Biochar: An emerging recipe for designing sustainable horticulture under climate change scenarios

Abstract

The interest in sustainable horticulture has recently increased, given anthropogenic climate change. The increasing global population will exacerbate the climate change situation induced by human activities. This will elevate global food demands and the vulnerability of horticultural systems, with severe concerns related to natural resource availability and usage. Sustainable horticulture involves adopting eco-friendly strategies to boost yields while maintaining environmental conservation. Biochar (BC), a carbon-rich material, is widely used in farming to improve soil physical and chemical properties and as an organic substitute for peat in growing media. BC amendments to soil or growing media improve seedling growth, increase photosynthetic pigments, and enhances photosynthesis, thus improving crop productivity. Soil BC incorporation improves abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, which are significant constraints in horticulture. BC application also improves disease control to an acceptable level or enhance plant resistance to pathogens. Moreover, BC amendments in contaminated soil decrease the uptake of potentially hazardous metals, thus minimizing their harmful effects on humans. This review summarizes the most recent knowledge related to BC use in sustainable horticulture. This includes the effect of BC on enhancing horticultural crop production and inducing resistance to major abiotic and biotic stresses. It also discuss major gaps and future directions for exploiting BC technology.

Potential of coffee straw biochal as a substrate conditioner in seed lettuce and sorghum germination and vigority

“…These results suggest that the impacts of biochar on germination range from inhibitory to stimulatory in nature, depending on the raw material studied, the pyrolysis temperature, the amount used and the plant species used, corroborating the statements by Zulfiqar et al (2022) and with the results obtained from rice straw biochar particles on seed germination and seedling growth of tomato (Zhang et al, 2020). However, the use of corn cob biochar (CCB) had neutral to positive effects on maize seed germination (Ali et al, 2021).…”

Remediation of Cadmium and Lead in Mine Soil by Ameliorants and Its Impact on Maize (Zea mays L.) Cultivation

“…It was reported that clay soil can retain more metals than sandy soil. Soils containing complex oxygenated compounds and clay contents can exchange and adsorb more ions [47,48] The fine particles in sepiolite and biochar add a certain sand quality to the soil, and the application of sepiolite and biochar can increase the permeability of the soil and improve its texture [49][50][51]. Therefore, in this study, the application of sepiolite and biochar was likely to promote the migration and fixation of heavy metal ions to the surface of the passivator by enhancing the change in soil permeability.…”

Assessing the Impact of Sustainable Biochar-Enriched Substrates on Safety and Quality of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) as Relevant Model Crop

“…As a whole, although a limited amount of biochar initially decreases fruit overall quality, TA, TSP, sugar, and organic acid levels rebound with higher percentages of biochar. Indeed, greater quantities of biochar have the potential to enhance water use efficiency, leading to a higher quality of the substrate, and then, of tomato fruits. , …”

“…Indeed, greater quantities of biochar have the potential to enhance water use efficiency, leading to a higher quality of the substrate, and then, of tomato fruits. 44,45 3.3.2. Mineral Elements.…”