Pedosphere 25(5): 686--695, 2015
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2015 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
Influences of biochar and biochar-mineral complex on mycorrhizal colonisation and nutrition of wheat and sorghum |
P. BLACKWELL1, S. JOSEPH2,3,4, P.
MUNROE2, H. M. ANAWAR5, P. STORER6,
R. J. GILKES5 and Z. M. SOLAIMAN7 |
1Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia,
Geraldton Regional Office, Geraldton, WA 6530 (Australia)
2School of Materials Science and Engineering,
University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052
(Australia)
3Discipline of Chemistry, University of Newcastle,
Callaghan, NSW 2308 (Australia)
4University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522
(Australia)
5School of Earth and Environment and UWA Institute of
Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley,
WA 6009 (Australia)
6Australian Mineral Fertilisers Pty Ltd., Tenterden,
WA 6322 (Australia)
{7}Soil Biology and Molecular Ecology Group, School of
Earth and Environment and UWA Institute of Agriculture,
The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009
(Australia) |
ABSTRACT |
The high price of synthetic fertilisers and the price
barrier for biochar as a soil amendment have encouraged the
exploration of using biochar in fertiliser replacement
formulations. Biochars coupled with fertilisers can be
applied at lower application rates to achieve benefits in
plant growth and nutrition, as well as soil biological
fertility. It is necessary to evaluate the use of biochar
as a fertiliser substitute. Therefore, this study
investigated the comparative influences of biochars,
including Acacia saligna (AS), Simcoa jarrah (SJ) and
Wundowie jarrah (WJ), mineral fertiliser with microbes (MF
+ M), biochar-mineral complex (BMC) and their combination
on mycorrhizal colonisation, growth and nutrition of wheat
in a glasshouse experiment and sorghum in field conditions.
BMC + MF + M treatment produced higher mycorrhizal
colonisation than MF + M alone, indicating that BMC had a
significant role in increasing mycorrhizal colonisation. SJ
(treated with acetic acid) and MF + M treatments, as well
as AS + MF + M application, showed similar effects on
mycorrhizal colonisation, but lower colonisation than the
BMC + MF + M treatment. Overall, the BMC + MF + M treatment
supported the maximum shoot, root and total plant dry
weight followed by AS + MF + M and WJ + MF + M. The MF + M
treatment had the maximum shoot N and K concentrations,
while BMC + MF + M application had the maximum shoot P
concentration. AS + MF + M and WJ + MF + M treatments
supported the maximum N uptake by wheat shoots, while BMC +
MF + M supported the maximum P uptake. The results showed
that biochars and BMCs could increase mycorrhizal
colonisation, plant growth and nutrient uptake of wheat,
particularly N, P, K, S and Zn. The field experiment
confirmed that BMC application at a rate of 300 kg
ha-1 could increase the yield of irrigated sorghum on
a loam soil and provide better applied P use efficiency
compared to a water-soluble fertiliser alone. These results
indicated that biochar-based fertilisers might increase the
resilience and sustainability of dryland cropping in
environments such as in Western Australia and warrant
further field evaluation. |
Key Words: carbon sequestration, nutrient uptake, P use
efficiency, soil biological fertility, wheat production |
Citation: Blackwell, P., Joseph, S., Munroe, P., Anawar, H. M., Storer, P., Gilkes, R. J. and Solaiman, Z. M. 2015. Influences of biochar and biochar-mineral complex on mycorrhizal colonisation and nutrition of wheat and sorghum. Pedosphere. 25(5): 686-695. |
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