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Evaluation of the effect of biochar on reducing oxidative stress and improving the physiological characteristics of canola seedlings under alfalfa allelopathy
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Saeid Golshan Doust   , Parisa Sheikhzadeh * , Saeid Khomari , Mohammad Taghi Alebrahim |
| Department of Plant Production and Genetics, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran. |
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Abstract: (7 Views) |
This study aimed to investigate the effects of alfalfa allelopathic extract on seed germination, early growth, and biochemical responses of canola seedlings and to evaluate the potential of biochar and nanobiochar to alleviate allelopathic stress. A factorial experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with four replicates at the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili during 2023–24. The experimental treatments comprised three biochar levels (control, biochar, and nanobiochar) and five alfalfa extract concentrations (0, 6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50%). The results showed that increasing alfalfa extract concentration significantly reduced seed germination and seedling growth. In the absence of biochar and nanobiochar, application of 50% alfalfa extract reduced germination percentage, germination rate, radicle length, shoot length, radicle dry weight, and shoot dry weight by approximately 25.47, 25.45, 35.40, 37.40, 23.35, and 35.41%, respectively, compared with the untreated control. In contrast, biochar, particularly nanobiochar, alleviated these adverse effects. The highest germination percentage and germination rate were recorded in the nanobiochar treatment, although the differences between nanobiochar and biochar were not statistically significant. Nanobiochar also improved seedling growth indices at all extract concentrations, particularly at higher concentrations. Both biochar and nanobiochar significantly increased soluble sugar and total phenolic contents across all extract concentrations. Nanobiochar had the strongest effect on catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase activities under all levels of allelopathic stress. At the 50% extract concentration, nanobiochar increased the activities of these enzymes by 13.54, 8.53, and 27.06%, respectively, compared with the treatment without biochar. Overall, nanobiochar represents a promising and environmentally friendly approach to mitigating the allelopathic effects of plant residues and improving canola seedling establishment and crop production sustainability.
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| Keywords: Allelopathy, antioxidant enzymes, seedling growth, rapeseed, and nanobiochar. |
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Full-Text [PDF 1537 kb]
(3 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Crop Physiology
Received: 2026/07/19 | Accepted: 2026/05/31 | Published: 2026/05/31
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