Sah Jay Karan, Mannan M A, Akter Masuma, Akter Most Tanjina, Ghosh Methila, Dola Dipanjoli Baral, Zulfiqar Usman, Soufan Walid, Prasad P V Vara, Djalovic Ivica
Department of Agronomy, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur, 1706, Bangladesh.
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 6;15(1):7859. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-90736-3.
Climate change is making droughts more frequent, which is a major problem for crop yield, especially for crops that are vulnerable to drought, such as common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). Drought stress affects negatively on physiological and biochemical processes of plants, leading to reduced yields. This study addresses the knowledge gap regarding effective strategies to mitigate drought-induced damage and enhance productivity in buckwheat. We hypothesized that iron oxide nanoparticles (FeO NPs) and rice husk biochar could improve drought tolerance in buckwheat by modulating its physiological and biochemical responses. To test this, buckwheat plants were grown under well-watered (80% of field capacity, FC) and drought (40% of FC) conditions following a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Results showed that the application of 50 g/kg rice husk biochar and 400 ppm FeO NPs, either separately or in combination, significantly enhanced the yield and improved key physiological and biochemical traits, including relative water content, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll content, and antioxidant activity. The combination of FeO NPs and rice husk biochar led to improvements the plants' relative water content, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll levels, membrane stability index, proline, antioxidant activity (DPPH), and seed yield by 22.37, 17.11, 43.05, 16.07, 43.75, 8.59, and 50.87%, respectively compared to untreated drought plants. Moreover, this treatment reduced oxidative stress indicators such as hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde by 31.09 and 38.19%, respectively. These results show that FeO NPs, when combined with rice husk biochar, significantly improve drought tolerance in common buckwheat, providing a viable strategy to increase crop yields in water-limited environments. In view of climate change, this study emphasises the potential of combining biochar with nanomaterials for sustainable agricultural practices.
气候变化使干旱愈发频繁，这对作物产量而言是个重大问题，尤其是对于像普通荞麦（苦荞麦）这种易受干旱影响的作物。干旱胁迫对植物的生理和生化过程产生负面影响，导致产量降低。本研究填补了关于减轻干旱造成的损害并提高荞麦生产力的有效策略方面的知识空白。我们假设氧化铁纳米颗粒（FeO NPs）和稻壳生物炭可以通过调节其生理和生化反应来提高荞麦的耐旱性。为了验证这一点，按照完全随机设计（CRD），将荞麦植株种植在水分充足（田间持水量的80%，FC）和干旱（FC的40%）条件下，每种条件设置三个重复。结果表明，单独或组合施用50 g/kg稻壳生物炭和400 ppm FeO NPs，均显著提高了产量，并改善了关键的生理和生化特性，包括相对含水量、光合速率、气孔导度、叶绿素含量和抗氧化活性。与未处理的干旱植株相比，FeO NPs和稻壳生物炭的组合使植株的相对含水量、光合速率、叶绿素水平、膜稳定性指数、脯氨酸、抗氧化活性（DPPH）和种子产量分别提高了22.37%、17.11%、43.05%、16.07%、43.75%、8.59%和50.87%。此外，该处理分别使过氧化氢和丙二醛等氧化应激指标降低了31.09%和38.19%。这些结果表明，FeO NPs与稻壳生物炭结合时，能显著提高普通荞麦的耐旱性，为在水资源有限的环境中提高作物产量提供了一种可行策略。鉴于气候变化，本研究强调了生物炭与纳米材料结合用于可持续农业实践的潜力。
