PJB-2024-663
Phosphorus and Zinc Synergies with Zeolite, Laterite, and Biochar for Mitigating Cadmium Toxicity in Maize
Ghulam Farid
Abstract
Toxicity induced by cadmium (Cd) heavy metal is an acute and potential threat to living organisms. It can cause cancer in humans while adversely affecting the growth of plants. The use of phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn) is critical to resolve this critical issue. Homeostasis of these two nutrients in plants can potentially minimize the toxic effects of Cd. Furthermore, biochar, zeolite, and laterite are also becoming popular. These amendments also effectively minimize Cd toxicity due to their high absorption capacity. That’s why the current study was planned to check the effectiveness of P and Zn combination with biochar, zeolite, and laterite in alleviating Cd stress in maize. A total of 16 treatments (No P and Zn, P, Zn, P+Zn applied under control, zeolite, laterite, and biochar) were applied in 3 replications following a completely randomized design. Results showed that application of Zn+P caused significant enhancement in plant height (30.17%), chlorophyll contents (26.56%), root fresh weight (84.13%), shoot dry weight (91.89%), shoot Cd concentration (47.33%) and root Cd concentration (65.43%) compared to no P and Zn under zeolite. In conclusion, P+Zn application under zeolite can potentially mitigate the Cd toxicity in maize. More investigations are suggested at the field level under variable agro climate zones to declare P+Zn under zeolite as the best amendment for alleviating Cd stress in maize.
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