Effect of biochar on nutrient uptake of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) grown in laterite soil

Abstract

Aims: The research focused on assessing the effects of co-applying biochar and liming materials on nutrient uptake by crops, aiming to recommend their use in soil and crop management practices. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Agricultural University, India between June 2023 and September 2023. Methodology: A field experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala, India with tomato variety Vellayani vijai as a test crop, to compare the effect of biochar with KAU POP and KAU organic POP on nutrient uptake (N, P and K) by the crop. The treatments included coconut frond biochar at 10 t ha⁻¹ with either calcium silicate or dolomite as per the lime requirement, along with NPK at 75:40:25 kg ha⁻¹ as per Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) package of practices (POP), KAU POP, KAU organic POP and an absolute control. Results: The total N, P, and K uptake increased by 76.40%, 61.27%, and 43.98%, respectively, in the treatment receiving CFB at 10 t ha⁻¹ with dolomite as per LR, while in the treatment receiving CFB at 10 t ha⁻¹ with CS as per LR, the increases were 68.24%, 55.77%, and 38.61% compared to KAU POP. The treatment with CFB at 10 t ha⁻¹ and dolomite as per LR increased total N, P and K uptake by 185.12, 150.32 and 134.04%, respectively, compared to KAU organic POP. Similarly, the treatment with CFB at 10 t ha⁻¹ and CS as per LR showed increases of 171.94% in N uptake, 141.74% in P uptake and 125.44% in K uptake compared to KAU organic POP. Conclusion: The result of the experiment indicates that the application of biochar with different liming materials (dolomite or calcium silicate) significantly improved the N, P and K uptake by tomato root, shoot and fruit compared to other treatments and can be recommended to farmers for improving crop productivity.