PJB-2019-632
Evaluating the effects of biochar amendments on drought tolerance of soybean (Glycine max L.) using relative growth indicators
Summera Jahan, Sumera Iqbal, Fahd Rasul and Khajista Jabeen
Abstract
Drought is the extremely critical environmental limitation that restricts crucially the leaf growth, stem elongation and overall plant growth rate. In the agricultural lands biochar has its remarkable role for sustainable soil management strategies and potential tool for mitigating drought. In the present research work, the impact of acacia wood shaving (AWB), sugarcane bagasse (SBB), wheat (WSB) and rice straw (RSB) biochar at two amendment levels (i.e., 10 and 20 t/ ha) under three different moisture conditions i.e., optimum moisture (OM) at 75± 2% of FC, deficit moisture (DM) at 50 ± 2% of FC and severe moisture deficit (SMD) at 40 ± 2% of FC on growth parameters of soybean in poor sandy loam (SL) soil and clay loam (CL) soil were investigated. We focused on individual growth components along with specific growth measurements such as NAR (net assimilation rate) and RGR (relative growth rate) in different growth stages. Moisture deficit conditions reduced all shoot and leaf parameters during first harvest interval of vegetative growth and effects were more negative at reproductive growth during third harvest interval. Biochar in CL soil mostly caused higher increase in shoot and leaf growth parameters on relative basis than control. While, under water deficit conditions, most influential amendments were acacia (sp. nilotica) wood shavings biochar (10 t/ ha) and sugarcane bagasse associated with higher growth in shoot and increases shoot length, shoot fresh as well as dry biomass, number of leaves, leaf fresh and leaf dry biomass, leaf area, net assimilation rates and relative growth rates of soybean. Consequently, sugarcane bagasse and wood biochar can be valued as the most promising tools for recovery of growth under moisture deficit conditions
To Cite this article:
Jahan, S., S. Iqbal, F. Rasul and K. Jabeen. 2022. Evaluating the effects of biochar amendments on drought tolerance of soybean (Glycine max L.) using relative growth indicators. Pak. J. Bot., 54(5): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2022-5(10)
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