Influence of Biochar-Reinforced Hydrogel Composites on Growth and Biochemical Parameters of Bean Plants and Soil Microbial Activities under Different Moisture Conditions

Concepción García-Gómez, Yağmur Uysal, Zeynep Görkem Doğaroğlu, Dimitrios Kalderis, Dionisios Gasparatos and María Dolores Fernández ()
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Concepción García-Gómez: Department of Environment and Agronomy, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA, CSIC), 28040 Madrid, Spain
Yağmur Uysal: Environmental Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Mersin University, Mersin 33100, Turkey
Zeynep Görkem Doğaroğlu: Environmental Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Mersin University, Mersin 33100, Turkey
Dimitrios Kalderis: Department of Electronic Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 73100 Chania, Greece
Dionisios Gasparatos: Laboratory of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
María Dolores Fernández: Department of Environment and Agronomy, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA, CSIC), 28040 Madrid, Spain

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-18

Abstract: Hydrogels have shown promise in improving soil quality and alleviating plant drought stress. This study investigated the effectiveness of four hydrogel composites composed of polyvinyl alcohol, sodium alginate, and pine or olive tree biochar in improving bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) plant growth and soil microbial activities. The experiment was conducted in natural soil, where biochar–hydrogel composites were applied at a concentration of 0.75% hydrogel per soil weight ( w / w ) for 35 days under two different moisture conditions: adequate moisture (70% of water holding capacity (WHC)) and drought stress (40% WHC). The results showed variation between hydrogel composites and, more importantly, between water regimes. Under water deficit conditions, biochar–hydrogel composites consistently caused a decrease in plant weight and in chlorophyll (CHL) CHLa/CHLb ratio. Furthermore, antioxidant enzyme activities and malondialdehyde and protein levels generally increased in contrast to the observations at 70% WHC. Regarding microbial activities, the composites reduced soil respiration (12–38%) while promoting phosphatase activity (42–65%) under both moisture regimes. Overall, the introduction of hydrogel composites did not show consistently positive effects on either plants or soil microorganisms. To thoroughly evaluate the efficacy of these hydrogels as soil amendments, further studies are needed, considering different soil types, plant species, and hydrogel application rates.

Keywords: drought stress; oxidative stress; photosynthetic pigments; soil respiration; soil enzymatic activities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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