Charcoal and compost application induced changes in growth and yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

The utilization of organic fertilizers in farmlands to enhance crop productivity and soil health is increasing globally. Compost and charcoal obtained from the decomposition and slow pyrolysis (respectively) of plants and animals wastes. Here we evaluated the effect of charcoal and compost on the growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at Agriculture Research Farm Peshawar, Pakistan during 2014-2015. Results showed that the application of compost and charcoal as sole or in combination significantly affected the yield and yield attributes of wheat. Data divulged that the maximum numbers of plant tillers (337 m-2), number of productive tillers per plant (313 m-2), number of grains per spike (56 spike-1) and 1000 seeds weight (50.2 g) were produced by the combined application of compost and charcoal at 5+5 Mg ha-1 while plant height (95.3 cm) was enhanced with the application of charcoal at 10 Mg ha-1. The gain (4106.7 kg ha-1) and biological yield (8473.3 kg ha-1) was significantly increased with the compost application at the rate of 10 Mg ha-1. These results proved that charcoal and compost can be used as organic fertilizers for boosting growth and yield performance of wheat under the agro-climatic conditions of Peshawar, Pakistan.