Antioxidant enzyme and osmotic adjustment changes in bean seedlings as affected by biochar under salt stress

- Salinity increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes compared to non-salinity.
- Reactive oxygen species and osmo regulators increased, with rising salinity.
- With increasing oxidative stress by salinity, dry weight of bean seedlings reduced.
- Biochar with alleviating the oxidative stress, improved dry weight of seedlings.

Salinity damaged cellular membranes through overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), while osmolytes and antioxidant capacities play a vital role in protecting plants from salinity caused oxidative damages. Biochar also could alleviate the negative impacts of salt stress in crops. The pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of biochar on some antioxidant enzyme activities and osmolyte adjustments of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Derakhshan) under salinity stress. Bean plants were subjected to three salinity levels (non-saline, 6 and 12 dSm−1 of NaCl) and biochar treatments (non-biochar, 10% and 20% total pot mass). Shoot and root dry weights of bean were decreased at two salt stress treatments. Salinity increased the activity of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), oxygen radicals (O2
- −), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in leaf and root compared to control. Additionally, increased magnitudes of proline, glycine betaine, soluble sugar and soluble protein contents were more pronounced under 12 dSm−1 NaCl than those under 6 dSm−1 NaCl. In contrast, biochar applied to soil enhanced the shoot and root dry weight in comparison with the non-biochar treatment. Furthermore, all of the antioxidant activities of seedlings in soil treated with biochar, particularly at 20% biochar, declined. With the addition of biochar, the contents of MDA, O2
- − and H2O2 displayed remarkable decrease, and the osmotic substances accumulation in leaves and roots also reduced. The presented results supported the view that biochar can contribute to protect common bean seedlings against NaCl stress by alleviating the oxidative stress.