Soil modification through biochar: Changes in physical, chemical and biological properties of soil

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to study “Soil Modification through Biochar: Changes in Physical, Chemical and Biological Properties of soil” at ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra farm, Kalaburagi farm during Rabi season, 2021-22. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) having eight treatments viz., Absolute control, Recommended dose of fertilizers only, Biochar @ 2 t ha-1, Biochar @ 4 t ha-1, 50% RDF + Biochar @ 2 t ha-1, 50% RDF + Biochar @ 4 t ha-1, 100% RDF + Biochar @ 2 t ha-1 and 100% RDF + Biochar @ 4 t ha-1. The results revealed that significantly Difference in physical properties viz., Lower Bulk density (1.37 Mg m-3) and Maximum water holding capacity (58.79%) at harvest and Significantly higher Chemical properties viz., soil pH (8.31), EC (0.48 dS m-1), organic carbon (6.66 g kg-1), Available Nitrogen (234.10 kg ha-1), Available Phosphorus (38.65 kg ha-1), Available Potassium (391.63 kg ha-1), and Micronutrients viz., higher value of extractable zinc (0.53 mg kg-1), Fe (3.21 mg kg-1), manganese (4.15 mg kg-1) and copper (1.82 mg kg-1) and also significantly higher soil microbial population viz., bacterial population (19.42 × 106 CFU g-1), fungal population (4.53 × 103 CFU g-1) and actinomycetes population (4.12 × 104 CFU g-1) were recorded with the application of 100% RDF + biochar @ 4 t ha-1 compared to absolute control and other treatments.