Eurasian Journal of Soil Science

Abstract

Biochar is a highly stable carbon compound produced through pyrolysis, and it has been widely studied for its potential to enhance soil fertility and carbon sequestration. However, the impact of fresh and residual biochar is not thoroughly explored. Therefore, a comparative study on fresh and residual biochar were conducted at filed conditions on wheat cultivation, using a randomized block design. A fresh biochar (S1), residual biochar of previous season crop (S2) and two season old residual biochar (S3) with nine different treatments using varied amounts of rice husk and rice straw biochar along with the fertilizers (recommended doses of N, P, K) were considered in triplicate. Result clearly indicates that biochar application significantly improved plant height, leaf area, fresh and dry biomass of plant, internodal length, node & internode diameter, as well as biological yield, grain and straw yield of wheat crop. S1 had the most significant impact on plant growth and yield-attributing characteristics compared to S2 and S3, even at higher doses. In S1, the most significant results were observed at a biochar application rate of 5 tons/ha, while S2 showed maximum impact at 10 tons/ha. In S3, the highest impact was recorded at the highest biochar dose of 15 tons/ha. The present findings conclusively showed the efficiency of fresh biochar to enhance soil fertility for agricultural production as well as the residual impact of biochar in succeeding crop.

Keywords

Biochar application, Soil amendment, Residual effects, Wheat productivity.

References

<p>Abhishek, K., Shrivastava, A., Vimal, V., Gupta, A.K., Bhujbal, S.K., Biswas, J.K., Singh, L., Ghosh, P., Pandey, A., Sharma, P., Kumar, M. 2022. Biochar application for greenhouse gas mitigation, contaminants immobilization and soil fertility enhancement: A state-of-the-art review.&nbsp; <em>Science of The Total Environment</em>&nbsp;853: 158562.</p>

<p>Agegnehu, G., Bass, A.M., Nelson, P.N., Muirhead, B., Wright, G., Bird, M.I., 2015. Biochar and biochar-compost as soil amendments: Effects on peanut yield, soil properties and greenhouse gas emissions in tropical North Queensland, Australia. <em>Agriculture, Ecosystems &amp; Environment</em> 213: 72&ndash;85.</p>

<p>Alkharabsheh, H.M., Seleiman, M.F., Battaglia, M.L., Shami, A., Jalal, R.S., Alhammad, B.A., Al-Saif, A.M., 2021. Biochar and its broad impacts in soil quality and fertility, nutrient leaching and crop productivity: A review.&nbsp;<em>Agronomy</em>&nbsp;11(5): 993.</p>

<p>Arnon, D.I.,1949. Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts, polyphenol oxidase in Beta vulgaris. <em>Plant Physiology</em> 24:1-15.</p>

<p>Birol, M., G&uuml;nal, H., 2024. Response of &beta;-glucosidase enzyme activity of soil to biochar applications in a crop rotation at Blacksea agroecosystem. <em>Eurasian Journal of Soil Science</em> 13(4): 294 - 302.</p>

<p>Blanco-Canqui, H., 2017. Biochar and soil physical properties.&nbsp;<em>Soil Science Society of America Journal</em>&nbsp;81(4): 687-711.</p>

<p>Brar, B., Saharan, B.S., Seth, C.S., Kamboj, A., Surekha, Bala, K., Rajput, V.D., Minkina, T., Wong, M.H., Kumar, D., Sadh, P.K., Duhan, J.S., 2024. Nanobiochar: Soil and plant interactions and their implications for sustainable agriculture. <em>Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology </em>57: 103077.</p>

<p>Cong, M., Hu, Y., Sun, X., Yan, H., Yu, G., Tang, G., Chen, S., Xu, W.,Jia, H., 2023. Long-term effects of biochar application on the growth and physiological characteristics of maize.&nbsp;<em>Frontiers in Plant Science</em>&nbsp;14: 1172425.</p>

<p>Devendrapandi, G., Balu, R., Ayyappan, K., Ayyamperumal, R., Alhammadi, S., Lavanya, M., Senthilkumar, R., Karthika, P.C., 2024. Unearthing Earth&#39;s secrets: Exploring the environmental legacy of contaminants in soil, water, and sediments.&nbsp;<em>Environmental Research</em> 249: 118246.</p>

<p>Fachini, J., de Figueiredo, C.C., do Vale, A.T., da Silva, J., Zandonadi, D.B., 2024. Potassium-enriched biochar-based fertilizers for improved uptake in radish plants.&nbsp;<em>Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems </em>128(3): 415-427.</p>

<p>Faizan, M., Alam, P., Kumari, A., Suresh, G., Sharma, P., Karabulut, F., Soysal, S., Djalovic, I., Trivan, G., Adil, M.F., Sehar, S., Rajput, V.D., Hayat, S., 2024. Unraveling the nano-biochar mediated regulation of heavy metal stress tolerance for sustaining plant health. <em>Plant Stress </em>14: 100615.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Farouk, S., Al-Huqail, A.A., El-Gamal, S.M., 2023. Potential role of biochar and silicon in improving physio-biochemical and yield characteristics of borage plants under different irrigation regimes.&nbsp;<em>Plants</em><em>&nbsp;12</em>(8): 1605.</p>

<p>Guo, F., Peng, K., Liang, S., Jia, X., Jiang, X., Qian, L., 2019. Evaluation of the catalytic performance of different activated biochar catalysts for the removal of tar from biomass pyrolysis. <em>Fuel</em> 258: 116204.</p>

<p>Ismail, N., Man, N.N., 2024. Synergistic application of biochar with microbes for removal of contaminants from ındustrial effluent. In:&nbsp;Catalytic applications of biochar for environmental remediation: A green approach towards environment restoration. Kapoor, R.T., Sillanp&auml;&auml;, M., Rafatullah, M. (Eds.). American Chemical Society ACS Symposium Series Vol. 1478<em>, </em>pp. 157-169.</p>

<p>Khan, I., Iqbal, B., Khan, A.A., Inamullah, Rehman, A., Fayyaz, A., Shakoor, A., Farooq, T.H., Wang, L.X., 2022. The interactive impact of straw mulch and biochar application positively enhanced the growth indexes of maize (Zea mays L.) crop.&nbsp;<em>Agronomy</em>&nbsp;12(10): 2584.</p>

<p>Khan, Z., ur Rahman, M.H., Haider, G., Amir, R., Ikram, R.M., Ahmad, S., Schofield, H.K., Riaz, B., Iqbal, R., Fahad, S., Datta, R., Baazeem, A., El Sabagh, A., Danish, S., 2021. Chemical and biological enhancement effects of biochar on wheat growth and yield under arid field conditions.&nbsp;<em>Sustainability</em>&nbsp;13(11): 5890.</p>

<p>Laird, D.A., Fleming, P., Davis, D.D., Horton, R., Wang, B., Karlen, D.L., 2010. Impact of biochar amendments on the quality of a typical Midwestern agricultural soil. <em>Geoderma</em> 158: 443&ndash;449.</p>

<p>Long, V.V., Dung, T.V., 2023. Reducing nitrogen fertilizer combined with biochar amendment improves soil quality and increases grain yield in the intensive rice cultivation system. <em>Eurasian Journal of Soil Science</em> 12(3): 222-228.</p>

<p>Major, J., Rondon, M., Molina, D., Riha, S. J., Lehmann, J., 2010. Maize yield and nutrition during 4 years after biochar application to a Colombian savanna oxisol. <em>Plant and Soil</em> 333: 117&ndash;128.</p>

<p>Meng, X.J., Liang, Y.G., Zou, Z.Y., Wang, R., Su, Y.T., Gong, X.S., Huang, H., Chen, C., 2021. Effects of biochar application on stem and lodging characters of rice in the rice-duck farming system. <em>Chinese Journal of Ecology</em> 40: 3125-3134.</p>

<p>Miao, W., Li, F., Lu, J., Wang, D., Chen, M., Tang, L., Xu, Z., Chen, W., 2023. Biochar application enhanced rice biomass production and lodging resistance via promoting co-deposition of silica with hemicellulose and lignin. <em>Science of the Total Environment</em> 855: 158818.</p>

<p>Muema, F.M., Richardson, Y., Keita, A., Sawadogo, M., 2024. An interdisciplinary overview of biochar production engineering and its agronomic applications.&nbsp;<em>Biomass and Bioenergy </em>190: 107416.</p>

<p>Muluneh, M. G., 2021. Impact of climate change on biodiversity and food security: a global perspective&mdash;a review article.&nbsp;<em>Agriculture &amp; Food Security</em> 10: 36.</p>

<p>Murtaza, G., Usman, M., Iqbal, J., Tahir, M.N., Elshikh, M.S., Alkahtani, J., Toleikienė, M., Iqbal, R., Akram, M.I., Gruda, N.S., 2024. The impact of biochar addition on morpho-physiological characteristics, yield and water use efficiency of tomato plants under drought and salinity stress.&nbsp;<em>BMC Plant Biology</em>&nbsp;24(1): 356.</p>

<p>Nunes, M.R., Karlen, D.L., Veum, K.S., Moorman, T.B., Cambardella, C.A., 2020. Biological soil health indicators respond to tillage intensity: A US meta-analysis.&nbsp;<em>Geoderma</em>&nbsp;369: 114335.</p>

<p>Premalatha, R.P., Poorna Bindu, J., Nivetha, E., Malarvizhi, P., Manorama, K., Parameswari, E., Davamani, V., 2023. A review of biochar&rsquo;s effect on soil properties and crop growth.&nbsp;<em>Frontiers in Energy Research</em>&nbsp;11: 1092637.</p>

<p>Rao, D., Rajput, P., Choudhary, R., Yadav, S., Yadav, S. K., Rajput, V. D., Minkina, T., Ercisli, S., Matić, S., 2024. Multifaceted characteristics of biochar and its ımplementation in environmental management in a sustainable way. <em>Environmental Quality Management 34</em>(1): e22305.</p>

<p>Singh, S., Devi, N. B., Divya, D., Kumar, A., Singh, S., Tyagi, G., Kumar, A., 2024. Soil fertility management: Role of organic amendments and bio-fertilizers: A review. <em>International Journal of Research in Agronomy</em> 7(12): 766-772.</p>

<p>Sushkova, S., Minkina, T., Dudnikova, T., Barbashev, A., Popov, Y., Rajput, V., Bauer, T., Nazarenko, O., Kızılkaya, R., 2021. Reduced plant uptake of PAHs from soil amended with sunflower husk biochar. <em>Eurasian Journal of Soil Science</em> 10(4): 269 - 277.</p>

<p>Tripathy, S., Biswas, S., Singh, P., Ghose, T.J., Purakayastha, T.J., Ahmed, N., Pandey, R.N., Das, T.K., Ramakrishnan, B., 2023. Soil quality, resilience, and crop productivity under 32-year-old long-term rice-rice system in acidic alfisol of Assam.&nbsp;<em>Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition</em>&nbsp;23(4): 5333-5344.</p>

<p>Trupiano, D., Cocozza, C., Baronti, C., Amendola, C., Vaccari, F.P., Lustrato, G., Lonardo, S.D., Fantasma, F., Tognetti, R., Scippa, G.S., 2017. The effects of biochar and its combination with compost on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) growth, soil properties, and soil microbial activity and abundance. <em>International Journal of Agronomy</em> Article ID 3158207.</p>

<p>Vijay, V., Shreedhar, S., Adlak, K., Payyanad, S., Sreedharan, V., Gopi, G., Aravind, P.V., 2021. Review of large-scale biochar field-trials for soil amendment and the observed influences on crop yield variations.&nbsp;<em>Frontiers in Energy Research</em>&nbsp;<em>9</em>: 710766.</p>

<p>Wan, H., Hou, J., Wei, Z., Liu, F., 2024. Contrasting maize responses to soil phosphorus and potassium availability driven by biochar under reduced irrigation.&nbsp;<em>Plant and Soil</em> 24p.</p>

<p>Wan, H., Liu, X., Shi, Q., Chen, Y., Jiang, M., Zhang, J., Cui, B., Hou, J., Wei, Z., Hossain, M.A., Liu, F., 2023. Biochar amendment alters root morphology of maize plant: Its implications in enhancing nutrient uptake and shoot growth under reduced irrigation regimes.&nbsp;<em>Frontiers in Plant Science</em>&nbsp;14: 1122742.</p>

<p>Zheng, H., Wang, X., Luo, X., Wang, Z., Xing, B., 2018. Biochar-induced negative carbon mineralization priming effects in a coastal wetland soil: Roles of soil aggregation and microbial modulation. <em>Science of the Total Environment</em> 610: 951&ndash;960.</p>

Abstract

Biochar is a highly stable carbon compound produced through pyrolysis, and it has been widely studied for its potential to enhance soil fertility and carbon sequestration. However, the impact of fresh and residual biochar is not thoroughly explored. Therefore, a comparative study on fresh and residual biochar were conducted at filed conditions on wheat cultivation, using a randomized block design. A fresh biochar (S1), residual biochar of previous season crop (S2) and two season old residual biochar (S3) with nine different treatments using varied amounts of rice husk and rice straw biochar along with the fertilizers (recommended doses of N, P, K) were considered in triplicate. Result clearly indicates that biochar application significantly improved plant height, leaf area, fresh and dry biomass of plant, internodal length, node & internode diameter, as well as biological yield, grain and straw yield of wheat crop. S1 had the most significant impact on plant growth and yield-attributing characteristics compared to S2 and S3, even at higher doses. In S1, the most significant results were observed at a biochar application rate of 5 tons/ha, while S2 showed maximum impact at 10 tons/ha. In S3, the highest impact was recorded at the highest biochar dose of 15 tons/ha. The present findings conclusively showed the efficiency of fresh biochar to enhance soil fertility for agricultural production as well as the residual impact of biochar in succeeding crop.

Keywords: Biochar application, Soil amendment, Residual effects, Wheat productivity.

References

Abhishek, K., Shrivastava, A., Vimal, V., Gupta, A.K., Bhujbal, S.K., Biswas, J.K., Singh, L., Ghosh, P., Pandey, A., Sharma, P., Kumar, M. 2022. Biochar application for greenhouse gas mitigation, contaminants immobilization and soil fertility enhancement: A state-of-the-art review.  Science of The Total Environment 853: 158562.

Agegnehu, G., Bass, A.M., Nelson, P.N., Muirhead, B., Wright, G., Bird, M.I., 2015. Biochar and biochar-compost as soil amendments: Effects on peanut yield, soil properties and greenhouse gas emissions in tropical North Queensland, Australia. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 213: 72–85.

Alkharabsheh, H.M., Seleiman, M.F., Battaglia, M.L., Shami, A., Jalal, R.S., Alhammad, B.A., Al-Saif, A.M., 2021. Biochar and its broad impacts in soil quality and fertility, nutrient leaching and crop productivity: A review. Agronomy 11(5): 993.

Arnon, D.I.,1949. Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts, polyphenol oxidase in Beta vulgaris. Plant Physiology 24:1-15.

Birol, M., Günal, H., 2024. Response of β-glucosidase enzyme activity of soil to biochar applications in a crop rotation at Blacksea agroecosystem. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science 13(4): 294 - 302.

Blanco-Canqui, H., 2017. Biochar and soil physical properties. Soil Science Society of America Journal 81(4): 687-711.

Brar, B., Saharan, B.S., Seth, C.S., Kamboj, A., Surekha, Bala, K., Rajput, V.D., Minkina, T., Wong, M.H., Kumar, D., Sadh, P.K., Duhan, J.S., 2024. Nanobiochar: Soil and plant interactions and their implications for sustainable agriculture. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology 57: 103077.

Cong, M., Hu, Y., Sun, X., Yan, H., Yu, G., Tang, G., Chen, S., Xu, W.,Jia, H., 2023. Long-term effects of biochar application on the growth and physiological characteristics of maize. Frontiers in Plant Science 14: 1172425.

Devendrapandi, G., Balu, R., Ayyappan, K., Ayyamperumal, R., Alhammadi, S., Lavanya, M., Senthilkumar, R., Karthika, P.C., 2024. Unearthing Earth's secrets: Exploring the environmental legacy of contaminants in soil, water, and sediments. Environmental Research 249: 118246.

Fachini, J., de Figueiredo, C.C., do Vale, A.T., da Silva, J., Zandonadi, D.B., 2024. Potassium-enriched biochar-based fertilizers for improved uptake in radish plants. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 128(3): 415-427.

Faizan, M., Alam, P., Kumari, A., Suresh, G., Sharma, P., Karabulut, F., Soysal, S., Djalovic, I., Trivan, G., Adil, M.F., Sehar, S., Rajput, V.D., Hayat, S., 2024. Unraveling the nano-biochar mediated regulation of heavy metal stress tolerance for sustaining plant health. Plant Stress 14: 100615.  

Farouk, S., Al-Huqail, A.A., El-Gamal, S.M., 2023. Potential role of biochar and silicon in improving physio-biochemical and yield characteristics of borage plants under different irrigation regimes. Plants 12(8): 1605.

Guo, F., Peng, K., Liang, S., Jia, X., Jiang, X., Qian, L., 2019. Evaluation of the catalytic performance of different activated biochar catalysts for the removal of tar from biomass pyrolysis. Fuel 258: 116204.

Ismail, N., Man, N.N., 2024. Synergistic application of biochar with microbes for removal of contaminants from ındustrial effluent. In: Catalytic applications of biochar for environmental remediation: A green approach towards environment restoration. Kapoor, R.T., Sillanpää, M., Rafatullah, M. (Eds.). American Chemical Society ACS Symposium Series Vol. 1478, pp. 157-169.

Khan, I., Iqbal, B., Khan, A.A., Inamullah, Rehman, A., Fayyaz, A., Shakoor, A., Farooq, T.H., Wang, L.X., 2022. The interactive impact of straw mulch and biochar application positively enhanced the growth indexes of maize (Zea mays L.) crop. Agronomy 12(10): 2584.

Khan, Z., ur Rahman, M.H., Haider, G., Amir, R., Ikram, R.M., Ahmad, S., Schofield, H.K., Riaz, B., Iqbal, R., Fahad, S., Datta, R., Baazeem, A., El Sabagh, A., Danish, S., 2021. Chemical and biological enhancement effects of biochar on wheat growth and yield under arid field conditions. Sustainability 13(11): 5890.

Laird, D.A., Fleming, P., Davis, D.D., Horton, R., Wang, B., Karlen, D.L., 2010. Impact of biochar amendments on the quality of a typical Midwestern agricultural soil. Geoderma 158: 443–449.

Long, V.V., Dung, T.V., 2023. Reducing nitrogen fertilizer combined with biochar amendment improves soil quality and increases grain yield in the intensive rice cultivation system. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science 12(3): 222-228.

Major, J., Rondon, M., Molina, D., Riha, S. J., Lehmann, J., 2010. Maize yield and nutrition during 4 years after biochar application to a Colombian savanna oxisol. Plant and Soil 333: 117–128.

Meng, X.J., Liang, Y.G., Zou, Z.Y., Wang, R., Su, Y.T., Gong, X.S., Huang, H., Chen, C., 2021. Effects of biochar application on stem and lodging characters of rice in the rice-duck farming system. Chinese Journal of Ecology 40: 3125-3134.

Miao, W., Li, F., Lu, J., Wang, D., Chen, M., Tang, L., Xu, Z., Chen, W., 2023. Biochar application enhanced rice biomass production and lodging resistance via promoting co-deposition of silica with hemicellulose and lignin. Science of the Total Environment 855: 158818.

Muema, F.M., Richardson, Y., Keita, A., Sawadogo, M., 2024. An interdisciplinary overview of biochar production engineering and its agronomic applications. Biomass and Bioenergy 190: 107416.

Muluneh, M. G., 2021. Impact of climate change on biodiversity and food security: a global perspective—a review article. Agriculture & Food Security 10: 36.

Murtaza, G., Usman, M., Iqbal, J., Tahir, M.N., Elshikh, M.S., Alkahtani, J., Toleikienė, M., Iqbal, R., Akram, M.I., Gruda, N.S., 2024. The impact of biochar addition on morpho-physiological characteristics, yield and water use efficiency of tomato plants under drought and salinity stress. BMC Plant Biology 24(1): 356.

Nunes, M.R., Karlen, D.L., Veum, K.S., Moorman, T.B., Cambardella, C.A., 2020. Biological soil health indicators respond to tillage intensity: A US meta-analysis. Geoderma 369: 114335.

Premalatha, R.P., Poorna Bindu, J., Nivetha, E., Malarvizhi, P., Manorama, K., Parameswari, E., Davamani, V., 2023. A review of biochar’s effect on soil properties and crop growth. Frontiers in Energy Research 11: 1092637.

Rao, D., Rajput, P., Choudhary, R., Yadav, S., Yadav, S. K., Rajput, V. D., Minkina, T., Ercisli, S., Matić, S., 2024. Multifaceted characteristics of biochar and its ımplementation in environmental management in a sustainable way. Environmental Quality Management 34(1): e22305.

Singh, S., Devi, N. B., Divya, D., Kumar, A., Singh, S., Tyagi, G., Kumar, A., 2024. Soil fertility management: Role of organic amendments and bio-fertilizers: A review. International Journal of Research in Agronomy 7(12): 766-772.

Sushkova, S., Minkina, T., Dudnikova, T., Barbashev, A., Popov, Y., Rajput, V., Bauer, T., Nazarenko, O., Kızılkaya, R., 2021. Reduced plant uptake of PAHs from soil amended with sunflower husk biochar. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science 10(4): 269 - 277.

Tripathy, S., Biswas, S., Singh, P., Ghose, T.J., Purakayastha, T.J., Ahmed, N., Pandey, R.N., Das, T.K., Ramakrishnan, B., 2023. Soil quality, resilience, and crop productivity under 32-year-old long-term rice-rice system in acidic alfisol of Assam. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 23(4): 5333-5344.

Trupiano, D., Cocozza, C., Baronti, C., Amendola, C., Vaccari, F.P., Lustrato, G., Lonardo, S.D., Fantasma, F., Tognetti, R., Scippa, G.S., 2017. The effects of biochar and its combination with compost on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) growth, soil properties, and soil microbial activity and abundance. International Journal of Agronomy Article ID 3158207.

Vijay, V., Shreedhar, S., Adlak, K., Payyanad, S., Sreedharan, V., Gopi, G., Aravind, P.V., 2021. Review of large-scale biochar field-trials for soil amendment and the observed influences on crop yield variations. Frontiers in Energy Research 9: 710766.

Wan, H., Hou, J., Wei, Z., Liu, F., 2024. Contrasting maize responses to soil phosphorus and potassium availability driven by biochar under reduced irrigation. Plant and Soil 24p.

Wan, H., Liu, X., Shi, Q., Chen, Y., Jiang, M., Zhang, J., Cui, B., Hou, J., Wei, Z., Hossain, M.A., Liu, F., 2023. Biochar amendment alters root morphology of maize plant: Its implications in enhancing nutrient uptake and shoot growth under reduced irrigation regimes. Frontiers in Plant Science 14: 1122742.

Zheng, H., Wang, X., Luo, X., Wang, Z., Xing, B., 2018. Biochar-induced negative carbon mineralization priming effects in a coastal wetland soil: Roles of soil aggregation and microbial modulation. Science of the Total Environment 610: 951–960.