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Cadmium Stress Alleviation: Interplay of Micronutrients and Enzymatic/Non-enzymatic Species in Maize by Organic and Inorganic Amendments

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Abstract

With the advancement in industrialization and to cope with the ever-increasing demand for food, the farmer community is compelled to use various approaches, including the excessive use of phosphatic fertilizers, irrigation with contaminated water, and limited access to alternative inputs. These practices have resulted in cadmium toxicity. The present study aimed to assess the efficacy of four organic amendments including press mud, sugar cane bagasse, humic acid, and biochar along with four inorganic amendments including gypsum, CaCl2, iron and silicon nanoparticles in reducing the bioavailability of Cd in soil. The results revealed that the press mud treatment exhibited the highest percentage increase in growth and physiological indices, with a value of 188.63%, followed by sugarcane, humic acid, biochar, Fe, Si NPs, gypsum and CaCl2 with a percentage increase of 162.26%, 141.65%, 93.50%, 81.13%, 71.56%, 59.24%, and 12.14%, respectively. The maximum malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were recorded in the Cd treatment, and a significant inconsistency in antioxidant enzyme activity such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and Proline content was observed between organic and inorganic amendment treatments. Press mud exhibited the lowest Ab-DTPA Cd value, which was 11.96% at 100 ppm, with other treatments ranging between 15.17 and 37.01%. In conclusion, applying the studied amendments demonstrated a potential to decrease Cd bioavailability in the soil, leading to improved photosynthetic pigment levels and reduced Cd uptake by maize plants. Press mud, humic acid, gypsum, and Fe-NPs were identified as particularly effective amendments for reducing cadmium concentrations by binding in soil for reduced transport to maize, alleviating toxicity, and oxidative stress management. Additional research is necessary to determine the ideal concentrations for each treatment and their overall impact on plant growth and development.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52222903; 41977007), a research project of the State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China (QJNY-2019-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, University of Technology, Xi’anXi’an, 710048, China

    Sehar Razzaq, Beibei Zhou, Zakir Ullah, Chen Xiaopeng & Li Wen Qian

  2. School of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, China

    Hongchao Guo

  3. Institute of Soil & Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan

    Muhammad Zia-Ur-Rehman

  4. College of Geography and Environmental Science/Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development and Collaborative Innovation Center On Yellow River Civilization of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Muhammad Adil & Heli Lu

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  1. Sehar Razzaq
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study's conception and design. The manuscript draft and material preparation were performed by S.R.; B. Z.; H.G.; Z.R.; and C.X. The data collection and analysis were performed by S.R.; Z.U.; M.A.; and L.Q. The final revision and editing of the manuscript were performed by S.R.; B.Z.; H.L.; and M.A. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sehar Razzaq or Beibei Zhou.

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Razzaq, S., Zhou, B., Adil, M. et al. Cadmium Stress Alleviation: Interplay of Micronutrients and Enzymatic/Non-enzymatic Species in Maize by Organic and Inorganic Amendments. Water Air Soil Pollut 235, 305 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-07086-5

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