Enhancing Wheat Productivity and Reducing Lead Uptake Through Biochar, Bentonite, and Rock Phosphate Integration

Mohamed S. Elshikh (), Mona S. Alwahibi, Zaffar Malik, Ahmad Ali, Hassan Mehmood, Hafiz Tanvir Ahmad, Sipan Soysal, P. V. Vara Prasad, Ivica Djalovic () and Bogdan Dugalic
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Mohamed S. Elshikh: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mona S. Alwahibi: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Zaffar Malik: Department of Soil Science, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Ahmad Ali: Department of Soil Science, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Hassan Mehmood: Department of Soil Science, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Hafiz Tanvir Ahmad: Department of Soil Science, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Sipan Soysal: Department of Field Crops, Department of Cereals and Edible Legumes, Faculty of Agriculture, Siirt University, TR-56500 Siirt, Turkey
P. V. Vara Prasad: Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, 108 Waters Hall, 1603 Old Claflin Place, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Ivica Djalovic: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maxim Gorki 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Bogdan Dugalic: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Zemun 6 Nemanjina Street, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-22

Abstract: Heavy metal (HMs) toxicity has severely impacted wheat production and is considered an emerging threat to human health due to bioaccumulation. The application of organic and inorganic amendments has proven effective in mitigating HM’s phytotoxicity by limiting their mobility in soil and plants. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of biochar (BC), bentonite (BN), and rock phosphate (RP), both individually and in combination, in alleviating lead (Pb) toxicity and enhancing wheat growth, and physiological attributes. The present investigation revealed that BC, BN, RP, and their combined mineral biochar amendments (MBAs) at 1.5% level significantly enhanced wheat growth along with reducing DTPA-extractable Pb in soil by 30.0–49.8% and Pb uptake in roots by 15.7–37.5% and in shoots by 34.5–48.5%. Antioxidant enzymatic activities were improved, and stress indicators were reduced in roots and shoots of wheat under Pb stress, including hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) by 50.7 and 81.0%, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels by 16.0 and 74.9%, and proline content by 34.5 and 64.0%, respectively. The effectiveness of the treatments is described in descending order viz. MBA-1 > MBA-3 > MBA-2 > BC > RP > BN under Pb stress. In conclusion, the integration of biochar, bentonite, and rock phosphate is a promising strategy for sustainable and cleaner cereal crop production under heavy metal stress conditions.

Keywords: wheat; heavy metal phytotixicity; bioaccumulation; antioxidants; sustainable production; amendments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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