Tender coconut husk derived biochar influence on nutrient use efficiency, yield and economics of banana (Musa spp.)

Abstract

This study evaluated the tender coconut husk derived biochar influence on nutrient use efficiency, yield and economics of banana (Musa spp.) at the Kerala Agricultural University, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani. We developed a modified design of micro biochar kiln for the pyrolysis of tender coconut husk to biochar. In order to find out influence of biochar on yield an experiment was laid out in randomly block design replicated thrice with eleven treatments using Nendran as the test variety of banana. The results revealed that application of 10 kg biochar + 75% STBR (Soil Test Based Fertilizer Recommendation) recorded highest total dry matter production (12742.15 kg ha-1), weight of bunch (9.34 kg), number of hands per bunch (5.25), number of fingers per bunch (46.16), length (22.83 cm) and girth (12.73 cm) of the index finger, nutrient use efficiency (50.4%) and B:C ratio (2.38).