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. 2021 Dec 30;11(1):111.
doi: 10.3390/plants11010111.

The Combined Effect of Biochar and Mineral Fertilizer on Triticale Yield, Soil Properties under Different Tillage Systems

Luiza Usevičiūtė  1 , Edita Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė  1 , Dalia Feizienė  2
Affiliations

The Combined Effect of Biochar and Mineral Fertilizer on Triticale Yield, Soil Properties under Different Tillage Systems

Luiza Usevičiūtė et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

This study examined the effect of study time, biochar dose, and fertilization-tillage system on the improvement of sandy loam physical-chemical properties and triticale grain yield. The soil properties (water holding capacity (WHC), wettability, moisture content (MC), organic matter content (SOM), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) were monitored in short time intervals (after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months). Soil was tilled in two methods (shallow ploughless tillage and direct drilling), fertilized with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizers, and amended with three hydrophobic pine wood biochar doses (0 t/ha; 5 t/ha; 15 t/ha). It was found that 15 t/ha biochar dose had the highest effect on the soil's physical-chemical properties improvement (SOM increased by 33.7%, pH-by 6.84%, EC-by 23.4%, WHC-by 8.48%, and MC-by 21.8%) compared to the variants without biochar. Direct drilling, fertilization with NPK fertilizers and 15 t/ha biochar dose significantly influenced the rise of soil's physical-chemical properties and triticale yield (3.51 t/ha).

Keywords: Cambisols; direct drilling; low-temperature biochar; mineral fertilizers; pine wood; ploughless shallow tillage; triticale.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average monthly temperature (°C) and amount of precipitation (mm) according to every month 10-day data from Dotnuva meteorological station, n = 3.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The comparison of physical-chemical properties of different biochar types, made from pine wood, birch wood, pine bark and hemp (450 °C, 2 h): (a) wettability (s), (b) ash content (%), (c) electrical conductivity (mS/cm), (d) specific surface area (m2/g), (e) C content (%), (f) O content (%), n = 3.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Concentrations of potentially toxic elements (mg/kg) in pine wood biochar: (a) lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu), (b) chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni), n = 3.
Figure 4
Figure 4
FTIR spectrum of low-temperature pine wood biochar, n = 1.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Influence of biochar on the amount of organic matter in different tillage-fertilization systems (S—ploughless shallow tillage, M—direct drilling, 1—unfertilized, 2—fertilized) after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months from the beginning of the experiment, n = 2.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Influence of biochar on soil pH changes in different tillage-fertilization systems (S—ploughless shallow tillage, M—direct drilling, 1—unfertilized, 2—fertilized) after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months from the beginning of the experiment, n = 2.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Influence of biochar on the changes of soil electrical conductivity in different tillage-fertilization systems (S—ploughless shallow tillage, M—direct drilling, 1—unfertilized, 2—fertilized) after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months from the beginning of the experiment, n = 2.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Impact of biochar on the soil surface functional groups in different tillage-fertilization systems after 3 months from biochar application: (a) S—ploughless shallow tillage, (b) direct drilling, 1—unfertilized, 2—fertilized, n = 2.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Influence of biochar on changes of soil water holding capacity in different tillage-fertilization systems (S—shallow no-till tillage, M—direct sowing, 1—unfertilized, 2—fertilized) after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months from the beginning of the experiment, n = 2.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Influence of biochar on changes in soil moisture content in different tillage-fertilization systems (S—shallow no-till, M—direct sowing, 1—unfertilized, 2—fertilized) after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months from the beginning of the experiment, n = 2.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Triticale grain yield of standard moisture: (a) M—direct drilling; (b) S—shallow ploughless tillage.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Relationship between soil electrical conductivity (µs/cm) and triticale grain yield (t/ha).
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