The effect of soil water content and biochar on rice cultivation in polybag

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) production is important in the national food of Indonesia. The growth and yield of rice can be increased by the soil water supply and biochar application into the soil in a polybag. Water is a unique material resource that plays a vital role in agriculture. Biochar is a carbon-rich product obtained from biomass and can hold water and nutrients, making them more available to plants. The biochar used in this study was made from rice husks. This study aims to determine the effect of soil water content and biochar application in the soil on the growth and yield of rice in the polybag. The experiment appears to be a randomized multifactorial design with one factor being water content and the other being biochar application rate. A completely random design usually suggests only one factor in the experimental design. The first factor was soil water content consisting of two levels, i.e.: field capacity and soil waterlogging. The second factor was the biochar application consisting of four doses i.e.: 0; 14; 28; and 42 tons/ha. The results of the research showed that rice cultivation with soil water-logging is better than field capacity on the tillers number, panicle length, and harvest index. Without biochar application was given higher tillers number, but biochar dose of 14 tons/ha produced wider leaf area. There was a significant interaction between soil water content and biochar application on the dry weight of roots, shoots, and grains. The treatment combination of soil waterlogging and biochar dose of 14 tons/ha was most effective at increasing the growth and yield of rice in a polybag.

Keywords

• field capacity
• soil waterlogging
• rice husk biochar
• rice cultivation
• polybag