Modified biochar application effects on soil chemical properties and nutrients uptake in sugarcane cv. CP73-21

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Department of Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

3 Department of soil science, faculty of agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

4 Department of Agronomy, Khuzestan Sugarcane Research and Training Institute, Ahvaz, Iran.

Abstract

One of the major problems of soils in arid and semi-arid regions is the lack of organic matter. Chemical fortification of biochar is effective in increasing biochar's efficiency to improve the chemical properties and fertility of the soil and plant growth. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of biochar and modified sugarcane bagasse biochar on the nutrient status, soil chemical properties, nutritional status and sugarcane yield. Sugarcane bagasse biochar was prepared and modified and its properties were measured. This research was done in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments, including 1- control (without the use of biochar), 2- sugarcane bagasse biochar, 3- sulfuric acid modified biochar, 4- citric acid modified biochar and 4 replications in pots and greenhouse condition. The biochar treatments were applied before plantantion at 1% w/w level. At the end of the experiment period, plant biomass yield and soil chemical properties were measured. The results showed that the application of all treatments caused a decrease in soil pH (0.24-0.64 units), but increase cation exchange capacity (1.55 to 1.84-fold), organic carbon (2.2 to 2.6-fold) and available concentration of phosphorus (1.7 to 2.2-fold), potassium (1.29 to 1.85-fold), iron (1.65 to 1.78-fold) and zinc (1.41 to 1.69-fold) in the soil. The use of citric acid modified biochar had the greatest effect in increasing the height (19.4%) and the dry weight of the shoot (10.8%) and nutrient uptake in shoot compared to the control treatment. In general, biochar prepared from sugarcane bagasse and modified with citric acid could be effective in improving soil chemical properties, nutrient availability and sugarcane growth and nutrition under the studied soil conditions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

 

 

Background:

 Biochar is a carbon-rich and porous material that is prepared from pyrolysis of various biomasses in oxygen-free or minimal oxygen conditions. Chemical modification of biochar can be effective in increasing its efficiency in improving the chemical characteristics and fertility of the soil and plant growth and performance. Chemical fortification of biochar is done using compounds such as citric acid (C6H8O7), potassium hydroxide (KOH), potassium permanganate (KMNO4) and zinc chloride (ZnCl2). Sugarcane bagasse is the waste of sugarcane from the extraction of sugarcane syrup. Every year, a large amount of sugarcane bagasse is produced in the sugarcane industry of Khuzestan province. Processing a part of sugarcane bagasse and turning it into biochar can be one of the solutions for managing sugarcane residues.

Goals:

 The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of sugarcane bagasse biochar and modified biochar. with organic and mineral acids on soil chemical characteristics, nutritional status and sugarcane plant growth.

Materials and Methods:

Sugarcane bagasse biochar was prepared and modified and its properties were measured. This research was done in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments, including 1- control (without the use of biochar), 2- sugarcane bagasse biochar, 3- sulfuric acid modified biochar, 4- citric acid modified biochar and 4 replications in pots and greenhouse condition. The biochar treatments were applied before plantantion at 1% w/w level. At the end of the growth period, plant biomass yield and soil chemical properties were measured.

Results and Discussion:

The results showed that the application of all treatments caused a decrease in soil pH (0.24-0.64 units), increase cation exchange capacity (1.55 to 1.84-fold), organic carbon (2.2 to 2.6-fold) and available concentration of phosphorus (1.7 to 2.2-fold), potassium (1.29 to 1.85-fold), iron (1.65 to 1.78-fold) and zinc (1.41 to 1.69-fold) in the soil. The use of citric acid modified biochar had the greatest effect in increasing the height (19.4%) and the dry weight of the shoot (10.8%) nutrient uptake in shoot compared to the control treatment.

In general, the results showed that modified biochars, especially citric acid modified biochars, had a greater effect than raw biochars on sugarcane nitrogen uptake. The addition of biochar and modified biochar treatments caused a significant increase in shoot phosphorus uptake in sugarcane. Although the most uptake phosphorus in sugarcane shoots was observed in citric acid modified biochar, however, there were no significant difference in phosphorus uptake between the two treatments of citric acid modified biochar and sulfuric acid. Shoot potassium uptake significantly increased with the application of biochar and modified biochar. The highest shoot potassium uptake was observed in raw biochar treatment.

In general, biochar prepared from sugarcane bagasse and citric acid modified biochar can be effective in could be effective in improving soil chemical properties, nutrient availability and sugarcane growth and nutrition under the studied soil conditions.

Author Contributions

All authors contributed equally to the conceptualization of the article and writing of the original and subsequent drafts.

Data Availability Statement

Data is available on request from the authors.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Research council of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran for the financial support of this research (grant number: SCU.AS1402.449).

Ethical considerations

The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and misconduct.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research
Volume 55, Issue 9
November 2024
Pages 1521-1536

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