Evaluation of biochar in the root nodulation of Acacia mangium Willd. in a nursery

Abstract

Organic matter stabilized in the form of biochar has benefits in a nursery for the physico-chemical and biological properties of substrates derived from forest propagation. With biochars from Acacia mangium Willd. (BAM) residue increases for agricultural production in nurseries have been reported. In this research, we evaluated the effect of different levels of this biochar and its mixture with a synthetic fertilizer (SF) on the root nodulation of A. mangium seedlings. Nine treatments were established to assess the effects on volume and nodule count. Two analyses were performed on a volume using the Kruskal-Wallis test and on counting using the Chi-square test of homogeneity distribution. The results of a subsequent comparison between treatments highlighted higher nodule volumes in treatments with BAM and a mixture with SF compared to those of only SF. The distribution of the nodule count was not homogeneous among treatments. The treatment 80 ton·ha−1 of BAM and 50% of SF produced a greater number of nodules compared to the control. All treatments with higher nodule volumes contained BAM to some degree. Biochar seems likely to contribute to increased volume and nodule count, which could suggest greater potential in the population of microorganisms associated with the development of nodules in seedlings.