Biochar Reduces the Adverse Effect of Saline Water on Soil Properties and Wheat Production Profitability

Steve Burian,Mohamed E. A. El-sayed,Mohamed Hazman,Ayman Gamal Abd El-Rady,Ali Shams El Din,Lal Almas,Mike McFarland

doi:10.3390/agriculture11111112

Abstract

The goal of this study is to assess the use of saline groundwater in combination with soil amendments to increase the efficiency of wheat production in new agricultural soil in Egypt. The experiment was conducted during the two consecutive growing seasons, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021, at the Shandaweel Agricultural Research Station, Sohag, Egypt. In this study, plants of Shandaweel 1 spring bread wheat cultivar were grown under the combinations of the two water treatments, i.e., freshwater (307.2 ppm) and saline water (3000 ppm (NaCl + MgCl2)) representing groundwater in Egypt delivered by drip irrigation and the two biochar rates, i.e., zero and 4.8 ton/ha as a soil amendment. The cob corn biochar (CCB) was synthesized by using the slow pyrolysis process (one hour at 350 °C). The results revealed that saline water reduced the grain yield ratio by 8.5%, 11.0%, and 9.7% compared to non-saline water during seasons 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 and over seasons, respectively. Concerning, combined over seasons, the biochar addition enhanced the grain yield by 5.6% and 13.8% compared to non-biochar addition under fresh and saline irrigation water conditions, respectively. Thus, the results indicated and led to a preliminary recommendation that saline groundwater is a viable source of irrigation water and that biochar seemed to alleviate salinity stress on wheat production and in reclaimed soils of Egypt.

Highlights

In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, water scarcity is becoming a worldwide problem of increasing severity [1]
The results confirm that the cob corn biochar (CCB) has a high content of carbon (C) and oxygen (O), while it has a low content of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K)
The results showed that saline water reduces all the physiological properties of wheat [27,28], while the biochar addition reduced the negative effects of salinity in both seasons and over seasons

Summary

Introduction

In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, water scarcity is becoming a worldwide problem of increasing severity [1]. To overcome this shortage, lower-quality water, such as saline water, is widely used. Using saline water causes a number of negative consequences such as increased soil salinity and chemical toxicity and a range of adverse chemical, physical, and biological effects on the soil as well plant properties. These effects are primarily due to salt accumulation in the root area that generally causes an increase in soil salinity [2]. Irrigation with saline water accelerates the soil salinization process, significantly degrading the quality of agricultural soil in various ways and causing physicochemical deterioration of the soil [3]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion