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. 2022 Dec 26;12(1):121.
doi: 10.3390/plants12010121.

Soil and Foliar Applications of Wood Distillate Differently Affect Soil Properties and Field Bean Traits in Preliminary Field Tests

Michelangelo Becagli  1 , Iduna Arduini  1 , Valentina Cantini  1 , Roberto Cardelli  1
Affiliations

Soil and Foliar Applications of Wood Distillate Differently Affect Soil Properties and Field Bean Traits in Preliminary Field Tests

Michelangelo Becagli et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Natural products such as wood distillate (WD) are promising alternatives to xenobiotic products in conventional agriculture and are necessary in organic farming. A field study gave insight into the effectiveness of WD applied as foliar spray (F-WD), soil irrigation (S-WD), and their combination as growth promoters for field beans. The soil fertility and quality parameters, plant growth, nutrient uptake, and resource partitioning within plants were evaluated. In a pot trial, we tested the effect of S-WD on root nodule initiation and growth. S-WD increased DOC and microbial biomass by approximately 10%, prompted enzyme activities, and increased nitrate and available phosphorus in soil, without affecting the number and growth of nodules in field beans. In contrast, the F-WD slightly reduced the DOC, exerted a lower stimulation on soil enzymes, and lowered the soil effect in the combined distribution. In field beans, the F-WD reduced the stem height but increased the number of pods per stem; S-WD increased the N and P concentrations of leaves and the N concentration of the pods. Moreover, all WD treatments retarded plant senescence. The WD revealed itself to be promising as a growth promoter for grain legumes, but further research is needed to understand the interference between the combined soil and foliar applications.

Keywords: Vicia faba var. minor beck; flower fertility; nitrate; nodules; phosphorus; soil enzymes; wood vinegar.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Stem ((a), SMF), leaf ((b), LMF), and reproductive ((c), RMF) mass fractions of field bean, as affected by the interaction of wood distillate (WD) distribution as foliar spray (F) or soil irrigation (S). Data are means of three replicates. For each parameter, columns with the same letter indicate not significantly different means at p ≤ 0.05, Tukey test.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chlorophyll concentration (a); nitrogen balance index, NBI (b); and biomass of field bean leaflets (c), as affected by the interaction of wood distillate (WD) distribution as foliar spray (F) or soil irrigation (S). Data are means of 20 replicates. For each parameter, columns with the same letter indicate not significantly different means at p ≤ 0.05, Tukey test.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Decadic mean and maximum temperatures and cumulated rainfall during the period of wood distillate distribution to the field bean crop.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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