Nanobiochar Production, Evaluation, and Impact on the Effectiveness of Fertilizers and the Productivity of Maize Crop on Sandy Soil

Abstract

Agriculture nanotechnology is an interesting method for improving soil fertility and increasing agricultural production. Thus, the goal of this study was to create and characterize nanobiochar (NBC), as well as assess its impact on sandy soil qualities and their implications for maize yield components along with nutritional status. In addition, a field experiment in sandy soil at the Ismailia Agriculture Research Station farm in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, during two successive summer seasons of 2021– 2022, was conducted. The maize plant was cultivated to evaluate the efficiency of applied nanobiochar (NBC) at varied rates (0, NBC1, NBC2, and NBC3), which equal (0.0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6%), respectively, in conjunction with (60 and/or 80%) of the recommended full dose of both nitrogen (N1 and N2) and potassium (K1 and K2), respectively. This experiment's static design is a split-split design with three repetitions. The study analyzed nanobiochar (NBC) using TEM images and FTIR, revealing its specific size (12.1 nm). It revealed surface functional groups like aromatic C=C, epoxy C-O, alkoxy C-O, hydroxy-OH, H-bonding, N-H, aliphatic C-H, and Si-O groups. Elemental analyses revealed a C element content of 48.49%, H (2.748%), N (4.096%), S (0%), and O (44.69%), respectively. Also, the surface area of NBC was determined and recorded at 1315.4 m2 g-1. Regarding the findings of the field study, applying all treatments (NBC, N, and K) at all dosages increased soil attributes such as pH, electric conductivity, organic matter, and nutrient availability in maize soil over both cultivated seasons when compared to the control treatment. In general, the average values of administered nanobiochar, N, and K dosages show that the high rate of application has an effect on soil parameters. Furthermore, maize yield for both research seasons shows that NBC3 coupled with N2 and K2 treatment resulted in the highest yield component (straw and grains). In both maize crop seasons, a similar trend was seen in the total nitrogen and potassium content of straw and grain. Finally, the study discovered that using nanobiochar as soil conditioners with different nitrogen and potassium fertilizer rates increased soil chemical characteristics and fertility in sandy soil, leading to increased crop components and macronutrient content.