Journal
JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE
Volume 178, Issue 3, Pages 393-400Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/jpln.201400405
Keywords
Imperata cylindrica; Ipomoea batatas; kunai grass; nutrient concentration; soil moisture
Categories
Funding
- Research Committee, PNG University of Technology
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Currently, the biomass of an invasive and obnoxious weed, kunai grass (Imperata cylindrica), is uncontrollably burnt in Papua New Guinea in subsistence farming systems resulting in unwarranted negative environmental consequences. We explored the possibility of sustainable utilization of biochar produced from the weed biomass along with a standard feedstock-rice husk (Oryza sativa). Biochars were produced with lab-scale pyrolysis at 550 degrees C, characterized for chemical properties and plant nutrient composition. Further, agronomic efficacy of soil incorporation of biochars (5 t ha(-1)) or co-applied with mineral fertilizers (100, 11, and 62 kg ha(-1) N, P, K, respectively) was tested for sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) in a field experiment. The two biochars differed significantly (P < 5%) with respect to recovery from the feedstocks, chemical characters and nutrient composition. Kunai grass biochar was poorer in nutrients (< 1%) with distinctly alkaline pH and higher electrical conductivity. Biochar amendment to soil showed significant (P < 5%) improvement of soil moisture, while co-application of biochars along with mineral fertilizers showed soil moisture decrease. Biochar amendment improved the growth parameters and total tuber yield of sweet potato by about 20%, while co-application with mineral fertilizers augmented total tuber yield by 100% and above-ground biomass yields by > 75%. Besides, improving agronomic performance of sweet potato crop, co-application of biochars with mineral fertilizers enhanced uptake of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S. Production and utilization of biochar in sweet-potato production could offer an efficient means of disposing biomass of kunai grass with concomitant productivity improvement in Papua New Guinea.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available