IMPACTS OF BIOCHAR ON SOME MICROBIAL POPULATION, SOIL PROPERTIES AND YIELD OF TOMATO IN A DIFFERENT LAND USE SYSTEMS SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/jaat.2024.1004.02.371Keywords:
Biochar,, tomato,, soil microbial,, land uses,, soil propertiesAbstract
Changes in soil microbial communities may impact soil fertility and stability because microbial communities are key to soil functioning by supporting soil ecological quality and agricultural production. This study was conducted to investigate the Impacts of biochar on microbial activities on soil properties, crop growth and yield in a different Land use systems Southwest, Nigeria. The study was carried out between March to August 2023 and 2024 in Okitipupa Southwest, Nigeria with the objectives to determine the impact of biochar application on microbial abundance., to evaluate the influence of biochar on some soil physical properties, to evaluate the influence of biochar on some soil chemical properties and to determine the impact of biochar on the growth and yield of tomato. The design was Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments: control, oil palm plantation and agroforestry all treated with biochar except for the control. The results were subjected to statistical analysis and mean were separated at 0.05%. The results show that addition of biochar increases soil pH from 5.0 to 5.3 in farmland soil 4.8 to 5.5 in agroforestry soil and 5.1 to 5.2 in Oil palm plantation soil. Also, addition of biochar increases the population of Trichoderma from 4.00 cfu/g to 6.00 cfu/g, 8.00 cfu/g to 10.00 cfu/g and 5.00 cfu/g to 6.00 cfu in farmland soil, agroforestry and oil palm soils respectively. Aspergillus population also increased from 4.00 cfu/g to 5.00 cfu/g, 4.00 cfu/g to 8.00 cfu/g and 4.00 cfu/g to 7.00 cfu/g in farmland, agroforestry and oil palm soils respectively. Tomato yield was 14.06ton/ha, 12.77 ton/ha, 09.00 ton/ha and 4.67 ton/ha farmland, agroforestry, oil palm plantation and control soil respectively. It was observed that, addition of biochar to soils increases the presence of soil microbial, yield and some soil chemical properties in the study area. Therefeore, it is the finding of this study that proper use of biochar in the current agro ecological zone could be beneficial to agriculture especially crop production.
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