Enhancing Plant Growth Media by Incorporating Chemically Treated Sago Bark Biochar as Soil Amender

Nor Khairunnisa, Mohamad Fathi (2021) Enhancing Plant Growth Media by Incorporating Chemically Treated Sago Bark Biochar as Soil Amender. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

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Abstract

Sago bark biochar (SBB) was produced through carbonization which involves the heating of sago bark waste in the furnace with a limited amount of oxygen. Biochar application as soil amender can alter soil physical properties with its effects on soil aeration, water holding capacity, soil workability, and plant growth. However, there is a non-conclusive study on the effect of acid and base-treated biochar on soil fertility and plant growth yield. In this study, SBB was introduced to acid-base treatment using HCl and NaOH. The raw sago bark waste (SB), SBB, and TSB were characterized for their morphological and physicochemical properties. The TSB showed the highest surface area compared to SB and SBB with macropores sizes (53.4 nm). The TSB had the highest Ca and Mg content, in which these elements can assist in the major constituent of the chlorophyll molecule of plant growth. The results suggest that TSB can effectively improve specific soil properties for good potential as a soil amender. A plant growth study was carried out using a Completely Random Design (CRD) experimental design layout with five replicates and 8 treatments with different biochar application rates (0.5, 1.5, and 3.0%, w/w). Results showed that Capsicum annuum L. var. Kulai grown with 1.5 and 3% SBB has the highest number of leaves (122.90 and 118.00, respectively). Plants in 1.5% TSB showed a significantly higher number of fruits(p<0.05) and plant height during four months of the vegetative period. In general, TSB shows better physicochemical characterization and its application in soil has significantly increased the yield of the plant. Therefore, combining TSB with a small amount of fertilizer appears to improve plant growth yield suggesting its potential to be used as plant growth media fertility.

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