Combining biochar with low rate of chemical fertiliser boosts maize biomass yield, regardless of tillage system, under humid conditions

Simple item page
dc.creatorKiobia, Denis Olgen
dc.creatorGraef, Hannah A
dc.creatorReuben, Paul
dc.creatorKahimba, Frederick Cassian
dc.creatorGraef, Frieder
dc.creatorEichler-Löbermann, Bettina
dc.creatorSilayo, Valerian C.K.
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-21T07:53:57Z
dc.date.accessioned2025-08-05T07:09:52Z
dc.date.available2025-05-21T07:53:57Z
dc.date.created2025-05-21T07:53:57Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractBiochar application to soils increases biomass and crop yields, especially with rates higher than 100 t ha −1 . Yet, there is limited knowledge on the combined effect of biochar and chemical fertiliser under different tillage systems. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of maize-cob biochar (BC) (rates of 5 and 10 t ha −1 ) combined with chemical fertiliser micro-dosing (MD) at a rate of 25 % of the recommended quantity on total shoot dry matter (DM) and plant height of maize cultivated under flat (F) and tied-ridge (R) practices during a humid season in Tanzania. The results indicate that combining 5 t ha −1 BC with 25 % MD increases DM at harvest by 83 % (4.16 t ha −1 ) compared to the control (2.27 t ha −1 ) and was in the same range as the DM obtained from the treatment with the recommended fertiliser rate (100 % FD). The treatments with single applications of 25 % MD, 5 t ha −1 BC, and 10 t ha −1 BC only tended to exceed the control of DM yield. Therefore, we recommend that small-scale farmers aiming at DM for livestock or grain yield with limited access to chemical fertilisers to combine biochar with 25 % MD, rather than applying biochar or low chemical fertiliser rates alone.
dc.identifier2363-6033
dc.identifierhttps://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/123456789/6742
dc.identifier.urihttp://repository.costech.or.tz/handle/20.500.14732/96027
dc.languageen
dc.publisherjarts
dc.relationVol. 120 No. 1 (2019) 55-62
dc.subjectBiochar
dc.subjectChemical fertiliser
dc.subjectTied-ridge
dc.subjectMaiza
dc.subjectBiomass
dc.titleCombining biochar with low rate of chemical fertiliser boosts maize biomass yield, regardless of tillage system, under humid conditions
dc.typeArticle

Files

Collections

Sokoine University