Using Biochar to Improve Soil Fertility and Productivity of Drought-Tolerant Sweet Potatoes in Thanh Hoa Coastal Sandy Soil
Main Article Content
Abstract
The coastal area of Thanh Hoa province has a large proportion of sandy soil and is suffering negative impacts from climate change that affect crop productivity. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of biochar to improve the soil fertility and productivity of drought-tolerant sweet potatoes. The effect of biochar contents on the productivity of three sweet potatoes VC 04-24, KL C3, and VC 68-2 in the coastal sandy soil area of Thanh Hoa province was examined. The results indicated that the yield of sweet potatoes was the highest when applying five tons of biochar per hectare, equivalent to using 10 tons of manure. With the same biochar content, the productivity and other factors related to the product quality of these sweet potatoes such as the number of tubers per plant and the average mass of tuber were the highest. In detail, the estimated commercial productivity of VC 04-24, KL C3, and VC 68-2 were 25.46, 24.92, and 21.76 ton/ha, respectively. With the least significant difference at the probability of 0.05% (LSD0.05), the VC 04-24 and KL C3 showed high productivity. The economic efficiency of the sweet potatoes-growing model at Hai An commune, Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province showed that the productivity of the model was 24 tons/ha, higher than the actual productivity of the control model (20.2 ton/ha). The productivity and the economic efficiency of the model were 18.8% and 31.38% higher than those of the control model, respectively. In addition, the test results showed that using 5-6 ton/hectare of biochar can improve the physical and chemical properties of soils.
References
[2] C. E. Brewer, Biochar Characterization and Engineering, M.Sc. Thesis, IOWA, Iowa State University, 2012.
[3] S. Steinbeiss, G. Gleixner, M. Antonietti, Effect of Biochar Amendment on Soil Carbon Balance and Soil Microbial Activity, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2009, pp. 1301-1310, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.03.016.
[4] S. D. Joseph, M. C. Arbestain, Y. Lin, P. Munroe, C. H. Chia, J. Hook, L. van Zwieten, S. Kimber, A. Cowie, B. P. Singh, J. Lehmann, N. Foidl, R. J. Smernik, J. E. Amonette, An Investigation into the Reactions of Biochar in Soil, Australian Journal of Soil Research, Vol. 48, No. 7, 2010, pp. 501-515,
https://doi.org/10.1071/SR10009.
[5] C. R. Anderson, L. M. Conderon, T. J. Clough, M. Fiers, A. Stewart, R. A. Hill, R. R. Sherlock, Biochar Induced Soil Microbial Community Change: Implications for Biogeochemical Cycling of Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus, Pedobiologia, Vol. 54, No. 5-6, 2011, pp. 309-320, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2011.07.005.
[6] J. Lehmann, Bio-energy in the Black, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 5, No. 7, 2007, pp. 381-387, https://doi.org/10.1890/1540-9295(2007)5[381:BITB]2.0.CO;2.
[7] C. Steiner, K. C. Das, M. Garcia, B. Förster, W. Zech, Charcoal and Smoke Extract Stimulate the Soil Microbial Community in a Highly Weathered Xanthic Ferralsol, Pedobiologia-International Journal of Soil Biology, Vol. 51,
No. 5, 2008, pp. 359-366,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2007.08.002.
[8] K. Y. Chan, L. Van Zwieten, I. Meszaros,
A. Downie, S. Joseph, Agronomic Values of Greenwaste Biochar as a Soil Amendment, Australian Journal of Soil Research, Vol. 45, No. 8, 2007, pp. 629-634, https://doi.org/10.1071/SR07109.
[9] B. Glaser, J. Lehmann, W. Zech, Ameliorating Physical and Chemical Properties of Highly Weathered Soils in the Tropics with Charcoal - a Review, Biology and Fertility of Soils, Vol. 35, 2002, pp. 219-230, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-002-0466-4.
[10] B. P. Singh, A. L. Cowie, K. Y. Chan, Soil Health and Climate Change, Springer, New York, 2011.
[11] D. Sarkhot, A. Berhe, T. Ghezzehei, Impact of Biochar Enriched with Dairy Manure Effluent on Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 41, No. 4, 2013, pp. 1107-1114, https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2011.0123.
[12] L. V. Zwieten, V. Kimber, T. Morris, K. Y. Chan, A. Downie, J. Rust, S. Joseph, A. Cowie, Effects of Biochar from Slow Pyrolysis of Papermill Waste on Agronomic Performance and Soil Fertility, Plant and Soil, Vol. 327, 2010, pp. 235-246, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0050-x.
[13] N. C. Vinh, N. V. Hien, M. T. L. Anh, J. Lehmann, S. Joseph, Biochar Treatment and Its Effects on Rice and Vegetable Yields in Mountainous Areas of Northern Vietnam, International Journal of Agricultural and Soil Science, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2014, pp. 5-13.
[14] M. V. Trinh, T. V. Cuong, V. D. Quynh, N. T. H. Thu, Study on Biorchar Production from Straw and Rice Husk to Improve Soil Fertility, Crop Productivity and Reduce Greenhouse Emission, Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, Vol. 3, No. 24, 2011, pp. 1-4 (in Vietnamese).
[15] V. D. Hoang, N. T. Canh, N. V. Bien, N. T. H. Linh, Effect of Biochar and Foliar Fertilizer on Growth and Yield of Tomatoes Grown on Sandy Soil, Journal of Science and Development, Vol. 11, No. 5, 2013, pp. 603-613 (in Vietnamese).