Fourfold Increase in Pumpkin Yield in Response to Low-Dosage Root Zone Application of Urine-Enhanced Biochar to a Fertile Tropical Soil

Hans Peter Schmidt, Bishnu Hari Pandit, Vegard Martinsen, Gerard Cornelissen, Pellegrino Conte and Claudia I. Kammann
Additional contact information
Hans Peter Schmidt: Ithaka Institute for Carbon Strategies, Ancienne Eglise 9, Arbaz 1974, Switzerland
Bishnu Hari Pandit: Nepal Agroforestry Foundation (NAF), Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
Vegard Martinsen: Institute for Environmental Sciences (IMV), University of Life Sciences (NMBU), As, Akershus 1432, Norway
Gerard Cornelissen: Institute for Environmental Sciences (IMV), University of Life Sciences (NMBU), As, Akershus 1432, Norway
Pellegrino Conte: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, via delle Scienze, edificio 4, Palermo 90128, Italy
Claudia I. Kammann: WG Climate Change Research for Special Crops, Department for Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Hochschule Geisenheim University, Von-Lade-Str. 1, Geisenheim D-65366, Germany

Agriculture, 2015, vol. 5, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: A widely abundant and invasive forest shrub, Eupatorium adenophorum , was pyrolyzed in a cost-efficient flame curtain kiln to produce biochar. The resulting biochar fulfilled all the requirements for premium quality, according to the European Biochar Certificate. The biochar was either applied alone or mixed with fresh cow urine (1:1 volume) to test its capacity to serve as slow release fertilizer in a pumpkin field trial in Nepal. Treatments included cow-manure compost combined with (i) urine-only; (ii) biochar-only or (iii) urine-loaded biochar. All materials were applied directly to the root zone at a biochar dry matter content of 750 kg·ha ?1 before seeding. The urine-biochar treatment led to a pumpkin yield of 82.6 t·ha ?1 , an increase of more than 300% compared with the treatment where only urine was applied, and an 85% increase compared with the biochar-only treatment. This study showed for the first time that a low-dosage root zone application of urine-enhanced biochar led to substantial yield increases in a fertile silt loam soil. This was tentatively explained by the formation of organic coating of inner pore biochar surfaces by the urine impregnation, which improved the capacity of the biochar to capture and exchange plant nutrients.

Keywords: biochar; organic fertilizer; organic coating; flame curtain pyrolysis; pumpkin; urine; root zone fertilizer application (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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