Phosphorus Uptake by Potato from Biochar Amended with Anaerobic Digested Dairy Manure Effluent

Abstract

Sorption of plant nutrients from dairy storage lagoons by biochar and use as a supplemental fertilizer is a beneficial strategy to reduce nutrient contamination around dairies and supply nutrients to potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and other crops. This research evaluated potato growth responses and P partitioning from several rates of P applied as either mono‐ammonium phosphate (MAP) or as P recovered from anaerobic digested dairy manure using biochar. Single‐stemmed plants of the potato cultivars Ranger Russet and Umatilla Russet were grown in 7‐L pots containing Quincy sand soil (mixed, mesic Xeric Torripsamment). Biochar amended with dairy effluent applied at 5.7 and 11.4 Mg ha–1 with fertilizer application rates equivalent to 55 and 110 kg P ha–1 maintained adequate P levels in potato petioles of both cultivars through 85 d after planting. Total plant P uptake was greater for treatments receiving MAP. Total potato biomass and tuber yields of Umatilla Russet were 30 and 27% lower when amended with basic or enriched biochar compared to MAP treatments, respectively. Tuber biomass declined 10 and 20% for Ranger Russet and Umatilla Russet for the 11.4 Mg ha–1 amended biochar, respectively compared to MAP fertilized treatments. Similar declines were found for the aboveground biomass and roots. The 5.7 Mg ha–1 of enriched biochar supplied 70 to 80% of the P requirement for potato growth. These findings are an important step in providing evidence of the benefits of using recovered P as a fertilizer supplement to reduce the reliance on rock phosphates.

Impact of Wood Biochar and Its Interactions with Mycorrhizal Fungi, Phosphorus Fertilization and Irrigation Strategies on Potato Growth

“…, Collins et al. ), while the negative interaction effect between biochar and AMF disagree with Mau and Utami (), who reported a positive interaction effect of biochar and AMF on P uptake in maize. However, our findings are consistent with the results of LeCroy et al.…”

Agronomic efficiency of selected phosphorus fertilisers derived from secondary raw materials for European agriculture. A meta-analysis

“…;Reiter and Middleton 2016;Rex et al 2013;Schiemenz and Eichler-Löbermann 2010;Schiemenz et al 2011;Severin et al 2014;Vogel et al 2015;Weigand et al 2013;Wells 2013; Wilken et al 2015. Pyrolysis and gasification materials:Alotaibi et al 2013;Codling et al 2002;Collins et al 2013;Kuligowski et al 2010;Ma and Matsunaka 2013;Müller-Stöver et al 2012;Reiter and Middleton 2016;Siebers et al 2014. …”

The role of biochar in improving soil properties, water retention and potato yield in a Fluvisol under temperate monsoon climate

“…The decrease in bulk density, increase in total porosity and the resultant enhancement in water retention capacity of the loamy sand-textured Fluvisol amended with biochar could be ascribed to the (i) very low densities of biochar particles (<0.6 g cm −3 ) (Blanco-Canqui et al, 2006) as contrasted to the studied soil (1.14 ± 0.6 g cm −3 ), (ii) inherently high porosity of biochar particles (70%-90%) (Blanco-Canqui, 2017) relative to the studied soil (58%) and their effective nature in absorbing water, (iii) change of macropores to mesopores following application of biochar (Quin et al, 2014), and (iv) improvements in soil aggregation because of the binding agents from oxidation of biochar particles with time (Blanco-Canqui et al, 2006;Briggs et al, 2012) and rearrangement of soil particles in contact with biochar particles as a consequence of wider distribution of pore sizes within the soil. Soil amendment with such a porous material is analogous to a dilution outcome, which effectively reduces the densities of the bulk soil, and concomitantly increases porosity particularly at the mesopore range (see Section 3.1) even within the short term as in this study (Andrenelli et al, 2016;Collins et al, 2013). The decrease in bulk density and its subsequent enhancement of porosity and water retention improve the soil physical quality attributes desired for potato production (FAO, 2008).…”

“…Spokas et al (2012) and Wang et al (2012) stated only a fraction of the nutrients retained in the biochar was available for plant root uptake during the first cropping season. Collins et al (2013) suggested that soil amended with biochar at lower rates could not supply more P than the control treatment, which was not treated with any fertilizer, and could not supply adequate P to support potato growth during the first season. Streubel et al (2012) also reported that among the 200 mg P kg −1 , 98% of P was unavailable during their study since it was tightly fixed within the carbon matrix of the biochar.…”