Growing rice (Oriza sativa L.) in the sulphate acid soils of west Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

The use of organic matter has been proposed as one of the option as liming material for acid soils in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biochar is a carbon (C) rich material that has been used as soil amendment to improve the properties of acidic soils. An incubation study followed by a glasshouse trial was conducted to study the changes in soil properties following the application of biochar and investigate the effect of biochar application to the plant growth and production. The incubation trial was arranged by using biochar made from coconut waste as soil amendment to a West Kalimantan acid soil. The biochars used in this trial was specifically produced as liming material to overcome the soil-specific plant growth limitations. The biochar was made from (1) Coconut husk waste and (2) Coconut shell waste and were applied at different rate of application. The glasshouse study was conducted to test the biochar-amended acid soil on rice growth and production. The results from incubation study of this trial suggested that biochars significantly (p<0.05) increased the soil pH and subsequently reduce the soluble Fe and exchangeable Al in soil. The glasshouse study showed that the biochar-amended soil improved rice growth and production, although there was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the two types of biochar used in this study.