Abstract
Soil fertility transience in the region of Masako in Democratic Republic (RD) of Congo remains a major challenge to sustainable agricultural production. Recently, biochar application as soil amendment has attracted attention of the people across the world owing to its potential to improve soil physicochemical properties, crop yield and carbon sequestration into the soil. A study was conducted in Masako to analyze the use of charcoal (biochar) as soil amendment and assess its effects on soil chemical performance and some biophysical parameters of maize crop. The experiment was set up using randomized complete block design with three replications of three treatments comprising ½ kg of sieved (small-sized particulate) charcoal per m2 (C1), 1 kg of sieved charcoal per m2 (C2) and control group without charcoal (C0). Data were subjected to analysis of variance, Pearson’s phenotypic correlation and regression analyses using genstat 12th edition. The results of the analysis of variance showed non-significant variation for most physicochemical properties of soil and maize phenotypic traits, indicating that treatments had the same effects on soil composition suggesting that there was no clear impact of charcoal amendment as applied except for phosphorus content and collar diameter of the maize crop which were significantly (P ≤ 0.047 and P ≤ 0.043 respectively) influenced by the treatments. The results indicated that biochar improved the soil phosphorus availability by up to 72% as accounted for by the linear contribution of the treatment C2 indicating that biochar could be recommended for use in soil with low level of phosphorous. Key words: Charcoal, tropical soil fertility, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zea mays.
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Claims 5
Claim · model-written summary
Charcoal amendment had no clear impact on most soil physicochemical properties or maize phenotypic traits.
- Treatment
- charcoal amendment as appliede1
- Outcome
- physicochemical properties of soil and maize phenotypic traitse0
- Direction
- no_changeinferrede0
- Comparator
- control group without charcoale5
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“showed non-significant variation for most physicochemical properties of soil and maize phenotypic traits”
e1“there was no clear impact of charcoal amendment as applied”
e5“control group without charcoal (C0)”
Claim · model-written summary
Charcoal treatments significantly influenced soil phosphorus content (P ≤ 0.047).
- Treatment
- charcoal amendment as appliede1
- Outcome
- phosphorus contente2
- Value
- P ≤ 0.047e2
- Comparator
- control group without charcoale5
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“phosphorus content and collar diameter of the maize crop which were significantly (P ≤ 0.047 and P ≤ 0.043 respectively) influenced by the treatments”
e1“there was no clear impact of charcoal amendment as applied”
e5“control group without charcoal (C0)”
Claim · model-written summary
Charcoal treatments significantly influenced collar diameter of maize (P ≤ 0.043).
- Treatment
- charcoal amendment as appliede1
- Outcome
- collar diameter of the maize crope2
- Value
- P ≤ 0.043e2
- Comparator
- control group without charcoale5
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“phosphorus content and collar diameter of the maize crop which were significantly (P ≤ 0.047 and P ≤ 0.043 respectively) influenced by the treatments”
e1“there was no clear impact of charcoal amendment as applied”
e5“control group without charcoal (C0)”
Claim · model-written summary
Biochar at 1 kg per m2 improved soil phosphorus availability by up to 72% relative to the control without charcoal.
- Treatment
- 1 kg of sieved charcoal per m2e3
- Outcome
- soil phosphorus availabilitye4
- Direction
- improvede4
- Value
- up to 72%e4
- Comparator
- control group without charcoale5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“biochar improved the soil phosphorus availability by up to 72%”
e3“1 kg of sieved charcoal per m2 (C2)”
e5“control group without charcoal (C0)”
e2“phosphorus content and collar diameter of the maize crop”
Claim · model-written summary
Biochar could be recommended for use in soil with low phosphorus level.
- Outcome
- recommended for use in soil with low level of phosphorouse6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“biochar could be recommended for use in soil with low level of phosphorous”
e7“Zea mays”
The same questions in other papers
other · organism · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
2 papers in the same direction as this paper · 10 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
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