TITLE:
Impacts of Different Sources of Biochar on Plant Growth Characteristics
AUTHORS:
Tazeen Fatima Khan, Mst Ummay Salma, Shahid Akhtar Hossain
KEYWORDS:
Net-House, Biochar, Biomass, Kalmi, Crop Production
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.9 No.9,
August
23,
2018
ABSTRACT: A
net-house experiment was conducted to assess the impacts of different sources
of biochar on growth and development of plant. Three different types of
biomasses viz., cow dung,
poultry manure and sewage sludge produced were used for the study. An upland leafy
vegetable commonly known as kalmi (Ipomoea aquatic) was
used for pot culture experiment. The biomass or biochar was applied to the soil
at a rate of 5 t/ha and the pots were arranged following completely randomized
design. A number of physical, chemical and physico-chemical properties of the
soil, biochar, biomass and plant samples were analyzed in the laboratory.
Biochar treated soils showed higher CEC than the corresponding biomass treated
ones. Organic carbon in biochar treated soils was also higher. Total nitrogen
contents of biomass treatments were higher than biochar treatments. Phosphorus,
potassium and sulphur concentrations of the treated soils increased after
harvesting. The paper discusses plant growth and agricultural crop production vis-à-vis biochar application,
indicating that the materials might not exert similar positive effects as their
biomass sources and thereby likely to jeopardize crop production and soil
health.