10.1007/s40093-017-0185-3

Biochar‑compost mixture as amendment for improvementof polybag‑growing media and oil palm seedlings at main nurserystage

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  • Rovica Radin*1,
  • Rosenani Abu Bakar1,
  • Che Fauziah Ishak1,
  • Siti Hajar Ahmad2,
  • Lim Chin Tsong1,
  1. Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Malaysia
  2. Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia

Received: 2017-04-12

Accepted: 2017-11-04

Published in Issue 2017-11-17

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Radin, R., Abu Bakar, R., Fauziah Ishak, C., Hajar Ahmad, S., & Chin Tsong, L. (2017). Biochar‑compost mixture as amendment for improvementof polybag‑growing media and oil palm seedlings at main nurserystage. International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40093-017-0185-3
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Abstract

Purpose Production of oil palm seedling in the nursery mainly utilises top soil as polybag medium. These soils, especially
in tropical regions, are acidic and have low organic matter content. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oil
palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) biochar and compost incorporation as amendment in polybag medium for oil palm seedlings
growth at the nursery stage.
Methods A polybag experiment was conducted with four biochar rates (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% w/w C addition), two compost
rates (0 and 30% v/v), and two fertiliser application rates (75 and 100% of recommended rate). The effects of biochar, compost,
and biochar-compost combination on oil palm seedling growth was evaluated and the effectiveness of EFB biochar in
retaining soil nutrients was determined indirectly by measuring amount of nutrient leached through the polybag medium.
Results Biochar, compost, and biochar-compost amendment improved polybag media’s chemical properties (pH, total C
and N, C:N ratio, CEC, Mg, and Ca). There were no significant effects of the amendments on shoot biomass. However,
root growth and shoot:root ratio significantly improved with 1.5% w/w C addition and 30% (v/v) compost with 75% recommended
fertiliser rates applied. Furthermore, nutrient leaching measurement indicates that, EFB biochar significantly reduced
ammonium-N leaching up to 21–46%.
Conclusions Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of biochar and compost co-application to improve the chemical
properties of polybag medium and root development of oil palm seedlings.

Keywords

  • Biochar,
  • Compost,
  • Nutrient retention,
  • Oil palm waste
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