Naz Zarghoona, Rashid Audil, Jahan Summera
Department of Botany, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan.
Institute of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
PeerJ. 2025 Sep 24;13:e20048. doi: 10.7717/peerj.20048. eCollection 2025.
The demand for sustainable agricultural solutions has increased because of issues like declining soil fertility from inorganic soil changes, increasing crop water demands, shifting weather patterns, and decreasing water resources. The addition of activated acacia biochar to degraded soil can significantly influence soil health by improving its moisture and nutrient retention capacity, as well as crop productivity under water-limited conditions. At present, field experiment under split-plot design was conducted to explore the suitable level of activated biochar (A0, 0 tons ha; A1, 5 tons ha; A2, 10 tons ha;) for maize hybrids (DK-2088, YH-5427, and DK-6317) under different moisture regimes (100% ET; full irrigation (FI), 70% ET; partially deficit irrigation (PDI), and 50% ET; severely deficit irrigation (SDI)) during maize growing year 2023 from February to June. The results showed that the addition of 10 tons ha activated biochar caused a maximum improvement in soil organic matter (109%), saturation percentage (13%), and mineral profile particularly carbon (83%) and calcium (52%). Under full irrigation (FI), activated acacia biochar amendment in the soil caused an improvement in the physiological and biochemical parameters such as sugar (55%) and protein content (136%), and yield attributes of all maize hybrids, particularly DK-6317. However, under severely deficit irrigation (SDI), the highest improvement in protein content, and yield per hectare was found in DK-2088, , 11% to 29% higher in 5 tons ha, 10 tons ha activated biochar amended soil, respectively. The average economic gain percentage was highest in DK-6317, , 1-fold, and 2.5-fold higher under PDI, and SDI in 10 tons ha activated biochar amended soil. The present study indicates the significance of organically activated acacia biochar amendments in soil for improving its water retention capacity and enhancing maize growth and yield under moisture-deficit conditions.
由于无机土壤变化导致土壤肥力下降、作物需水量增加、天气模式变化以及水资源减少等问题，对可持续农业解决方案的需求不断增加。在退化土壤中添加活性相思木生物炭可以通过提高其保水保肥能力以及在水分有限条件下的作物生产力，显著影响土壤健康。目前，采用裂区设计进行了田间试验，以探索在2023年2月至6月玉米生长季不同水分条件（100%ET；充分灌溉（FI）、70%ET；部分亏缺灌溉（PDI）和50%ET；严重亏缺灌溉（SDI））下，适合玉米杂交种（DK - 2088、YH - 5427和DK - 6317）的活性生物炭水平（A0，0吨/公顷；A1，5吨/公顷；A2，10吨/公顷）。结果表明，添加10吨/公顷活性生物炭能使土壤有机质（提高109%）、饱和度（提高13%）以及矿物质剖面尤其是碳（提高83%）和钙（提高52%）得到最大程度改善。在充分灌溉（FI）条件下，土壤中添加活性相思木生物炭可改善所有玉米杂交种的生理生化参数，如糖分（提高55%）和蛋白质含量（提高136%）以及产量性状，尤其是DK - 6317。然而，在严重亏缺灌溉（SDI）条件下，DK - 2088的蛋白质含量和每公顷产量提高幅度最大，在添加5吨/公顷和10吨/公顷活性生物炭的土壤中分别高出11%至29%。在10吨/公顷活性生物炭改良土壤中，DK - 6317的平均经济收益百分比最高，在部分亏缺灌溉（PDI）和严重亏缺灌溉（SDI）条件下分别高出1倍和2.5倍。本研究表明，有机活化相思木生物炭改良土壤对于提高其保水能力以及在水分亏缺条件下促进玉米生长和提高产量具有重要意义。
