Effect of rice husk biochar and endophytic fungus Piriformospora Indica on concentrations of some nutrients in the shoot and root of corn grown in zinc-contaminated soil

Heavy metal contamination of soils represents a serious environmental issue which is dramatically increasing with rapid developments in industry and agriculture. Therefore, a number of studies have focused on heavy metal control and remedy in soils. The addition of biochar to contaminated soils is an effective method to immobilize heavy metals and reduce bioavailability. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of rice husk biochar and Piriformospora indica as an endophytic fungus on concentration some nutrients in the shoot and root of corn grown in polluted soil with different Zn concentrations. So, a factorial greenhouse experiment with three treatment factors including Zn (0, 50, 100, 200 and 300 mg kg-1 soil), rice husk biochar (0, 2 and 4 weight percent) and P. indica (inoculation and non-inoculation) was performed in a completely randomized design with three replications. The results showed that biochar application as well as P. indica increase concentration of Fe, Cu, Mn and P in the shoot and root of corn plant. The concentration of Fe in the shoot of non-inoculated plants at 2% and 4% wt/wt of biochar increased 1.09 and 2.66 compared with the control (i.e., no biochar). However, under such conditions, the increase of Fe concentration in the root was recorder by the amounts of 44.61% and 70.17%, respectively. P. indica inoculation resulted in a significant increase of Fe concentration in the shoot by 1.07% and 2.74% and 44.22% and 70.01% in the root compared with non-biochar controls.