Rice Growth Performance, Nutrient Use Efficiency and Changes in Soil Properties Influenced by Biochar under Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation

Abstract

Water-saving irrigation occasionally causes an inconsequential yield loss in rice; thereby, biochar incorporation in this context has great scope due to its properties, including the release of nutrients and improving soil physicochemical properties. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of biochar combined with fertilizer on physiological response, water and nutrient efficiency of rice and changes in biochemical properties of soil under AWD (alternate wetting and drying) irrigation system. Two types of irrigation practice, such as AWD and CF (continuous flooding), and four types of fertilizer combination, namely T1: 25% Rice husk biochar (RHB) + 75% of recommended fertilizer dose (RFD); T2: 25% oil palm empty fruit bunch biochar (EFBB) + 75% of RFD; T3: 100% RFD; and T0: 0% biochar and fertilizer, were assigned to assess their impacts. The AWD irrigation produced a sharply reduced grain yield (210.58 g pot−1) compared to CF irrigation (218.04 g pot−1), whereas the biochar combination treatments T1 and T2 produced greater yields (260.27 and 252.12 g pot−1, respectively), which were up to 12.5% higher than RFD. Within AWD, irrigation water usage by T1 and T2 (98.50 and 102.37 g L−1, respectively) was profoundly reduced by up to 28.8%, with improved water use efficiency (WUE). The main effect of biochar treatment T1 and T2 also increased photosynthesis rate during vegetative and maturing stage (up to 17.6 and 24.4%, respectively), in addition to boosting agronomic efficiency of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) compared to RFD (T3). Nevertheless, T1 and T2 significantly enhanced the total carbon and nitrogen; dehydrogenase and urease enzyme activities also increased in both irrigation regimes. The results reveal that the integrated application of RHB and EFBB with fertilizer in the AWD regime significantly reduces irrigation water usage and improves nutrient use efficiency, WUE and soil biochemical properties with a minimum yield penalty for rice.

Enhancing Soil Nitrogen Retention Capacity by Biochar Incorporation in the Acidic Soil of Pomelo Orchards: The Crucial Role of pH

“…Biochar incorporation is not only beneficial to the improvement of soil quality but also seems to support nitrogen retention, as evidenced in studies by Bruun et al (2012) [34,35], Ibrahim et al (2020) [36], and Lehmann et al (2003) [37]. Moreover, biochar has been found to enhance crop nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in certain studies [38,39]. Nevertheless, there are instances where the liming effect of biochar has unexpectedly amplified the soil's nitrification capacity [40], leading to a possible escalation in the risk of soil NO 3 − leaching and blocking nitrogen retention in subtropical orchards.…”

Biochar Functions in Soil Depending on Feedstock and Pyrolyzation Properties with Particular Emphasis on Biological Properties

“…Biochar application usually improves crop productivity by increasing the availability of nutrients, increasing the activity of microorganisms that determine the mobility of soil nutrients [274][275][276][277], and accelerating the development of the plant root system because of colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and improved soil physical properties [278]. There is also a decrease in the loss of nutrients due to their reduced leaching from soils and an improvement in the physical characteristics of soils that contribute to water retention and oxygenation [279,280].…”

Long term co‐application of biochar and fertilizer could increase soybean yield under continuous cropping: insights from photosynthetic physiology

“…20 Biochar combined with 75% of the recommended dose of fertilizer could improve rice photosynthetic rate, nutrient and water use efficiency (WUE), and soil biochemical characteristics. 21 The co-application of biochar and reduced nitrogen fertilizer was more beneficial to promoting rice chlorophyll content, P n , and biomass, and was a new technology for improving soil health and rice yield. 22 The previous show that biochar is beneficial to plant photosynthesis and fertilizer reduction.…”

“…Studies have shown that the biochar co‐application with fertilizer could significantly increase leaf chlorophyll content, P n , biomass, and crop yield 20 . Biochar combined with 75% of the recommended dose of fertilizer could improve rice photosynthetic rate, nutrient and water use efficiency (WUE), and soil biochemical characteristics 21 . The co‐application of biochar and reduced nitrogen fertilizer was more beneficial to promoting rice chlorophyll content, P n , and biomass, and was a new technology for improving soil health and rice yield 22 …”