Composted Bagasse and/or Cyanobacteria-Based Bio-Stimulants Maintain Barley Growth and Productivity under Salinity Stress

Synergistic Effect of Sugarcane Bagasse and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Eco-Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Saline Soils in Wheat Cultivation

Soil contamination with cadmium (Cd) and salinity poses a significant challenge, affecting crop health and productivity. This study explores the combined application of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) to mitigate the toxic effects of Cd and salinity in wheat plants. Field experiments conducted in Cd-contaminated saline soils revealed that the application of SCB (0, 5, and 10 t ha-1) and ZnO NPs (0, 12.5, and 25 mg L-1) significantly improved key soil physicochemical properties, including soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP). The combined application of SCB and ZnO NPs significantly mitigated the effects of Cd and salinity on soil and wheat plants. SCB (10 t ha-1) reduced soil pH by 6.2% and ESP by 30.8% compared to the control, while increasing microbial biomass by 151.1%. ZnO NPs (25 mg L-1) reduced Cd accumulation in wheat shoots by 43.3% and seeds by 46.3%, while SCB and ZnO NPs combined achieved a reduction of 74.1% and 62.9%, respectively. These amendments enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, with catalase (CAT) increasing by 35.3% and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) by 54.9%. Wheat grain yield increased by 42% with SCB alone and by 75.2% with combined SCB and ZnO NP treatment, underscoring their potential as eco-friendly soil amendments for saline, Cd-contaminated soils. These results underscore the potential of SCB and ZnO NPs as eco-friendly amendments for improving wheat productivity in contaminated soils, offering a promising strategy for sustainable agriculture in salt-affected areas.

Antioxidative and Metabolic Responses in Canola: Strategies with Wood Distillate and Sugarcane Bagasse Ash for Improved Growth under Abiotic Stress

In the context of increasing agricultural challenges posed by soil salinity and drought stress, the main importance of the present study was to evaluate some novel treatments for improving canola productivity and resilience by applying wood distillate (WD) in combination with bagasse ash (SBA). A two-year field experiment using a split plot design was conducted and evaluated several physiological and biochemical parameters under different irrigation regimes conducted at 80% and 50% field capacity. While there were considerable moderation effects of SBA and WD on soil salinity, expressed as exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), under both well-irrigated and drought conditions, more importantly, the ESP was reduced to 31% under drought stress with combined WD and SBA applications over any single factor. WD and SBA treatments of canola leaves showed reduced Na content with increased K levels, and the plants maintained physiological attributes-chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, and relative water content-to the level of controls of well-irrigation. Besides, they significantly alleviated oxidative stress by decreasing the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), and electrolyte leakage (EL) levels and increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). Nonenzymatic antioxidants such as total soluble sugars (TSS), total soluble proteins (TSP), total phenolic content (TPC), and total flavonoid content (TFC) were significantly increased under stress conditions with a special accent on combined treatment, whereas the levels of proline and GB that increased in alignment with drought reduced under the combined application. Various growth parameters of plants like plant height, number of branches, and siliques per plant were significantly improved with WD and SBA under drought stress. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Pearson correlation further confirmed the relationships among these parameters and thus underpinned that WD and SBA can evoke a synergistic effect to enhance growth promotion and stress tolerance in canola. This, therefore, infers that the combined application of WD and SBA can be key, offering very high potential as viable options to better canola productivity under adverse environmental conditions.

Sugarcane bagasse biochar boosts maize growth and yield in salt-affected soil by improving soil enzymatic activities

Salinization is a leading threat to soil degradation and sustainable crop production. The application of organic amendments could improve crop growth in saline soil. Thus, we assessed the impact of sugarcane bagasse (SB) and its biochar (SBB) on soil enzymatic activity and growth response of maize crop at three various percentages (0.5%, 1%, and 2% of soil) under three salinity levels (1.66, 4, and 8 dS m-1). Each treatment was replicated three times in a completely randomized block design with factorial settings. The results showed that SB and SBB can restore the impact of salinization, but the SBB at the 2% addition rate revealed promising results compared to SB. The 2% SBB significantly enhanced shoot length (23.4%, 26.1%, and 41.8%), root length (16.8%, 20.8%, and 39.0%), grain yield (17.6%, 25.1%, and 392.2%), relative water contents (11.2%, 13.1%, and 19.2%), protein (17.2%, 19.6%, and 34.9%), and carotenoid (16.3, 30.3, and 49.9%) under different salinity levels (1.66, 4, and 8 dS m-1, respectively). The 2% SBB substantially drop the Na+ in maize root (28.3%, 29.9%, and 22.4%) and shoot (36.1%, 37.2%, and 38.5%) at 1.66, 4, and 8 dS m-1. Moreover, 2% SBB is the best treatment to boost the urease by 110.1%, 71.7%, and 91.2%, alkaline phosphatase by 28.8%, 38.8%, and 57.6%, and acid phosphatase by 48.4%, 80.1%, and 68.2% than control treatment under 1.66, 4 and 8 dS m-1, respectively. Pearson analysis showed that all the growth and yield parameters were positively associated with the soil enzymatic activities and negatively correlated with electrolyte leakage and sodium. The structural equational model (SEM) showed that the different application percentage of amendments significantly influences the growth and physiological parameters at all salinity levels. SEM explained the 81%, 92%, and 95% changes in maize yield under 1.66, 4, and 8 dS m-1, respectively. So, it is concluded that the 2% SBB could be an efficient approach to enhance the maize yield by ameliorating the noxious effect of degraded saline soil.

Dissecting the resilience of barley genotypes under multiple adverse environmental conditions

As climate change increases abiotic stresses like drought and heat, evaluating barley performance under such conditions is critical for maintaining productivity. To assess how barley performs under normal conditions, drought, and heat stress, 29 different varieties were examined, considering agronomic, physiological, and disease-related characteristics. The research was conducted in five environments: two normal environments in 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, two drought stress environments in 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, and one heat stress environment in 2021/2022. The results demonstrated that genotype and environment significantly influenced all traits (p < 0.05), except canopy temperature, while genotype x environment interaction significantly influenced most traits, except total chlorophyll content and canopy temperature. Heat and drought stress environments often resulted in reduced performance for traits like plant height, spike length, grains per spike, and 100-grain weight compared to normal conditions. Based on individual traits, genotypes 07UT-44, 06WA-77, 08AB-09, and 07N6-57 exhibited the highest grain yield (4.1, 3.6, 3.6, and 3.6 t/ha, respectively). Also, these genotypes demonstrated enhanced stability in diverse drought and heat stress conditions, as assessed by the mean performance vs. stability index (Weighted Average of Absolute Scores, WAASB). The multi-trait stability index (MTSI) identified 07UT-44, 07UT-55, 07UT-71, and 08AB-09 as the most stable genotypes in terms of the performance of all traits. The imported lines demonstrated superior performance and stability, highlighting their potential as valuable genetic resources for developing climate-resilient barley.