Arid Zone Research ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1): 80-91.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2024.01.08

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Mechanism of sludge alkaline thermal hydrolysis liquid on the growth of Brassica chinensis under drought stress

BAI Ju1,2(),LIU Xiaolin1,2,3,LI Shen1,2,LIANG Zheming1,2,XU Zihang1,2,WANG Yongliang1,2,YANG Zhiping1,2()   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Soil Improvement and Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Subject Group), Institute of Eco-environment and Industrial Technology, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, Shanxi, China
    2. Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Nutrient Resources, Taiyuan 030031, Shanxi, China
    3. College of Life Sciences, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, Shanxi, China
  • Received:2023-07-20 Revised:2023-10-10 Online:2024-01-15 Published:2024-01-24

Abstract:

In recent years, there has been considerable attention given to the utilization of urban domestic sludge through the production of sludge alkaline thermal hydrolysis liquid using alkaline hot water lysis. Drought is a major abiotic stress in nature, severely limiting crop production. To effectively mitigate the adverse impact of drought stress on vegetables and explore the potential of sludge utilization, this study used Brassica chinensis as the research object. Different levels of drought stress were induced by creating four soil moisture gradients. Equal amounts of nitrogen from alkaline thermal hydrolysis liquid derived from sludge and urea solution were applied under different levels of drought stress to examine the resistance mechanism of the sludge-derived alkaline thermal hydrolysis liquid to drought stress. The results showed that when exposed to different drought stress conditions, the use of alkaline thermal hydrolysis liquid derived from sludge significantly improved the root length density, root surface area density, and root volume density. This enhancement improved the ability of B. chinensis to absorb water and nutrients from the soil and increased the leaf’s relative water content, helping maintain the plant’s photosynthesis process. Based on the redundancy analysis, applying alkaline thermal hydrolysis liquid to sludge could increase the leaf’s relative water content and improve catalase activity, thereby alleviating the growth inhibition of B. chinensis induced by drought stress. In summary, the application of alkaline thermal hydrolysis liquid in vegetable production can help alleviate growth impediments caused by drought stress on leafy vegetables, provide a strategy for vegetable production in arid areas, and introduce a novel method for the safe and effective utilization of urban sludge.

Key words: alkaline thermal hydrolysis liquid of sludge, drought stress, autioxidant enzyme activities, redundancy analysis, sludge resource utilization