared with <i>B</i> <sub>0</sub> <i>T</i> <sub>0</sub>. The recent study showed that the integrated effects of BC and TU have significant potential to improve the growth of maize on Cd-contaminated soil by reducing Cd content in plant organs (shoots and roots).
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DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.809322
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