Abstract
Biochar is generally considered as an effective soil amendment, which can improve soil organic matter and nutrients content and enhance crop productivity. In this study, biochar derived from brewers’ spent grain (BSG) was used in a pot and field experiment to assess whether its addition to soil could affect hop plant growth. The experiment was conducted in Central Italy during the period March–August 2017. Three different German cultivars of hop plant (Hallertau Magnum, Perle, Spalter spalt) were considered. Biochar was added to the pot soil at 20% level. Its effect on the roots was evaluated using multivariate image analysis (MIA) and the statistical technique of general linear models (GLM), whereas the shoots, bines length and yield using GLM. Results showed that biochar significantly improved root growth (p < 0.0001). Regarding shoots, no variability for the genotypes was observed during the vegetative period, whereas slight differences resulted before plant dormancy, especially for the Hallertau Magnum cultivar. No differences in the number of leaves or bines length were observed between the two treatments for all cultivars. The addition of biochar to the soil significantly improved yield (number of cones). These results highlighted that BSG-derived biochar can be useful to improve hop plant growth and cones production.
Highlights
Beer is one of most consumed beverages in the world, and plays an important role in the global economy
Brewers’ spent grain (BSG) and biochar were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy analysis (FT-IR) spectra (Figure 1)
Box plots showed a strong influence on root growth present in the pots with biochar in comparison and the quantification of the roots percentages
Summary
Beer is one of most consumed beverages in the world, and plays an important role in the global economy. In 2018, the overall beer production amounted to about 1.94 billion hectolitres. Beer processing produces a huge amount of waste: for every hectolitre of beer produced, about 20 kg of spent grain, 0.2–0.4 kg of spent yeast and 0.3 kg of spent hops/hot trub are generated. The 85% of total solid waste is represented by brewers’ spent grain (BSG), the residue left after barley malting and separation of the wort during the brewing process, and it contains the husk and the outer layer of barley kernel [1]. The solid by-products from the brewing process are mainly disposed of as waste or sold as animal feed, due to their considerable amount of valuable compounds (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, polyphenols, and minerals) and nitrogen-containing nutrients.
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