Abstract
Biochar is a charcoal-like substance produced from plant material such as food waste. Converting food waste into a useful product would mitigate environmental damage through reduced landfill inputs, reduced greenhouse gas production, and increased benefits to soils. I asked (1) if biochar improved plant growth and (2) if the effects of biochar varied among different samples of mixed food waste (batches) and between different biochar preparation times (treatments). Four independent batches of biochar were prepared with assorted, uncooked food waste collected from a university dining facility. Each batch was dried then placed in a covered ceramic pot at 260℃ for 3 or 6 hours under low oxygen (pyrolysis). Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) were grown in soils with the eight batch-treatment biochar combinations or with no biochar (controls). Averaging over batches, the 3 and 6 hour treatments germinated significantly later than controls. Aboveground dry mass at 30 days did not differ significantly among the three treatments. Mean height growth rates (mm/day) were significantly higher in 3 and 6 hour treatments than in controls. Considering only biochar-treated plants, there was a significant interaction between pyrolysis time and batch for both germination time and height growth rate. Some batches germinated earlier when the biochar pyrolyzed for 3 hours was added, other batches when six hour biochar was added. Plants emerging later had faster growth rates, leading to no significant difference in size at 30 days. Both pyrolysis time and food waste source material had varying effects on plant growth. While biochar had no effect on mean dry mass at 30 days, complex effects on germination time and growth rate suggest that growing plants to maturity may lead to differences in plant size. Future studies should investigate effects of different food waste types on plant growth and assess nutrient content of source material.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Three-hour biochar delayed germination relative to controls.
- Taxon
- Tomato
Solanum lycopersicume0 - Treatment
- 3e1
- Outcome
- germinatede1
- Direction
- latere1
- Comparator
- controlse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“the 3 and 6 hour treatments germinated significantly later than controls”
Claim · model-written summary
Six-hour biochar delayed germination relative to controls.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- 6 hour treatmentse1
- Outcome
- germinatede1
- Direction
- latere1
- Comparator
- controlse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“the 3 and 6 hour treatments germinated significantly later than controls”
Claim · model-written summary
Aboveground dry mass at 30 days did not differ significantly among treatments.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- three treatmentse1
- Outcome
- Aboveground dry masse1
- Direction
- did not differe1
- Qualifier
- at 30 dayse1
- Comparator
- three treatmentse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“Aboveground dry mass at 30 days did not differ significantly among the three treatments”
Claim · model-written summary
Three-hour biochar increased mean height growth rate relative to controls.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- 3e1
- Outcome
- Mean height growth ratese1
- Direction
- highere1
- Comparator
- controlse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“Mean height growth rates (mm/day) were significantly higher in 3 and 6 hour treatments than in controls”
Claim · model-written summary
Six-hour biochar increased mean height growth rate relative to controls.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- 6 hour treatmentse1
- Outcome
- Mean height growth ratese1
- Direction
- highere1
- Comparator
- controlse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“Mean height growth rates (mm/day) were significantly higher in 3 and 6 hour treatments than in controls”
Claim · model-written summary
Pyrolysis time and batch interacted significantly for germination time.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- pyrolysis timee1
- Outcome
- germination timee1
- Qualifier
- batche1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“there was a significant interaction between pyrolysis time and batch for both germination time and height growth rate”
Claim · model-written summary
Pyrolysis time and batch interacted significantly for height growth rate.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- pyrolysis timee1
- Outcome
- height growth ratee1
- Qualifier
- batche1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“there was a significant interaction between pyrolysis time and batch for both germination time and height growth rate”
Claim · model-written summary
Some batches germinated earlier with three-hour biochar.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- biochar pyrolyzed for 3 hourse1
- Outcome
- germinatede1
- Direction
- earliere1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“Some batches germinated earlier when the biochar pyrolyzed for 3 hours was added”
Claim · model-written summary
Other batches germinated earlier with six-hour biochar.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- six hour biochare1
- Outcome
- other batchese1
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“other batches when six hour biochar was added”
Claim · model-written summary
Later emergence was associated with faster growth rates.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Organ / stage
- emerging latere1
- Outcome
- growth ratese1
- Direction
- fastere1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“Plants emerging later had faster growth rates”
Claim · model-written summary
Later-emerging plants did not differ significantly in size at 30 days.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Outcome
- sizee1
- Direction
- no significant differencee1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Fertilizer”
e0“Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)”
e1“leading to no significant difference in size at 30 days”
The same questions in other papers
biochar · growth · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Results differ
70 papers in the same direction as this paper · 8 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- no effect
- negative
76 papers more in this group
See all 80 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.