Abstract
Soil
health is the capability of the soil to sustain plant, animal or living beings
and it functions as a vital living ecosystem. Soil health indicators include
physical, chemical, and biological indicators. Soil physical health is the
ability of soil to meet requirements of plants for water, aeration and strength
over time and indicators include soil bulk density, porosity, water retention,
aggregate stability, etc. that are directly related with the crop productivity
and water use efficiency. Nowadays, soil health becomes a critical factor to
manage and sustain for human as intensive use of chemical fertilizers have
degraded soil health as well as polluted groundwater which leads to low and
stagnating yields of the crop [1]. To improve soil physical health and at the
same time reduce soil degradation, there is need to adopt an integrated use of
organic and inorganic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers consist of farmyard
manure, compost, biogas slurry is having high decomposition rate [2]. So,
alternative organic fertilizer that is biochar can be applied which is
recalcitrant to decomposition for longer period and able to maintain organic
carbon status in the soil. Biochar is the product of the pyrolysis of the crop
biomass that provides a significant opportunity to transform agricultural
residues from the environmental liability to the valuable assets. Biochar is
rich in carbon produced by the thermal decomposition of the organic material
either in partial or complete absence of oxygen [3]. Therefore, application of
biochar in soil has the potential to stabilize organic matter content, helps in
carbon sequestration and increases agricultural productivity.
Keywords: Soil
health; water retention; aggregate stability; ground water; crop productivity
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