Field Validation on Incorporation of Rice Husk Biochar and Paddy Straw Compost on Crop Attributes and Soil Properties in Rice Ecosystem

Aim: To study the effect of rice husk biochar and rice straw compost on Rabi season rice cultivation.

Study Design: The randomized block design was used. The treatments of different doses of soil amendments like rice husk biochar, rice straw compost and recommended fertilizer doses are applied.

Place and Duration of Study: The experimental trial was conducted during the Rabi season (January - April) of 2022 at Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Methodology: The study consisted of 11 sets of RBD design treatments replicated thrice. The rice variety of ADT57 Short duration variety was used for this study. The observation has been recorded during the crop growing period at regular intervals.

Results: The study results revealed that application of PSB @ 2kg/ha + RSC @ 5 t/ha + 75% RDF (T10) treatment showed the highest plant growth parameters like plant height (27.88, 74.22 and 108.89 cm), number of tillers m-2 (122, 620 and 642), leaf area index (2.62, 6.53 and 8.47), SPAD reading (47.22, 43.64 and 40.46), root length (18.86, 37.45 and 56.31 cm) and root volume (17.85, 26.01 and 37.77 ml) at 30, 60 and 90 DAT respectively and yield parameters like grain yield (5133 kg/ha), straw yield (7090 kg/ha), panicle length (25.28cm) and number of productive tillers m-2 (571.6) and was significantly on par with application of PSB @ 2kg/ha + Rice Husk Biochar (RHB) @ 5 t/ha + 75% RDF (T6) and superior over the other all treatments. Plant growth parameters of application of PSB @ 2kg/ha + Rice Husk Biochar (RHB) @ 5 t/ha + 75% RDF (T6) recorded the plant height (27.41, 73.76 and 108.29 cm), number of tillers m-2 (118, 613 and 630), leaf area index (2.54, 6.42 and 8.38), SPAD reading (46.26, 43.10 and 40.20), root length (18.35, 37.05 and 55.40 cm) and root volume (17.42, 25.44 and 37.33 ml) at 30, 60 and 90 DAT respectively and yield parameters like grain yield (4953 kg/ha), straw yield (7077 kg/ha), panicle length (25.07 cm) and number of productive tillers m-2 (555). So, the application of PSB @ 2 kg/ha + RSC @ 5 t/ha + 75% RDF has recorded the best results than all other treatments. With respect to soil properties, application of Rice husk Biochar (RHB) @ 5t/ha + 75% RDF (T4) has reduced the soil bulk density (from 1.52 to 1.47) and application of rice straw compost @ 5t/ha has increased the soil pH (from 6.58 to 7.14) as compared to other treatments whereas the nutrient status (nitrogen (from 212 to 266 kg ha-1); phosphorus (from 45.41 to 61.59 kg ha-1) and potassium (from 192 to 218.4 kg ha-1) has increased by application of PSB @ 2kg/ha + RSC @ 5t/ha + 100% RDF (T11) than other treatments.