This study explores the sustainable optimization of Valencia orange production in Egypt's arid regions by analyzing the dual effects of deficit irrigation and biochar soil conditioning. Multi-season field experiments demonstrated that Partial Root-zone Drying (PRD) combined with 1200 kg ha⁻¹ of biochar significantly enhances the vegetative growth, physiological traits, and final yield components of Valencia orange trees in degraded sandy soils. Severe water restriction (50% Full Irrigation [FI]) constrained canopy development and chlorophyll formation. In contrast, the PRD strategy produced superior growth responses, achieving an increased canopy volume of 4.1–4.3%, an expanded leaf area of 27.0–28.3 cm², and total chlorophyll levels up to 3.0 mg g⁻¹ F.W. The application of biochar showed a significant, dose-dependent improvement in soil water-holding capacity and nutrient retention. Under the optimal interaction treatment (PRD combined with 1200 kg ha⁻¹ biochar), the trees achieved peak agronomic performance. This synergistic combination maximized canopy volume increase to 5.5–5.8%, expanded leaf area to 37.9–40.1 cm², and elevated chlorophyll content to 3.7–4.0 mg g⁻¹ F.W. Furthermore, this treatment upgraded fruit development and quality indices; fruit weight reached 231.4–240.6 g, total yield peaked at 48.5–50 ton ha⁻¹, TSS reached 13.7–14.2%, and Vitamin C maximized at 48.8–51.3 mg 100 mL⁻¹ juice, confirming that biochar effectively mitigates drought stress. Complementing these findings, the treatments were simulated using the SALTMED model software to evaluate its predictive fidelity under local Egyptian conditions. The software demonstrated exceptional accuracy, establishing a robust correlation between field-collected data and model-generated values. This alignment was statistically validated by an outstanding coefficient of determination (R² ranging from 96% to 98%). Consequently, the study strongly recommends utilizing SALTMED for managing fruit crops in Egypt to save time, labor, and costs, while providing reliable predictive data to optimize export and import operations for vital commodities like citrus.
Sandy soils are widely distributed in Egypt and are characterized by poor physical properties and a limited capacity to retain irrigation water and nutrients, which severely constrains agricultural productivity. Addressing these limitations has become increasingly critical to ensure sustainable crop production under arid and semi-arid conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of biochar as a soil amendment for improving growth performance, yield, nutrient accumulation, photosynthetic pigments, and essential oil production of Mentha spicata cultivated under sandy soil conditions over two successive seasons (2024–2025). The field experiment consisted of four treatments: untreated control, NPK at 5 g L-1, biochar at 12.5 ton ha-1, and combined NPK (5 g L-1) and biochar (12.5 ton ha-1). The results showed that biochar application, either alone or in combination with mineral fertilizer, significantly improved all vegetative growth parameters, fresh and dry herbage yields, essential oil percentage and yield, leaf macronutrient content (N, P, and K), and chlorophyll b concentration. Biochar applied alone consistently outperformed mineral fertilizer alone, while the combined biochar–NPK treatment produced the highest values for all measured traits, with improvements exceeding the additive effects of individual applications. These enhancements were closely associated with increased nutrient accumulation and improved nutrient use efficiency, reflecting the ability of biochar to retain nutrients, reduce leaching losses, and synchronize nutrient availability with plant demand. The synergistic interaction between biochar and mineral fertilization highlights the potential of biochar as a sustainable soil amendment for improving productivity, quality, and resource-use efficiency of mint grown in low-fertility sandy soils.
Y. Soliman, W. Soliman· Scientific Reports· 0 citations
Increased food production has become a global urgency due to population growth and limited productive land. Efficient use of resources, particularly water, and optimization of marginal land such as peat soil are important strategies in sustainable agricultural production. This study introduces a novel combination of water depth management and biochar application to improve rice growth and yield on peat soils, an approach that has been rarely explored. The study was conducted using a Randomized Block Design with a 4 × 4 factorial pattern consisting of two factors. The first factor was water depth with four levels: 0, 3, 6, and 9 cm. The second factor was biochar dose with four levels: 0, 4, 6, and 8 tons ha−1. The results showed that water level did not significantly affect rice plant growth and yield. However, biochar dose treatment significantly affected plant height growth and plant productivity. The control treatment (without biochar) produced a yield of 1.47 ton ha−1, which falls within the typical range of rice yields on peat soils (1.1-1.9 tons ha−1). Application of 6 tons ha−1 of biochar increased yield by 1.12 tons ha−1 compared to the control, representing an improvement of approximately 76%. These findings indicate that the combination of water depth management and biochar application effectively improves rice productivity on peat soils. This study contributes new insights to peatland rice management by recommending a water depth of 0 cm combined with 6 tons ha−1 of biochar as an effective and sustainable strategy to enhance rice yield.
M. Fajarna, Helmi, M. Sayuthi· IOP Conference Series: Earth...· 0 citations
Soil nutrient depletion severely constrains crop productivity in degraded and saline environments. Strategies such as biochar–compost integration could be useful for sustainable agriculture and land restoration on a global scale. This study evaluated the effects of biochar (1% Bc), compost (1% Co), and their blends (0.5% Bc + 0.5% Co and 1% Bc + 1% Co) on soil properties, growth, physiology and nutrient balance of the halophytic fodder crop
P. antidotale
under controlled greenhouse conditions. The 0.5% Bc + 0.5% Co treatment increased total plant biomass by 68%, net photosynthesis by 68% and stomatal conductance by 90% compared to the control while soil water holding capacity and CO
2
flux were also significantly enhanced. Sole biochar improved leaf water‐use efficiency (18%) and maximized K
+
/Na
+
ratios across plant organs, indicating improved ionic balance under nutrient‐poor soil conditions. Biochar–compost blends significantly increased leaf nitrogen (25%) and carbon (4%) concentrations relative to untreated plants with the lower mixture ratio consistently outperforming higher amendment levels. These responses are likely mediated through improved soil water retention, nutrient availability and rhizosphere functioning. Overall, integrating moderate biochar–compost amendments offers an effective and scalable strategy for enhancing halophyte productivity and soil quality in degraded agroecosystems.
Z. Abideen, Maria Hasnain, H. Koyro et al.· Land Degradation & Devel...· 0 citations
In semi‐arid Mediterranean conditions, irrigation management is constrained by soil degradation and water scarcity. This exploratory study assessed, over two consecutive growing seasons (2022–2023) in the Mitidja plain, Algeria, the synergistic effects of organic mulches (wood chips, sawdust, wheat straw and a composite mixture) combined with drip irrigation on the soil properties, growth and yield of tomato. Due to the absence of true replication, the results are presented as descriptive statistics and should be interpreted as presented trends rather than statistically validated effects. The findings suggest that the composite mulch (P4A) corresponded to higher water retention, more moderate pH, more stable soil temperature and electrical conductivity, and better plant growth. P4A showed an increase in soil organic matter to 2.6% (from 1.3% in 2022) and was accompanied by water savings of 27% (first season) to 50% (second season). The yield reached 15.1 t ha
−1
in 2023 under P4A, compared to 4.5 t ha
−1
for the control, and the water productivity (WP) increased from 1.6 to 9.8 kg·m
−3
. This research suggests that composite organic mulch generates cumulative benefits for soil water, temperature, nutrient availability and productivity, offering a potential low‐cost strategy for water savings and soil quality improvement under semi‐arid conditions.
The purpose of this study was to quantify water use and yield of tomato crops grown on biochar-amended soils in tropical conditions of Ibadan, Nigeria. Field experiments incorporated FAO AquaCrop and CROPWAT alongside five levels of biochar application (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 t ha⁻¹). Reference evapotranspiration was estimated using the Penman Monteith FAO method. Biochar influenced soil structure. Increasing biochar application rate to 20 t ha⁻¹ increased soil moisture by 38%, reduced bulk density by 13%, and increased soil's available water capacity by 42% relative to the control. The seasonal need for irrigation was reduced by 11.6%, and deep percolation was reduced from 37 to 14 mm. The application of biochar increased the yield of tomatoes to 40.2 t ha⁻¹, a 62% yield increase from the control. Water use efficiency was 7.8 kg m⁻³; a 53% increase was also observed from the control. The observed yield from the simulations of AquaCrop was in agreement. Positive correlations were observed between biochar rate and soil moisture, yield, and water use efficiency. Biochar amendments along with crop water modelling can be a sustainability innovation to enhance tomato production and irrigation on tropical soils.
M. Abdullahi, Salim Hamza Ismail, A. Usman· Journal of Systematic and Mo...· 0 citations
Although green manure crops are widely recognized for ameliorating alkaline soils, some previous studies have focused mainly on laboratory germination screenings or single yield indicators, and field validation of the synergy between high yield and soil improvement remains comparatively limited. This study evaluated 16 species/accessions with varying salt tolerance in a typical alkaline soil (initial pH 9.01, EC 306 μS·cm−1) in Heilongjiang Province during 2024–2025, based on prior laboratory screening. The experiment was conducted at a single location with three field replicates, and the same plots were monitored across both years. Plant height, fresh/dry grass yield, and soil properties (pH, EC, organic matter, nutrients) were monitored. Glycine max (L.) Merr. and Sesbania Scop. achieved dual synergy, with two-year average fresh yields of 40,733 and 35,750 kg·ha−1, respectively, while reducing soil pH by 0.28–0.29 and electrical conductivity (EC) by 42.2–46.3%. Melilotus officinalis and Vicia villosa Roth exhibited the strongest alkali reduction (pH ↓0.29, EC ↓39.0–39.7%) with moderate yields. Sorghum sudanense showed the highest salt reduction (EC ↓49.0%). Principal component analysis classified the 16 species into four functional types, revealing preliminary ecological patterns for functional differentiation. This study proposes a “laboratory screening–field validation–functional classification” evaluation framework, which requires further validation across different regions and longer time scales for the biological amelioration of alkaline soils.
Ruonan Du, Qiang Gao, Xue Yang et al.· Agronomy· 0 citations
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