TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of acid modified tea-waste biochar on crop productivity of red onion (Allium cepa L.)
AU - Peiris, Chathuri
AU - Wathudura, Pathum D.
AU - Gunatilake, Sameera R.
AU - Gajanayake, Bandara
AU - Wewalwela, Jayani J.
AU - Abeysundara, Sachith
AU - Vithanage, Meththika
N1 - Funding Information:
Authors would like to acknowledge the financial support by the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon (Research grant no 16-2).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Biochar has widely been utilized as an agricultural soil amendment owing to its enhanced surface properties and cost-effectiveness. In the present work, the influence of tea waste biochar (TWBC) upon acid modification on Allium cepa L. (red onion) growth has been studied. Its effect as a soil amendment has also been studied by assessing the nutrient retention, microbial population growth and immobilization of potentially toxic metal ions. A greenhouse experiment was carried out by applying different biochar (BC) ratios (2% and 5% w/w) to soil as the growth media for onion plants. A 2.4 times (2.4 × ) reduction of phosphate from leaching was observed upon BC application at a ratio of 2% than that of 5%. Moreover, red onion plants that grew in the BC-fertilizer amended soil at a 2% ratio showed higher growth compared to that of 5%. A ∼1.3 × and ∼1.2 × increment of total dry weight was observed upon amendment of soil fertilizer system with nitric and sulfuric acid-modified TWBC, respectively. An analysis of the potentially toxic metal ion uptake by the respective plant parts showed that lead uptake by the roots of red onion was ∼8.3 × less in BC amended soil compared to that in contaminated soil. Thus, acid-modified TWBC can be considered a potential soil amendment for an enhanced red onion growth. Employing TWBC as a soil amendment in tropical countries, where tea-waste is in abundance, will boost sustainable agriculture.
AB - Biochar has widely been utilized as an agricultural soil amendment owing to its enhanced surface properties and cost-effectiveness. In the present work, the influence of tea waste biochar (TWBC) upon acid modification on Allium cepa L. (red onion) growth has been studied. Its effect as a soil amendment has also been studied by assessing the nutrient retention, microbial population growth and immobilization of potentially toxic metal ions. A greenhouse experiment was carried out by applying different biochar (BC) ratios (2% and 5% w/w) to soil as the growth media for onion plants. A 2.4 times (2.4 × ) reduction of phosphate from leaching was observed upon BC application at a ratio of 2% than that of 5%. Moreover, red onion plants that grew in the BC-fertilizer amended soil at a 2% ratio showed higher growth compared to that of 5%. A ∼1.3 × and ∼1.2 × increment of total dry weight was observed upon amendment of soil fertilizer system with nitric and sulfuric acid-modified TWBC, respectively. An analysis of the potentially toxic metal ion uptake by the respective plant parts showed that lead uptake by the roots of red onion was ∼8.3 × less in BC amended soil compared to that in contaminated soil. Thus, acid-modified TWBC can be considered a potential soil amendment for an enhanced red onion growth. Employing TWBC as a soil amendment in tropical countries, where tea-waste is in abundance, will boost sustainable agriculture.
KW - Biochar amendment
KW - Microbial population
KW - Modified biochar
KW - Nutrient retention
KW - Red onion
KW - Soil amendment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117396053&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132551
DO - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132551
M3 - Article
C2 - 34655645
AN - SCOPUS:85117396053
SN - 0045-6535
VL - 288
JO - Chemosphere
JF - Chemosphere
M1 - 132551
ER -