Abstract
Combined application of biochar and organic fertilizer has been widely recommended for improving soil bio-physical properties. However, detailed exploration of combined application on crop eco-physiological performance is limited. In this study, we explored the agronomic and eco-physiological responses of wheat crop grown under different combinations of rice-husk ash (RHA/biochar), farmyard manure (FYM) and chemical fertilizers in a silty loam soil. Aboveground biomass varied significantly across the treatments and was found higher (11–31%) under chemical fertilizer-applied treatments, but lower (6%) under sole RHA-applied treatment as compared to control. Crop eco-physiological parameters varied significantly (at P < 0.01) with the treatment and crop growth stages. Sole chemical fertilizer- and FYM-applied treatments showed better (5–26% higher), whereas sole RHA- and combined RHA + FYM-applied treatments showed poor (2–15% lower) photosynthetic rate as compared to control. Ear length was moderately correlated (r = 0.53) with aboveground biomass and explained 27% of the variability in it. Transpiration rate, intercellular CO2 concentration and water-use efficiency (WUEp) were identified as the major determinants of photosynthetic rate during vegetative and maturity growth stages. WUEp along with transpiration rate was found to explain 94% of the variability in photosynthetic rate for overall dataset. The findings suggest that combined RHA + FYM amendment may limit crop agronomic and eco-physiological performance due to nutrient immobilization. Therefore, combined application of RHA + FYM with chemical fertilizer application at reduced rate can be suggested for improving crop eco-physiological and agronomic responses under the sustainable agriculture practices in silty loam soils of tropical dryland agro-ecosystems.
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Acknowledgements
RS extends his thanks to Dr. Dharmendra Kumar Singh, Dr. Talat Afreen and Mr. Sanjay Maurya, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, for their help in sampling and data analysis. Authors are thankful to University Grants Commission (New Delhi), India, for providing financial support as senior research fellowship (to RS), Start-up Grant (F 30-461/2019 (BSR) to PS), and Dr. D. S. Kothari Postdoctoral Fellowship (BSR/BL/17-18/0067, to RB).
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ASR and HS conceived the study which was further elaborated by RS. PS, AY and RB helped RS in field experimentation, data extraction and drafting of the article. RS finalized the draft of the article in consultation with ASR.
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Singh, R., Srivastava, P., Bhadouria, R. et al. Combined application of biochar and farmyard manure reduces wheat crop eco-physiological performance in a tropical dryland agro-ecosystem. Energ. Ecol. Environ. 5, 171–183 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-020-00159-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-020-00159-1