Abstract
In the present study, we investigated the impact of different combinations of wheat straw biochar, compost and biogas slurry on maize growth, physiology, and nutritional status in less productive soils. The experiment was performed as a completely randomized block design in a greenhouse pot experiment. The compost and biogas slurry were applied with and without biochar. The results revealed that a combination of biochar, compost, and biogas slurry enhanced the cation exchange capacity (31%), carbon (83%), phosphorus (67%) and potassium (81%) contents in the soil. Likewise, a significant increase in soil microbial biomass carbon (15%) and nitrogen (37%) was noticed with the combined use of all organic amendments. Moreover, the combined application of biochar, compost and biogas slurry enhanced soil urease and β-glucosidase activity up to 96% and 67% over control respectively. In addition, plant height, chlorophyll content, water use efficiency and 1000-grain weight were also enhanced up to 54%, 90%, 53% and 21% respectively, with the combined use of all amendments. Here, biochar addition helped to reduce the nutrient losses of compost and biogas slurry as well. It is concluded that biochar application in combination with compost and biogas slurry could be a more sustainable, environment-friendly and cost-effective approach, particularly for less fertile soils.
Highlights
Nutrient depletion from soils accelerated by nutrient mining, imbalanced use of fertilizers and poor land management practices pose serious threats to food security [1,2]
The results of soil chemical properties after harvesting of maize revealed that organic amendments significantly enhanced the chemical properties such as electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic carbon (SOC), available phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) of soil, while pH
In biochar amended soil the highest increase was observed in EC (14%), CEC (31%), SOC (83%), P (67%), and K (81%) with T8 treatment comprising of consortium of biochar, biogas slurry, and compost (WSB0.3 + BS0.3 + CM0.3 ), as compared to control
Summary
Nutrient depletion from soils accelerated by nutrient mining, imbalanced use of fertilizers and poor land management practices pose serious threats to food security [1,2]. Poor nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of crops causes a significant decline in soil quality and crop yields in developing countries [3,4]. Inorganic fertilizers significantly boost crop yield, and their application has steadily increased due to per capita land shrinking and deterioration in soil quality [5]. Inorganic fertilizers alone cannot sustain crop production and their excessive use has caused environmental problems. Plants 2020, 9, 1516 has been caused by nutrients leaching into the water bodies [6,7]. Extensive farming practices have reduced soil organic matter (SOM) contents thereby increasing cation exchange capacity (CEC)
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