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2025 Vol.58, Issue 1 Preview Page

Short communication

Determination of optimal mixing ratio of organic fertilizer and biochar derived from agricultural waste to increase crop growth and soil carbon sequestration
Sin-Sil Kim1
,
Yu-Na Lee2
,
Dong Won Lee2
,
Jae-Hong Shim3
,
Sang-Ho Jeon3
,
Ahn-Sung Roh4
,
Soon-Ik Kwon4
,
Seong-Heon Kim3*
1Doctoral Student, Division of Soil and Fertilizer, National Institute of Agricultural Science, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
2Postmaster Researcher, Division of Soil and Fertilizer, National Institute of Agricultural Science, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
3Researcher, Department of Soil and Fertilizer, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
4Senior Researcher, Division of Soil and Fertilizer, National Institute of Agricultural Science, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
*Corresponding Author
28 February 2025. pp. 118-124
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Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) can be accumulated through various organic inputs such as organic fertilizers, compost, and biochar. While organic fertilizers are effective in supplying nutrients, they have limitations in stable carbon sequestration compared to biochar. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the optimal mixing ratio of organic fertilizer and biochar that can supply nutrients while ensuring sustained and stable carbon sequestration. The growth of lettuce, soil chemical properties, and soil carbon sequestration were evaluated through a pot experiment based on the mixing ratios of organic fertilizer and biochar derived from agricultural waste. The treatments in the pot experiment included no fertilizer (NF), inorganic fertilizer (IF), and biochar mixed organic fertilizer (BAOF), mixing ratios of organic fertilizer:biochar = 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30. The results showed that leaf length and width of lettuce increased by 1.70 - 1.84 and 1.58 - 1.78 times, respectively, in BAOF treatments compared to NF. The highest yield was observed in BAOF (100:0). The organic matter content increased with higher mixing ratio of biochar. SOC stock was observed in the following order: 11.93 (BAOF70:30) > 11.22 (BAOF80:20) > 10.35 (BAOF90:10) > 10.26 (BAOF100:0) t C ha-1. In conclusion, mixing biochar with organic fertilizers promoted lettuce growth and led to increased soil carbon sequestration. These results indicated that the optimal mixing ratio was determined to be BAOF70:30.

Changes in soil characteristics after pot test under different treatments of fertilizer.
Treatment pH (1:5) EC (dS m-1) SC stock (t C ha-1) Av. P2O5 (mg kg-1) Exch. cations (cmolc kg-1)
K Ca Mg Na
NF1 7.3 a 0.6 c 10.01 b 275 b 0.27 b 7.0 a 1.3 a 0.15 b
IF2 7.3 a 0.6 bc 10.19 b 276 b 0.27 b 7.3 a 1.3 a 0.14 c
BAOF3 100:0 7.3 a 0.7 bc 10.26 b 279 b 0.26 b 7.6 a 1.4 a 0.19 b
90:10 7.2 a 0.8 b 10.35 b 278 b 0.25 b 7.5 a 1.3 a 0.15 b
80:20 7.4 a 0.9 a 11.22 a 366 a 0.44 a 7.7 a 1.4 a 0.33 a
70:30 7.3 a 0.7 bc 11.93 a 285 b 0.26 b 7.4 a 1.4 a 0.16 b
Optimal range‡ 6.5 - 7.0 ≤2 - 250 - 400 0.40 - 0.60 6.0 - 7.0 2.0 - 2.5 -

1NF, no fertilizer;

2IF, inorganic fertilizer;

3BAOF, biochar derived from agricultural waste mixed organic fertilizer.

Keywords
Biochar
Carbon sequestration
Organic fertilizer
Soil carbon
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국토양비료학회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국토양비료학회 학회지
  • Volume : 58
  • No :1
  • Pages :118-124
  • Received Date : 2024-10-31
  • Revised Date : 2024-12-10
  • Accepted Date : 2024-12-16
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7745/KJSSF.2025.58.1.118
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