Wheat and maize-derived water-washed and unwashed biochar improved the nutrients phytoavailability and the grain and straw yield of rice and wheat: A field trial for sustainable management of paddy soils

Punhoon Khan Korai; Tanveer Ali Sial; Genxing Pan; Hamada Abdelrahman; Ashim Sikdar; Farhana Kumbhar; Siraj Ahmed Channa; Esmat F Ali; Jianguo Zhang; Jörg Rinklebe; Sabry M Shaheen

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113250

Wheat and maize-derived water-washed and unwashed biochar improved the nutrients phytoavailability and the grain and straw yield of rice and wheat: A field trial for sustainable management of paddy soils

J Environ Manage. 2021 Nov 1:297:113250. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113250. Epub 2021 Jul 15.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Faculty of Agriculture, Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences, Uthal, 90150, Balochistan, Pakistan; Center of Biomass and Biochar Green Technology, Institute of Resource, Ecosystem and Environment of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
² College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Department of Soil Science, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Sindh, 70060, Pakistan.
³ Center of Biomass and Biochar Green Technology, Institute of Resource, Ecosystem and Environment of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China. Electronic address: pangenxing@aliyun.com.
⁴ Cairo University, Faculty of Agriculture, Soil Science Department, Giza, 12613, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Agroforestry and Environmental Science, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, 3100, Bangladesh.
⁶ Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, College of Dera Murad Jamali, Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences, Uthal, 90150, Balochistan, Pakistan.
⁷ Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam Sindh, 70060, Pakistan.
⁸ Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China. Electronic address: zhangjianguo21@nwafu.edu.cn.
¹⁰ University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste Management, Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285, Wuppertal, Germany; University of Sejong, Department of Environment, Energy and Geoinformatics, Guangjin-Gu, Seoul, 05006, Republic of Korea; International Research Centre of Nanotechnology for Himalayan Sustainability (IRCNHS), Shoolini University, Solan, 173212, Himachal Pradesh, India. Electronic address: rinklebe@uni-wuppertal.de.
¹¹ University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste Management, Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285, Wuppertal, Germany; King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment, and Arid Land Agriculture, Department of Arid Land Agriculture, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; University of Kafrelsheikh, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil and Water Sciences, 33516, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt. Electronic address: shaheen@uni-wuppertal.de.

PMID: 34274764
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113250

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of different biochars on grain yield and phytoavailability and uptake of macro- and micro-nutrients by rice and wheat grown in a paddy soil in a rotation. Soil was treated with i) maize raw (un-washed) biochar (MRB), ii) maize water-washed biochar (MWB), iii) wheat raw biochar (WRB) or iv) wheat water-washed biochar (WWB) and untreated soil was used as control (CF). Inorganic fertilizers were applied to all soils while biochar treated soils received 20 ton ha^-1 of designated biochar before rice cultivation in rice-wheat rotation. The WRB significantly (P < 0.05) increased rice grain yield and straw by up to 49%, compared to the CF. Biochar addition, particularly WRB, significantly increased the availability of N, P, K and their content in the grain (26-37%) and straw (22-37%) of rice and wheat. Also, the availability and grain content of Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu increased significantly after biochar addition, particularly after the WRB, due to WRB water dissolved C acting as a carrier for micronutrients in soil and plant. However, the water-washing process altered biochar properties, particularly the water extractable C, which decreased its efficiency. Both wheat- and maize-derived biochars, particularly the WRB, are recommended to improve nutrients availability and to improve grain yield in the rice-wheat rotation agro-ecosystem. These results shed light on the importance of crop straw transformation into an important source for soil C and nutrients necessary for sustainable management of wheat-rice agro-ecosystem. However, with the current and future alternative energy demands, the decision on using crop biomass for soil conservation or for bioenergy becomes a challenge reliant on regulatory and policy frameworks.

Keywords: Biomass valorization; Grain yield; Nutrients availability; Rice-wheat rotation; Water extractable carbon; Wheat and maize straw.

MeSH terms

Charcoal
Ecosystem
Nutrients
Oryza*
Soil
Soil Pollutants* / analysis
Triticum
Water
Zea mays

Substances

Soil
Soil Pollutants
biochar
Water
Charcoal