scholarly journals Tobacco Stalk Biochar Application Improves Soil Fertility and Flue-Cured Tobacco Growth

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (03) ◽  
pp. 632-638
Author(s):  
Yan Li

Tobacco stalks the main agricultural waste after tobacco harvest, are generally discarded directly or returned to the field after burning. They are rarely processed into biochar, a product that could benefit soil properties. To explore the effects of applying tobacco stalk biochar on soil fertility and tobacco production, tobacco was grown at six biochar application levels (0, 3,000, 4,500, 6,000, 9,000 and 12,000 kg ha-1) in three different sites (Jianchuan, Midu and Eryuan) in Dali County, Yunnan Province. Biochar decreased soil bulk density, increased large and small soil aggregate proportion, and increased soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks. Biochar also improved the yield and quality of tobacco leaves at all sites. Biochar rates of 3,000, 4,500 and 6,000 kg ha-1 linearly improved soil fertility and agronomic traits while application rate of biochar exceeding 9,000 kg ha-1reduced plant growth. Moreover, the optimum biochar application rates for better plant height, stem diameter, maximum leaf length and leaf width, yield, and average price differed by site. These rates were: 6,000 kg ha-1(Midu), 3,000 kg ha-1(Eryuan) and4,500 kg ha-1(Jianchuan), respectively. In conclusion, appropriate application of biochar could improve soil nutrients and contribute to tobacco growth in different soil nutrient conditions.© 2021 Friends Science Publishers

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyong Xia ◽  
Weilin Kong ◽  
Lan Wang ◽  
Yanhui Xue ◽  
Wenlong Liu ◽  
...  

Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a global nutritional problem that is reduced through agronomic biofortification. In the current study, the effects of foliar spraying of exogenous ZnSO4·7H2O (0.2% in Quzhou and 0.3% in Licheng, w/v) and/or sucrose (10.0%, w/v) on maize (Zea mays L.) agronomic traits; concentrations of Zn, iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), total phosphorus (P), phytic acid (PA) P, carbon (C), and nitrogen (N); C/N ratios; and Zn and Fe bioavailability (as evaluated by molar ratios of PA/Zn, PA × Ca/Zn, PA/Fe and PA × Ca/Fe) in maize grains were studied under field conditions for two years at two experimental locations. The results confirmed that there were no significant differences in maize agronomic traits following the various foliar treatments. Compared with the control treatment of foliar spraying with deionized water, foliar applications of Zn alone or combined with sucrose significantly increased maize grain Zn concentrations by 29.2–58.3% in Quzhou (from 18.4–19.9 to 25.2–29.6 mg/kg) and by 39.8–47.8% in Licheng (from 24.9 to 34.8–36.8 mg/kg), as well as its bioavailability. No significant differences were found between the foliar spraying of deionized water and sucrose, and between Zn-only and “sucrose + Zn” at each N application rate and across different N application rates and experimental sites. Similar results were observed for maize grain Fe concentrations and bioavailability, but the Fe concentration increased to a smaller extent than Zn. Foliar Zn spraying alone or with sucrose increased maize grain Fe concentrations by 4.7–28.4% in Quzhou (from 13.4–17.1 to 15.2–18.5 mg/kg) and by 15.4–25.0% in Licheng (from 24.0 to 27.7–30.0 mg/kg). Iron concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with Zn at each N application rate and across different N application rates and experimental locations, indicating that foliar Zn spraying facilitated the transport of endogenous Fe to maize grains. Therefore, foliar Zn spraying increased the Zn concentration and bioavailability in maize grains irrespective of foliar sucrose supply while also improving Fe concentrations and bioavailability to some extent. This is a promising agricultural practice for simultaneous Zn and Fe biofortification in maize grains, i.e., “killing two birds with one stone”.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (No. 9) ◽  
pp. 449-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianning He ◽  
Zhenwen Yu ◽  
Yu Shi

Inappropriate tillage and soil compaction threaten farmland sustainability in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plains of China. We aimed to explore the impact of plowing tillage, rotary tillage, strip rotary tillage, and strip rotary tillage coupled to a two-year subsoiling interval (STS) on soil quality at various soil depths and on wheat yield. Soil bulk density was substantially lower in the 30–45 cm depth under STS than under any other treatment, resulting in lower soil penetration resistance. Highest soil particle macro-aggregation was observed under STS in the 15–45-cm soil layer.Consistently with greater nutrient availability, key enzymes associated with soil fertility (urease, invertase, phosphatase, and catalase) showed higher activity in STS plots. Concomitantly, highest yields were recorded for STS at 10 451 and 10 074 kg/ha in 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, respectively. STS significantly improved soil physical structure and enhanced soil enzyme activity, thereby stimulating soil nutrient release and increasing winter wheat yield.  


2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnar Börjesson ◽  
Thomas Kätterer

Abstract Recirculation of plant nutrients from waste materials back to agriculture is necessary in a sustainable food production system. In this study we investigated the long-term effect of direct land application of sewage sludge (SS) on soil fertility on two Swedish farms, where field experiments were set up in 1981 with three rates of SS (0, 4 and 12 Mg dry matter ha−1 every 4 years) and three rates of mineral fertilisation, in a factorial design with four replicates. At one site, SS application tended to increase crop yield over time but, when plant nutrients were not limiting, the effect was only significant for spring barley. We deduced that improved soil structure was the main driver for this fertility enhancement after SS application, as indicated by lower soil bulk density and higher soil carbon concentration. After 30 years, soil organic carbon stocks to 0.40 m depth differed by up to 17 Mg ha−1 between treatments. According to carbon balance calculations, retention of carbon derived from SS ranged between 18 and 20% for the soil layers analysed at the two sites. Soluble phosphorus (P) increased with sludge application rate, but represented only around 2% of the expected residual P according to P-balance calculations. The fertiliser value of nitrogen was also low, with only 3–8% nitrogen use efficiency. Heavy metals such as copper, zinc and mercury showed moderate accumulation in the soil, but elevated levels of metals were not detected in crops, even at the highest dose of SS. These results show that SS represents a valuable resource for improving soil fertility in terms of soil organic matter and soil structure, but its efficiency for nutrient cycling is very low within the time frame considered in the study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (No. 9) ◽  
pp. 468-476
Author(s):  
Miroslav Jursík ◽  
Martin Kočárek ◽  
Michaela Kolářová ◽  
Lukáš Tichý

Six sunflower herbicides were tested at two application rates (1N and 2N) on three locations (with different soil types) within three years (2015–2017). Efficacy of the tested herbicides on Chenopodium album increased with an increasing cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soil. Efficacy of pendimethalin was 95%, flurochloridone and aclonifen 94%, dimethenamid-P 72%, pethoxamid 49% and S-metolachlor 47%. All tested herbicides injured sunflower on sandy soil (Regosol) which had the lowest CEC, especially in wet conditions (phytotoxicity 27% after 1N application rate). The highest phytotoxicity was recorded after the application of dimethenamid-P (19% at 1N and 45% at 2N application rate). Main symptoms of phytotoxicity were leaf deformations and necroses and the damage of growing tips, which led to destruction of some plants. Aclonifen, pethoxamid and S-metolachlor at 1N did not injure sunflower on the soil with the highest CEC (Chernozem) in any of the experimental years. Persistence of tested herbicides was significantly longer in Fluvisol (medium CEC) compared to Regosol and Chernozem. Dimethenamid-P showed the shortest persistence in Regosol and Chernozem. The majority of herbicides was detected in the soil layer 0–5 cm in all tested soils. Vertical transport of herbicides in soil was affected by the herbicide used, soil type and weather conditions. The highest vertical transport was recorded for dimethenamid-P and pethoxamid (4, resp. 6% of applied rate) in Regosol in the growing season with high precipitation.  


Author(s):  
Subin Kalu ◽  
Gboyega Nathaniel Oyekoya ◽  
Per Ambus ◽  
Priit Tammeorg ◽  
Asko Simojoki ◽  
...  

AbstractA 15N tracing pot experiment was conducted using two types of wood-based biochars: a regular biochar and a Kon-Tiki-produced nutrient-enriched biochar, at two application rates (1% and 5% (w/w)), in addition to a fertilizer only and a control treatment. Ryegrass was sown in pots, all of which except controls received 15N-labelled fertilizer as either 15NH4NO3 or NH415NO3. We quantified the effect of biochar application on soil N2O emissions, as well as the fate of fertilizer-derived ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3−) in terms of their leaching from the soil, uptake into plant biomass, and recovery in the soil. We found that application of biochars reduced soil mineral N leaching and N2O emissions. Similarly, the higher biochar application rate of 5% significantly increased aboveground ryegrass biomass yield. However, no differences in N2O emissions and ryegrass biomass yields were observed between regular and nutrient-enriched biochar treatments, although mineral N leaching tended to be lower in the nutrient-enriched biochar treatment than in the regular biochar treatment. The 15N analysis revealed that biochar application increased the plant uptake of added nitrate, but reduced the plant uptake of added ammonium compared to the fertilizer only treatment. Thus, the uptake of total N derived from added NH4NO3 fertilizer was not affected by the biochar addition, and cannot explain the increase in plant biomass in biochar treatments. Instead, the increased plant biomass at the higher biochar application rate was attributed to the enhanced uptake of N derived from soil. This suggests that the interactions between biochar and native soil organic N may be important determinants of the availability of soil N to plant growth.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1368
Author(s):  
Wenzheng Tang ◽  
Wene Wang ◽  
Dianyu Chen ◽  
Ningbo Cui ◽  
Haosheng Yang ◽  
...  

In order to meet the growing food demand of the global population and maintain sustainable soil fertility, there is an urgent need to optimize fertilizer application amount in agricultural production practices. Most of the existing studies on the optimal K rates for apple orchards were based on case studies and lack information on optimizing K-fertilizer management on a regional scale. Here, we used the method of combining meta-analysis with the K application rate-yield relationship model to quantify and summarize the optimal K rates of the Loess Plateau and Bohai Bay regions in China. We built a dataset based on 159 observations obtained from 18 peer-reviewed literature studies distributed in 15 different research sites and evaluated the regional-scale optimal K rates for apple production. The results showed that the linear plus platform model was more suitable for estimating the regional-scale optimal K rates, which were 208.33 and 176.61 kg K ha−1 for the Loess Plateau and Bohai Bay regions of China, respectively. Compared with high K application rates, the optimal K rates increased K use efficiency by 45.88–68.57%, with almost no yield losses. The optimal K rates also enhanced the yield by 6.30% compared with the low K application rates.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lais Tessari Perboni ◽  
Dirceu Agostinetto ◽  
Leandro Vargas ◽  
Joanei Cechin ◽  
Renan Ricardo Zandoná ◽  
...  

Abstract: The goals of this study were to evaluate herbicide application rates at different timings for preharvest desiccation of wheat (Trial 1), as well as to evaluate the effect of the timing of herbicide desiccation at preharvest and harvest timing (Trial 2) on yield, germination, and herbicide residue in wheat seed. In Trial 1, treatments consisted of two application rates of glufosinate, glyphosate, paraquat, or paraquat+diuron and a control without application; application time periods were in the milk grain to early dough stage, soft dough to hard dough stage, and hard dough stage. In Trial 2, treatments consisted of different application time periods (milk grain to early dough stage, and soft dough to hard dough stage), different herbicides (glufosinate, 2,4-D+glyphosate, and untreated control), and different harvest times (5, 10 and 15 days after herbicide application). One thousand seeds weight, yield, first and final germination count, and herbicide residue on seeds were evaluated. Preharvest desiccation with paraquat, glufosinate, and 2,4-D+glyphosate at the milk grain to early dough stage reduces wheat yield. Regardless of the herbicide and application rate, application in the milk grain to early dough stage and soft dough to hard dough stage provides greater germination of wheat seeds, except at the lower dose of paraquat. Systemic herbicides accumulate more in wheat seeds.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3957
Author(s):  
Yingying Xing ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Xiaoli Niu ◽  
Wenting Jiang ◽  
Xiukang Wang

Soil nutrients are essential nutrients provided by soil for plant growth. Most researchers focus on the coupling effect of nutrients with potato yield and quality. There are few studies on the evaluation of soil nutrients in potato fields. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soil nutrients of potato farmland and the soil vertical nutrient distributions, and then to provide a theoretical and experimental basis for the fertilizer management practices for potatoes in Loess Plateau. Eight physical and chemical soil indexes were selected in the study area, and 810 farmland soil samples from the potato agriculture product areas were analyzed in Northern Shaanxi. The paper established the minimum data set (MDS) for the quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland by principal component analysis (PCA), respectively, and furthermore, analyzed the soil nutrient characteristics of the cultivated layer adopted soil quality index (SQI). The results showed that the MDS on soil quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland soil included such indicators as the soil organic matter content, soil available potassium content, and soil available phosphorus content. The comprehensive index value of the soil quality was between 0.064 and 0.302. The SPSS average clustering process used to classify SQI was divided into three grades: class I (36.2%) was defined as suitable soil fertility (SQI < 0.122), class II (55.6%) was defined as moderate soil fertility (0.122 < SQI < 0.18), and class III (8.2%) was defined as poor soil fertility (SQI > 0.186). The comprehensive quality of the potato farmland soils was generally low. The proportion of soil nutrients in the SQI composition ranged from large to small as the soil available potassium content = soil available phosphorus content > soil organic matter content, which became the limiting factor of the soil organic matter content in this area. This study revolves around the 0 to 60 cm soil layer; the soil fertility decreased gradually with the soil depth, and had significant differences between the respective soil layers. In order to improve the soil nutrient accumulation and potato yield in potato farmland in northern Shaanxi, it is suggested to increase the fertilization depth (20 to 40 cm) and further study the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer.


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