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Soil water content and photosynthetic capacity of spring wheat as affected by soil application of nitrogen-enriched biochar in a semiarid environment

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Photosynthetica

Abstract

A field trial was conducted to determine the effect of nitrogen-enriched biochar on soil water content, plant’s photosynthetic parameters, and grain yield of spring wheat at the Dingxi Experimental Station during the 2014 and 2015 cropping seasons. Results showed that biochar applied with nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of 50 kg ha–1 of N (BN50) increased soil water content in the 0–30 cm depth range by approximately 40, 32, and 53% on average at anthesis, milking, and maturity, respectively, compared with zero-amendment (CN0). Stomatal conductance and net photosynthetic rate after the BN50 treatment increased by approximately 40 to 50% compared to CN0. Soil water content and photosynthetic traits also increased in other treatments using straw plus nitrogen fertilizer, but to lesser extent than that of BN50. Grain yields were highest (1905 and 2133 kg ha–1 in 2014 and 2015, respectively) under BN50. From this, biochar appears to have a potential for its use with N-fertilizer as a cost-effective amendment for crop production in semiarid environments.

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Abbreviations

Ca:

ambient CO2 concentration

Ci:

intercellular CO2 concentration

Chl:

chlorophyll

E :

transpiration rate

ET:

total evapotranspiration

g s :

stomatal conductance

LA:

leaf area

LS :

stomatal limitation

P N :

net photosynthetic rate

RH:

relative humidity

SN50 :

nitrogen fertilizer

VPD:

vapour pressure deficit

WUE:

water-use efficiency

WUEg :

grain wateruse efficiency

Ψw :

leaf water potential

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31160269 and 315159), The "National Twelfth Five–Year Plan" Circular Agricultural Science and Technology Project (2012 BAD14B03) and Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science open fund project (GSCS–2013–13).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory for Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    S. Yeboah, R. Zhang, L. Cai, L. Li, J. Xie, Z. Luo & J. Wu

  2. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    S. Yeboah, R. Zhang, L. Cai, Z. Luo & J. Wu

  3. College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    L. Li & J. Xie

  4. CSIR–Crops Research Institute, Kumasi–Ghana, Lanzhou, China

    S. Yeboah

  5. University of Southern Queensland, National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia

    D. L. Antille

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  1. S. Yeboah
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Correspondence to R. Zhang.

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Yeboah, S., Zhang, R., Cai, L. et al. Soil water content and photosynthetic capacity of spring wheat as affected by soil application of nitrogen-enriched biochar in a semiarid environment. Photosynthetica 55, 532–542 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-016-0672-1

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