“For the production of biochar we use amaranth stems as feedstock, which often remain as unclaimed waste, but are a potential source of cellulose,” explained Adarsh Kumar, project manager and principal investigator at the UrFU Laboratory.
Amaranth is cultivated as an ornamental plant, but it also has value as a fodder crop: it is a source of cereals, vegetables and silage.
To the raw materials obtained from it, the scientists added PGP rhizobacteria. Not anyway, but they were assigned in areas that were subject to severe contamination.
“The selected strains not only have the ability to synthesize growth hormones (auxins), but are also able to resist high concentrations of cadmium and other heavy metals, and are also drought tolerant,” says Adarsh Kumar. .
The biological product obtained by this method will be useful for regions and countries with a developed metallurgical industry located in arid zones, for example, Russia, India, China and others.
Emphasis is placed on protection against cadmium buildup. It enters nature as a result of the activities of companies, the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Its ions accumulate in plants, and then enter the body of humans and animals. In this case, cadmium can replace, for example, zinc, thereby disrupting the work of key metabolic enzymes.
The new additive has already been tested in vitro and in pot cultures and has shown good efficacy.
“The biopreparations not only increased seed germination, stimulated growth and improved the physiological characteristics of rapeseed, but also prevented the accumulation of cadmium ions in the aerial biomass, stabilizing it in the roots. This means that we have received the best biopreparation that improves growth and increases the resistance of cultivated plants, at least in the case of rapeseed, to drought and the effects of cadmium”, says María Maleva, co-author of the article and head of the laboratory at the Federal University of the Urals.
