Effects of Bay Leaf (Laurus nobilis L.), Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Peel and Banana (Musa Species) Peel Extracts on Bio-Chemical Indicators of Some Upland Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Crop under Higher Iron in Acid Soil Condition

Authors: Sotkiri Bey; Bhagawan Bharali; Soibam Helena Devi
DOI
10.25125/ijoear-mar-2026-9
DIN
IJOEAR-MAR-2026-9
Abstract

Background: The occurrence of high rainfall in Assam and leaching of base cations cause the soils to become acidic in reaction. The high mobility of iron in acid soil and its absorption raises the iron concentration, and it damages the physiology of crop plants. That is why excessive iron is regarded as one of the limiting factors responsible for lowering growth, development and yield of upland rice crop under irrigation through shallow tube wells. An innovative approach using extracts of potassium- and antioxidant-rich bio-inputs might be a novel approach for deterring and halting physio-biochemical aberrations due to higher iron in acid soil condition.

Method: A pot experiment (CRBD with three replications) was carried out to investigate the effects of bay leaf, potato peel, and banana peel extracts on biochemical indicators of some upland (Ahu) rice crop (varieties: Inglongkiri, Dehangi (Fe tolerant), Lachit (Fe susceptible), and Luit) under higher iron in acid soil conditions during the Autumn season (March-September, 2024). The five treatments were: (1) 100 ppm FeSO₄ as basal at vegetative stage (control), (2) 100 ppm FeSO₄ as basal at vegetative stage plus root dip treatment before transplanting and foliar spray with bay leaf extract at 20 days after transplanting, (3) 100 ppm FeSO₄ as basal at vegetative stage plus root dip treatment before transplanting and foliar spray with banana peel extract at 20 days after transplanting, (4) 100 ppm FeSO₄ as basal at vegetative stage plus root dip treatment before transplanting and foliar spray with potato peel extract at 20 days after transplanting; (5) Natural soil without any treatment (absolute control).

Result: In general, compared to the control, the treatments significantly increased biochemical indices viz., total chlorophyll (10.80-21.90%), chlorophyll 'a' (6.39-20.93%), chlorophyll 'b' contents (7.27-22.35%) at maximum tillering stage; total chlorophyll (10.96-21.38%), chlorophyll 'a' (11.88-21.89%), chlorophyll 'b' contents at heading stage (7.22-15.79%), NR activity at maximum tillering (12.43-35.52%) and heading (15-36.23%) stages, carbohydrate content (7.51-13.81%) and reduced iron content (10.57-21.34%) in grain at harvest. The bio-input extracts lessened cation leakage at maximum tillering (2.25-1.63%) and heading (3.52-2.83%) stages, and lipid peroxidation at maximum tillering (30.03-10.55%) and heading (29.64-10.96%) stages, despite the presence of high iron in the soil (initial: 200 ppm, harvest: 106 ppm). In the experiment, the intensity of blue colour following Perl's Prussian Blue staining was directly related to iron content in grain, with darker staining indicating higher iron accumulation, and this was altered by the bio-input treatments.

Keywords
Banana peel Bay leaf Chlorophyll CMS Cation leakage Carbohydrate Iron Potato peel Rice.
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Introduction

Rice is one of the staple food crops in Assam cultivated as Winter (70%), Autumn rice (23%) and Summer rice (7%) covering 2.54 million hectares. The higher iron content in the acid soil (80% of geographical area i.e. 25 m ha) of the region is one of the considerable factors for lower productivity (< 3 t ha⁻¹) of traditional genotypes. The high rainfall (>2000 mm) makes the soil acidic in nature (pH<5.0) due to leaching of basic cations (Mandal, 1995; Mandal et al., 2019). Consequently, the ground water contains higher iron (0.25-67.0 ppm), and its absorption by plant roots enriches the concentration of iron in plants. The excess iron (150-450 ppm) in plants affects the growth and development of rice crop, which is manifested by appearance of different physiological symptoms viz., potassium deficiency, yellowing of green leaves, dark brown or bronze spots, and death of plants (Baruah et al., 1983; Bora and Borkakati, 1997). Although many efforts have been made to ameliorate the aberrations due to iron toxicity in plants (Singh and Singh, 1987; Borah and Nath, 1979; Bey, 2022; Bey et al., 2026), there is a paucity of information on how bay leaf, banana peel, and potato peel extracts halt and rectify the degradation of biochemical indices in rice crop. As the extracts of these bio-inputs contain various nutrients and bio-molecules (Burton, 1989; Nguyen et al., 2003; Buckenhüskes, 2005; Emaga et al., 2007; Cakmak et al., 2013; Sidhu and Zafar, 2018; Batool et al., 2020; Karan, 2023), it is worthwhile to investigate their effects on biochemical indices in upland (Ahu) rice crop in the presence of high iron conditions.

Conclusion

Among bay leaf, banana peel, and potato extracts, bay leaf was found to be most suitable for enhancing key biochemical parameters viz., chlorophyll contents, NR activity, CMS at different growth stages, and carbohydrate content in grain. Moreover, lipid peroxidation, cation leakage, and CMS were lowered by bay leaf, particularly in the variety Dehangi, due to iron-induced ROS activity in the plant. This was evidenced by the iron content in grain and its correspondence with the varying intensity of grain colour determined in the experiment.

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