Application of Rice-Husk Biochar to Coarse-Textured Ultisols and the Effects on Soil Fertility Indices at Different Amendment-to-Sampling Intervals

Sunday E. Obalum

doi:10.5400/jts.2025.v30i2.%p

Application of Rice-Husk Biochar to Coarse-Textured Ultisols and the Effects on Soil Fertility Indices at Different Amendment-to-Sampling Intervals

Sunday E. Obalum

Abstract

The low fertility status of the highly weathered tropical soils offers the opportunity to study the potential and optimum application rate of biochar as organic soil amendment for especially the dominant coarse-textured Ultisols. Also, despite the fast mineralisation of organics in these soils and the need to synchronise nutrients release with crops’ critical stages of nutrient requirements, the time corresponding to peak effects of biochar remains unclear. The effects of rice-husk biochar (RHB) on soil fertility of sandy-loam Ultisols at rates equivalent to 0, 7.5, 15, 30 and 60 t ha^–1 in 2-kg soils were assessed at 0, 2, 4, 8, 12 weeks of incubation (WOI). To enable concurrent sampling of the potted soils differing in incubation duration, RHB-treated soils were prepared in batches. The RHB enhanced soil fertility across the incubation intervals, with optimal rates as 15 t ha^–1 for soil pH and between 30 and 60 t ha^–1 for macronutrients availability indices. Relative to the control, RHB-treated soils showed increases in soil pH-H₂O, total N, available P, exchangeable bases, exchangeable acidity, apparent cation exchange capacity and base saturation by 4-30%, 43-100%, 30-202%, 13-240%, 14-675%, 21-126% and 7-82%, respectively. Soil pH tended to decrease after while available P progressively decreased before 8 WOI when treatment effects were generally most pronounced. At an all-encompassing optimal rate range of 30-60 t ha^–1, RHB could reduce soil acidity and enhance macronutrients status of coarse-textured Ultisols over at least 12 weeks, soil fertility restoration effects of which are likely to be most pronounced around 8 weeks.

Keywords

incubation intervals; organic amendment; rice-husk biochar; soil nutrients; Ultisols

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5400/jts.2025.v30i2.%25p