Abstract
Purpose
We evaluated the ameliorative effects of crop straw biochars either alone or in combination with nitrate fertilizer on soil acidity and maize growth.
Materials and methods
Low energy-consuming biochars were prepared from canola and peanut straws at 400 °C for 2 h. Incubation experiment was conducted to determine application rate of biochars. Afterward, maize crop was grown in pots for 85 days to investigate the effects of 1 % biochars combined with nitrate fertilizer on soil pH, exchangeable acidity, and maize growth in an Ultisol collected from Guangdong Province, China.
Results and discussion
Application of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 % either canola straw biochar (CSB) or peanut straw biochar (PSB) increased soil pH by 0.15, 0.27, 0.34, and 0.30, 0.58, 0.83 U, respectively, after 65-day incubation. Soil pH was increased by 0.49, 0.72, 0.78, and 0.88 U when 1 % CSB or PSB was applied in combination with 100 and 200 mg N/kg of nitrate, respectively, after maize harvest in greenhouse pot experiment. These low-cost biochars when applied alone or in combination with nitrate not only reduced soil exchangeable acidity, but also increased Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+, and base saturation degree of the soil. A total of 49.91 and 80.58 % decreases in exchangeable acidity were observed when 1 % CSB and PSB were incubated with the soil for 65 days, compared to pot experiment where 71.35, 78.64, 80.2, and 81.77 % reductions of exchangeable acidity were observed when 1 % CSB and PSB were applied in combination with 100 and 200 mg N/kg of nitrate, respectively. The higher contents of base cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+) in biochars also influenced the plant growth. The higher biomass in CSB-treated pots was attributed to the higher K content compared to PSB. The higher percent reduction in exchangeable Al3+ by applying 1 % CSB combined with 200 mg N/kg of nitrate consistently produced maximum biomass (129.65 g/pot) compared to 100 mg N/kg of nitrate and 1 % PSB combined with 100 and 200 mg N/kg of nitrate. The exchangeable Al3+ mainly responsible for exchangeable acidity was decreased with the application of biochars and nitrate fertilizer. A highly significant negative relationship was observed between soil exchangeable Al3+ and plant biomass (r 2 = 0.88, P < 0.05).
Conclusions
The biochars in combination with nitrate fertilizer are cost-effective options to effectively reduce soil acidity and improve crop growth on sustainable basis.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2014CB441003) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41230855). The CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship for PhD studies in China was also gratefully acknowledged.
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Mehmood, K., Li, Jy., Jiang, J. et al. Effect of low energy-consuming biochars in combination with nitrate fertilizer on soil acidity amelioration and maize growth. J Soils Sediments 17, 790–799 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1219-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1219-y