Wood biochar produces different rates of root growth and transpiration in two maize hybrids (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) under drought stress

Romdhane, Leila; Awad, Yasser M.; Radhouane, Leila; Cortivo, Cristian Dal; Barion, Giuseppe; Panozzo, Anna; Vamerali, Teofilo

doi:10.1080/03650340.2018.1532567

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Previously, ash application was reported to improve hydraulic conductivity ( Chang et al, 1977 ), increase soil water retention ( Pathan et al, 2003 ; Stoof et al, 2010 ), and improve water infiltration ( Yunusa et al, 2006 ). These positive effects on soil hydraulic conductivity along with improved root growth observed in our study could be attributed to both the maize hybrids coping well under water stress, as also previously documented in biochar amended soil ( Romdhane et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Effects of Soil Amendment With Wood Ash on Transpiration, Growth, and Metal Uptake in Two Contrasting Maize (Zea mays L.) Hybrids to Drought Tolerance

et al. 2021

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Wood ash as a soil amendment has gained wide spread acceptance in the recent years as a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers, although information regarding the effects of its application on maize growth and yield in the context of climate change and increasing drought severity is lacking till date. In the present study, field and pot trials were carried out at the experimental farm of the University of Padova at Legnaro (NE Italy) in a silty-loam soil in order to investigate the effects of soil amendment with wood ash (0.1% w/w, incorporated into the 0.2-m top soil) on the bioavailability of mineral elements and their uptake by maize. Characteristics analyzed included plant growth, leaf transpiration dynamics, and productivity in two contrasting hybrids, P1921 (drought sensitive) and D24 (drought tolerant). Wood ash contained relevant amounts of Ca, K, Mg, P, and S, and hazardous levels of Zn (732 mg kg−1), Pb (527 mg kg−1), and Cu (129 mg kg−1), although no significant changes in total soil element concentration, pH, and electrical conductivity were detected in open field. Ash application led to a general increasing trend of diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA)-extractable of various elements, bringing to higher grain P in D24 hybrid, and Zn and Ni reductions in P1921 hybrid. Here, the results demonstrated that ash amendment enhanced shoot growth and the number of leaves, causing a reduction of harvest index, without affecting grain yield in both hybrids. The most relevant result was a retarded inhibition of leaf transpiration under artificial progressive water stress, particularly in the drought-tolerant D24 hybrid that could be sustained by root growth improvements in the field across the whole 0–1.5 m soil profile in D24, and in the amended top soil in P1921. It is concluded that woody ash can be profitably exploited in maize fertilization for enhancing shoot and root growth and drought tolerance, thanks to morphological and physiological improvements, although major benefits are expected to be achieved in drought tolerant hybrids. Attention should be payed when using ash derived by metal contaminated wood stocks to avoid any health risk in food uses.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Effects of Soil Amendment With Wood Ash on Transpiration, Growth, and Metal Uptake in Two Contrasting Maize (Zea mays L.) Hybrids to Drought Tolerance

et al. 2021

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“…Soil available P is the index of the soil P nutrient supply level, and the content of soil available P reflects the soil storage capacity and supply capacity for P. This study showed that biochar can increase soil available P, probably because straw biochar enhances the P retention capacity of the soil. Romdhane et al also found that biochar increased soluble P 40 . In addition, there were noteworthy differences among the different straw biochar amendments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Effects of different straw biochars on soil organic carbon, nitrogen, available phosphorus, and enzyme activity in paddy soil

Jing

Zhang

Han

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Biochar is widely used as a soil amendment. Enzyme activity is an important factor that reflects soil metabolic activity, and is involved in biochemical processes such as organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling in soils. However, the effects of biochar prepared for different straw materials on soil enzyme activity and soil nutrients are rarely studied. Through pot experiments, the effects of different straw (wheat, rice, maize) biochars (obtained by pyrolysis at 500 °C) on soil organic carbon, nitrogen, available phosphorus, and enzyme activity were studied in paddy soil. The results showed that the addition of biochar increased the soil organic carbon content, which gradually decreased with the extension of the rice growth period. The soil ammonium nitrogen content gradually decreased as the rice growth period continued; however, the soil nitrate nitrogen content first decreased and then increased over the rice growth period. Soil invertase, phosphatase, and urease activity first increased and then decreased, and the enzyme activity was the highest at the heading stage of rice. At this time, there were also significant correlations between enzyme activity and carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus levels, except in the case of soil urease activity. The geometric mean of the investigated enzyme activities was the highest after amendment with rice straw biochar. These results indicate that the response of enzyme activity to biochar depends on the biochar feedstock and the rice growth stage. Biochar has been suggested as a suitable material for soil remediation to improve soil structure, soil moisture retention, soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions 1-5. However, the mechanism of soil change due to the addition of biochar are not clear. Some researchers have shown that the response of the soil environment to the addition of biochar depends on the properties of the biochar 6,7. Feedstock and pyrolysis temperatures are key factors influencing biochar performance 7-9. Straw, as an agricultural residue, contains abundant nutrients. Thus, straw incorporation could maintain and potentially improve the contents of soil nutrients. If straw is directly applied to the soil, microorganisms decompose it rapidly and generate gases such as CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O,resulting in nutrient losses. Biochar applications can affect various biogeochemical processes in the soil, including carbon (C), phosphorus (P), and nitrogen (N) cycling 10-12. The addition of biochar can promote the stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC) 13 , and the ability of soil to maintain N and P 10,14,15. Biochar addition alters the form of N, the subsequent N stabilization and N transformation within the soil 16. Tan et al. demonstrated that when one form of nitrogen was contained within biochar residue another form was released into the soil after biochar addition 12. Biochar-amended soil can affect organic N by converting it into mineral N (ammonium and nitrate) which is directly taken up by the plant. Biochar can serve as...

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“…Given that the root density was larger in the light DFAA treatments than in the moderate treatments, the water absorbing capacity of root was corresponding greater, which advanced the soil moisture subsiding [14,16]. As the roots mainly grew in the SJS, the large water demand led to the relatively lower soil moisture content compared to the TGS [33,34]. It can be inferred that the DFAA can intensify the fluctuation of soil moisture content in the topsoil as the range increased with the longer drought duration.…”

Section: Dfaa Effects On the Growth Of Summer Maizementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Drought-Flood Abrupt Alternation on the Growth of Summer Maize

Wang

Weng

et al. 2019

Atmosphere

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Climate change, especially precipitation change, will significantly change soil moisture, which then influences root growth, further affecting yield and grain quality. Previous studies focused on the drought or flood effects on summer maize growth. However, few studied the effects of drought-flood abrupt alternation (DFAA) on the growth of summer maize. We explored the DFAA impacts on the roots, leaf area index (LAI), yield, and grain quality in field. The main results show that DFAA had different impacts on the summer maize growth in the seeding-jointing stage (SJS) and tasseling-grain filling stage (TGS). In general, the DFAA reduced the yield. Roots at the depth of 40 cm had obviously positive impacts on the yield. The DFAA reduced the LAI and promoted the maximum LAI achieving in advance. The grain crude protein augmented under DFAA. The drought had evidently negative impacts on the grain crude fat in the TGS, while it had no obvious influence in the SJS. DFAA had no apparent impact on the grain crude starch. These results could provide some references for the effects and adaptation-strategies study of extreme climate events and their impacts on growth of summer maize.

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Wood biochar produces different rates of root growth and transpiration in two maize hybrids (Zea mays L.) under drought stress

Abstract: Table SI1. Initial chemical proprieties and concentrations of total, DTPA-extractable and water-extractable elements (mg kg -1 DW) in biochar (mean ± S.E.; n = 3).

Cited by 20 publications

References 65 publications

Effects of Soil Amendment With Wood Ash on Transpiration, Growth, and Metal Uptake in Two Contrasting Maize (Zea mays L.) Hybrids to Drought Tolerance

Effects of Soil Amendment With Wood Ash on Transpiration, Growth, and Metal Uptake in Two Contrasting Maize (Zea mays L.) Hybrids to Drought Tolerance

Effects of different straw biochars on soil organic carbon, nitrogen, available phosphorus, and enzyme activity in paddy soil

Effects of Drought-Flood Abrupt Alternation on the Growth of Summer Maize

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