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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2020, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (5): 121-131.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2019338

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Effects of the combined application of biochar and chemical fertilizer on fertility and microbial characteristics of purple soil and yield and quality of oilseed rape

XU Qi-wen, MA Shu-min, ZHU Bo, ZHANG Xiao-duan, XING Yi, DUAN Mei-chun, WANG Long-chang*   

  1. College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400716, China
  • Received:2019-08-05 Online:2020-05-20 Published:2020-05-20
  • Contact: * E-mail: wanglc2003@163.com

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the combined application of biochar and chemical fertilizer on fertility and microbial characteristics of ‘purple soil’ (an Entisol in USDA taxonomy) and yield and quality of oilseed rape, so as to provide a theoretical basis for formulating an optimal combination of biochar and chemical fertilizer in Southwest China. The treatments included: B0F1 (no biochar+reduced fertilization), B0F2 (no biochar+traditional fertilization), B1F1 (low biochar+reduced fertilization), B1F2 (low biochar+traditional fertilization), B2F1 (high biochar+reduced fertilization), and B2F2 (high biochar+traditional fertilization), arranged in a split-plot design. It was found that soil pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), total nitrogen (TN), total carbon (TC) and total potassium (TK) increased significantly under B1 and B2, compared with values for B0, while no significant difference was detected between F1 and F2. Biochar application promoted diversity of soil microorganisms with increased Shannon’s index (H), Simpson index (D) and abundance index of carbon source utilization (S), and improved the overall utilization ability of carbohydrates, amino acids, carboxylic acids, polymers and phenolic compounds. Yield of oilseed increased significantly with application of biochar. Contents of erucic acid, glucosinolates and linolenic acid decreased, while levels of oleic acid and yellowness increased with application of biochar under F1. Redundancy analysis showed that factors influencing oilseed quality included, in order of significance, TK, TC, TN, total phosphorus (TP), CEC and soil pH, among which TK, TC, TN and TP affected oilseed quality significantly (P<0.05). In conclusion, the combined application of biochar and chemical fertilizer significantly improved the fertility status of soil, increased the activity of soil microorganisms, and promoted the microbial utilization of carbon sources. The optimal application of biochar was 35 t·ha-1. Biochar at this rate effectively offset the nutrient deficiency after the reduction of fertilizer, and improved the yield and quality of oilseed rape.

Key words: biochar, reduced fertilization, soil microorganisms, oilseed rape, redundancy analysis