article · Plants
Osmotic stress from soil salinity and restricted water availability significantly harms crop yields. This study evaluated the combined use of a biochar soil amendment and foliar sprays of glycine betaine on rice cultivated in salt-affected soil under extended irrigation intervals of six, nine, or twelve days over two field seasons. The combined treatment lowered soil pH, electrical conductivity, and exchangeable sodium levels while increasing potassium uptake in rice leaves. It also improved photosynthetic pigments, net photosynthetic rates, stomatal conductance, and relative water content, while managing electrolyte leakage. Furthermore, the dual application adjusted antioxidant enzyme activities, leading to higher biological yields, improved harvest indices, and better grain nutrient value under osmotic stress conditions.
Salinity and water scarcity limit agricultural productivity across arid and semi-arid regions. By demonstrating that combining biochar soil treatment with glycine betaine sprays protects rice yields and improves soil conditions, this research provides an eco-friendly agronomic strategy to maintain food production and crop quality on degraded, salt-affected farmland.
This research provides applied, field-tested evidence for agricultural input manufacturers and cereal growers managing saline soils with restricted irrigation. The approach uses available soil amendments and foliar compounds to improve crop stress resilience and soil properties. As a field-validated management strategy tested over two seasons, it is close to practical adoption, though commercial uptake depends on the cost and availability of biochar and glycine betaine formulations.
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Osmotic stress is a major physiologic dysfunction that alters the water movement across the cell membrane. Soil salinity and water stress are major causal factors of osmotic stress that severely affect agricultural productivity and sustainability. Herein, we suggested and evaluated the impact of integrated biochar-based soil amendment and exogenous glycine betaine application on the growth, physiology, productivity, grain quality, and osmotic stress tolerance of rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L., cv. Sakha 105) grown in salt-affected soil under three irrigation intervals (6, 9, or 12 days), as well as soil properties and nutrient uptake under field conditions during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Our findings showed that dual application of biochar and glycine betaine (biochar + glycine betaine) reduced the soil pH, electrical conductivity, and exchangeable sodium percentage. However, it enhanced the K<sup>+</sup> uptake which increased in the leaves of treated-rice plants. Additionally, biochar and glycine betaine supplementation enhanced the photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll <i>a</i>, <i>b</i>, and carotenoids) and physiological attributes (net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, relative water content, and electrolyte leakage) of osmotic-stressed rice plants. Biochar + glycine betaine altered the activity of antioxidant-related enzymes (catalase, ascorbate peroxide, and peroxidase). Moreover, it improved the yield components, biological yield, and harvest index, as well as the nutrient value of rice grains of osmotic-stressed rice plants. Collectively, these findings underline the potential application of biochar and glycine betaine as a sustainable eco-friendly strategy to improve plant resilience, not only rice, but other plant species in general and other cereal crops in particular, to abiotic stress, particularly those growing in salt-affected soil.
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DOI: 10.3390/plants10091930
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