Abstract
Poultry litter and biochar contribute to improved plant growth due to their high nutrient content. However, to the best of our knowledge, how incorporating poultry litter and its biochar in soil affects photosynthesis-related parameters of Jatropha curcas L. has not been reported. Therefore, a greenhouse pot experiment was conducted using a complete randomised design with three replicates per treatment to determine the effects of poultry litter, biochar pyrolysed at 350 °C and 750 °C at different application rates (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 gkg-1) on Jatropha curcas L. photosynthesis parameters. The control plants recorded the lowest values of photosynthesis-related parameters compared to the treated plants except for water use efficiency. The study observed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in leaf surface area (1807 m2, PL), dark-adapted Fv/Fm ratio, carbon dioxide uptake, and transpiration rate for PL and BC350 with increased application rates, compared to BC750 treatments. BC350 treated plants exhibited higher values (0.79) of Light-adapted Fv’/Fm’. The quantum yield of PSII electron transport displayed an increase with an application rate of 3 gkg-1in PL (0.75) treated soils. Comparing organic amendments used, BC350 exhibited a significantly higher value of carbon dioxide uptake rate (2.67 μmol m-2 s-1) and transpiration rate (2.20 mmol m-2 s-1); however, WUE increased at an application rate of 3 gkg-1 in BC750 (3.8 µmol (CO2) mol-1(H2O)) treated plants. The study results indicate that poultry litter and biochar produced at a lower temperature significantly improved photosynthesis parameters than biochar produced at a higher temperature.
Highlights
Poultry litter is one among the organic fertilisers used as an alternate source of plant nutrients and it has been deliberated for the past years to improve soil properties and enhancing crop quality and yields (Khan et al, 2007; Bolan et al, 2010; Revell et al, 2012; Li et al, 2018; van Zwieten, 2018; Bohara et al, 2019)
A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted using a complete randomised design with three replicates per treatment to determine the effects of poultry litter, biochar pyrolysed at 350 °C and 750 °C at different application rates (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 gkg-1) on Jatropha curcas L. photosynthesis parameters
The study results indicate that poultry litter and biochar produced at a lower temperature significantly improved photosynthesis parameters than biochar produced at a higher temperature
Summary
Poultry litter is one among the organic fertilisers used as an alternate source of plant nutrients and it has been deliberated for the past years to improve soil properties and enhancing crop quality and yields (Khan et al, 2007; Bolan et al, 2010; Revell et al, 2012; Li et al, 2018; van Zwieten, 2018; Bohara et al, 2019). Poultry litter has high NPK and microelements (Steiner et al, 2010) essential for plant growth. From Volume 49, Issue 1, 2021, Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca journal uses article numbers in place of the traditional method of continuous pagination through the volume. The journal will continue to appear quarterly, as before, with four annual numbers
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