Effects of ZnO Nanoparticles and Biochar of Rice Straw and Cow Manure on Characteristics of Contaminated Soil and Sunflower Productivity, Oil Quality, and Heavy Metals Uptake

Abstract

Contaminated soils can cause a potential risk into the health of the environment and soil as well as the quality and productivity of plants. The objectives of our study were to investigate the integrative advantageous effects of foliar ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) (60 mg Zn NPs L−1), rice straw biochar (RSB; 8.0 t ha−1), cow-manure biochar (CMB, 8.0 t ha−1), and a combination thereof (50% of each) on sunflowers grown in agricultural land irrigated with polluted wastewater for the long term (≈50 years). The availability of heavy metals (HMs) in soil, HMs accumulation in whole biomass aboveground, growth, productivity, and quality characteristics of the sunflower were investigated. The combination treatment significantly minimized the availability of HMs in soil, and, consequently, substantially lessened the uptake of HMs by the sunflower, compared to treatments of ZnO NPs and control (i.e., untreated soil). The application of the combination treatment reduced the availability of Pb, Cr, Cu, and Cd in the soil by 78.6%, 115.3%, 153.3%, and 178.5% in comparison to untreated plots post-harvest, respectively. Compared to untreated plots, it also reduced the Pb, Cr, Cu, and Cd in plant biomass by 1.13, 5.19, 3.88, and 0.26 mg kg−1 DM, respectively. Furthermore, combination treatment followed by biochar as an individual application caused a significant improvement in sunflower productivity and quality in comparison to untreated soil. For instance, seed yield ha−1, 100-seed weight, and number of seeds per head obtained from the combination treatment was greater than the results obtained from the untreated plots by 42.6%, 47.0%, and 50.4%, respectively. In summary, the combined treatment of NPs and both RSB and CMB is recommended as a result of their positive influence on sunflower oil quality and yield as well as on minimizing the negative influences of HMs.