Biochar Reduces the Adverse Effect of Saline Water on Soil Properties and Wheat Production Profitability

The goal of this study is to assess the use of saline groundwater in combination with soil amendments to increase the efficiency of wheat production in new agricultural soil in Egypt. The experiment was conducted during the two consecutive growing seasons, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021, at the Shandaweel Agricultural Research Station, Sohag, Egypt. In this study, plants of Shandaweel 1 spring bread wheat cultivar were grown under the combinations of the two water treatments, i.e., freshwater (307.2 ppm) and saline water (3000 ppm (NaCl + MgCl2)) representing groundwater in Egypt delivered by drip irrigation and the two biochar rates, i.e., zero and 4.8 ton/ha as a soil amendment. The cob corn biochar (CCB) was synthesized by using the slow pyrolysis process (one hour at 350 degrees C). The results revealed that saline water reduced the grain yield ratio by 8.5%, 11.0%, and 9.7% compared to non-saline water during seasons 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 and over seasons, respectively. Concerning, combined over seasons, the biochar addition enhanced the grain yield by 5.6% and 13.8% compared to non-biochar addition under fresh and saline irrigation water conditions, respectively. Thus, the results indicated and led to a preliminary recommendation that saline groundwater is a viable source of irrigation water and that biochar seemed to alleviate salinity stress on wheat production and in reclaimed soils of Egypt.

Automated summary

The study evaluated the use of saline groundwater and soil amendments to enhance wheat production efficiency in Egypt. Results showed that biochar addition increased grain yield while saline water reduced it, indicating that biochar could alleviate salinity stress.