Effects of biochar, urea and their co‐application on nitrogen mineralization in soil and growth of Chinese cabbage
2017
Baiga, R. | Rajashekhar Rao, B. K.
Experiments were conducted to study the effect of soil applications of kunai grass (Imperata cylindrica) biochar (0 and 10 t/ha) and laboratory grade urea (0, 200 and 500 kg N/ha) and their co‐application on nitrogen (N) mineralization in an acid soil. The results of an incubation study showed that the biochar only treatment and co‐application with urea at 200 kg N/ha could impede transformation of urea to ammonium‐N (NH₄ ⁺‐N). Soil application of biochar together with urea at 500 kg N/ha produced the highest nitrate‐N (NO₃ ⁻‐N) and mineral N concentrations in the soil over 90 days. Co‐application of urea N with biochar improved soil N mineralization parameters such as mineralization potential (NA) and coefficient of mineralization rate (k) compared to biochar alone. In a parallel study performed under greenhouse conditions, Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. chinensis L.) showed significantly greater (P < 0.05) marketable fresh weight, dry matter production and N uptake in soil receiving urea N at 500 kg/ha or co‐application of biochar with urea N compared to the control. Application of biochar only or urea only at 200 kg N/ha did not offer any short‐term agronomic advantages. The N use efficiency of the crop remained unaffected by the fertilizer regimes. Applications of biochar only at 10 t/ha did not offer benefits in this tropical acid soil unless co‐applied with sufficient urea N.
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