Efficacy of Characterized Tender Coconut Husk Biochar Amendment to Improve Biometric Characters and Yield of Yard Long Bean

Abstract

Biochar is a carbon rich material produced by the pyrolysis of organic crop residues. Its application has been found to improve biometric characters and yield of crops by improving physical and chemical properties of the soil. It can act as a tool to sequester carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere through the decomposition or burning of organic residues. Considering the benefits of biochar in crop production, a field experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani of Kerala Agricultural University to investigate the efficacy of biochar from tender coconut husk for enhanced crop production in acidic ferralitic soil. Biochar, produced from tender coconut husk was characterized and tested in the field at different levels of application viz. 10 and 20 and 30 t/ha using yard long bean variety Vellayani Jyothika as the test crop. Along with biochar, other commonly used organic manures viz. Farm yard manure and vermicompost; biofertilizers viz. Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) were also tested in the field. The experiment was laid out in RBD with 9 treatments and 3 replications. Application of biochar @ 20 t/ha along with 2 per cent PGPR and NPK as per POP significantly increased yield (20.12 t/ha), days to fifty per cent flowering (35), no of nodules per plant (18), weight of nodules per plant (1.65g), no of leaves per plant (39), vine length (517.50 cm), pod length (52.80 cm) and other yield attributing characters and finally the Benefit Cost Ratio (1.56).