Effect of treated wastewater irrigation on physiological and agronomic properties of beans Vicia faba

The current study investigated the effect of two doses (50%, and 100 %) of treated wastewater (TWW)on biometric and physiologic parameters of Vicia faba beansafter 40 days of exposure. Our data showed a decrease in shoots and roots length and weight in plants amended with TWW. Moreover, a significant decrease in Chlorophyll ‘a\u27, ‘b\u27 and carotene content was observedin plants irrigated with 100% of TWW. These findings provided new insights on TWW reuse which can cause different types of stress as it may affect the development of cultivated crops

Biochar amendment alleviates heavy metal phytotoxicity of Medicago sativa grown in polymetallic contaminated soil: Evaluation of metal uptake, plant response and soil properties

Air pollution and soil contamination have caused major environmental damage in the industrial complex of Gabes. This study aimed to evaluate the abilities of biochar to modify soil properties and assess the adaptation of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plants in contaminated soils from the Gabes Region. The experiment was executed with soil samples from three sites (S1, S2 and S3) located at different distances from the industrial zone of Gabes. Additionally, a control soil was included for comparison. Pot experiments were performed under controlled conditions, with or without biochar. After 60 days, the accumulation of heavy metals in plants (roots, shoots and nodules) was determined. Moreover, oxidative stress biomarkers, such as malondialdehyde (MDA) content, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT), were evaluated. Soil microbiological properties, including bacterial functional diversity and fluorescein diacetate hydrolytic (FDA) activity, were analyzed, along with soil chemical properties. Our results revealed that biochar supplementation can improve microbial functions and cation-exchange capacity (CEC), thereby increasing the availability of nutrients to plants. Interestingly, the application of biochar resulted in decreased concentrations of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in plants, which may be attributed to a reduction in their bioavailability in the soil. The accumulation of heavy metals in alfalfa organs was positively correlated with the levels of MDA and antioxidant enzymes in both leaves and roots. In this study, the addition of biochar reduced the antioxidant mechanisms of alfalfa and mitigated the negative effects of metals, resulting in a positive impact on growth and chlorophyll content. Our data highlights the beneficial effects of biochar on enhancing crop productivity and remediating contaminated soil

Biochar application mitigates salt stress on maize plant: Study of the agronomic parameters, photosynthetic activities and biochemical attributes

Climate change had caused many threats soil ecosystem, among them, soil salinity. Thus several strategies are suggested to mitigate this issue. In this context, biochar is known as a potent amendment able to alleviate the salt stress on the crops. Thus, the aim of the present investigation is to assess the impact of two salt levels (C1: 1.25 and C2: 2.5 g l−1) and two biochar rates (B1:50 g kg−1; B2: 100 g kg−1) on the agronomic, biochemical and physiological responses of maize plants (Zea mays L.). Our results revealed firstly an increase in maize biomass under salinity stress and in presence of 50g of biochar, indicating the important role of biochar in mitigating salt toxicity. Also, B1 biochar rate attenuated salt-induced oxidative stress by increasing glutathion-S-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT) activities. Also, biochar increased chlorophyll b (Chlb) in plants treated with salt water. Overall, it can be concluded that biochar may be a useful strategy to reduce the harmful effects of salinity. However, biochar rates must be carefully used in saline soils to ameliorate plant development and reduce the toxicity of salt stress