Student/presenter: Manpreet Singh, Ph.D. student, Plant and Soil Science
Format: Poster presentation
Title: Does biochar application affect soil properties and sweet corn production under deficit irrigation?
Manpreet Singh, Sukhbir Singh, Sanjit Deb, Billi Jean Petermann and Matthew G. Siebecker
Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University,
Studying the effects of biochar application on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties is important to understand the underlying mechanisms through which biochar can affect crop production. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of hardwood and softwood biochar application on soil chemical, physical and microbial properties, and sweet corn production under three deficit irrigation regimes,100%, 70%, and 40% crop evapotranspiration (ETc) replacement in 2019 and 2020, in Lubbock, Texas, US. The experimental units were replicated four times using a split-plot design. Soil pH and EC remained unaffected by biochar application, but hardwood biochar decreased the bulk density and improved the soil porosity of the sandy clay loam soil in the experimental plots. As a result, hardwood biochar plots showed a marginal improvement in soil water retention compared to no-biochar plots. Biochar application did not affect the microbial community and elemental concentrations, but hardwood biochar improved the total carbon content of the soil after two years of application. Both deficit irrigations (70% and 40% ETc) increased microbial biomass compared to 100% ETc irrigation. The yield under 70% ETc did not differ significantly from 100% ETc while 40% ETc reduced the yield by 17% and 44% (compared to 100% ETc) in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Biochar application did not increase the ear yield but hardwood biochar application resulted in greater vegetative dry biomass than no-biochar plots. These results suggest that 70% ETc can be a waterefficient alternative to 100% ETc with a marginal yield penalty for sweet corn production in the West Texas region. A long-term study is required to test the effect of biochar on soil properties beyond two years, and its corresponding effect on crop yields under limited irrigation.