This a study which was conducted to fulfill the following objectives: - To assess the effect the various dosages of biochar from different feedstocks on the germination and early growth of seedlings. - To assess how soil physical and properties changes by the addition of biochar. - To evaluate the impact on biochar on soil nutrients availability.

1. Effect of Biochar on Seed Germination,
Early Growth and Soil Properties
Montasir Shamim
Dept. of Forestry & Environmental Science, SUST
9/5/2018

2. Introduction
 Biochar is pyrolysed feedstock/biomass under limited or
no supply of O2.
 Biochar is relatively a stable compound.
 Several studies found that biochar has the potentiality to
enhance and crop growth.
 But some biochar may negatively affect plant and soil.
 Before large scale use, impact on plant and soil should
be tasted.
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3. Research Objectives
 To assess the effect the various dosages of biochar from
different feedstocks on the germination and early growth
of seedlings.
 To assess how soil physical and properties changes by
the addition of biochar.
 To evaluate the impact on biochar on soil nutrients
availability.
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4. Research question
 What are effects of biochar on seed germination and
early growth of paddy?
 Does they vary between biochar types and application
rates?
 Which biochar shows good result and why?
 What are the effect of biochar on soil physical
properties?
 Can it enhance the availability of soil nutrients?
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5. Materials and Methods
Study site:
 Forest Nursery,
Dept. of FES, SUST.
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Figure: Nursery of DFES

6. Materials and Methods (Cont.)
Biochar Preparation
 Kon-Tiki Method
Feedstock materials
Agricultural Spices
 Paddy (Oryza sativa)
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Local name Scientific name
Raintree Samanea saman
Kadom Anthocephalus chinensis
Chambul Albizia richardiana
Figure: Biochar Preparation

7. Materials and Methods (Cont.)
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Figure: Biochar preapration

8. Materials and Methods (Cont.)
Treatments
Experimental Design
 Complete Randomized Block Design (CRBD)
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Treatment
Name
Feedstock Name of the
Biochar
Application rate
(t/ha)
Cont Control 0
R 10 Samanea saman 10
R 15 Samanea saman 15
K 10 Anthocephalus chinensis 10
K15 Anthocephalus chinensis 15
C 10 Albizia richardiana 10
C 15 Albizia richardiana 15

9. Materials and Methods (Cont.)
Data Collection
 Biochar yield (%)
 Germination Percentage (%)
 Early Growth
a. Shoot and root length
b. Fresh weight of root and shoot
c. Dry weight of root and shoot
d. Seed vigor
e. Relative water content
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Figure: Measurement of root & shoot
weight

10. Materials and Methods (Cont.)
 Soil response
a) Moisture Content
b) Organic matter content
c) Soil Nitrogen (N)
d) Phosphorus (P)
e) Potassium (K)
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11. Materials and Methods (Cont.)
Statistical Analysis
 One way ANOVA test
 Tukey HSD post-Hoc test, α= 0.05; Differences among
treatments for each of the tested variables.
 ANOVA and Tukey test were completed in SPSS
statistical software.
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12. Results
 Biochar yield (%)
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0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Raintree Kadam Chambul
BiocharYield(%)
Feedstock Source
Figure: Yield of biochar from different feedstock.

13. Results (Cont.)
 Biochar impact on seed germination percentage.
 No significant difference between biochar treatments and
control
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Cont. R 10 R 15 K 10 K 15 C 10 C 15
GerminationPercentage(%)
Treatments
Figure: Biochar effect on seed germination percentage (%)

14. Results (Cont.)
 Biochar impact on shoot and root length of seedlings
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0
50
100
150
200
250
Cont. R 10 R 15 K 10 K 15 C 10 C 15
ShootLength(cm)
Treatments
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Cont. R 10 R 15 K 10 K 15 C 10 C 15
RootLength(cm)
Treatments
Figure: Shoot length Figure: Root length

15. Results (Cont.)
 Biochar Impact on dry weight of shoot and root
 Root dry weight did not show any significant result.
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0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
Cont. R 10 R 15 K 10 K 15 C 10 C 15
ShootDryWeight(gm)
Treatment
Figure: Shoot dry weight

16. Results (Cont.)
 Biochar impact on seed vigor
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0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
Cont. R 10 R 15 K 10 K 15 C 10 C 15
ShootDryWeight(gm)
Treatment
Figure: Biochar impact on seed vigor

17. Results (Cont.)
 Biochar impact on Relative water content (RWC)
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Cont. R 10 R 15 C 10 C 15 K 10 K 15
RWC(%)
Treatment
Figure: Biochar impact on RWC

18. Results (Cont.)
 Biochar impact on soil organic matter content
 Biochar treatment did not show any significant impact on
soil moisture content.
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0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Cont. R 10 R 15 C 10 C 15 K 10 K 15
SoilOMC(%)
Treatment
Figure: Biochar impact on OMC

19. Results (Cont.)
 Effect of time and treatment on soil Nitrogen
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0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
0.14
0.16
0.18
0.2
T = 0 T = 1
Total-N(%)
Cont. R 10 R 15 C 10 C 15 K 10 K 15
Figure: Impact of time and treatment on soil N; Here T=0 means beginning of the
experiment and T=1 means end of the experiment.

20. Results (Cont.)
 Effect of time and treatment on soil Potassium (K)
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0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
T = 0 T = 1
ExchangeableK(meq/100gsoil)
Cont. R 10 R 15 C 10 C 15 K 10 K 15
Figure: Impact of time and treatment on soil K; Here T=0 means beginning of the
experiment and T=1 means end of the experiment.

21. Results (Cont.)
 Effect of time and treatment on soil Phosphorus (P)
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Figure: Impact of time and treatment on soil P; Here T=0 means beginning of the
experiment and T=1 means end of the experiment.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
T = 0 T = 1
AvaiableP(μg/gsoil)
Treatments
Cont. R 10 R 15 C 10 C 15 K 10 K 15

22. Discussion
Germination and early growth
 No significant difference was found between the biochar
treatments and control.
 Greatest early growth was observed in 15 t/ha
application rate of Raintree biochar.
 Kadam biochar showed a decrease compared to control.
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23. Discussion
Soil Response
 All biochar showed significant increase in Soil Organic
Matter rather than control.
 Biochar did not show any significant effect on Moisture
content of soil.
 All biochar showed significant increase in Phosphorus
content.
 Kadam biochar showed relatively less changes in soil N
& P compared to other two biochar.
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24. Conclusion
 Biochar have potentiality to enhance seed germination
and plants growth and can increase soil nutrient.
 While some biochar could have negative influence.
 More research is needed to identify the biochars and
also their application rates which have beneficial impacts
on plant and soil.
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25. THANK YOU
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