EVALUATION OF BIOCHAR AS FERTILIZER FOR THE GROWTH OF SOME SEASONAL VEGETABLES

• Main Authors: Kainat William, Rizawana Aleem Qureshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bioresource Research Center (BRC), Islamabad 2015-03-01
• Series: Journal of Bioresource Management
• Subjects: biochar; organic fertilizer; plant growth; soil analysis

Biochar was used to replace inorganic fertilizers. Biochar was synthesized by the process of pyrolysis using horse dung (5kg) and dry grass (25kg) to check its effect on the growth of some local vegetables i.e. okra, beans, coriander and mint. These plants were kept in three different environments i.e. outdoor, indoor and greenhouse conditions. In each condition three replications were made for each plant and biochar was applied on them. Control plants (without biochar) were also grown in each condition. Parameters studied were pH, water holding capacity, ammonia, nitrates, chlorophyll content, fertility analysis, temperature and humidity, number of leaves, plant height and length of leaves. It was found that biochar showed positive result in growth of plants. Thus, it can be used as fertilizer.