Benefits and costs of cultivating rice using biochar-inorganic fertilizer combinations
Biochar is a carbon rich material obtained by the incomplete combustion of biomass. Agronomically, biochar is used as a soil amendment, usually in combination with other amendments such as fertilizer or compost. For environmental purposes, biochar serves as a means of sequesting carbon, thus mitigat...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Agriculture and Food Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154322002241 |
| _version_ | 1797894652248981504 |
|---|---|
| author | Felicia Danso Wilson Agyei Agyare Ato Bart-Plange |
| author_facet | Felicia Danso Wilson Agyei Agyare Ato Bart-Plange |
| author_sort | Felicia Danso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biochar is a carbon rich material obtained by the incomplete combustion of biomass. Agronomically, biochar is used as a soil amendment, usually in combination with other amendments such as fertilizer or compost. For environmental purposes, biochar serves as a means of sequesting carbon, thus mitigating climate change. It also has remediating properties such as adsorbing contaminants from water and soils. In this study, different rates of rice straw biochar combined with various inorganic fertilizer rates were applied on rice fields. The field experiment was conducted in both the major season and minor season of the year 2018. The minor season cultivation had two fields: minor season main and minor season residual. The minor season residual field did not have biochar reapplied to it because it was to assess the residual effect of the biochar applied during the major season. The economic costs were computed from the cost involved in the activities of the rice production processes. Rice yield was harvested at maturity and the yield converted into revenue using prevailing selling price. Net Present Values (NPVs) and Benefit Cost Ratios (BCRs) were computed for each treatment. The results indicated that the use of biochar as soil amendment in rice production is costly during the first production cycle, however, its residual effect is able to yield benefits that outweigh the costs, thus making biochar usage profitable in the second cropping season. Generally, the major season (first cropping cycle) had low BCRs, ranging from 0.54 to 1.33 compared with those of the minor season residual fields (second cropping cycle), which were between 1.22 and 1.84. The minor season residual fields had NPVs that were generally higher (−724 to 2069) than those of the major season (−2757 to 1300). |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:13:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3b4f0c4e53894af2946cfc11a520e460 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-1543 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:13:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Agriculture and Food Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-3b4f0c4e53894af2946cfc11a520e4602023-02-26T04:28:04ZengElsevierJournal of Agriculture and Food Research2666-15432023-03-0111100491Benefits and costs of cultivating rice using biochar-inorganic fertilizer combinationsFelicia Danso0Wilson Agyei Agyare1Ato Bart-Plange2Corresponding author.; Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaBiochar is a carbon rich material obtained by the incomplete combustion of biomass. Agronomically, biochar is used as a soil amendment, usually in combination with other amendments such as fertilizer or compost. For environmental purposes, biochar serves as a means of sequesting carbon, thus mitigating climate change. It also has remediating properties such as adsorbing contaminants from water and soils. In this study, different rates of rice straw biochar combined with various inorganic fertilizer rates were applied on rice fields. The field experiment was conducted in both the major season and minor season of the year 2018. The minor season cultivation had two fields: minor season main and minor season residual. The minor season residual field did not have biochar reapplied to it because it was to assess the residual effect of the biochar applied during the major season. The economic costs were computed from the cost involved in the activities of the rice production processes. Rice yield was harvested at maturity and the yield converted into revenue using prevailing selling price. Net Present Values (NPVs) and Benefit Cost Ratios (BCRs) were computed for each treatment. The results indicated that the use of biochar as soil amendment in rice production is costly during the first production cycle, however, its residual effect is able to yield benefits that outweigh the costs, thus making biochar usage profitable in the second cropping season. Generally, the major season (first cropping cycle) had low BCRs, ranging from 0.54 to 1.33 compared with those of the minor season residual fields (second cropping cycle), which were between 1.22 and 1.84. The minor season residual fields had NPVs that were generally higher (−724 to 2069) than those of the major season (−2757 to 1300).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154322002241FertilizersBiocharRiceField experimentGhana |
| spellingShingle | Felicia Danso Wilson Agyei Agyare Ato Bart-Plange Benefits and costs of cultivating rice using biochar-inorganic fertilizer combinations Journal of Agriculture and Food Research Fertilizers Biochar Rice Field experiment Ghana |
| title | Benefits and costs of cultivating rice using biochar-inorganic fertilizer combinations |
| title_full | Benefits and costs of cultivating rice using biochar-inorganic fertilizer combinations |
| title_fullStr | Benefits and costs of cultivating rice using biochar-inorganic fertilizer combinations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Benefits and costs of cultivating rice using biochar-inorganic fertilizer combinations |
| title_short | Benefits and costs of cultivating rice using biochar-inorganic fertilizer combinations |
| title_sort | benefits and costs of cultivating rice using biochar inorganic fertilizer combinations |
| topic | Fertilizers Biochar Rice Field experiment Ghana |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154322002241 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT feliciadanso benefitsandcostsofcultivatingriceusingbiocharinorganicfertilizercombinations AT wilsonagyeiagyare benefitsandcostsofcultivatingriceusingbiocharinorganicfertilizercombinations AT atobartplange benefitsandcostsofcultivatingriceusingbiocharinorganicfertilizercombinations |