Effect of Biochar Application Depth on Crop Productivity Under Tropical Rainfed Conditions
Although inherently fertile, tropical soils rapidly degrade soon after cultivation. The period of time for which crops, mulch, compost, and manure provide nutrients and maintain mineral fertilizers in the soil is relatively short. Biochar, on the other hand, has the potential to maintain soil fertil...
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MDPI AG
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/13/2602 |
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| author | Juana P. Moiwo Alusine Wahab Emmanuel Kangoma Mohamed M. Blango Mohamed P. Ngegba Roland Suluku |
| author_facet | Juana P. Moiwo Alusine Wahab Emmanuel Kangoma Mohamed M. Blango Mohamed P. Ngegba Roland Suluku |
| author_sort | Juana P. Moiwo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although inherently fertile, tropical soils rapidly degrade soon after cultivation. The period of time for which crops, mulch, compost, and manure provide nutrients and maintain mineral fertilizers in the soil is relatively short. Biochar, on the other hand, has the potential to maintain soil fertility and sequester carbon for hundreds or even thousands of years. This study determined the effect of biochar application depth on the productivity of NERICA-4 upland rice cultivar under tropical rainfed conditions. A fixed biochar−soil ratio of 1:20 (5% biochar) was applied in three depths—10 cm (TA), 20 cm (TB), and 30 cm (TC) with a non-biochar treatment (CK) as the control. The study showed that while crop productivity increased, root penetration depth decreased with increasing biochar application depth. Soil moisture was highest under TA (probably due to water logging in sunken-bed plots that formed after treatment) and lowest under TC (due to runoff over the raised-bed plots that formed too). Grain yield for the biochar treatments was 391.01−570.45 kg/ha (average of 480.21 kg/ha), with the potential to reach 576.47−780.57 kg/ha (average of 695.73 kg/ha) if contingent field conditions including pest damage and runoff can be prevented. By quantifying the effect of externalities on the field experiment, the study showed that biochar can enhance crop productivity. This was good for sustainable food production and for taking hungry Africa off the donor-driven food ration the nation barely survives on. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T23:15:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-038bd758a4804ee78d3cc584a8f49837 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T23:15:47Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-038bd758a4804ee78d3cc584a8f498372022-12-22T00:46:32ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172019-06-01913260210.3390/app9132602app9132602Effect of Biochar Application Depth on Crop Productivity Under Tropical Rainfed ConditionsJuana P. Moiwo0Alusine Wahab1Emmanuel Kangoma2Mohamed M. Blango3Mohamed P. Ngegba4Roland Suluku5Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, School of Technology, Njala University, PMB, Freetown 47235, Sierra LeoneDepartment of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, School of Technology, Njala University, PMB, Freetown 47235, Sierra LeoneDepartment of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, School of Technology, Njala University, PMB, Freetown 47235, Sierra LeoneDepartment of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, School of Technology, Njala University, PMB, Freetown 47235, Sierra LeoneDepartment of Extension and Rural Sociology, School of Agriculture, Njala University, PMB, Freetown 47235, Sierra LeoneDepartment of Animal Science, School of Agriculture, Njala University, PMB, Freetown 47235, Sierra LeoneAlthough inherently fertile, tropical soils rapidly degrade soon after cultivation. The period of time for which crops, mulch, compost, and manure provide nutrients and maintain mineral fertilizers in the soil is relatively short. Biochar, on the other hand, has the potential to maintain soil fertility and sequester carbon for hundreds or even thousands of years. This study determined the effect of biochar application depth on the productivity of NERICA-4 upland rice cultivar under tropical rainfed conditions. A fixed biochar−soil ratio of 1:20 (5% biochar) was applied in three depths—10 cm (TA), 20 cm (TB), and 30 cm (TC) with a non-biochar treatment (CK) as the control. The study showed that while crop productivity increased, root penetration depth decreased with increasing biochar application depth. Soil moisture was highest under TA (probably due to water logging in sunken-bed plots that formed after treatment) and lowest under TC (due to runoff over the raised-bed plots that formed too). Grain yield for the biochar treatments was 391.01−570.45 kg/ha (average of 480.21 kg/ha), with the potential to reach 576.47−780.57 kg/ha (average of 695.73 kg/ha) if contingent field conditions including pest damage and runoff can be prevented. By quantifying the effect of externalities on the field experiment, the study showed that biochar can enhance crop productivity. This was good for sustainable food production and for taking hungry Africa off the donor-driven food ration the nation barely survives on.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/13/2602biochartropical rainfed conditioncrop productivityroot-zone soilapplication depth |
| spellingShingle | Juana P. Moiwo Alusine Wahab Emmanuel Kangoma Mohamed M. Blango Mohamed P. Ngegba Roland Suluku Effect of Biochar Application Depth on Crop Productivity Under Tropical Rainfed Conditions Applied Sciences biochar tropical rainfed condition crop productivity root-zone soil application depth |
| title | Effect of Biochar Application Depth on Crop Productivity Under Tropical Rainfed Conditions |
| title_full | Effect of Biochar Application Depth on Crop Productivity Under Tropical Rainfed Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Biochar Application Depth on Crop Productivity Under Tropical Rainfed Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Biochar Application Depth on Crop Productivity Under Tropical Rainfed Conditions |
| title_short | Effect of Biochar Application Depth on Crop Productivity Under Tropical Rainfed Conditions |
| title_sort | effect of biochar application depth on crop productivity under tropical rainfed conditions |
| topic | biochar tropical rainfed condition crop productivity root-zone soil application depth |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/13/2602 |
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