Paper Details

PJB-2026-1518

Enhancing Spinacia oleracea growth under arsenic stress by biochar coated-phosphorus and rhizobacteria

Shehzadi Saima, Umm-E-Habiba, Muhmmad Javed, Ayaz Ali Keerio, Ghulam Fareed, Rabia Abdur Rehman, Maher Iftikhar Ahmad, Uzma Younis, Rana Khalid Iqbal, Ahmed E. Al-Sabri, Nawal M. Al-Malahi and Subhan Danish
Abstract

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Arsenic (As), a naturally occurring contaminant poses a significant threat to plant growth and agriculture worldwide. It can disturb the nutrients uptake, decrease the chlorophyll contents, and induce oxidative stress in plants. To overcome this issue, use of biochar-coated phosphorus (BCP) and rhizobacteria (RB) can be effective amendments. Biochar, a carbon-rich material, can be coated with phosphorus to improve P availability for minimization of As uptake. It can also proliferate RB which secretes growth hormones and improve root hairs that facilitates water and nutrients uptake. Therefore, current study investigates the effects of RB+BCP as amendments for mitigation of As toxicity and improvement of spinach plant growth. Four treatments (control, BCP, RB, and RB+BCP) were applied using a completely randomized design in four replications. Results showed that treatment RB+BCP under As toxicity significantly enhanced spinach plant height (22.79%), plant fresh weight (30.40%), and plant dry weight (36.76%) compared to the control. A significant improvement in chlorophyll a (24.36%), chlorophyll b (65.08%), and total chlorophyll (31.99%) content over control under As toxicity, validated the effectiveness of RB+BCP. In conclusion, RB+BCP has potential to improve chlorophyll b by enhancement in P uptake and modulation of antioxidants which in turn can improve spinach growth under As toxicity. Further field-level investigations are recommended to establish RB + BCP as best amendment in terms of cost-benefit ratio, considering its effectiveness in toxicity alleviation and soil fertility enhancement across various crops and under diverse climatic conditions

To Cite this article: Saima, S., U.E. Habiba, M. Javed, A.A. Keerio, G. Fareed, R.A. Rehman, M.I. Ahmad, U. Younis, R.K. Iqbal, A.E. Al-Sabri, N.M. Al-Malahi and S. Danish. 2026. Enhancing Spinacia oleracea growth under arsenic stress by biochar coated-phosphorus and rhizobacteria. Pak. J. Bot., 58(5): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2026-5(11)  
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