Co-application of biochar and pyroligneous acid improved peanut production and nutritional quality in a coastal soil

Abstract

Coastal land is one of important marginal land types that have been considered as a potential reverse land source to alleviate the shortage of cultivated land. Biochar and pyroligneous acid have attracted much attention because of their good performance in improving the quality of infertile soil. However, the effect of co-application of biochar and pyroligneous acid on peanut production in coastal soil is poorly studied. In this work, a green-house experiment was conducted to compare the effects of individual and combined application of biochar (BC) and pyroligneous acid (PA) on the peanut yield and peanut kernel nutritional quality in a coastal soil, as well as soil properties, and soil microbiome. Compared with the individual application of BC or PA, the co-application of BC and PA dramatically increased peanut pod yield and amino acid contents. The ameliorated soil properties (e.g., water holding capacity) and elevated soil available nutrients (e.g., N, K and P) resulting from the co-application of BC and PA may contribute to the enhanced production of peanuts. High-throughput sequencing showed that both bacterial and fungal communities were altered regardless of individual or co-application, and co-occurrence network of bacterial community was significantly enhanced by the co-application of BC and PA. The abundances of soil beneficial bacteria (e.g. Arthrobacter, Blastococcus and Sphingomonas) and beneficial fungi (Humicola and Chaetomium) were enhanced by the co-application of BC and PA. This study demonstrates that co-application of BC and PA is a potential strategy to reclaim coastal soil for peanut cultivation.