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Plants
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Biochar-Based Fertilizers in Agriculture: Soil—Plant Interactions and Functions
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Biochar-Based Fertilizers in Agriculture: Soil—Plant Interactions and Functions

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant–Soil Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 3740

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Genxing Pan

grade E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Resources and Environment Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: biochar; soil-plant interaction and healthy agriculture
Prof. Dr. Stephen Joseph

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of NSW, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
2. Institute of Resources, Ecosystem and Environment of Agriculture, Center of Biochar and Green Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: reduction; biomass; oxidation; pyrolysis; humic substances; forest soils; organic-matter; black carbon biochar; bamboo charcoal; nitrogen loss
Dr. Hans Peter Schmidt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ithaka Institute for Carbon Strategies, CH-1974 Arbaz, Switzerland
Interests: biochar; agricultural engineering; ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Daniel P. Rasse

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Høgskoleveien 7, NO-1431 Ås, Norway
Interests: biogeochemistry; soil organic matter; carbon cycle; greenhouse gases; biochar

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As a recent development in biochar technology in agriculture, biochar-based fertilizers are increasingly developed and applied in crop and food production worldwide. Biochar-based fertilizers include biochar-based organic fertilizers/soil amendments, biochar mixed mineral fertilizers and biochar blended N (urea) fertilizer and N-P-K compound fertilizers, as well as biochar-carried/enhanced biological fertilizers. These biochar-based fertilizers are known to increase nutrient use efficiency and plant responses while reducing N2O emissions, in addition to soil C accrual, in croplands. However, much remains to be discovered, as biochars are increasingly produced using various types of feedstock biowaste, and these fertilizers are applied in various land uses, soil types, climate conditions and crop types (cereals, legumes and vegetable/fruits).

This Special Issue will discuss biochar-based fertilizers’ agronomic effects (productivity, quality and growth performance) and their ability to improve soil–microbe–plant–root interactions and plant nutrition (nutrient availability and use efficiency). It will focus on plant responses to biochar-based fertilizers (root traits, leaf activity and metabolic functions), and will also address plant–environment relations regarding plants’ resilience to climate stress and their tolerance to soil-borne diseases. We also welcome papers on technology for designing, manufacturing and characterizing novel biochar-based fertilizers, and on the environmental, socioeconomic and ethnic aspects of using biochar-based fertilizers.

Prof. Dr. Genxing Pan
Prof. Dr. Stephen Joseph
Dr. Hans Peter Schmidt
Prof. Dr. Daniel P. Rasse
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biochar
  • soil–plant interaction
  • plant and environment
  • soil and plant health
  • plant nutrition
  • plant performance
  • stress tolerance
  • legacy effects

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4623 KiB  
Article
Potential of Drought Tolerant Rhizobacteria Amended with Biochar on Growth Promotion in Wheat
by Sidra Noureen, Atia Iqbal and Hafiz Abdul Muqeet
Plants 2024, 13(9), 1183; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13091183 - 24 Apr 2024
Viewed by 273
Abstract
Drought stress is the prime obstacle for worldwide agricultural production and necessitates innovative strategies for enhancing crop resilience. This study explores the efficacy of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and biochar (BC) as sustainable amendments for mitigating the effects of drought on wheat growth. [...] Read more.
Drought stress is the prime obstacle for worldwide agricultural production and necessitates innovative strategies for enhancing crop resilience. This study explores the efficacy of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and biochar (BC) as sustainable amendments for mitigating the effects of drought on wheat growth. Multiple experiments were carried out on isolated strains to assess their drought tolerance potential and multiple plant growth-promoting attributes. Experiments in the laboratory and natural environment were conducted to assess the impact of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, biochar, and their synergistic application on various growth parameters of wheat. The results revealed that the drought-tolerant PGPR strains (Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus tequilensis), alongside biochar (rice husk), alleviated the phytotoxic impact of drought by increasing the root length from 17.0% to 70.0% and shoot length from 30.0% to 82.0% as compared to un-inoculated stressed controls. The total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of the plants were substantially increased to 477% and 423%, respectively, when biochar and PGPR were applied synergistically. Significant enhancements in membrane stability index, relative water content, proline, and sugar level were achieved by combining biochar and bacterial strains, resulting in increases of 19.5%, 37.9%, 219%, and 300%, respectively. The yield of wheat in terms of plant height, spike length, number of spikelets per spike, and number of grains per spike was enhanced from 26.7% to 44.6%, 23.5% to 62.7%, 91.5% to 154%, and 137% to 182%, respectively. It was concluded that the biochar-based application of PGPR induced drought tolerance in wheat under water deficit conditions, ultimately improving the production and yield of wheat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar-Based Fertilizers in Agriculture: Soil—Plant Interactions and Functions)
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16 pages, 5768 KiB  
Article
Biochar Coating as a Cost-Effective Delivery Approach to Promoting Seed Quality, Rice Germination, and Seedling Establishment
by Kangkang Zhang, Xiaomeng Han, Yanfeng Fu, Yu Zhou, Zaid Khan, Junguo Bi, Liyong Hu and Lijun Luo
Plants 2023, 12(22), 3896; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12223896 - 18 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1124
Abstract
The application of high-quality seeds ensures successful crop establishment, healthy growth, and improved production in both quantity and quality. Recently, biochar-based seed coating has been recognized as a new, effective, and environmentally friendly method to enhance seed quality, seedling uniformity, and nutrient availability. [...] Read more.
The application of high-quality seeds ensures successful crop establishment, healthy growth, and improved production in both quantity and quality. Recently, biochar-based seed coating has been recognized as a new, effective, and environmentally friendly method to enhance seed quality, seedling uniformity, and nutrient availability. To study the impact of biochar coating on the surface mechanical properties of coated seeds, rice emergence and growth, and related physical and physiological metabolic events, laboratory experiments were performed on two water-saving and drought-resistance rice (WDR) varieties (Huhan1512 and Hanyou73) using biochar formulations with varying contents (20%–60%). The results showed that the appropriate concentration of biochar significantly improved emergence traits and seedling performance of the two rice varieties, compared to the uncoated treatment, and that the optimal percentage of biochar coating was 30% (BC30). On average, across both varieties, BC30 enhanced emergence rate (9.5%), emergence index (42.9%), shoot length (19.5%), root length (23.7%), shoot dry weight (25.1%), and root dry weight (49.8%). The improved germination characteristics and vigorous seedling growth induced by biochar coating were strongly associated with higher water uptake by seeds, increased α-amylase activity and respiration rate, and enhanced accumulation of soluble sugar and soluble protein. Moreover, the evaluation results of mechanical properties related to seed coating quality found that increasing the proportion of biochar in the coating blend decreased the integrity and compressive strength of the coated seeds and reduced the time required for coating disintegration. In conclusion, biochar coating is a cost-effective strategy for enhancing crop seed quality and seedling establishment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar-Based Fertilizers in Agriculture: Soil—Plant Interactions and Functions)
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12 pages, 2720 KiB  
Article
Potential of Biochar as a Peat Substitute in Growth Media for Lavandula angustifolia, Salvia rosmarinus and Fragaria × ananassa
by Giuseppina Iacomino, Alessia Cozzolino, Mohamed Idbella, Giandomenico Amoroso, Tomaso Bertoli, Giuliano Bonanomi and Riccardo Motti
Plants 2023, 12(21), 3689; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12213689 - 26 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1127
Abstract
Peat has long been the primary substrate for the production of ornamental and horticultural plants in pots. Today, peat is no longer considered a renewable resource due to its very lengthy regeneration time. Biochar, a solid by-product of biomass pyrolysis, has been proposed [...] Read more.
Peat has long been the primary substrate for the production of ornamental and horticultural plants in pots. Today, peat is no longer considered a renewable resource due to its very lengthy regeneration time. Biochar, a solid by-product of biomass pyrolysis, has been proposed as an agricultural soil amendment. We investigated the effects of two types of biochar, namely biochar from pruning wood waste and biochar activated with wood vinegar (“smoked biochar”), on two ornamental plants (Lavandula angustifolia and Salvia rosmarinus) and on strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa). For both types of biochar, we measured the following parameters: the pH, density, electrical conductivity, humidity, calcium carbonate, total carbon, nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and water retention. For peat, we measured the following parameters: the pH, electrical conductivity, total carbon, and total nitrogen. Our results showed an overall increase in plant growth, particularly in L. angustifolia when using 10% and 50% biochar concentrations and a 10% concentration of biochar activated with wood vinegar. In S. rosmarinus, we observed a slight increase in the total plant weight with the application of 10% smoked biochar (biochar activated with wood vinegar). Finally, in F. × ananassa, we observed an increase in the plant weight and fruit production when 10% biochar was applied. On the other hand, when high concentrations of biochar (50% and 100%) and especially smoked biochar were applied, we observed a significant reduction in the growth of all plants. We concluded that biochar and biochar activated with wood vinegar showed remarkable biological activity with marked phytotoxicity at high concentrations. They promoted plant growth when applied diluted and their use as partial peat substitutes could help support more sustainable horticultural practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar-Based Fertilizers in Agriculture: Soil—Plant Interactions and Functions)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

1. Giuseppina Iacomino. Potential effects of biochar as peat replacement in compost-based growth media of Lavandula angustifolia, Salvia rosmarinus and Fragaria × ananassa.
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