Current World Environment

Biochar Amendment Reduces Nickel (II) Toxicity and Enhances Phytoextraction in Zea mays L.

Munmun Kundu¹ , Souparna Chakrabarty² and Swati Chakraborty³ ^*

¹ Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal India

² Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA

³ Asansol Girls’ College, West Bengal India

Corresponding author Email: drswatinandichakraborty@gmail.com

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.21.1.17

Abstract

The increasing anthropogenic release of heavy metals (HMs) threatens global biodiversity and sustainable agriculture. Phytoremediation of HMs in contaminated soil not only reducesmetal bioavailability but also mitigates toxic effects on both plants and their consumers. Biochar is one such agent capable of reducing HMs toxicity. Thus, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the toxicological effect of heavy metal Nickel (II) on seed germination anduptake efficiencyin maize (Zea mays L.), an economically important agricultural crop. Soil samples were treatedwith graded concentrationsof Nickel Chloride Hexahydrate (NiCl2.6H2O)at 100 mg kg-1 and 300 mg kg-1 and amended with rice-husk-derived biochar(produced at 400 oC) at a dose of (1% w/w); a control was used for comparison.After 10 days of treatment, the concentration of Nickel (II) in soil, root and shoot was determined usingthe Dimethyl glyoxime (DMG) test.Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the high surface area and porous structure of biochar primarily decreased the bioavailability of Ni in the soil by physically trapping Ni (II) ions. The results showed thatsoil treated with biochar,increased seed germination by 14% at 100 mg kg-1 and doubled it at 300 mg kg-1 compared to untreated soil.Ni was primarilysequestrated in the rootsfor both sets of pots.However, biochar significantly lowered Ni accumulation by 25% and6 % in roots at 100 mg kg-1 and 300 mg kg-1, respectively. Furthermore, biochar enhanced the Bioconcentration factor (BCF) by more than twofold, preventing the plants from being overwhelmed by Ni toxicity by limiting root to shoot transfer (Translocation Factor< 1). This allowed the maize to continue growing and performing phytoextraction over the10-day experimentalperiod. This study demonstrates that the phytoremediation of Ni-contaminated soil can be effectively achieved using maize and biochar, thereby preventing the transfer of toxicity into the food chain.

Keywords

Biochar; Bioconcentration Factor; Food chain; Heavy Metal; Maize; Nickel Toxicity; Phytoremediation

Copy the following to cite this article:

Kundu M, Chakrabarty S, Chakraborty S. Biochar Amendment Reduces Nickel (II) Toxicity and Enhances Phytoextraction in Zea mays L. Curr World Environ 2026;21(1). DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.21.1.17

Copy the following to cite this URL:

Kundu M, Chakrabarty S, Chakraborty S. Biochar Amendment Reduces Nickel (II) Toxicity and Enhances Phytoextraction in Zea mays L. Curr World Environ 2026;21(1).

[ HTML Full Text ]