Influence of the application of biochar on the growth of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) grown on lead contaminated soil

Abstract

This experiment was conducted at the screen house of Biological Science, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria, to determine the influence of the application of biochar on the growth of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) grown on lead contaminated soil. SAMNUT-24 was used as the test crop for this research. Lead (Pb) was inoculated at the rate of 515 mgkg^-1 in the buckets containing 5 kg of top soil (thoroughly mixed) a week prior to biochar application. The biochar was applied two weeks before planting at the rates of 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 t/ha. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design and replicated three times. Data were collected on growth parameters (number of leaves and plant height), nodulation (effective and non-effective nodules) and yield (number of pods and number of kernels). Data collected were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and means were separated using Duncans Multiple Range Test at 5% level of significance. The results showed that 12.5 and 10 t/ha of biochar significantly (p<0.05) increased number of leaves, plant height, shoot dry weight and number of effective nodules. 12.5 and 10 t/ha of biochar rates gave the best results. It is therefore recommended that these rates should be tried in field experiment to validate the results obtained from this study. Further studies should also be conducted in order to analyze and determine the shoot N, P, K, and Na as well as Lead concentration in shoot, root and yield.