Combined use of biochar and sprinkler irrigation may enhance rice productivity in water-stressed regions

• DOI: 10.1016/j.aoas.2023.05.002
• Publication Date: 2023-05-31T15:42:50Z
• Authors: José Manuel Rato-...; Carmen Martín-Franco; David Peña; Jaime Terrón-Sánchez; Luis Andrés Vicente; Damián Fernández-...; Ángel Albarrán; Antonio López-Piñ...
• Keywords: Productividad del agua; Water productivity; Agriculture (General); No-tillage; No laboreo; 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences; Control de malas hierbas; Weed control; 630; S1-972; Inundación; Manejos del arroz; 3103.01 Producción de Cultivos; Flooding; 3103.08 Gestión de la Producción Vegetal; 0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; Rice management; 2511.09 Microbiología de Suelos

A 2-year field experiment was conducted to analyse the effects of fresh and aged biochar on soil properties, as well as herbicide effectiveness and rice-yield components in a Mediterranean environment. Six managements were used: no-tillage and sprinkler irrigation either without (NoT) or with first-year biochar application (NoTB), conventional tillage and sprinkler irrigation eitherwithout (ConvT) orwith first-year biochar application (ConvTB), conventional tillage and flooding irrigation either without (ConvTF) orwith first-year biochar application (ConvTFB). Themeasurements done in the first (2018) and second (2019) years after biochar additionwere taken to determine its fresh and aged effects, respectively. The application of biochar led to an improvement of the soil properties such as increase in the soil's organic carbon content, pH, and dehydrogenase activity. It also reduced weed pressure, regardless of the management used, and sprinkler systems were found to have the greatest herbicide effectiveness, especially in ConvT and ConvTB. In terms of production, there were significant increases in yield with the application of fresh biochar, in the amended managements under tillage compared with their unamended counterparts. The greatest yieldswere found under ConvT and ConvTB, withmean values for both treatments of 10,770 and 11,299 kg ha−1 in the fresh and aged years, respectively. Furthermore, water productivity reached its greatest valueswhen sprinklerwas used, especiallywith tillage forwhich the application of fresh biochar increased water productivity by a factor of 1.09 relative to ConvT. Therefore, sprinkler irrigation in combinationwith tillage and biochar applications can be regarded as an efficient alternative to flooding irrigation in order to ensure productive viability of rice in water-stressed regions.<br/>peerReviewed<br/>GR21038 and IB16075 funded by the Extremadura Regional Government, Grant RTI2018-095461-B-I00, PID2021-123062OB-I00 and TED2021-129790B-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033, and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. Extremadura Regional Government's Consejería de Economía, Comercio e Innovación, co-financing ESF A way of making Europe (PD18025; PD18026).<br/>