The expected typical gley moist paddy soil was collected in Zhejiang Province, China, and conventional (XS 134 and JH 218) and varieties of hybrid (YY 538 and CY 84) rices were used for a pot experiment. The effects of exogenous heavy metals lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) on rice growth and the accumulation of heavy metals in the grains were studied. The results show that heavy metal concentrations in soil and rice grains have significant correlations, and Pb and Cr significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the rice growth (plant height and panicle weight). The potential ecological hazard index (RI) of heavy metals in the soil was 4.88–6.76, which belongs to the grade of “slight ecological hazard”, and Pb provides a larger potential ecological hazard than Cr in the studied region. The thresholds for potential health risks and ecological risks for Pb and Cr were lower than the “Control Standards for Soil Pollution Risk of Agricultural Land (Trial)” (GB15618-2018, China). This work provides the basis for soil pollution control for Pb and Cr and the selection of rice cultivars from Pb and Cr accumulated soils.

The toxic metal (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) pollution in 250 agricultural soil samples representing the urban area of Jiaxing was studied to investigate the temporal and spatial variations. Compared to the early 1990s, the pollution level has increased. Industry and urbanization were the main factors causing toxic metal pollution on temporal variation, especially the use of feed containing toxic metals. The soil types and crop cultivation methods are the main factors causing toxic metal pollution on spatial variation. Although the single-factor pollution indices of all the toxic metals were within the safe limits, as per the National Soil Environmental Quality Standard (risk screening value), if the background values of soil elements in Jiaxing City are used as the standard, the pollution index of all the elements surveyed exceeds 1.0, reaching a level of mild pollution. The soil samples investigated were heavily contaminated with toxic metal compounds, and their levels increased over time. This situation poses potential ecological and health risks.

Iodine fortification of plants is a means of improving the nutritional iodine status for humans. However, knowledge regarding iodine absorption and accumulation in plants remains limited. Hence, we used nutrient culture and isotope tracking methods, and the radioactivity of ¹²⁵I was measured by using a multi-channel spectrometer to study the characteristics of ¹²⁵I absorption and accumulation in an eggplant. The results showed that ¹²⁵I was detected in the stems and leaves after 20 min of incubation in the iodine-containing nutrient solution, while it took 40 min to be detected in fruits, indicating a relatively slow migration of ¹²⁵I from the roots to the fruits. The absorption and accumulation of ¹²⁵I by various organs of the eggplant significantly differed, with ¹²⁵I accumulation in the roots accounting for more than 80% of the whole plant (120 h), significantly higher than the above-ground parts. The absorption rate of all parts of the eggplant rapidly increased within a short period of ¹²⁵I treatment, peaking at 12 h for the roots and at 3 h for transferring to the stems, leaves, and fruits. The results of this study indicate that the transferability of ¹²⁵I from the roots to the over-ground parts of the eggplant is high, and eggplant fruits have the potential to continuously accumulate ¹²⁵I. It is feasible to select eggplant as an iodine-rich crop for cultivation.

This study assessed the integration of housefly larva bioconversion with aerobic composting for chicken manure (MC) over a 45-day period (4 days of larval bioconversion + 41 days of aerobic composting) and compared it with direct composting (CK1) and sawdust-amended composting (CK2). Larval activity enhanced moisture reduction and substrate porosity, yielding 6.08% (w/w) maggot protein and reducing nutrient losses of C, N, P, and K by 13.45%, 35.08%, 62.15%, and 70.89%, respectively, relative to CK2. MC treatment accelerated humification, as evidenced by increased aromatic and humic acid content, which immobilized heavy metals, Particularly Zn and Cd via HA–metal complexation. Multivariate analyses (redundancy and CART) identified moisture (< 63 – 74%), composting duration, organic matter, and K⁺ release as principal drivers for heavy metal passivation. In the three treatmengt, degradation of tetracycline antibiotics followed the sequence OTC > CTC > DOX with MC reducing the half-life of CTC to 2.57 days through thermophilic degradation coupled with HA- and K⁺-mediated adsorption and chelation; quinolone antibiotics remained largely recalcitrant. These results demonstrate that MC composting enhances nutrient retention, heavy metal stabilization, and tetracycline removal, thereby improving the agronomic value and environmental safety of chicken manure–derived biofertilizer.

Strawberry powdery mildew, caused by Podosphaera aphanis, severely impacts the yield and quality of strawberry fruit and necessitates sustainable control strategies. Here, we assessed the growth and hormone content of strawberry seedlings (Fragaria × ananassa ‘Hongyan’) to evaluate the abilities of four plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), Azospirillum brasilense, Phytobacter diazotrophicus, Variovorax soli, and Microbacterium phyllosphaerae, in a 42-day consecutive culture. Among all treatments, our results showed that the strains V. soli and M. phyllosphaerae increased the seedling biomass by 25.6–25.8% and decreased the disease index by 30–32.5% compared to the control. Moreover, the strain M. phyllosphaerae could produce 22.32 μg·mg⁻¹ indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) after 24 h in a consecutive culture system and still maintain the IAA at 8.12 ng·mg⁻¹ in seedlings. In addition, the salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) hormones of the seedlings increased by 293% and 35.3% after inoculating with V. soli and M. phyllosphaerae, respectively. Further analysis of the coordination between plant hormones and plant growth showed that the accumulation of SA might have had a positive relation with biomass, whereas JA was negative under powdery mildew infection. These findings highlight that the V. soli and M. phyllosphaerae strains could offer the dual benefits of growth promotion and different defense strategies against powdery mildew for sustainable strawberry production.