Sustainable Agronomic Interventions for Successful Crop Production in Metal-Contaminated Soils

Heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils is a widespread environmental concern with detrimental impacts on crop productivity and human health. Various heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, and nickel, accumulate in the soil through natural processes and human activities. These metals persist in the environment for extended periods, posing a severe threat to plants, animals, and humans. These heavy metals exert multifaceted effects on crop production, hindering plant growth and development by disrupting nutrient uptake and altering soil pH, impeding photosynthesis, reducing chlorophyll content, and limiting root development. This leads to reduced crop yields due to reduced biomass and impaired reproductive processes. Moreover, the uptake of heavy metals by plants grown in contaminated soils results in food crops contaminated with heavy metals, endangering human health. Therefore, it is necessary to devise strategies for enhancing crop performance in metal-contaminated soils.

The application of organic amendments such as biochar, compost, manure, microbes, and plant growth hormones plays an important role in remediating soils contaminated with heavy metals. These amendments enhance soil quality, promote the immobilization of heavy metals, and reduce their bioavailability to plants. Furthermore, inorganic amendments such as metal oxide nanoparticles, hydroxyapatite, and zeolites also play a crucial role in heavy metal remediation. These materials effectively adsorb heavy metals from contaminated soil, reduce heavy metal concentrations, and create a cleaner and more conducive environment for crop growth.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles, reviews, and short communications that explore recent advances in agronomic management interventions, including the sole or integrated application of organic and inorganic amendments, to mitigate heavy metal contamination and enhance crop productivity in soils contaminated with trace metals. We are particularly interested in contributions that address the following topics:

1. Investigating the mechanisms underlying the use of different organic and inorganic amendments in mitigating heavy metal contamination.
2. Assessing the impacts of applying organic and inorganic amendments on soil physicochemical properties, microbial communities, and plant health in soils polluted with heavy metals.
3. Developing novel and improved organic and inorganic amendments for the remediation of heavy metal-polluted soils.
4. Utilizing nano-fertilizers to enhance soil quality and crop productivity.
5. Evaluating the economic and environmental implications of organic and inorganic amendments.
6. Showcasing successful applications of organic and inorganic amendment strategies through case studies and field trials in real-world settings.

By addressing these critical themes, this Special Issue aims to advance our understanding of how the sole or integrated application of organic and inorganic amendments can revolutionize agriculture by mitigating heavy metal toxicity and bolstering crop productivity in an era of increasing environmental challenges. Researchers are encouraged to contribute their work to collectively build a comprehensive knowledge base for sustainable agronomic approaches in the face of heavy metal contamination.

Dr. Babar Shahzad
Dr. Fasih Haider Ullah Haider
Guest Editors

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• abiotic stress tolerance
• heavy metals
• photosynthesis
• plant development