Biochar and Nitrogen Effects on Winter Wheat Growth.

Biochar, a co-product of thermochemical bioenergy production, may be a valuable soil 
amendment, but little is known about its potential long term effects on plant growth and soil fertility. In order to gain more information, this experiment was performed to see if the addition of biochar, in comparison to lime and fertilizer treatments at varying rates, has the potential to return key nutrients back to the soil or increase crop yields. To collect the data needed for this experiment, wheat plant heights throughout the growing season, yield data at harvest, and soil samples were collected. The various treatments were plotted against observed nitrogen rates to analyze the interaction between them and to see which produced the greatest yields and which plot had the highest level of soil nutrients. Based on patterns from previous growing seasons and the graphs created from that data, it was anticipated that biochar would increase the total nitrogen content as well as soil pH and concentrations of phosphorus and potassium. The soil analysis indeed produced similar results to previous years’ data. The whole plot treatments of biochar and lime had a significant positive correlation to visual plant height differences as well as appropriate levels of soil nutrients and total grain yield whereas the control produced little changes. However, the treatments by nitrogen rate were the most effective at the 100 lbs/ac application rate regardless of the whole plot treatment with which it was paired. This information led to the conclusion that biochar has its advantages but conventional fertilizer treatments can produce competitive, or even superior, results.