Kitchen Waste Biochar Reduces Inorganic Nourishments of Maize (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

Preparation of biochar from kitchen waste could be a potential way of waste management. This research aimed to prepare biochar and compost from kitchen waste and test their effects on the yield and biomass production of maize. We separated kitchen waste from municipal waste to prepare biochar, compost and ComBio (co-composting with biochar). Four fertilizer combinations viz. T0 = Recommended doses of chemical fertilizer (RDF), T1= biochar (20 t ha-1) + RDF, T2= compost (15 t ha-1) + 75% RDF and T3= ComBio (15 t ha-1) + 50% RDF were used to grow maize. Maize biomass, yield attributing characters and basic soil properties after harvesting maize were measured. Data explored that up to 50% reduction of chemical fertilizer has an insignificant effect on the growth and biomass accumulation of maize. Similarly, yield and yield contributing characteristics of maize such as cob length, cob diameter, the weight of 1000-grains and yield did not vary among the treatments. Further, soil pH, EC, TDS and SOM contents were higher in biochar treated soil compared to other treatments. The results indicate that the application of biochar has the potential to reduce the chemical fertilizer dose of maize by improving soil properties, a prerequisite issue for sustainable crop production.