Impacts of Biochar Amended Soils on Ryegrass (Lolium perenne) Growth under Different Water Stress Conditions

Abstract

Improvement of soil water capacity is a critical technology to decrease the plant growth restriction by water stress in the arid and semi-arid region. The influences of biochar amended soils (which were incubated for 11 months) on the ryegrass growth at different clipping stages and water stress conditions were determined. Biochar amendment did not influence the plant germination. Better improvement effects on plant height and biomass were found in the Shahuang soil (M soil) with lower fertility than that in the Dark Loessial soil (B soil) at the first clipping stage and under different water stress condition at the second clipping stage. The biochar application rate of 8 g kg -1 appeared to get better improvement effects than the control and 16 g kg . This study showed that biochar application could be used as the soil amendment in the Loess Plateau to weaken the restriction of water shortage and promote plant growth.

Biochar amendment changes jasmonic acid levels in two rice varieties and alters their resistance to herbivory

“…Furthermore, the results obtained at 120 t ha -1 of biochar showed a negative impact on the biological parameters and, hence, corroborate our findings of rice growth retardation at biochar 20%. Liu et al [ 52 ] applied biochar at two different rates (8 and 16 g kg -1 ) to ryegrass grown under water-limited conditions in separate treatments of low and adequate fertile soil. The application of different biochar doses presented variable outcomes, and the 8 g kg -1 of biochar was shown to be the optimum dose by resulting in improved plant height and biomass in low fertile soil, compared to biochar applied at 16 g kg -1 as well as the control.…”