Calcareous soil, high pH, and low organic matter are the major factors that limit iron (Fe) availability to rice crop. The present study was planned with the aim to biofortified rice grain with Fe, by integrated use of chemical and organic amendments in pH-manipulated calcareous soil. The soil pH was reduced (pHL₂) by using elemental sulfur (S) at the rate of 0.25 % (w/w). The organic amendments, biochar (BC) and poultry manure (PM) [1 % (w/w)], along with ferrous sulfate at the rate of 7.5 mg kg⁻¹ soil were used. The incorporation of Fe with BC in soil at pHL₂ significantly improved plant biomass, photosynthetic rate, and paddy yield up to 99, 97, and 36 %, respectively, compared to control. A significant increase in grain Fe (190 %), protein (58 %), and ferritin (400 %) contents was observed while anti-nutrients, i.e., polyphenols (37 %) and phytate (21 %) were significantly decreased by the addition of Fe and BC in soil at pHL₂ relative to control. Among the organic amendments, PM significantly increased Cd, Pb, Ni, and Cr concentrations in rice grain relative to control but their concentration values were below as compared to the toxic limits of hazard quotients and hazard index (HQ and HI). Hence, this study implies that Fe applied with BC in the soil at pHL₂ can be considered as an effective strategy to augment Fe bioavailability and to reduce non-essential heavy metal accumulation in rice grain.

Agriculture P management practices elevate the level of inorganic phosphates in soil that results in phosphorous (P) seepage into water-bodies. This is one of the key factors that have accelerated the menace of eutrophication. Phytic acid (phytate)-P-rich plant metabolite is infamous for its anti-nutrient activity and regularly oozing in to environment though discharge of mono-gastric animals. That has amplified the magnitudes of eutrophication. In this work, for catalysis of phytate-P, the metal-organic framework fabricated towards metal oxides (Fe₃O₄) and phytase in highly ordered microcosms of silica was employed. The synthesized framework was characterized through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nitrogen isotherm analysis. Average pore diameter of synthesized bisect oval shaped structures was measured around ≈200 nm. Herein, phytase and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were loaded to the cavities of microcosms through glutaraldehyde-mediated crosslinking. Whereas Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles act as nano-absorbents that adsorb P liberated from phytase-mediated catalysis of phytate. Kinetic analysis of free and loaded phytase has shown relatively small reduction in catalytic efficiency. These loaded microcosms have removed 60–80% of phytate-phosphate. The optimized process has reduced the growth of photoautotrophs by 50%. Additionally the magnet-assisted separation of loaded microcosms eased the reapplication of loaded microcosms tested for six independent instances. The primary studies conducted to evaluate the geno-toxicity of loaded microcosms have not shown any harmful effect on the process like cell division and seed germination. The efficacy of this method has evaluated towards on-field testing in Changa (Gujarat, India) lake.

Water represents 71% of all earth area and about 97% of this water is salty water. So, only 3% of the overall world water quantity is freshwater. Human can benefit only from 1% of this water and the remaining 2% freeze at both poles of earth. Therefore, it is important to preserve the freshwater through increasing the plants consuming salty water. The future prosperity of feed resources in arid and semi-arid countries depends on economic use of alternative resources that have been marginalized for long periods of time, such as halophytic plants, which are one such potential future resource. Halophyte plants can grow in high salinity water and soil and to some extent during drought. The growth of these plants depends on the contact of the salted water with plant roots as in semi-desert saline water, mangrove swamps, marshes, and seashores. Halophyte plants need high levels of sodium chloride in the soil water for growth, and the soil water must also contain high levels of salts, as sodium hydroxide or magnesium sulfate. There are many uses for halophyte plants, including feed for animals, vegetables, drugs, sand dune stabilizers, wind shelter, soil cover, wetland cultivation, laundry detergents, and paper production. This paper will focus on the use of halophytes as a feed additive for animals. In spite of the good nutritional value of halophytes, some anti-nutritional factors as nitrates, nitrite complexes, tannins, glycosides, phenolic compounds, saponins, oxalates, and alkaloids may be present in some of them. The presence of such anti-nutritional agents makes halophytes unpalatable to animals, which tends to reduce feed intake and nutrient use. Therefore, the negative effects of these plants on animal performance are the only objection against using halophytes in animal feed diets. This review article highlights the beneficial impact of considering halophytes in animal feeding on saving freshwater and illustrates its nutritive value for livestock from different aspects.