Assessing the Increase in Soil Moisture Storage Capacity and Nutrient Enhancement of Different Organic Amendments in Paddy Soil

Ahmad Numery Ashfaqul Haque, Md. Kamal Uddin, Muhammad Firdaus Sulaiman, Adibah Mohd Amin, Mahmud Hossain, Syaharudin Zaibon and Mehnaz Mosharrof
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Ahmad Numery Ashfaqul Haque: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Md. Kamal Uddin: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Muhammad Firdaus Sulaiman: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Adibah Mohd Amin: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Mahmud Hossain: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Syaharudin Zaibon: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Mehnaz Mosharrof: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Increasing soil moisture storage capacity is a strategy that can be implemented to minimize the use of water in paddy rice cultivation. Organic materials from different sources have the potential to increase soil moisture storage and nutrient enrichment. An incubation study was conducted to evaluate the incorporation of five selected organic amendments—as follows: rice husk biochar (RHB), oil palm empty fruit bunch biochar (EFBB), compost (COMP), rice husk ash (RHA), and oil palm bunch ash (PBA), with a control (no amendment) on soil moisture storage and some chemical properties of soil. The soil was incubated with five amendments for 60 days and sampled at 15-day intervals. After completion of the incubation, a greater extent of gravimetric water content was observed from RHB (0.46 g g −1 ) and EFBB (0.45 g g −1 ) followed by compost (0.40 g g −1 ). The addition of organic amendments significantly influenced soil chemical properties. Maximum soil pH was altered by PBA followed by EFBB compared to its initial value (5.01). The inclusion of EFBB finally contributed to the highest amount of total carbon (7.82%) and nitrogen (0.44%). The addition of PBA showed the highest available P and exchangeable K followed by RHB when compared with the amendments. The results indicated that RHB, EFBB, and compost retain more soil moisture compared to ash sources and added soil nutrients, indicating their potential to improve the chemical and hydrological properties of paddy soil.

Keywords: rice; biochar; nutrient content; gravimetric water; scanning electron microscopy (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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