Bamboo Biochar and a Nopal-Based Biofertilizer as Improvers of Alkaline Soils with Low Buffer Capacity

Oscar Arce-Cervantes,Claudia Coronel-Olivares,Rosa Icela Beltrán-Hernández,Addi Santiago Cruz-Méndez,Carlos Alexander Lucho-Constantino,Gabriela Alejandra Vázquez-Rodríguez,Esaú Ortega-Ramírez

doi:10.3390/app11146502

Oscar Arce-Cervantes, Claudia Coronel-Olivares + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/app11146502

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Journal: Applied Sciences	Publication Date: Jul 15, 2021
Citations: 13	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo

Abstract

Alkaline soils with low buffering capacity are susceptible to amendments such as biochar or biofertilizers, which could drastically alter their pH. For that, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a low biochar and biofertilizer addition to improve soil characteristics and the use of nutrients to reduce the doses of chemical fertilizer. For that, we measured the initial effect of biochar addition on the soil characteristics. Then, to evaluate the changes produced by biochar and biofertilizer on cultivated soil, we carried out a greenhouse experiment with Physalis ixocarpa for two crop cycles. We also studied the nutrient use efficiency, comparing chemical fertilization at 100% (without biochar) against 50% and 20% with biochar on crop yield, plant height, fruit weight, and root length. Finally, we compared the combination of biochar and biofertilizer with the treatments mentioned earlier. The results showed that after adding 0.2% of bamboo biochar, bulk density (BD) decreased while CEC, as well as OM, Pav, Fe, and Cu contents, increased in the soil. The combination of biochar and biofertilizer improved WHC, Pav, and OM comparing to the soil added with biochar. We found that the bamboo biochar and nopal-based fertilizer are suitable improvers for the studied soil.

Highlights

Soils of arid and semi-arid areas are characterized by low contents of organic matter, scarce water storage, imbalanced mineral nutrients, and coarse texture that make them low fertile environments [1]
Bamboo biochar used in this study showed a moderately alkaline pH (8.2); different from that strongly alkaline
The bulk density diminished 21%, 1.16 times more than theoretically expected according to Formula (1), while water-holding capacity (WHC) increased 6%, and pH decreased from slightly alkaline to neutral

Summary

Introduction

Soils of arid and semi-arid areas are characterized by low contents of organic matter, scarce water storage, imbalanced mineral nutrients, and coarse texture that make them low fertile environments [1]. The progressive land degradation process of arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas by human activities and climatic variations is known as desertification. This phenomenon is responsible for the gradual loss of fertility, leading to non-fertile and desertified lands [2]. Some of the limiting conditions of arid zone soils could be reversed with the use of bioproducts such as biofertilizers and biochar. The term biofertilizer is too broad, as it comprises microorganisms, anaerobic digestates, green fertilizers, and manures, as well as plant and algae extracts. In general terms, biofertilizers are products of biological origin that contain nutrients and beneficial microorganisms to grow plants [5]. Biochar is a porous, rich-carbon material obtained from biomass pyrolysis with limited or no oxygen [6,7]

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