EFFECTS OF BIOCHAR APPLICATION TIME AND RATE ON THE SOIL QUALITY, NPK UTILIZATION, GROWTH AND YIELD RESPONSE OF TOMATO IN SANDY LOAM SOILS

Abstract

The present pot experiment was conducted at the research field of the department of Soil Science, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology university, Dinajpur during the summer season of 2022(Mid-May to Mid-Aug) to evaluate the effects of biochar application time and rate on the soil quality, NPK utilization, growth, and yield response of tomato (BARI tomato 4) in sandy loam soils. The experimental soil belongs to the Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain(AEZ-1) having pH 5.9. There were 9 treatment combinations viz., T1 =Biochar @ 10 t ha-1 at 10 days before transplantation, T2 =Biochar @ 10 t ha-1 at the time of transplantation, T3 = Biochar @ 10 t ha-1 at 10 days after transplantation, T4 = Biochar @ 20 t ha-1 at 10 days before transplantation, T5 = Biochar @ 20 t ha-1 at the time of transplantation, T6 = Biochar @ 20 t ha-1 at 10 days after transplantation, T7 = Biochar @ 30 t ha-1 at 10 days before transplantation, T8= Biochar @ 30 t ha-1 at the time oftransplantation,T9=Biochar @ 30 t ha-1 at 10 days after transplantation and were replicated three times. The experimental results revealed that as plant height, number of branches plants-1, number of inflorescence plants-1, stem diameter, shoot length, root length, fresh shoot biomass, dry shoot biomass were significantly influenced by the application of different rate of biochar at different time. The highest values of different parameters such as plant height (118 cm, 119.33 cm, at 45 and 60 DAT, respectively), branches plant-1 (9.67), number of inflorescence plant-1 (6.67), shoot length (164.63 cm), root length (12.63 cm), fresh shoot biomass (145.17 g), dry shoot biomass (21.78 g) were obtained in treatment T7 where biochar was applied at the rate 30 tha-1 at10 days before transplantation of tomato. The lowest results were mostly found in the treatment T2. Furthermore, the highest organic matter content, total N, available P, exchangeable K and available S content in post-harvest soil was also found in T7 where biochar applied at the rate 30 t ha-1 at 10 days before transplantation of BARI Tomato 4. A significant increase in the N, P, K contents as well as their uptake in shoot and root were observed due to application of biochar at the rate 30 tha-1 at10 days before transplantation. Application of biochar added organic matter and improve soil health compared to the initial soil. Therefore, it can be concluded that application of biochar 30 t ha-1 at 10 days before transplantation can be used for cultivation on Transplanted tomato plant (BARI Tomato 4). Therefore, the study reveals that the application of biochar 3 t ha-1 at 10 days before transplantation might be an efficient practice for achieving soil fertility and economical tomato cultivation.