Effects of Poultry-Litter Biochar on Soil Properties and Growth of Water Spinach ( Ipomoea aquatica Forsk.)

Chun-Hui Yu, Shan-Li Wang, Prapasiri Tongsiri, Mei-Ping Cheng and Hung-Yu Lai
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Chun-Hui Yu: Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Shan-Li Wang: Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Prapasiri Tongsiri: Department of Soil and Water Conservation, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan
Mei-Ping Cheng: Livestock Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Tainan 71246, Taiwan
Hung-Yu Lai: Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Innovation and Development Center of Sustainable Agriculture (IDCSA), National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Poultry-litter biochars (PLBs), which were prepared at two pyrolytic temperatures, were applied to the soils of croplands with four consecutive harvests of water spinach to assess the effects of PLBs on the soil properties and the growth of water spinach. The results show that PLB amendment resulted in an increase of soil pH. The electrical conductivity values, and the concentrations of extractable inorganic nitrogen, exchangeable potassium, and available phosphorus in the soils drastically increased in the 0.5% and 1% biochar-amended soils. However, most of the significant changes due to PLB amendment disappeared after four consecutive harvests of water spinach. The growth of water spinach was enhanced in the soils amended with PLBs, especially the one prepared at 350 °C. Nonetheless, the application of 1% PLBs to the soil resulted in an imbalance between calcium and magnesium in water spinach.

Keywords: cation; in situ; poultry-litter biochar; soil quality; water spinach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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