Abstract
Abstract Scientific literature reports mixed results in terms of crop yields grown in soils amended with biochar and compost. These discrepancies are mainly attributed to the heterogeneity of waste materials used, the production processes, and the application rates. To address the challenge of reducing synthetic fertilizer inputs in the Mediterranean area, three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of biochar, compost, and their combination on the yield and nutrient uptake of lettuce (Experiment 1), spinach (Experiment 2), and arugula (Experiment 3) grown under three fertilization regimes (none, suboptimal, and optimal). Regardless of the fertilization level, the combination of the two soil conditioners generally exerted a positive synergistic effect on crop yield, although it increased nitrate concentration in spinach leaves (+ 31.44%) and in arugula leaves (+ 84.55% in the first cut and + 112.79% in the second cut) compared to the control conditions. While all three experiments showed a promising reduction of the production gap between plants grown under optimal conditions and those grown under no or sub-optimal fertilization, the best results were not always achieved with the combined application of compost and biochar. In experiment 2, for instance, the combination of compost and biochar exhibited an antagonistic effect on yield under sub-optimal fertilization conditions, whereas in experiment 3, a clear synergistic action was observed, with arugula yield in the first cut increasing by 16.44%. The heterogeneous results obtained across the three different experiments, both in terms of yield and nutrient uptake, highlight the need for tailored agronomic strategies that take into account the multiple interacting factors involved, including crop species.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Combined biochar and compost generally improved crop yield across fertilization levels.
- Taxon
- Leafy Vegetablet0
- Treatment
- combination of the two soil conditionerse0
- Outcome
- crop yielde0
- Direction
- positive synergistic effecte0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Regardless of the fertilization level, the combination of the two soil conditioners generally exerted a positive synergistic effect on crop yield”
t0“Leafy Vegetable”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined amendments raised nitrate concentration in spinach leaves by 31.44% over controls.
- Taxon
- spinach
Spinacia oleraceae0 - Treatment
- combination of the two soil conditionerse1
- Outcome
- nitrate concentration in spinach leavese0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 31.44%e0
- Comparator
- control conditionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“it increased nitrate concentration in spinach leaves (+ 31.44%) and in arugula leaves (+ 84.55% in the first cut and + 112.79% in the second cut) compared to the control conditions.”
e1“the combination of the two soil conditioners generally exerted a positive synergistic effect on crop yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined amendments raised nitrate in arugula leaves by 84.55% at first cut.
- Taxon
- arugula
Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativae0 - Organ / stage
- first cute0
- Treatment
- combination of the two soil conditionerse1
- Outcome
- arugula leavese0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 84.55%e0
- Comparator
- control conditionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“it increased nitrate concentration in spinach leaves (+ 31.44%) and in arugula leaves (+ 84.55% in the first cut and + 112.79% in the second cut) compared to the control conditions.”
e1“the combination of the two soil conditioners generally exerted a positive synergistic effect on crop yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined amendments raised nitrate in arugula leaves by 112.79% at second cut.
- Taxon
- arugulaEruca vesicaria subsp. sativae0
- Organ / stage
- second cute0
- Treatment
- combination of the two soil conditionerse1
- Outcome
- arugula leavese0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 112.79%e0
- Comparator
- control conditionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“it increased nitrate concentration in spinach leaves (+ 31.44%) and in arugula leaves (+ 84.55% in the first cut and + 112.79% in the second cut) compared to the control conditions.”
e1“the combination of the two soil conditioners generally exerted a positive synergistic effect on crop yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Amendments reduced the production gap between optimal and no or suboptimal fertilization in all experiments.
Verbatim
e0“all three experiments showed a promising reduction of the production gap between plants grown under optimal conditions and those grown under no or sub-optimal fertilization”
t0“Leafy Vegetable”
Claim · model-written summary
Under suboptimal fertilization, combined amendments had an antagonistic effect on spinach yield.
- Taxon
- spinachSpinacia oleraceae1
- Treatment
- combination of compost and biochare0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Qualifier
- sub-optimal fertilization conditionse0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the combination of compost and biochar exhibited an antagonistic effect on yield under sub-optimal fertilization conditions”
e1“spinach (Experiment 2), and arugula (Experiment 3)”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined amendments increased first-cut arugula yield by 16.44%.
- Taxon
- arugulaEruca vesicaria subsp. sativae0
- Organ / stage
- first cute0
- Treatment
- combination of compost and biochare1
- Outcome
- arugula yielde0
- Direction
- increasinge0
- Value
- 16.44%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a clear synergistic action was observed, with arugula yield in the first cut increasing by 16.44%.”
e1“the combination of compost and biochar exhibited an antagonistic effect on yield under sub-optimal fertilization conditions”
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See all 11 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.