Browsing by Author "Kiobia, Denis Olgen"

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Combining biochar with low rate of chemical fertiliser boosts maize biomass yield, regardless of tillage system, under humid conditions
(jarts, 2019) Kiobia, Denis Olgen; Graef, Hannah A; Reuben, Paul; Kahimba, Frederick Cassian; Graef, Frieder; Eichler-Löbermann, Bettina; Silayo, Valerian C.K.
Biochar application to soils increases biomass and crop yields, especially with rates higher than 100 t ha −1 . Yet, there is limited knowledge on the combined effect of biochar and chemical fertiliser under different tillage systems. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of maize-cob biochar (BC) (rates of 5 and 10 t ha −1 ) combined with chemical fertiliser micro-dosing (MD) at a rate of 25 % of the recommended quantity on total shoot dry matter (DM) and plant height of maize cultivated under flat (F) and tied-ridge (R) practices during a humid season in Tanzania. The results indicate that combining 5 t ha −1 BC with 25 % MD increases DM at harvest by 83 % (4.16 t ha −1 ) compared to the control (2.27 t ha −1 ) and was in the same range as the DM obtained from the treatment with the recommended fertiliser rate (100 % FD). The treatments with single applications of 25 % MD, 5 t ha −1 BC, and 10 t ha −1 BC only tended to exceed the control of DM yield. Therefore, we recommend that small-scale farmers aiming at DM for livestock or grain yield with limited access to chemical fertilisers to combine biochar with 25 % MD, rather than applying biochar or low chemical fertiliser rates alone.