Alleviating vanadium-induced stress on rice growth using phosphorus-loaded biochar

This investigation evaluated the impact of as-is biochar (BC) and phosphorous (P)-loaded biochar (PBC) (3%) on the growth and biochemical characteristics of rice under exposure to vanadium (V) (60 mg L^–1). The results indicate that rice plants exposed to a V-only treatment experienced declines in several growth parameters. Conversely, the inclusion of BC and PBC caused noteworthy increases in physiological traits. PBC performed well in stress environments. Specifically, the shoot and root fresh weights increased by 82.86 and 53.33%, respectively, when compared to the V-only treatment. In addition, the SPAD chlorophyll of the shoot increased by 13.05% relative to the V-amended plants. Moreover, including BC and PBC improved the antioxidant enzyme traits of plant shoot and root, such as significant increases in superoxide dismutase (SOD by 56.11 and 117.35%), catalase (CAT by 34.19 and 35.77%), and peroxidase (POD by 25.90 and 18.74%) when compared to V-only amended plants, respectively. These findings strongly suggest that the application of BC and PBC can trigger biochemical pathways that facilitate biomass accumulation in meristematic cells. However, further investigations are required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for this growth promotion.