article · Physiologia Plantarum
This research evaluated the effects of applying vermicompost, biochar, and a combined mixture of both to wheat plants grown in saline-sodic soil under varying irrigation levels of 50 percent, 75 percent, and 100 percent of field capacity. Both amendments enhanced growth and productivity individually, with biochar generally showing stronger performance than vermicompost across evaluated traits. The combined application of vermicompost and biochar yielded the greatest improvements in plant growth, grain yield, and soil moisture retention. This mixture enhanced relative water content, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll levels, and the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Additionally, it reduced oxidative stress markers, proline, and toxic leaf sodium content. The highest grain yields and nutrient uptake occurred at 75 percent field capacity under the combined amendment treatment, demonstrating a synergistic capacity to alleviate salinity and water stress.
Salinity and water scarcity severely restrict wheat productivity across arid and degraded agricultural landscapes. Demonstrating that combined organic amendments enhance plant physiology and nutrient uptake allows growers to maintain yields while using less water. This provides a sustainable soil management strategy that improves food security and crop resilience in regions facing rising soil degradation and drought.
This work points to the formulation of blended soil conditioning products for agricultural producers managing saline-sodic lands under water restrictions. Soil amendment manufacturers and agricultural input suppliers could commercialise pre-mixed biochar and vermicompost products optimised for cereal crops. The research is applied and tested under experimental conditions, meaning operational trials and cost-benefit analyses across commercial farm settings are the next step before broad market adoption.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Soil water and nutrient status are two of the most important factors for plant development and crop yield. Vermicompost and biochar are supposed to amend soil attributes and increase the productivity. However, little is known about their mixture application on soil quality and nutrient uptake under natural conditions. The aim of this investigation was to understand the impact of soil amendments (control, vermicompost, biochar, and vermicompost + biochar) on yield, soil quality, physiological and biochemical attributes, as well as nutrient uptake of wheat plants grown at different irrigation water treatments (50%, 75%, and 100% of field capacity [FC]) in saline sodic soil. Vermicompost improved wheat growth and yield. Biochar-treated plants had higher growth performance and yield than control plants in all traits and than vermicompost in some cases, thus confirming its potential for enhancing soil quality and increasing nutrient uptake, which stimulates soil chemical properties. When vermicompost was added in combination with biochar, further enhancement in the growth and yield was recorded, highlighting the beneficial effect of vermicompost on plant yield. Vermicompost-biochar mixture application followed by biochar as a singular application caused significant improvements in relative water content, chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, cytotoxicity, leaf K<sup>+</sup> content with respect to nutrient uptake (N, P, and K), while reducing oxidative stress (i.e., activities of catalase [CAT] and ascorbate peroxidase [APX], and expression levels of CAT, APX, and Mn-SOD genes), leaf Na<sup>+</sup> content, and proline content. This resulted in increases in yield-related traits and productivity owing to the enhancement in soil chemical characteristics and soil moisture content. Grain yield and nutrient uptake attained the highest values at 75% FC in wheat plants treated by the combination of vermicompost and biochar. In summary, this investigation revealed that the synergistic effect of vermicompost and biochar can not only enhance crop production but also eliminates the detrimental effects of soil salinity and water stress.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1111/ppl.13261
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
