Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: A. Taraqqi-A-Kamal Author-Workplace-Name: Schoolof Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P.R. China Author-Name: Christopher J. Atkinson Author-Workplace-Name: Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Medway Campus, Kent, UK Author-Name: Aimal Khan Author-Workplace-Name: Schoolof Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P.R. China Author-Name: Kaikai Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: Schoolof Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P.R. China Author-Name: Peng Sun Author-Workplace-Name: Schoolof Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P.R. China Author-Name: Sharmin Akther Author-Workplace-Name: Schoolof Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P.R. China Author-Name: Yanrong Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: Environmental Science Research Institute, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Title: Biochar remediation of soil: linking biochar production with function in heavy metal contaminated soils Abstract: The focus of this study is on the soil physicochemical, biological, and microbiological processes altered by biochar application to heavy metal (HM) contaminated soils. The aim is to highlight agronomical and environmental issues by which the restorative capacity of biochar might be developed. Literature shows biochar can induce soil remediation, however, it is unclear how soil processes are linked mechanistically to biochar production and if these processes can be manipulated to enhance soil remediation. The literature often fails to contribute to an improved understanding of the mechanisms by which biochar alters soil function. It is clear that factors such as biochar feedstock, pyrolysis conditions, application rate, and soil type are determinants in biochar soil functionality. These factors are developed to enhance our insight into production routes and the benefits of biochar in HM soil remediation. Despite a large number of studies of biochar in soils, there is little understanding of long-term effects, this is particularly true with respect to the use and need for reapplication in soil remediation. Keywords: adsorption, toxic element, soil contamination, soil amelioration, soil pollutants, biochar function Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 183-201 Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/544/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/544/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202104-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:67:y:2021:i:4:id:544-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Krystyna Zarzecka Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Siedlce, Poland Author-Name: Marek Gugała Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Siedlce, Poland Author-Name: Iwona Mystkowska Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Environment Sciences, Pope John Paul II State School of Higher Education in Biała Podlaska, Biała Podlaska, Poland Author-Name: Anna Sikorska Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agriculture, the State Higher School of Vocational Education in Ciechanów, Ciechanów, Poland Title: Changes in dry weight and starch content in potato under the effect of herbicides and biostimulants Abstract: The aim of the study was to determine the interaction of herbicides and herbicides with biostimulants on the accumulation of dry matter and starch in potato tubers. In a three-year field experiment based on the method of randomised sub-blocks, two factors were taken into account. The first factor were potato cultivars: Bartek, Gawin, Honorata. The second factor were five methods of herbicides and biostimulants application: (1) the control object without chemical protection (CO); (2) herbicide linuron + clomazone (Harrier 295 ZC) (H); (3) herbicide linuron + clomazone (Harrier 295 ZC) and biostimulant Ecklonia maxima (Kelpak SL) - (H + K); (4) herbicide metribuzin (Sencor 70 WG) - (S); (5) herbicide metribuzin (Sencor 70 WG) and biostimulant sodium para-nitrophenol, sodium ortho-nitrophenol, sodium 5-nitroguaiacol (Asahi SL) - (S + A). The cultivars and weather conditions significantly affected the content and yields of dry matter and starch. The herbicides and biostimulants used determined the starch accumulation as well as dry matter and starch yields. Most starch in tubers (more by 3.7 g/kg) and the highest dry matter and starch yields (more by 2.87 and 1.79 t/ha, respectively), compared to the control object, were obtained after the application of the herbicide Sencor 70 WG and biostimulant Asahi SL. Keywords: Solanum tuberosum L., tuberous crop, climatic conditions, rainfall Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 202-207 Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/622/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/622/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202104-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:67:y:2021:i:4:id:622-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Basmah M. Alharbi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia Author-Name: Abeer Hamdy Elhakem Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biology, College of Sciences and Humanities in AlKharj, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, AlKharj, Saudi Arabia Author-Name: Ghalia S.H. Alnusairi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biology, College of Science, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Author-Name: Mona H. Soliman Author-Workplace-Name: Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt Author-Workplace-Name: Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Al-Sharm, Yanbu El-Bahr, Yanbu, Saudi Arabia Author-Name: Khalid Rehman Hakeem Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Author-Name: Md. Mahadi Hasan Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Magdi T. Abdelhamid Author-Workplace-Name: Botany Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt Title: Exogenous application of melatonin alleviates salt stress-induced decline in growth and photosynthesis in Glycine max (L.) seedlings by improving mineral uptake, antioxidant and glyoxalase system Abstract: Soybean plants grown under NaCl were foliar sprayed twice with melatonin (MLT). Results revealed that salt stress reduced growth, biomass accumulation, photosynthesis, mineral uptake, the content of δ-aminolevulinic acid, chlorophylls, carotenoids and PSII efficiency. However, MLT application enhanced pigment synthesis and PSII activity. MLT up-regulated the antioxidant system and glyoxalase function resulting in reduced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Reduced ROS in MLT-treated plants protected membrane functioning by reducing lipid peroxidation, electrolyte leakage and lipoxygenase activity. Nevertheless, MLT application reduced methylglyoxal accumulation while increased the content of reduced glutathione and ascorbic acid. It could be concluded that exogenous MLT mitigated the salt stress damage in soybean plants by improving photosynthesis, antioxidant systems, controlling ion homeostasis and minimising excessive ROS accumulation. Keywords: salinity tolerance mechanisms, osmolyte, malondialdehyde, phytohormone, secondary metabolites, ascorbate Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 208-220 Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/659/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/659/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202104-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:67:y:2021:i:4:id:659-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Weeraphorn Jira-anunkul Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand Author-Name: Wattana Pattanagul Title: Effects of hydrogen peroxide application on agronomic traits of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under drought stress Abstract: Drought stress is a major environmental factor limiting crop growth and productivity. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) plays an essential role during stress response by acting as a signal molecule that activates multiple stress tolerance mechanisms. In this study, the effects of H2O2 on agronomic traits were studied in rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. Khao Dawk Mali 105 (KDML 105) was subjected to drought stress. H2O2 was applied by either seed priming or foliar application method with a concentration of 1, 5, and 15 mmol/L. The results showed that both seed priming and foliar application with H2O2 improved some yield components. The tiller numbers, number of panicles, number of filled grains, filled grain weight, and harvest index were improved approximately 1.13, 1.04, 1.23, 1.21, and 1.1 times compared to the untreated plants. Foliar application, however, helps the plant by reducing yield loss as indicated by a 0.5-time reduction in the number of unfilled grain and lower unfilled grain weight. It was suggested that 5 mmol/L H2O2 was the most effective concentration to alleviate the effect of drought stress during the reproductive stage in rice. Keywords: abiotic stress, drought tolerance, foliar spray, rainfall, antioxidant enzyme, stress acclimation Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 221-229 Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/628/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/628/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202104-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:67:y:2021:i:4:id:628-2020-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: David Kabelka Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: David Kincl Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jan Vopravil Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Petr Vráblík Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Environment, J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic Title: Impact of cover crops in inter-rows of hop gardens on reducing soil loss due to water erosion Abstract: Soil degradation caused by water erosion in sloping hop gardens is definitely a serious issue because the space in inter-rows is without plant residues for most of the year in traditional cultivation. Cover crops in inter-rows of hop gardens and their efficiency in soil conservation are assessed in this article. There is only little research available in this area, and our data bring unique information on water erosion in hop gardens. Technologies with different types of cover crops were always compared with the conventional cultivation. The research was conducted within the years 2016-2020. A field rainfall simulator was used to determine the soil conservation effectiveness of selected technologies. The simulated rainfall was performed in two stages of cover crops growth with the main aim to measure the overall soil loss. The outcomes from the measurements confirmed that cover crops in inter-rows of hop gardens protect the soil surface from falling raindrops and significantly (P-value < 0.05) reduce soil loss. It can be concluded that this technology had a soil conservation effect already one month after sowing, and it is a basis for sustainable agricultural management on sloping hop gardens. Keywords: extreme precipitation, sloping land, Humulus lupulus L., permanent crops Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 230-235 Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/24/2021-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/24/2021-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202104-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:67:y:2021:i:4:id:24-2021-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Yuzhao Ma Author-Workplace-Name: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, P.R. China Author-Name: Naikun Kuang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, P.R. China Author-Name: Shengzhe Hong Author-Workplace-Name: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, P.R. China Author-Name: Fengli Jiao Author-Workplace-Name: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, P.R. China Author-Name: Changyuan Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, P.R. China Author-Name: Quanqi Li Title: Water productivity of two wheat genotypes in response to no-tillage in the North China Plain Abstract: Uneven distribution of precipitation and overexploitation of groundwater resources threatens the sustainability of agriculture in the North China Plain. Adoption of water deficit-tolerant winter wheat genotypes coupled with timely, adequate farming practice is crucial to enhance sustainable crop production and water productivity in the region. The present study aimed to evaluate water consumption patterns and water productivity of two winter wheat genotypes (Tainong-18 and Jimai-22), under no-tillage or conventional tillage, over a period of four consecutive cropping seasons. Under no-tillage, Tainong-18 showed the lowest soil moisture consumption before sowing in the 30-110 cm soil profile. Jimai-22 under conventional tillage and Tainong-18 under no-tillage showed the highest and lowest evapotranspiration across cropping seasons, respectively. Compared with conventional tillage, no-tillage reduced grain yield and water productivity of winter wheat, and the difference between them increased for grain yield (6.79, 11.99, 14.78, and 15.73%) and water productivity (0.99, 8.14, 12.18, and 13.30%) over the 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 cropping seasons, respectively. In contrast, Tainong-18 showed lower evapotranspiration and increased grain yield and water productivity compared with Jimai-22. Further, Tainong-18 showed a compensatory effect on the reduction of water productivity under no-tillage, compared with Jimai-22. Our conclusions indicate that the combination of no-tillage and water-efficient winter wheat genotypes is an effective strategy to offset the reduction in water productivity caused by no-tillage and thus maximise water productivity in the North China Plain. Keywords: Triticum aestivum L., rainfall, drought tolerance, soil moisture before sowing Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 236-244 Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/27/2021-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/27/2021-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202104-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:67:y:2021:i:4:id:27-2021-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Irena Siegień Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland Author-Name: Magdalena Fiłoc Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Paleobiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland Author-Name: Aleksandra Maria Staszak Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland Author-Name: Iwona Ciereszko Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland Title: Cyanogenic glycosides can function as nitrogen reservoir for flax plants cultured under N-deficient conditions Abstract: Soil nitrogen (N) deficiency is a common phenomenon that plagues both naturally growing plants as well as agricultural crops, ultimately affecting their growth and productivity. The aim of our study is to determine the effect of short-term N deprivation on secondary metabolites production in developing and mature leaves of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.). Two weeks under low-N conditions decrease plant growth, N concentration, and soluble proteins content in leaves. Reduction in photosynthesis intensity was also observed. A decrease of cyanogenic glycoside content under N-deficient conditions was most visible in mature leaves. However, the content of linamarin and lotaustralin was about 10-fold higher in younger than in mature leaves, in which play probably protective role due to the possibility of toxic HCN release. Despite the N deficit, flax plants accumulated nitrogen in cyanoglycosides. N from cyanoglycosides can be used to synthesise amino acids; this possibility is supported by the high activity of β-cyanoalanine synthase, especially in N-deficient leaves. On the other hand, the content of different types of phenolic compounds increased in N-deficient plants, especially in young leaves, possibly replacing cyanoglucosides in protective functions. Our results indicated that cyanogenic glycosides could be an important nitrogen source for flax plants grown under temporary N-deficient conditions. Keywords: cyanogenesis, linamarase, macronutrient, oxidative stress, plant damage, pigments Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 245-253 Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/573/2020-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/573/2020-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-202104-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:67:y:2021:i:4:id:573-2020-PSE