Chemical and Biological Enhancement Effects of Biochar on Wheat Growth and Yield under Arid Field Conditions

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) losses are prevalent under South East Asia’s due to high N fertilizer inputs, but low N fertilizer use efficiency. This leaves a large quantity of reactive N at risk of loss to the environment. Biochar has been found to reduce N losses across a variety of soil types, however, there is limited data available for semi-arid climates, particularly at a field-scale. Herein we present an exploration of the biological and chemical enhancement effects observed of a cotton stalk-based biochar on wheat growth and yield under arid field conditions. The biochar was treated with urea-N and biofertilizer (bio-power) in different treatment setups. The six experimental treatments included; (i) a full N dose “recommended for wheat crops in the region” (104 kg N ha−1) as a positive control; (ii) a half N dose (52 kg N ha−1); (iii) a half N dose + biofertilizer (4.94 kg ha−1) as a soil mixture; (iv) a half N dose + biofertilizer as a seed inoculation; (v) a full N dose as broadcast + biochar (5 t ha−1) inoculated with biofertilizer; and (vi) a full N dose loaded on biochar + biofertilizer applied as a soil mixture. The half dose N application or biofertilizer addition as soil mix/seed inoculated/biochar inoculation with biofertilizer caused reduced wheat growth and yield compared to the control (conventional N fertilization). However, co-application of chemically enhanced biochar (loaded with a full N dose) and biofertilizer as soil mixture significantly increased the crop growth rate (CGR) and leaf area index (LAI). A significantly higher crop growth and canopy development led to a higher light interception and radiation use efficiency (RUE) for total dry matter (TDM) and grain yield (11% greater than control) production compared to the control. A greater grain yield, observed for the full N dose loaded on biochar + biofertilizer applied as a soil mixture, is attributed to prolonged N availability as indicated by greater plant and soil N content at harvest and different crop growth stages, respectively. The present study has improved our understanding of how the application of nitrogen loaded biochar and biofertilizer as soil mixtures can synergize to positively affect wheat growth and soil-nitrogen retention under arid environmental conditions.

Diminishing Heavy Metal Hazards of Contaminated Soil via Biochar Supplementation

“…However, the increase in the OM-bound metal fraction due to the use of GB was dependent on the application level and pyrolysis temperature. These results are compatible with those obtained by [11,51]. They indicated that biochar application caused an increase in the metal fraction bound to the organic matter.…”

“…Over the past few decades, many methods have been used as a new tool to overcome the seriousness of the pollutants in contaminated soil, including stabilizing, drilling, dumping, soil washing, and electro carbons [7,8]. The use of organic or inorganic materials for stabilizing HMs is considered a faster, more effective, and environmentally friendly management technique that reduces their mobility and bioavailability by transforming them into unavailable forms in agricultural soils [1,4,[9][10][11]. Among organic amendments, biochar is a carbon-rich amendment produced through the pyrolysis of the biomass [12].…”

“…The total metal concentration might not provide the basic information about the biological availability of potentially toxic metals. However, identification of the geochemical forms provides some facts about their movement and availability as well as their toxicity [11,[17][18][19]. Therefore, understanding the chemistry of HMs is necessary to know their bioavailability, chemical form, types, and solid phase, which greatly affect their fate and redistribution [20][21][22].…”

“…Therefore, understanding the chemistry of HMs is necessary to know their bioavailability, chemical form, types, and solid phase, which greatly affect their fate and redistribution [20][21][22]. These forms may be regulated by ion exchange, water complexity, stabilization, and plant uptake [11,23].…”

Effect of Temperature on Sowing Dates of Wheat under Arid and Semi-Arid Climatic Regions and Impact Quantification of Climate Change through Mechanistic Modeling with Evidence from Field

“…Grain formation of wheat occurs during March at both study regions, under either semi-arid or arid climatic conditions. Usually, mid-March high temperature currently has a negative impact on grain size and ultimately on grain yield, as it has also been depicted in previous studies under rainfed climatic conditions [38][39][40][41][42]. In the future, March could have worse effects than the current conditions on the final grain yield of wheat.…”