Research on testing PGPR-immobilised sorbents in phytoremediation

From June to August 2024, a lab experiment on the impact of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) immobilized on various sorbents, including biochars, was conducted at UJEP in collaboration with Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan, and the Crop Research Institute’s branch in Chomutov, the Czech Republic. The microbial strains, isolated from agricultural soil and screened for their plant growth-promoting and Zn-solubilising properties, were used in the experiment. Corn (Z. mays), which shares similarities with Miscanthus × giganteus and possesses C₄-type photosynthesis and developed biomass, was chosen as the test plant to evaluate the influence of microbe-sorbent complexes on phytoremediation of contaminated soil.

This research forms part of the PhD study of Zhuldyz Batykova (KazNU) under the leadership of Prof. Valentina Pidlisnyuk (NPD, UJEP) and Dr. Aida Kistaubayeva (KazNU). The experiment was designed and established by Senior Researcher Dr. Aigerim Mamirova (KazNU) and PhD student Zhuldyz Batykova. PhD students Abdulmannan Rouhani and Robert Ato Newton (both UJEP), Researcher Vojta Vana, and Dr. Sergey Ust’ak (both CRI) assisted in experiment maintaining, measuring bioparameters, and monitoring plant stress during vegetation. Gulfem Cayir, a bachelor student (Yildiz Technical University, Turkey) and Erasmus Scholar (UJEP), assisted as well. On August 7, 2024, the crop’s biomass (below and above parts) was harvested, and samples were collected for further analysis.