Partial substitution of peat moss with biochar for sustainable cultivation of Durio zibethinus L . in nurseries
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S. I. BIOCHAR
Partial substitution of peat moss with biochar for sustainable cultivation of Durio zibethinus L. in nurseries Robert Thomas Bachmann 1 Trevor Richards 3
&
Sharifah Adawiyah 1 & Thilagam Krishnan 1,2 & Benson Khoo 2 & Tan Sue Sian 2 &
Received: 8 April 2018 / Accepted: 27 July 2018 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2018
Abstract The extensive use of peat moss as potting medium in nurseries worldwide is not sustainable causing peatland depletion and greenhouse gas emissions. This research seeks to explore whether wood biochar produced by the environment-friendly flame curtain method can partially substitute peat moss in plant nurseries without affecting plant growth and health. Biochar was produced from durian wood logs in a top-quenched Kon-Tiki earth kiln, crushed, and mixed with peat moss at dosages of 0, 1, 2.5 and 5% (w/w). Durian seedlings were grown in 2.5 L polybags arranged in randomised complete block design with 4 replicates per treatment. Plant height, collar diameter, pH, moisture content, number of branches and leaves, and plant health were monitored weekly for 94 days. Liquid fish fertiliser was used as organic fertiliser. Our results demonstrated that biochar can substitute at least 5% (w/w) peat moss without negatively affecting plant height, collar diameter, number of leaves and branches, and plant health. In addition, organic fertiliser is not required during the first 3 months of cultivation resulting in cost savings to the nursery operator. Plant height was found to be the most accurate yet simple monitoring parameter studied. A better understanding of the effect of higher biochar application rates as well as the number of times the potting medium can be reused without loss of potting medium properties and health can help to further cut nursery cost and reduce reliance on peat moss. Keywords Durian wood biochar . Peat moss . Organic fertiliser . Kon-Tiki flame curtain technology
Introduction In order to grow plants successfully in nurseries, the selection of media components is important and largely depends on the physicochemical properties of the potting medium (Robbins This article is part of the Topical Collection on Implications of Biochar Application to Soil Environment under Arid Conditions Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-018-3792-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Robert Thomas Bachmann [email protected] 1
Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering Technology (UniKL MICET), Lot 1988, 78000 Alor Gajah, Melaka, Malaysia
2
Top Fruits Sdn Bhd, Jalan ML16, ML16 Industrial Park, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia
3
Environmental Engineering Consultant, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
and Evans 2011a). In addition, the potting medium should be free of weeds and diseases, sufficiently dense to prevent frequent tipping over and light enough for convenient handling and shipping. Other factors to take into account are cost, availabi
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