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Soil salinity is a significant challenge in agriculture, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions such as Pakistan, leading to soil degradation and reduced crop yields. The present study assessed the impact of different salinity levels (0, 25, and 50 mmol NaCl) and biochar treatments (control, wheat-straw biochar, rice-husk biochar, and sawdust biochar applied @ 1% w/w) on the germination and growth performance of wheat. Two experiments: a germination study and a pot experiment (grown up to maturity), were performed. The results showed that NaCl-stress negatively impacted the germination parameters, grain, and straw yield, and agronomic and soil parameters. Biochar treatments restored these parameters compared to control (no biochar), but the effects were inconsistent across NaCl levels. Among the different biochars, wheat-straw biochar performed better than rice-husk and sawdust-derived biochar regarding germination and agronomic parameters. Biochar application notably increased soil pHs and electrical conductivity (ECe). Imposing NaCl stress reduced K concentrations in the wheat shoot and grains with concomitant higher Na concentrations in both parts. Parameters like foliar chlorophyll content (a, b, and total), stomatal and sub-stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate were also positively influenced by biochar addition. The study confirmed that biochar, particularly wheat-straw biochar, effectively mitigated the adverse effects of soil salinity, enhancing both soil quality and wheat growth. The study highlighted that biochar application can minimize the negative effects of salinity stress on wheat. Specifically, the types and dosages of biochar have to be optimized for different salinity levels under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual cumin and perennial fennel are economically important medicinal crops of cold dry regions of Pakistan. We hypothesized that the cumin, which produces 2-3 times less biomass, will respond to lower rates of mixture of biochar with synthetic NPK fertilizer or manure, compared to fennel. The NPK, poultry manure and their mixture with wood-derived or cow manure-derived biochars were applied for three consecutive years. No positive relation between application rate of biochar-mixed fertilizers and yield of both crops was observed over three years of study, except that manure-derived biochar-NPK mixture had a positive relation (R² = 0.99, P = 0.01) with the yield of fennel only during the third year. Significant positive influences of biochar-based fertilizers compared to control were observed for cumin and fennel of third year cropping. The co-amendment of NPK (0.14 kg ha-1) with manurederived biochar (6.6 t ha-1) consistently increased the yield of cumin during the first two years of cropping, as opposed to NPK fertilizer. Cumin had a greater seed:stover biomass ratio when it received the co-amendment of wood-derived biochar with NPK or poultry manure. Our findings indicate that there is some potential for biochar-fertilizer amendments to improve the growth of these high-value medicinal crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact of various biochar sources on nutrient digestibility, hematology and growth performance of Cirrhinus mrigala fingerlings fed on Moringa oleifera seed meal (MOSM) based diet. A 90-days feeding trial was conducted in Fish Nutrition Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan from June to September (2021) in order to investigate the efficacy of biochar obtained from sources such as parthenium, farmyard manure, poultry waste, vegetable waste and corncob waste at the level of 2 mg/kg. Triplicate tanks were used for all test diets including control diet with 15 fingerlings in each tank. Fish were fed at the rate of 5% of their live wet weight. Results showed that poultry waste biochar (test diet-IV) at 2 mg/kg was the best source to significantly (p<0.05) improve weight gain percent (248.89%) and Feed Conversion Ratio (1.27) than the other biochar sources and control diet. In terms of nutrient digestibility, optimum crude protein (72.12%), crude fat (78.35%) and gross energy (71.12 kcalg-1) values were obtained by using same type of biochar (poultry waste). At the same level, the best values of hematological parameters (Red blood cells, White Blood Cells, Hemoglobin; 3.12×106mm-3, 7.18×10³mm-3, 7.64g/100ml, respectively) of C. mrigala were found. Conclusively, among all the five biochar sources, poultry waste proved to be the best one which improved fish body performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An excess of the fluoride ion (F-) above the recommended upper limit, such as the WHO recommended upper limit of 1.5 mgL-1, may cause fluorosis in humans, as reported in several countries, e.g. Pakistan, China, and India. Various commercial adsorbents has been used for F-removal from water but there is still a desire for an environmentally friendly and economic adsorbent. Therefore, a novel adsorbent, i.e. Dodonaea bark biochar (DBBC) was prepared, from Dodonaea viscosa under pyrolysis at 750 °C in an inert atmosphere, to remove excessive F-from water and studied with batch experiments involving a number of parameters: pH (2-10), contact-time (5-145 minutes), dosage of adsorbent (1-7 g/50 mL), and initial F-concentration (2-10 mgL-1). The biochar showed 90% F-removal in the acidic range and 60% removal at neutral pH under optimized conditions. In conclusion, the adsorbent DBBC is recommended as an inexpensive sorbent material for F-contaminated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drinking fluoride (F−)-contaminated water (>1.5 mg L−1) causes severe dental and skeletal disorders. In the central province of Pakistan, ∼20 times higher levels of F− in the drinking groundwater (compared with the 1.5 mg L−1 permissible limit of the World Health Organization) are triggering bone abnormalities in teenagers. In this study, we demonstrated the potential of pinecone-derived biochar (pristine) impregnated with Fe- and Al-salts (engineered) to defluoridate water. Batch mode adsorption experiments were carried out under variable conditions of solution pH, F− initial concentration, adsorbent dose, and contact time. The engineered biochars resulted in greater adsorption than that of pristine biochar. Specifically, the AlCl 3 -modified biochar exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 14.07 mg g−1 in spiked water and 13.07 mg g−1 in in-situ groundwater. The equilibrium isothermal and kinetic models predicted monolayer, cooperative, and chemisorption types of the adsorption process. The chemical interaction and outer-sphere complexation of F− with Al, Na, and H elements were further confirmed by the post-adsorption analysis of the AlCl 3 -modified biochar by FTIR and XRD. The AlCl 3 -modified biochar resulted in 87.13% removal of F− from the in-situ F−-contaminated groundwater, even in the presence of naturally occurring competing ions (such as Cl−, HCO 3 −, SO 4 2−, and NO 3 −). We conclude that the AlCl 3 -modified biochar derived from pinecone could be a promising cost-effective adsorbent for the defluoridation of water. • The AlCl 3 -modified biochar exhibited great potential of water defluoridation. • The biochar also showed reasonable regeneration potential. • The biochar was equally effective to the in-situ F−-contaminated groundwater. • It performed with same efficiency even in the presence of competing ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]