Journal
FIELD CROPS RESEARCH
Volume 232, Issue -, Pages 77-87Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.fcr.2018.12.013
Keywords
Biochar; Soil pH; Available phosphorus; Crop yields; Optimal biochar and nitrogen fertilizer application rate
Categories
Funding
- National Key RD Program [2016 YFD 0200305]
- Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China [BK 20150909]
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture (Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences) [Y20160038]
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [2016M591884]
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Biochar has been used as an amendment to reduce soil acidity and increase soil nutrients content and crop yields. While many laboratory studies have focused on the short-term effects of single application of biochar on soil properties, little is known about the long-term effects of biochar combined with nitrogen fertilizer on soil pH, available P content, and crop yields. Additionally, few studies have investigated the optimal biochar and nitrogen fertilizer application proportions in worldwide. A five-year field trial was conducted to study the effects of biochar (0, 5, 20 and 40 t ha(-1)) combined with nitrogen fertilizer (0, 60, 90, 120 kg ha(-1)) on soil pH, available P, rapeseed, and sweet potato yield. Multi-dimensional nonlinear regression models were built to predict the highest crop yields and the optimal economical biochar and nitrogen fertilizer application rate. The results were as follows: high dose of biochar (20 and 40 t ha(-1)) combined with nitrogen fertilizer can significantly increase soil pH, available P content, rapeseed and sweet potato yields in the first year; however, the effectiveness on these metrics weakened over time, biochar needed to be applied approximately every three years in the rapeseed-sweet potato rotation system in order to maintain the positive effects on crop yields. The multi-dimensional regression models showed that the highest yields of rapeseed and sweet potato are 3.34 t ha(-1) and 39.7 t ha(-1) when the application rates of biochar were 80.8 t ha(-1) and 59.4 t ha(-1) respectively. However, high dosages of biochar can increase crop yields without increasing net income. The highest net income was $29,206 ha(-1) 5y(-1) ($5841 ha(-1) y(-1)) when the application rates of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer are 11.4 t has and 102 kg ha(-1), respectively. The integrated use of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer was a promising strategy to obtain higher and sustained productivity of the rapeseed -sweet potato cropping system in upland red soil. From the point of view of crop yields and economic benefits, 11.4 t ha(-1) biochar was the optimal biochar application rates for the local farmers.
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