This study investigated the influence of biochar, produced from municipal organic waste, amended with either vermiculite or gypsum, and varying rates of NPK fertilizer on the agronomic response and yield performance of maize (Zea mays L.). A field experiment using a split-plot design was conducted across two growing seasons (2023 and 2024), with NPK fertilizer rates (150, 300, and 600 kg/ha) as the main plots and eight different biochar formulations as the subplots. The key agronomic parameters measured were fresh biomass, cob dry weight, shelling percentage, and harvest index. The findings revealed that vermiculite biochar and gypsum biochar significantly enhanced maize performance across both seasons. In 2024, gypsum biochar recorded the highest fresh biomass at 70.95 t/ha, followed by vermiculite biochar at 70.17 t/ha, compared to the control at 59.65 t/ha. This biochar yielded the highest cob dry weight: 14.55 t/ha in 2023 and 14.91 t/ha in 2024 approximately 34% and 30% increases over the control, respectively. NPK application at 300 kg/ha produced nearly the same cob weight (13.29 t/ha) as 600 kg/ha (14.14 t/ha), suggesting economic efficiency with lower input. The shelling percentage was highest under industrial nano biochar at 70.33%, though total biomass remained among the lowest, at 52.69 t/ha in 2024. Harvest index varied marginally, with gypsum nanobiochar reaching 0.41 in 2024, the highest recorded. The results showed that biochar amended with vermiculite and gypsum significantly improved the biomass and grain yield compared to the control and industrial biochar. The interaction between biochar and NPK revealed synergistic effects on growth and yield but minimal impact on harvest index and shelling percentage. These findings support the use of municipal organic waste -based biochar as a sustainable soil amendment to improve maize productivity and reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers in arid regions.
Wulgo et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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