WaniHadi Utomo, Titiek Islami, Erwin Ismu Wisnubroto, Suhartini
A green house experiment was carried out to study the effect of nitrogen enriched biochar on the growth of maize and the efficiency of nitrogen fertilization. Maize was planted in soils with different soil texture (sandy, loamy, and clay) and applied with: (i) Non biochar, (ii) biochar, (iii) Biochar enriched with ammonium sulfate, (iv) biochar enriched with nitrate acid. These 12 treatments combinations were arranged in a fully randomized design with 3 replications. The result showed that in sandy soil, the growth of both the first and second maize planted in nitrogen enriched biochar was better than that of planted in non-biochar treated soil, but did not significantly different with the maize planted on biochar treated soil. In loamy and clay soil, application of biochar and enriched biochar did not significantly influence the growth of the first maize. In all soil, there was a significant residual effect of biochar and enriched biochar on maize growth. After harvesting the second maize, biochar and enriched biochar application significantly increased soil aggregate water stability and soil water availability in sandy soil, but not in loamy and clay soil. In sandy and loamy soil, biochar and enriched biochar increased soil organic and cation exchange capacity, but in clay soil their application only increased soil organic matter. © 2017 author (s).
International Research Centre for Management of Degraded and Mining Land, University of Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia; Research Centre for Tubers and Root Crops, University of Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia; Tribhuwana Tunggadewi University, Malang, Indonesia
