Mitigating oxidative stress in lettuce grown in a cadmium-contaminated soil using a composite organo-mineral fertilizer
Pedosphere, cilt.36, sa.6, ss.1314-1322, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 36 Sayı: 6
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.07.013
- Dergi Adı: Pedosphere
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Geobase
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1314-1322
- Anahtar Kelimeler: agricultural waste management, antioxidant enzyme, chicken manure incineration ash, heavy metal toxicity, keratin, light condition, soil amendment, stress adaptation
- Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Cadmium (Cd) contamination of agricultural soils poses a serious challenge to sustainable crop production and food safety. Although various soil amendments have been proposed to reduce Cd bioavailability, there remains a need for sustainable, nutrient-rich materials that can simultaneously alleviate Cd-induced oxidative stress and improve plant nutrition. In this study, we investigated the effects of a composite organo-mineral fertilizer derived from sheep wool and chicken manure incineration ash (WASH) on the growth, nutrient uptake, metabolic activity, and oxidative stress responses of lettuce plants under Cd toxicity and different light conditions in a pot experiment. Four soil treatments were set up: clean soil as a negative control (nCK), Cd-spiked soil (20 mg Cd kg−1) as a positive control (pCK), and Cd-spiked soil (20 mg Cd kg−1) with addition of WASH at 1 g kg−1 (WASH1) and 2 g kg−1 (WASH2). Then, each soil treatment was subjected to two lighting treatments: natural and light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. Under both light conditions, WASH, particularly at 2 g kg−1, improved plant growth by mitigating Cd-induced oxidative stress, as evidenced by reduced hydrogen peroxide levels and normalized antioxidant enzyme activities. In addition, WASH significantly reduced Cd accumulation in plant tissues and enhanced the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The effects of WASH were more pronounced under LED lighting, with greater improvements in plant growth and metabolic activity. The results demonstrated that WASH has significant potential as a sustainable soil amendment to combat Cd toxicity and enhance plant nutrient uptake. Future studies should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of WASH across various Cd-contaminated soil types and plant species to optimize its application in agriculture.