Maize-Straw Biochar Enhances Soil Properties and Grain Yield of Foxtail Millet in a Newly Reclaimed Land
Large-scale land reclamation has become common in northwestern China; however, low soil fertility and poor soil water-holding capacity limit agricultural production on these reclaimed lands, requiring increased fertilizer and irrigation inputs. Biochar, produced from agricultural waste, has shown po...
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| author | Xuyan Hou Wei He Yi Zhang Ningning Zhang Jiakun Yan Yinglong Chen |
| author_facet | Xuyan Hou Wei He Yi Zhang Ningning Zhang Jiakun Yan Yinglong Chen |
| author_sort | Xuyan Hou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Large-scale land reclamation has become common in northwestern China; however, low soil fertility and poor soil water-holding capacity limit agricultural production on these reclaimed lands, requiring increased fertilizer and irrigation inputs. Biochar, produced from agricultural waste, has shown potential in improving soil quality and water-holding capacity. In this two-year field study (2021 and 2022), we investigated the effects of biochar produced from maize straw on soil properties and grain yield of foxtail millet grown on newly reclaimed land. Three biochar treatments (3000, 4500, and 6000 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>) were compared to a control (CK) with no biochar application. Biochar application resulted in increased soil organic matter, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, soil enzyme activity, and soil organic acid content. It also significantly decreased soil pH and bulk density. Compared with the CK, biochar increased available nitrogen from 29.7% to 108% in 2021 and 37.0% to 88.4% in 2022. Similarly, biochar increased available phosphorus from 64.7% to 143% in 2021 and 41.9% to 96.5% in 2022. Grain yields ranged from 3092 to 4753 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>. Biochar treatments increased grain yield compared to the CK, ranging from 12.2% to 24.6% in 2021 and 27.1% to 53.7% in 2022. Correlation analysis revealed that soil pH was negatively related to soil oxalic acid content, phosphorus content, and sucrase activity. Available nitrogen and phosphorus contents were negatively related to soil bulk density and positively related to catalase activity. Soil water content was negatively correlated with soil bulk density and positively correlated with organic matter. In conclusion, biochar improved the rhizosphere soil pH and the effectiveness of soil fertility in the newly reclaimed soil, resulting in an enhanced grain yield of foxtail millet. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d836cecb26d44f5597a2db5a267c2278 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-d836cecb26d44f5597a2db5a267c22782024-11-26T17:44:05ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952024-10-011411246510.3390/agronomy14112465Maize-Straw Biochar Enhances Soil Properties and Grain Yield of Foxtail Millet in a Newly Reclaimed LandXuyan Hou0Wei He1Yi Zhang2Ningning Zhang3Jiakun Yan4Yinglong Chen5College of Life Science, Yulin University, Yulin 719000, ChinaCollege of Life Science, Yulin University, Yulin 719000, ChinaCollege of Life Science, Yulin University, Yulin 719000, ChinaCollege of Life Science, Yulin University, Yulin 719000, ChinaCollege of Life Science, Yulin University, Yulin 719000, ChinaThe UWA Institute of Agriculture, School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, AustraliaLarge-scale land reclamation has become common in northwestern China; however, low soil fertility and poor soil water-holding capacity limit agricultural production on these reclaimed lands, requiring increased fertilizer and irrigation inputs. Biochar, produced from agricultural waste, has shown potential in improving soil quality and water-holding capacity. In this two-year field study (2021 and 2022), we investigated the effects of biochar produced from maize straw on soil properties and grain yield of foxtail millet grown on newly reclaimed land. Three biochar treatments (3000, 4500, and 6000 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>) were compared to a control (CK) with no biochar application. Biochar application resulted in increased soil organic matter, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, soil enzyme activity, and soil organic acid content. It also significantly decreased soil pH and bulk density. Compared with the CK, biochar increased available nitrogen from 29.7% to 108% in 2021 and 37.0% to 88.4% in 2022. Similarly, biochar increased available phosphorus from 64.7% to 143% in 2021 and 41.9% to 96.5% in 2022. Grain yields ranged from 3092 to 4753 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>. Biochar treatments increased grain yield compared to the CK, ranging from 12.2% to 24.6% in 2021 and 27.1% to 53.7% in 2022. Correlation analysis revealed that soil pH was negatively related to soil oxalic acid content, phosphorus content, and sucrase activity. Available nitrogen and phosphorus contents were negatively related to soil bulk density and positively related to catalase activity. Soil water content was negatively correlated with soil bulk density and positively correlated with organic matter. In conclusion, biochar improved the rhizosphere soil pH and the effectiveness of soil fertility in the newly reclaimed soil, resulting in an enhanced grain yield of foxtail millet.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/11/2465sandy soilsoil organic acidsoil bulk densitysoil enzyme activitysoil fertility |
| spellingShingle | Xuyan Hou Wei He Yi Zhang Ningning Zhang Jiakun Yan Yinglong Chen Maize-Straw Biochar Enhances Soil Properties and Grain Yield of Foxtail Millet in a Newly Reclaimed Land Agronomy sandy soil soil organic acid soil bulk density soil enzyme activity soil fertility |
| title | Maize-Straw Biochar Enhances Soil Properties and Grain Yield of Foxtail Millet in a Newly Reclaimed Land |
| title_full | Maize-Straw Biochar Enhances Soil Properties and Grain Yield of Foxtail Millet in a Newly Reclaimed Land |
| title_fullStr | Maize-Straw Biochar Enhances Soil Properties and Grain Yield of Foxtail Millet in a Newly Reclaimed Land |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maize-Straw Biochar Enhances Soil Properties and Grain Yield of Foxtail Millet in a Newly Reclaimed Land |
| title_short | Maize-Straw Biochar Enhances Soil Properties and Grain Yield of Foxtail Millet in a Newly Reclaimed Land |
| title_sort | maize straw biochar enhances soil properties and grain yield of foxtail millet in a newly reclaimed land |
| topic | sandy soil soil organic acid soil bulk density soil enzyme activity soil fertility |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/11/2465 |
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