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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #382305
Research Project: Develop Water Management Strategies to Sustain Water Productivity and Protect Water Quality in Irrigated Agriculture

Location: Water Management Research

Title: No significant influence of biochar and manure application on nitrogen fate and sequestration by tomato and garlic crops: A field experiment in California, USA

Author
item Gao, Suduan
item DUAN, YINGHUA - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item Wang, Dong
item TURINI, THOMA - University Of California - Cooperative Extension Service

Submitted to: Soil Use and Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/31/2021
Publication Date: 2/1/2022
Citation: Gao, S., Duan, Y., Wang, D., Turini, T. 2022. No significant influence of biochar and manure application on nitrogen fate and sequestration by tomato and garlic crops: A field experiment in California, USA. Soil Use and Management. 38(1):676-690. https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12749.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12749

Interpretive Summary: Nitrogen (N) use in crop production is facing great challenges because of its wide-spread environmental problems. This study evaluated the effects of biochar and manure incorporation in soil on crop requirement and yield for processing tomato and garlic, N uptake by plants and transformation in soil, and environmental losses in a two-year field experiment. The results showed no significant treatment effects of biochar or manure on crop yield, biomass, N uptake or environmental losses via ammonia volatilization or leaching. The N sequestered to produce fresh tomato fruits and garlic bulbs were 3.5 kg N Mg-1 and 10 kg N Mg-1, respectively. About half of the N for tomato and 93% for garlic would be removed from soil by harvesting. This study illustrated that the N sequestered per unit biomass production and plant removal are reliable parameters to project N fertilization needs.

Technical Abstract: Background: Organic amendments improve soil healthy but its role in improving N management has not been well quantified. Aim: This research evaluated the influence of biochar and manure incorporation in soil on crop yield, N uptake, changes in soil and environmental losses, and use the information to assess N requirement by crops and project fertilization needs. Methods: A two-year field experiment was conducted by growing processing tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) followed by a dehydrator garlic (Allium sativum). Treatments included two biochar products with feedstock of almond shell or softwood at 20 or 40 tonne (t) ha-1, dairy manure compost at 20 t ha-1, combinations of the manure and the biochar (each at 20 t ha-1), and a control. All treatments received the same amount of available N, P, and K. Results: There were no significant treatment effects on crop yield, biomass, and N uptake as well as ammonia volatilization and leaching loss. The N requirement to produce fresh tomato fruits and garlic bulbs ranged from 3.2'3.8 kg N Mg-1 and 9.9'10.0 kg N Mg-1, respectively. However, about half of the N for tomato and 93% for garlic plants would be removed from soil by harvesting. Nitrogen requirements to produce the regional average yield at 110 Mg ha-1 for tomatoes and 19.5 Mg ha-1 for garlic were 263 kg N ha-1 or 247 kg N ha-1 at 70% NUE (nitrogen use efficiency) for both crops, respectively. The rates would change according to target yield, soil storage, and NUE. Conclusions: Soil amendments with biochar or manure did not show direct link to crop yield and NUE. The N sequestered per unit biomass production and removed proportion from field at harvest are relatively stable parameters that can be used to project fertilization needs.