Remediation of Sandy Soil Irrigated with Treated Wastewater by Using Biochar and Organic Fertilizers for Jojoba Production

Authors

  • Alashram M.G. Water Relation and Field Irrigation Dept., National Research Centre, 33 EL Buhouth St., Dokki, Giza, Egypt, Postal Code: 12622.
  • Azab A.E. Biological Engineering Dept., Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Ministry of Agriculture, Giza, Egypt.
  • Abdelmohsen Kh. H. Biological Engineering Dept., Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Ministry of Agriculture, Giza, Egypt.
  • Khater A.E. Agricultural Mechanization Operations Systems Dept., Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Ministry of Agriculture, Giza, Egypt.
  • Abdelraouf R.E. Water Relation and Field Irrigation Dept., National Research Centre, 33 EL Buhouth St., Dokki, Giza, Egypt, Postal Code: 12622.

Keywords:

compost, drip irrigation system, water productivity of jojoba, water application efficiency, wax (oil)

Abstract

To ensure global food security, there is an urgent need to extend agricultural production into semi-arid and arid regions. Soil amendments and restricted irrigation techniques are effective water-saving methods for crop yield in semi-arid and arid environments. Compost and biochar are examples of soil amendments that can enhance agricultural production, soil fertility, nitrogen absorption, and soil water relations. Consequently, an experiment was conducted combining four biochar rates (B0, B1, B2, B3: 0, 1, 2, 3 ton/fed, respectively) with four rates of compost (C0, C5, C10, C15: 0, 5, 10, 15 ton/fed, respectively) as sustainable materials produced from agricultural waste to improve the productivity of jojoba trees by treating irrigated sandy soil with treated sewage water and studying their impact on application efficiency of irrigation water, chlorophyll content, yield of seeds and wax (oil) and water productivity of seeds and wax (oil) for jojoba. To meet the study's objective, two field experiments had been done at Al-Gabal Al-Asfar Region, El-Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt, during seasons 2021 and 2022. The higher soil organic matter content and micro-organism activity observed in B3+C15 compared with the other treatments. According to this study, biochar and compost had improved the
yield and water productivity of seeds and wax (oil) over the two seasons. The highest seeds yield values were (1353.1 and 1440.5 kg/fed), and water productivity of jojoba seeds were (0.67 and 0.74 kg m-3) using B3 with C15 for 2021 and 2022, respectively. Limited irrigation strategies and soil amendments that maintain or improve crop productivity in ever-changing climatic scenarios are among the most promising solutions.

Published

10.05.2022