Synergistic application of biochar and mercury-resistant Bacillus cereus enhances phytoremediation efficiency and stress tolerance in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) grown in mercury-contaminated soil.
Murtaza G, Usman M, Ahmed Z, Iqbal R
Phytoremediation
Contaminated urban lots, old orchard soils, and roadside gardens carry hidden mercury loads — this research points toward a low-tech soil fix using charred plant material and naturally occurring bacteria that could make those spaces growable again.
Mercury in farm soil is a serious problem that stunts crops and can work its way into food. Researchers tried mixing charred wood (biochar) and a helpful bacterium into mercury-polluted soil where sorghum was growing. The combination worked far better than either ingredient alone — the plants grew stronger, handled stress better, and took up less toxic mercury.
Key Findings
The combined biochar + Bacillus cereus B2 treatment significantly reduced mercury uptake in sorghum across all contamination levels tested (15, 20, and 25 mg Hg per kg of soil).
Plants treated with both biochar and the bacterium showed enhanced stress tolerance, including improved antioxidant responses compared to untreated controls.
Pieris japonica-derived biochar alone provided measurable mercury immobilization in soil, but synergistic effects with the mercury-resistant bacterium produced the strongest phytoremediation outcomes.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Combining biochar (made from Pieris japonica shrubs) with a mercury-tolerant soil bacterium dramatically reduces mercury toxicity in sorghum crops grown in contaminated soils, improving plant growth and stress tolerance compared to either treatment alone.
Abstract Preview
Mercury (Hg) contamination in agricultural soils threatens crop productivity and ecosystem sustainability. This study investigates the synergistic effects of Pieris japonica-derived biochar and the...
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Sorghum bicolor, commonly called sorghum and also known as broomcorn, great millet, Indian millet, Guinea corn, jowar, or milo, is a species in the grass genus Sorghum. It is typically an annual, but some cultivars are perennial. It grows in clumps that may reach over 4 metres (13 ft) high. The g...