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Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Investigating the combined effects of β-sitosterol and biochar on nutritional value and drought tolerance in Phaseolus vulgaris under drought stress

Marwa A. Fakhr https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9879-7729 A B , Abdelghafar M. Abu-Elsaoud C D , Khadiga Alharbi E , Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9042-9171 F * , Muhammad Usman https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8804-3790 F and Mona H. Soliman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9102-4790 G H
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt.

B Green Materials Technology Department, Environment and Natural Materials Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), New Borg El-Arab City, Alexandria 21934, Egypt.

C Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt.

D Department of Biology, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh 11623, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Email: amsmohamed@imamu.edu.sa

E Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.

F Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab 38000, Pakistan.

G Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.

H Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Al-Sharm, Yanbu El-Bahr, Yanbu 46429, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

* Correspondence to: ziasindhu1399@gmail.com

Handling Editor: Manuela Chaves

Functional Plant Biology 51, FP24023 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP24023
Submitted: 16 January 2024  Accepted: 31 July 2024  Published: 2 September 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Climate change-induced drought stress decreases crop productivity, but the application of β-sitosterol (BS) and biochar (BC) boosts crop growth and yield. A pot experiment was conducted to examine the effects of the alone and combined application of BS and BC on the growth and yield of Phaseolus vulgaris under drought stress. The synergistic application of BS and BC increased plant height (46.9 cm), shoot dry weight (6.9 g/pot), and root dry weight (2.5 g/pot) of P. vulgaris plants under drought stress. The trend of applied treatments for photosynthetic rate remained as BC (15%) < BS (28%) < BC + BS (32%), compared to drought-stressed control. Similarly, the trend of applied treatments for water use efficiency was BS < BC < BC + BS, compared to drought stress control. The levels of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide were reduced by the combined application of BS and BC under drought stress, measuring at 22.8 and 66.4 μmol/g fresh weight, respectively. The combined use of BS and BC significantly alleviated drought stress more than when applied individually. Thus, employing BS and BC together as key agents in drought-stressed common bean plants could promote resilience, fostering growth amid ongoing climate change.

Keywords: β-sitosterol, biochar, climate change, crop productivity, drought, malondialdehyde, Phaseolus vulgaris, promote resilience.

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