Effect of biochar application on quality of flooded sandy soils and corn growth under greenhouse conditions

Abstract

Seasonal flooding following heavy rain deposits large amounts of sediments on productive lands in the lower parts of fields in western Tennessee. The deposited sediments have high proportion of sand particles that negatively affect soil physiochemical properties, which make the soil uneconomic for farming. Soil amendments such as biochar, a by‐product of renewable energy production from organic waste materials, have the potential to remediate sandy soil left after flood events and improve crop yields by increasing water holding capacity and soil nutrient content. The objective of this project was to evaluate the effect of biochar produced from two types of hardwood feedstocks on water retention and corn (Zea mays L.) growth in sandy soil. A greenhouse experiment quantifying the growth of corn was conducted in a randomized complete block design with five replications. Sandy soil was amended with three biochar rates (0, 10, and 20% by volume) under two irrigation levels. The irrigation levels were control and a dry treatment based on the past 10 yr of rainfall data. Biochar application greatly improved water retention in the flooded sandy soil. Biochar increased soil K and P concentration. However, at the end of the study, corn growth was not different in biochar amended and non‐amended sandy soil. This research demonstrated that biochar as a soil amendment has the potential to improve quality attributes of poor soil, such as the soil water and nutrient concentration in a previously flooded sandy soils.

Biochar affects soil water content but not soybean yield in a sandy southeastern U.S. soil

“…The potential to significantly increase soil WHC (Atkinson et al, 2010;Basso et al, 2013;Blanco-Canqui, 2017;Katterer et al, 2019;Jahromi et al, 2020;Paetsch, et al, 2018) of coarse-textured soils in a water-stressed region was the main goal for adding biochar in our studied soil. However, another attractive characteristic of amending soils with biochar is that it could function as alternative source of nutrients that support biomass production (Gaskin et al, 2007).…”

“…Our results are somewhat in agreement with other studies that evaluated different rates of biochar application under field and controlled conditions and found that only the highest rates significantly increased the amount of water stored in the soil. For instance, Jahromi et al (2020) found that the highest rates (20%, v/v) of two types (mixed hardwood with and without bark) of biochar increased WHC of sandy soils by 62% compared with the untreated control. Similarly, Obia et al (2016) reported that a single application of maize (Zea mays L.) cob and rice (Oryza sativa L.) husk biochars (either 17.5 or 35 Mg ha -1 ) with particle sizes ≤0.5 and 1-5 mm and 0.3 g cm -3 density to sandy loam and loamy sand soils increased WHC by 8% and soil aggregate stability by 13% after one growing season.…”

“…Agronomic benefits of adding biochar to the soil to maintain plant available water between rainfall events are extensively reported in the literature in both controlled conditions and field studies (Aller et al, 2017;Jahromi et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2017;Obia et al, 2016). Rainfed cropping systems in Florida, which depend heavily on the soil ability to hold water to meet crop needs might benefit from biochar application.…”

Long-term effects of biochar application on the growth and physiological characteristics of maize

“…Aeolian sandy soil is one of the most important reserved, cultivated land resources in arid and semi-arid areas. But due to its disadvantages of having low nutrient content and poor water retention, crops planted in it face adverse environmental effects ( Baiamonte et al., 2020 ; Jahromi et al., 2020 ; Ibrahim et al., 2021 ), which leads to poor crop growth and low yield. Maize ( Zea mays L.), one of the world’s most important food crops, is mainly planted in semi-arid areas ( Ul-Allah et al., 2015 ).…”