| Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2025 |
| Title |
Effects of compost and biochar on barley’s growth and response to drought stress: insights into osmoprotectants, antioxidant activity, and gene expression |
| Journal |
Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition |
| Label |
U1-Muhovski |
| Date |
21 November 2025 |
| Endnote Keywords |
Barley, Biochar, Combined application, Compost, Drought, Gene expression |
| Abstract |
In the context of climate change, crop growth and yields in arid and semi-arid regions are particularly vulnerable to
environmental conditions, such as the availability of irrigation water. Organic amendments, including compost and biochar,
could enhance plant growth and resilience to drought stress. In this regard, this study aimed to evaluate the effects
of compost and biochar, either individually or in combination, on the morphophysiological, biochemical, and molecular
responses of barley plants under drought stress conditions. Eight treatments were included: control (CK), biochar (B),
compost (C), biochar and compost (CB), drought stress (D), drought and biochar (DB), drought and compost (DC),
and drought and biochar and compost (DCB). Overall, the application of amendments, whether separately or combined,
alleviated the negative effects of drought on agronomic parameters and reduced the antioxidant activity of superoxide
dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and guaiacol peroxidase (GPOX), except for catalase (CAT). The combined
application of compost and biochar increased proline and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations while decreasing
soluble sugars levels. Furthermore, the application of amendments, whether individually or in combination, downregulated
oxidative stress-related genes (HvSOD, HvAPX, and HvCAT), while upregulating key transcription factors (HvAP2/ERF
and HvDREB) and functional genes involved in proline biosynthesis (HvP5CS) and water transport (HvPIP) compared to
drought stress alone. Interestingly, the combined application of biochar and compost often resulted in a more moderated
molecular response than when applied separately, suggesting a synergistic effect that alleviates the impact of drought stress
even further. These findings suggest that organic amendments such as biochar and compost, particularly when applied
together, can enhance plant tolerance to drought stress. This improvement is accompanied by moderated activation of
stress-related responses, which may conduce to a reduced metabolic burden. |
| Fichier |
|
| Lien |
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42729-025-02766-5 |
| Authors |
Ghouili, E., Muhovski, Y., Hogue, R., Nefissi, R., Abdelkrim, S., Li, Z., Souissi, F., Jebara, S., Jebara, M., Abid, G. |
