Influence of Different Levels of Biochar in Some Soil Physical Properties and Growth Parameters of Oat (Avena sativa L.)

A pots experiment was performed in the greenhouse of the College of Agriculture, University of Basrah in clay loam soil, to study the effect of the different levels of biochar on some soil physical properties (bulk density, total porosity, moisture content, mean weight diameter and saturated hydraulic conductivity) and some indicators of oat crop growth (height and dry weight of the plant). The experiment included the use of six different levels of biochar: B0 (control), B1 (1%), B2 (1.5%), B3 (2%), B4 (2.5%) and B5 (3%) were added based on the dry weight of the soil. The pots were planted with oat seeds on 1 October 2018, and after 50 days of cultivation, the studied characteristics were measured. The experiment was designed by using a complete randomized design (CRD). The results showed the improvement of the soil physical properties and plant growth with the addition of biochar, as the level exceeded 1.5% (B2) in most of the physical properties of the soil and the studied growth characteristics as it gave the lowest bulk density of soil and the highest values for the total porosity, mean weight diameter, plant height, and dry weight of plant. They were reached 1.033 Mg m-3 and 60.71 %, 1.091 mm, 60.87 cm and 2.693 g pot-1, respectively. Whereas, the 3% (B5) level of biochar recorded the highest soil moisture content and saturated hydraulic conductivity and the lowest plant height, they were reached 32.18% and 3.953 cm hour-1 and 46.90 cm, respectively. While, the control treatment (B0) gave the highest bulk density of soil and lowest values for the other studied traits compared to all levels of added biochar.