Rapid urban expansion and a booming population are placing immense pressure on our agricultural systems, leading to detrimental impacts on soil fertility and overall health. Due to the extensive use of agrochemicals in agriculture, the necessity to meet the expanding demand for food has also resulted in unsustainable farming practices. Around the world, biochar, a multipurpose carbonaceous material, is being used to concurrently solve issues with enhancing soil fertility, plant growth, and development under both normal and stressful circumstances. It improves water retention, fosters nutrient absorption, and promotes microbial activity, creating a fertile environment that supports sustainable and resilient agriculture. Additionally, biochar acts as a carbon sink, contributing to long-term carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change impacts. The major benefit of biochar is that it helps the adsorption process with its highly porous structures and different functional groups. Understanding the elements involved in biochar formation that determine its characteristics and adsorptive capacity is necessary to assure the viability of biochar in terms of plant productivity and soil health, particularly biological activity in soil. This paper focuses on the development, composition, and effects of biochar on soil fertility and health, and crop productivity.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) mediate heavy metal tolerance and improve phytoextraction potential in plants. The present research was conducted to find the potential of bacterial strains in improving the growth and phytoextraction abilities of Brassica nigra (L.) K. Koch. in chromium contaminated soil. In this study, a total of 15 bacterial strains were isolated from heavy metal polluted soil and were screened for their heavy metal tolerance and plant growth promotion potential. The most efficient strain was identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and was identified as Bacillus cereus. The isolate also showed the potential to solubilize phosphate and synthesize siderophore, phytohormones (indole acetic acid, cytokinin, and abscisic acid), and osmolyte (proline and sugar) in chromium (Cr⁺³) supplemented medium. The results of the present study showed that chromium stress has negative effects on seed germination and plant growth in B. nigra while inoculation of B. cereus improved plant growth and reduced chromium toxicity. The increase in seed germination percentage, shoot length, and root length was 28.07%, 35.86%, 19.11% while the fresh and dry biomass of the plant increased by 48.00% and 62.16%, respectively, as compared to the uninoculated/control plants. The photosynthetic pigments were also improved by bacterial inoculation as compared to untreated stress-exposed plants, i.e., increase in chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a + b, and carotenoid was d 25.94%, 10.65%, 20.35%, and 44.30%, respectively. Bacterial inoculation also resulted in osmotic adjustment (proline 8.76% and sugar 28.71%) and maintained the membrane stability (51.39%) which was also indicated by reduced malondialdehyde content (59.53% decrease). The antioxidant enzyme activities were also improved to 35.90% (superoxide dismutase), 59.61% (peroxide), and 33.33% (catalase) in inoculated stress-exposed plants as compared to the control plants. B. cereus inoculation also improved the uptake, bioaccumulation, and translocation of Cr in the plant. Data showed that B. cereus also increased Cr content in the root (2.71-fold) and shoot (4.01-fold), its bioaccumulation (2.71-fold in root and 4.03-fold in the shoot) and translocation (40%) was also high in B. nigra. The data revealed that B. cereus is a multifarious PGPR that efficiently tolerates heavy metal ions (Cr⁺³) and it can be used to enhance the growth and phytoextraction potential of B. nigra in heavy metal contaminated soil.

Salinity stress is a prominent environmental factor that presents obstacles to the growth and development of plants. When the soil contains high salt concentrations, the roots face difficulties in absorbing water, resulting in water deficits within the plant tissues. Consequently, plants may experience inhibited growth, decreased development, and a decline in biomass accumulation. The use of nanoparticles has become a popular amendment in recent times for the alleviation of salinity stress. The study investigated the biological approach for the preparation of Se nanoparticles (NP) and their effect on the growth of wheat plants under saline conditions. The leaf extract of lemon (Citrus limon L.) was used for the green synthesis of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs). The synthesized NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and were applied foliar in the range of 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.1% on wheat plants. Results showed that 0.1% SeNP alone exhibited a significantly higher yield per plant, biomass per plant, 1000 grains weight, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll over the SS (salt stress) control. A significant decline in MDA and H₂O₂ also validated the effectiveness of 0.1% SeNP over the SS control.

Population growth, food shortages, climate change and water scarcity are some of the frightening challenges being confronted in today’s world. Water deficit or drought stress has been considered a severe limitation for the productivity of rice, a widely popular nutritive cereal crop and the staple food of a large portion of the population. A key stage in crop growth is seed emergence, which is mostly constrained by abiotic elements such as high temperatures, soil crusting and low water potential, which are responsible for poor stand establishment. Seed priming is a pre-sowing treatment of seeds that primes them to a physiological state that allows them to emerge more proficiently. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of leaf extracts from local and exotic moringa landraces as seed priming agents in rice cultivated under water deficit (75% field capacity) and control conditions (100% field capacity). Rice seeds were placed in an aerated solution of moringa leaf extract (MLE) at 3% from three obtained landraces (Faisalabad, Multan and an exotic landrace of India). The results obtained from the experimentation show that the water deficit regime adversely affected the studied indicators including emergence and growth attributes as well as physiological parameters. Among the priming agents, MLE from the Faisalabad landrace significantly improved the speed and spread of emergence of rice seedlings (time to start emergence at 23%, emergence index at 75%, mean emergence time at 3.58% and final emergence percentage at 46%). All the priming agents enhanced the growth, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange parameters and antioxidant activities, particularly under the water deficit regime, but the maximum improvement was recorded by the MLE from the Faisalabad landrace. Therefore, the MLE of the Faisalabad landrace can be productively used to boost the seedling establishment and growth of rice grown under normal and water deficit conditions.

The study investigated the green and chemical approaches for the preparation of Zn nanoparticles and their effect on the growth of okra plants under saline conditions. The leaf extract of Sorghum bicolor L. was used for the green synthesis of zinc nanoparticles (Zn-GNPs). Zinc nanoparticles (Zn-NPs) were also produced by the co-precipitation method (Zn-CNPs). The synthesized NPs were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and were applied foliarly in the range of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3% on okra plants. A marked increase in the shoot and root fresh and dry weight (g) and chlorophyll contents were observed under normal and saline conditions. An increase in antioxidant activity was observed under saline conditions. However, the foliar application of 0.3% Zn-GNPs was helpful in the regulation of the antioxidant defense system under a saline environment. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the use of Zn-GNPs is the most promising eco-friendly approach in mitigating salinity stress.